Family

Thanksgiving Vacation Photo Album

I just posted a new photo gallery of our Thanksgiving vacation visiting family in Massachusetts. Enjoy!

Ruth's Condition Worsening

Last time I left, a harpist was playing 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' to Ruth and she was smiling broadly...

...now I stop in and she is struggling to even breathe. She is not responding to anything Carl or I say or do. I think she is nearing the end of her time on the planet. She may have already left, actually: it's possible that only her body continues to struggle.

At Hospice with Carls' Mom

I am at hospice with Carl's mom. She is completely aware. I can tell from her eyes that she understands everything said in her vicinity. I can ask her questions and she nods or shakes her head... but she has a hard time speaking. Every word is a struggle. Once I said 'you must be so damn frustrated like this' and her eyes got smile wrinkles and she nodded her head vigorously.

She dozes a while, then wakes up and tries to talk a bit, then gives up in frustration and dozes some more. Every once in a while she'll reach for my hand. I am trying to sit where she can find my hand easily when she wants to.

I went outside and called a friend to chat a bit. They have gardens here with savia all over the place. Hummindbirds are in heaven buzzing around all the salvia bushes, then sitting in nearby branches and squawking in their almost electronic sounding high pitched chirps. I picked a piece of salvia and went back inside to give it to her.

Ruth became animated. She held the salvia to her nose several times. She pulled my sleeve and I bent over and she quite clearly said 'I want you to have a good time.' I could tell the 'you' was Carl and me.

I grabbed my coffee off the table next to her bed and walked out to the nurses station to chat and take a break. I told them she could talk. They seemed surprised.

I went back in to grab my laptop so I could do some work. She seemed to want to talk again. I leaned over with my ear to her and she laboriously whispered 'I can't believe that this is happening,' then 'I can't believe ------...' she struggled with the last word several times then gave up in frustration, saying 'OK, apparently that word is not in our language.'

Grateful Journal

Gardening with Carl
My 40th Birthday!
Technology
Barack Obama
My Open-Minded, Freindly, Atheist Neighbor
Listening
That I Feel Useful and Valued Every Day

Thanksgiving

It’s Thanksgiving!

Carl and I flew back east to Massachusetts yesterday and arrived in Hartford about 5pm local time. Mom and dad picked us up and brought us home. Pulled pork sandwiches, poring over old family photos that I have permission to bring home and scan, taking a peek at Dad’s computer, then off to bed.

Today we drove up to Campton, NH, for Thanksgiving day at my brother’s. Kurt has really taken to me this year. He is a bit hyperactive with me, but we have been having fun. He’s an imaginative and sensitive 8-year-old, and fun to be around. We arrived here at about noon. Our sister, Susan, arrived shortly thereafter. We helped make dinner, which served about 3pm.

After dinner Mom and I took Kurt out to run to blow off some energy. We raced to various landmarks along the road until I was fully satisfied that Kurt does, in fact, have more stamina than this 40-year-old, if not my speed yet. We looked at a small old graveyard on the walk home - earliest readable headstone dated from 1822.

Then John, Dad and I packed up and headed to Holiday Magic, an annual event where they set up a Christmas village for locals to visit with their families to view the lights, listen to music and sit on Santa’s (Dad’s) lap. John has a great set-up. He snaps the photo, which then automatically loads and displays on a monitor for the parents to view. If they like a photp he can then print it out on a dye-sub printer he has hooked up. Photoshop is set up to automate cop, adding copyright info to the lower right corner, and printing the photo. Very nifty.

Here are two results: Me and dad, and the whole family (who stopped in later). I left Holiday Magic at about 7:30pm and came back to the house with Mom, Kurt, Carl and Susan. We watched Star Trek Voyager episodes with Kurt and then sent him off to bed, only to follow ourselves before too long.



Carl Is In Pain Again

Back pain this time. He thinks it’s from built-up scar tissue from surgery earlier in life. He’s had this before, but not this bad. Last time he opted not to have them surgically address it. Fingers crossed. Knock on wood. Hopefully it passes this time without needing surgery. It’s hard to see him in so much pain. I suppose that’s why I am up so late - or early, that is...

Difficult Week

This has been a difficult week. I’m not fully ready to talk about why, but keep Carl and I in your thoughts.

Last weekend, something wonderful happened in our neighborhood. The email flame war I wrote about in the ‘HOA Meeting’ posting a couple weeks ago resulted in another positive outcome. The email flame war started when a neighbor’s Obama sign was thrice vandalized. Because we are in a gated neighborhood, it was most likely vandalized by a neighbor. Some have disagreed with me about this assesment, but one important axiom about crime is that it is almost always perpetrated by someone close to the crime. It’s doubtful someone outside the neighborhood took the time to come back several times to vandalize an Obama sign here in Los Arroyos del Oeste...

Anyway, one of my neighbors decided to host a gathering of ‘neighbors for change’ at her place. I was able to meet a whole bunh of friendly neighbors and had my belief that there are few progressive folks in the neighborhood shattered.

A couple days ago, two of our night blooming cereus cacti bloomed... here’s a photo:

Queen of the Night blooms in our  front yard

The other big event this week was Carl’s shoulder surgery yesterday. He’s in a lot more pain than he was last time they repaired a rotator cuff, probably because they also had to deal with some severe arthritis in the joint. They couldn’t do this shoulder laproscopically, they had to open him up. He didn’t sleep very well last night.

Happy 4th everyone!

Visiting Steven and Marla in Santa Fe

I am in Santa Fe this weekend spending time with Steven and Marla. Steven is moving to Singapore to accept a position at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music at the National University of Singapore to design and direct a new graduate program in Sonic Arts Design. He will be gone for at least three years, and possibly significantly longer. Since he has been one of my closest friends for a long time, I wanted to be able to see him before he left.

We have been having a great time. Yesterday we went to a fishing lake at Picuris Pueblo for the day with Deloria and Thomas, nephews Zack and Shane, and Deloria’s brother Wilbur. Zack offered me SPF45 sunscreen the moment I showed up, and it’s a good thing he did! It was a perfect day. The setting was beautiful, too... complete with mountains, some still wearing snowcaps. All we did was hang out, fish, and eat. It was great. It made me feel sad that our little family is going to be so geographically scattered, but I doubt we will ever lose touch with each other. My family is all back East, and maybe thanks to iChat, cell phones, and occasional plane flights, I am just as close as ever. I’m sure it will be the same for Steven, Marla, Thomas, Deloria and me. Carl too, of course! (...being a newcomer to our circle, he wasn’t kicking around with us for the decade we all spent together in Santa Fe...)

After fishing, we changed at Deloria and Thomas’ house in San Juan, then headed off to Chimayo. We all visited the Santuario, and then met up with Marla for dinner at the Rancho de Chimayo.


^ Deloria and Wilbur and -> Steven


^ Thomas and -> Wilbur and Deloria


^ Steven posing with Carl at Santuario de Chimayo


^ Thomas and Deloria


^ Wilbur, Zack, Shane and Steven

Christmas in New England

I am too lazy to write too much about Christmas, but I did take all the photos and collect them into an album on the Photo Albums page of this website...

We spent Christmas day at Mom and Dad's place in Fiskdale. It was just the immediate family: Mom and Dad, siblings John, Susan and myself, my partner Carl, and John's son Kurt. We started with gifts, followed by a potluck breakfast downstairs in Crescent Gate's common kitchen, and generally had an extremely relaxing day. Susan likes the digital camera John, Carl and I gave her, as evidenced by many of the photos in the previously mentioned photo album!

The day after Christmas we headed to Granby, CT to my Aunt Barbara and uncle Bruce's place for a larger family gathering. Grandma and Grandpa, Barbara and Bruce, cousins Janet and Diane and Denis, and my cousin's children were all there. At one point my siblings and cousins were tasked with taking the children outside to expend pent-up energy. Otherwise, we ate food and acted silly like we generally do at our family gatherings.

Yesterday Carl and I took a day off from family and went on a nostalgia tour of Worcester. On our way in to Worcester we ate at Ella's on the Hill, a diner at the top of Dead Horse Hill. Then we went driving by my old haunts such as the house I grew up in on Monadnock Rd., downtown Worcester, Institute Park, and Dad's church from the late 70's through early 90's. After driving around a bit we stopped at Best Buy to buy a gifts for Carl's siblings, niece, and nephew. We ended up having dinner at Zorba's in Sturbridge.

Not much else to report. It has been gray and cold the entire time we have been back here. Grey enough that I have had this moody, trapped feeling. It makes me grateful for the sunny Southwest!

More Friends

As you know, the plan was to see Circus Luminous at The Lensic with Oliver and Ruthanne Friday evening... it was GREAT! Not so much because it was the best circus show ever, but because it was a really home-brewed Santa Fe performance. All kinds of community members contributed all kinds of talent to the music, tech, and circus acts on stage. I knew a lot of the performers. Brian Mayhall and Paul Groetzinger performed some of their music for the show, as did Dino. What a blast to see everyone!

After the show, the four of us stopped by Hotel Santa Fe for some soup and conversation.

Saturday morning, we met up with Jesse and Cindy for brunch. It was great to catch up with Jesse, and to meet Cindy! I like Cindy a lot. She is really intelligent and generous, and was so friendly socially. We snapped this photo at the rail yard:

Jesse, Cindy, Carl and me at the Rail Yard in Santa Fe

That evening we spent time catching up with Steven and Marla. Marla broke her foot rollerblading! Ouch! She is in a wheelchair now. Well, that is to say she scoots around the townhouse in an office chair with teensy wheels. That qualifies as a wheelchair, no? They just moved in to a nice, new, big townhouse with decent rent. Enough room for lots of guests, like everyone they had over for Thanksgiving weekend. They seemed to be basking in the glow of their recent family visit, too.

Marla also has a lot of her Dad's artwork hung in the house. Now that she has earned her PhD, she is trying to sort out her career and future plans. Both Marla and Steven are such gifted people, and it sounds like they have a struggle ahead of themselves to both land someplace where both of their careers can thrive. It will be interesting to see where they land in a decade...

After visiting Marla and Steven, we headed back to the Paxtons and spent a relaxing last night in Santa Fe, leaving early the next morning. We stopped in Albuquerque to have breakfast at iHop with José, then pretty much drove straight home. Wait, no, we stopped in Wilcox for early dinner...

One last picture of the Paxton's kittens:

The Paxton's kittens

Day After Thanksgiving

This morning we had left over chocolate cake and pie for breakfast with the Paxtons, then headed out to meet Jim and Joseph for lunch. At 11am we met up with them at their house, then we walked to the India Palace near the plaza. It was great to catch up with them! We all stuffed ourselves with buffet, then walked back to Jim and Joseph's place to pick up their doggie, passing through the plaza to pause for a photo with Mr. Snowman:

Carl, Jim, and Joseph pose with snowman on the plaza in Santa Fe

We all took the dog for a walk in an arroyo near their house, then Carl and I parted.

Now we are relaxing with the Paxtons and their kitties, and have plans to meet up with Oliver and Ruthanne to see Circus Luminous at The Lensic this evening.

The Paxton's new kitty!

Thanksgiving

We came to Santa Fe for Thanksgiving!

We have an entire weekend of social plans, all of my making... and poor Carl has to tag along! I'm sure he's willing, though. I asked him several times if my making all the plans was OK, and he indicated that it was fine. I think he enjoys my friends and enjoys seeing me with them.

Sooo... Thanksgiving dinner was with the Paxton's. We rolled in about 1:00pm. We spent the night in T or C to break up the drive, and left there at about 9:45 this morning. Since dinner was to happen at Zia Diner at 1:30pm, Carl and I parked in the lot and walked about the neighborhood until we were cold, then went in the diner to wait. Soon enough the maitre d' told us another couple in the Paxton's party had arrived. It was a couple of friends the Paxton's were expecting from Austin: Kim and Robin. Kim and Steve had worked together at Texas Tech. Moments later, Steve and Joy arrived, and minutes later, Oliver and RuthAnne joined us. When seated, Robin (and Kim) were to my right, Carl at the head of the table to my left, and Oliver (and Ruthanne) was directly across from me. Steve was at the other head of the table, with Joy seated between him and RuthAnne.

Oliver, RuthAnne, and I tend to be extremely silly when we are together, so dinner was a LOT of fun!

After dinner we all went up to see the Paxton's new house, as it is almost completed. It is going to be beautiful! I'm sure I will snap some panoramic photos before I leave.

Afterwards, we came home with Steve and Joy, where we will be staying for the weekend. They have two baby kittens, Chandler and Chance, seen here with Joy.

Opera

Last night we went to see La Bohème at the Santa Fe Opera.

Breakfast with the gang at The Pantry on Cerrillos Road  in Santa Fe
The day started with breakfast with Steven and Marla, and Deloria and Thomas. I was psyched that Carl came in to town to join us too! We went to our old breakfast hang-out, the Pantry on Cerrillos Road. It was nice to have a last chance this trip to see the four of them. Feasting with them isn't just about the food. It's about raunchy humor too! LOL... OK not just raunchy but the point is I feel more comfortable with these folks than almost anyone on the planet. I miss my Santa Fe friends!

After chorus rehearsals, I helped around the music department a bit, then Carl picked me up and we went to see Kevin over coffee at Downtown Subscription. He was happier than I have seen him in a loooong time. Thank goodness his brain-zapper transplant is helping treat his depression! He let me touch the wires in his neck and the implant in his chest. Medical technology is a trip. Anyway, he looks good.

Kevin Hart and me posing in front of his new Accord!
Kevin has also scored a new computer that a friend helped him build from parts to keep cost down. Too bad I can't be his lil' computer geek any more! Not only that, but his old car finally started causing him enough problems that he has gone and bought himself a spankin' new Accord. Wow! I'm so glad for him, he deserves the best.

After visiting Kevin, we went home to Joy and Steve's and chatted with Joy a bit. Then Steve came home too. We all took naps in preparation for the opera. After nappy time, we had a bit to eat and headed out. It was a simple dinner... Joy said we are the simplest guests she's ever had because I had a PB sandwich, a peach, and a beer. Carl had something similarly easy to prepare. LOL...

I drove one of the college vans again, as I had the other night when we went to see Ghost Opera at the Lensic. No problems getting there, dropping off, or parking.

The opera was fantastic. It's a simple story without a lot of action, made me think of relationships early in the HIV/AIDS epidemic, actually. I was especially impressed with the orchestra and the staging. The set had a building that folded up for street scenes and opened up for indoor scenes. The transitions were so slick the audience applauded. Our campers enjoyed it a lot, and talked about it a fair amount on the way back to the college. The other thing they were excited about was the Harry Potter book that was being released at midnight. After dropping them off at the college, a number of them were heading to Borders at midnight to get themselves a copy! LOL.

Post Music Camp Doldrums

I'm really down today. I miss Santa Fe, and being able to call up Steven or Jim or Deloria and hang out or have breakfast. I miss the Music Department and working with Steve as my boss. I will say this: I am so grateful that I had so many great years in Santa Fe at a job where I felt so appreciated, challenged, loved, and accomplished!

Time to focus on building community in Tucson.

Besides, I came in to the office yesterday and discovered that my new laptop has arrived. Nothing cures the doldrums better than playing with a new toy, eh?

Summer Music Camp

On Friday right after work Carl and I left for Santa Fe so that I can help teach at the first College of Santa Fe Summer Music Camp. Carl and I went as far as Lourdsburg, NM the first night. Next morning we woke, had breakfast at a cool old diner with a waiter who had carefully arranged a rainbow of click pens in his back pocket (hmmm...) and hit the road again.

Carl at Gila Ruins
We ended up at Gila Cliff Dwellings. It was a beautiful day and hike, just 1 mile round trip with a lot of steps and ladders. Carl limped his way through, having just had knee surgery three weeks ago! I was worried but he knew his limits. We returned to the car and he iced his knee, and in the end he thinks the exercise was really good for his knee. Whew. The views at Gila were spectacular.

We stopped for an unexceptional lunch at a motel cafe at the intersection of Rts. 15 and 35, unexceptional save the hummingbird feeder outside the window which must have been attracting half a dozen birds! Then we took 35 to 152, backtracking to Silver City for the night. We stayed at a pretty bad motel, the Drifter, and had a terrible meal of Chinese fast food because we went out to find food too late to go to a better restaurant. Actually, we left the room in plenty of time but spent our time walking through downtown Silver City absorbing the local vibe until we realized it was 10 minutes to 9pm, and even the fast food restaurants close at 9 in a town of 10k like Silver City... Oh well!

The next morning we packed up and headed to Santa Fe via Rte 152 through the mountains to I25. 152 was absolutely beautiful! I snapped a panorama or two that I'll post when I can stitch them together...

Jose, Carl and myself at Sophia's in Albuquerque
On the way to Santa Fe we stopped in Albuquerque for lunch with José. What a sweet man! I wish we lived closer because I miss hanging out with him. We ate at Sophia's which was a treat.

We arrived in Santa Fe at about 2pm and hung out in the Contemporary Music Program with Steve Paxton (the director, my former boss and close friend) until Joy, his wife, returned home, then he sent us up to his house to meet her. It was great catching up with Joy. She said I should consider myself to be 'Gregory Paxton,' lol... She even slipped at one point and said 'when you left home...' as though I really was their adopted son who left the roost when I moved to Tucson from Santa Fe.

Today I woke early and Steve gave me a ride to the College. I saw a lot of friends. I'm not sure my Deep Listening workshop went so well, but some people seemed into it. I'll have one more chance tomorrow anyway. I am in the chorus, I think because Steve only had one other male voice in it and he needed more.

This evening I had dinner with Steve Berlyn, that's a longer story, though, and I'm getting tired. I think this is enough for now. More tomorrow, as well as some photos...

Condo in Mashpee, MA

Carl and I are having a hard time deciding whether to purchase this condo in Mashpee, MA. When we were both in Massachusetts in late May, we looked for a small place on Cape Cod near Carl's brothers' families, who both have homes in Mashpee, and relatively close to my family, who are scattered around Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. We succeeded in finding this particular condo, which needs a lot of repair, and made a fair offer, which the owner turned down.

Then, last week, we discovered the owner has re-listed the property for an amount much closer to what we were originally offering. Well, we re-submitted an offer and it took. Then, on Saturday, we received the inspection report. Ugh. Termite damage in the support structure. Heating system needs replacement. Floors need to be re-done. Porch structure needs to come up to code if we have to repair termite damage in main support structure. The list goes on!

Well, it still may be a great deal. A lesser condo in the same development recently sold for $25K more than our offer. It will probably cost us about $25K - $35K to fix the place up, but then again it will be worth a smidgeon more than what we pay for it, including these repairs, after we fix it up. However, we will suddenly have $300.00 more in bills per month for the homeowners' association fees.

On the other hand, if we save the money we can use the interest from it in other ways.

Carl wants a place to settle on the Cape. I'm not so keen on the hassle and expense. I'm going to defer to Carl's druthers, as it is his money anyway, but what a struggle to make a final decision on whether or not to buy this place! It's one of these things that is causing a little tension in our relationship. I hope whatever we decide is worth the frustration! I suppose these minor disruptions are good practice in communication skill-building for when we have a real crisis...

Thoughts from Jeff Davis, Grandma's minister

Dad emailed me the following this morning:

"Gregory, following is what Jeff Davis, the pastor of Bethel United Church of Christ, wrote to Kurt and me last evening:

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I want to extend my deepest condolences to your family and to share how much I admired and loved your mother. Ernestine was a breath of fresh air and despite her age, she was one of the youngest people in our congregation. We often talked about why some people weren't more open minded and progressive in their thinking and in their faith.

I am honored to officiate at her memorial service. On Saturday, March 24 at 10:00am we will celebrate how God blessed Ernestine to be a blessing to others and how she continues to touch and inspire us.

God's Peace,

Jeff Davis

PS. I was thinking about her "Grateful Journal" and couldn't help think that her life has been a grateful journey.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ernestine Anderson

Ernestine Anderson, July 2002
I received the call this morning. Grandma died. Last night at about 2:00, grandma died.

I can't stop thinking about her passing this morning. It's curious that a mere breath separates living from dead, family from ancestor, hero from saint.

She was a hero to me. She was a hero because of the way she, without a question in her mind, always dignified my grandfather. She was a hero because of the way she cherished and strove to emulate my Great Aunt Rete's unconditional positive regard for every person on the planet. She was a hero because she was really, truly a christian, one who was shocked whenever confronted with the intolerance modern Christians seem to determined to plant into Christianity's contemporary social organizations. She was a hero because she instilled every ounce of this unconditional love and compassion and understanding and tolerance into her children, one of whom is the most important hero in my life, my father.

What will I always remember about Grandma?

Her expletive of choice was was 'MERCY!'

When, in 2002, she met my partner Steve, she immediately welcomed him into the family by saying, 'why, that Steve, he's Mr. personality PLUS!', something Steve and I have always laughed about since.

I will always remember how hurt she was when Dad came out to her on my behalf. She wondered if I didn't tell her myself because I was afraid of her reaction, and she was bewildered that anyone would think she would do anything but fully embrace me and everything that I am.

She never complained about being sick. Frankly, this could be the crack in her heroism! To claim, as she did, that she never experienced a headache in her life seemed ludicrous. On the other hand, one never focused one iota of attention on the fact that one leg was left disabled by polio in her childhood. I never once heard her complain about pain in her leg. She simply did not want attention paid to her disabilities, leaving people more prone to focus on her abilities...

One time, when I was in Cleveland, Ohio for a meeting with the United Church Coalition for Lesbian/Gay Concerns, an organization with which I did advocacy work after I graduated from Clark University, I met Grandma, Grandpa, and Rete for dinner. I was surprised to see how compromised Rete had become in her old age. She was fully present, although her mind and body had slowed considerably. Grandma cared for her so wonderfully the entire time we were all together. It was really inspirational.

Grandma outlived everyone from her generation of our family. She would always say that she was lonely when I called her in recent years. This wasn't so much because there was nobody around her, and she knew this. She often declared that she was grateful to be at Copeland Oaks where she was surrounded by wonderful people. Rather, I think her loneliness was because the people who had surrounded her earlier in her life were gone. She had cared for Grandpa, Rete, her children and family and friends... in the end she had nobody for whom she was responsible or for whom she was 'the most important person.' It must have been lonely. It must have felt a bit like losing a love. Who fills that space?

I plan to honor Grandma's life by continuing to forge healthy, loving, understanding relationships with everyone who comes into my life. It's a tall order, but I know from Grandma's example I know it can be done.

Gamelan, Grandma

Ernestine Anderson in July 2002
Carl says that good luck and bad luck come in the same package. This weekend is evidence in support of his theory.

Friday I had one of the best days I have had in a long time. I attended a rehearsal with Fine Stream Gamelan. I felt quite awkward, attending without knowing a single member of the group on my arrival, but everyone was quite friendly and I felt like I fit right in. Mike Finstrom and his wife were especially sweet to me... making sure I understood the music and could follow along. I could hear a couple other members of the group coaching me quietly by counting along when I became lost. It felt really great to again be playing music as part of an ensemble...

On Saturday, Carl and I discovered that we have copper coming out our hot water faucets. We spent much of the weekend worried that our pipes might be corroding. We are only today able to start calling around to get a plumber to come diagnose the problem. Hopefully it's a minor problem.

On Sunday we had a wonderful brunch with one of Carl's friends, Jack, from San Diego. He is of Chinese descent and speaks Chinese, so we went out for Dim Sum and had some of the best Chinese food I have had in a loooong time. It was nice having someone in the know with us. Yummy! After brunch Carl and I went to a Tucson Symphony Orchestra string quartet concert, which was a treat as well.

Today, however, I have been dealt the worst card I have been dealt all year. When I returned from lunch, I had a voicemail from my Dad informing me that my grandmother, Ernestine Anderson, is quite ill, and it is quite serious. She needs surgery, but cannot have surgery until she recovers from a bout of pneumonia. Kurt, my uncle, is going to fly in to Ohio to be with her, and I will hear more updates soon. I have considered myself lucky to still have three grandparents into my late 30's, but I love grandma dearly and I don't want her to be in pain, or be ill, or die. I am crossing my fingers. Please send good thoughts our way...

Mom and Dad's trials getting to Arizona

Maybe this is a good time to start a blog! My parents are coming to visit!

Of course I had to go and get sick now, of all times. I went in to University Health Services Tuesday and they said, 'yup, yer sick all right. Need a note for work?' I called Michael (my boss) and he just laughed. I ended up going in to work for the morning, anyway, because I was NOT going to miss my super difficult computer science class.

Meanwhile, Mom and Dad were stuck in Nashville overnight because they were unable to land in Chicago, where they were due to have a layover on their way out here from Massachusetts. I felt badly because I bought them their tickets, and when I booked the flights it actually crossed my mind that it might not be a good idea to book them through Chicago this time of year. Turns out I was right.

They did catch a flight from Nashville to Tucson (through Albuquerque) Wednesday morning, thank goodness. They still ended up being late because Albuquerque had snow also, but they arrived safe, sound, and sane. OK, leave off the sane part, but they are here! Yaaay!

Mt parents are my best friends. I am so glad they are here.

They are meeting Carl for the first time and so far everything is GREAT! Not that I'm surprised, he is such a sweetie.

I am out of work sick today. I bet they think I'm skipping work because Mom and Dad are here. Oh well. I'm generally dedicated enough, I think! LOL...

Tombstone and Bisbee with the 'rents...

Well, feeling a little better today we all decided to venture out. We chose Kartchner Caverns as our goal, with Tombstone/Bisbee as our backup plan since they often sell out of cave tours at Kartchner Caverns. Well, they were sold out at Kartchner Caverns, so on we continued on to Tombstone and Bisbee.

We ate a late, unspectacular lunch. Late because we walked all around Tombstone looking for a place to eat that would not require an hour on a waiting list. We ended up eating at a place that had no waiting list but they took an hour to serve us. LOL. Oh well. Unspectacular because it was burgers. Tombstone is the most cheesy tourist trap I have ever seen.

Bisbee, on the other hand, is beautiful. The architecture is interesting, there is art everywhere, and much evidence of progressive thinking... it felt more like Santa Fe than anyplace I have been in Tucson. I took a photo of Mom and Dad in front of a peace wall.

Preservation Hall Jazz Band

Mom, Dad and I went to see the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, presented through UA Presents. Mom told me Grandpa was really excited when they told him that Carl and I had bought them tickets to go with me. He said, "oh my goodness, that would make the whole trip worth it!" Well, they were great. We were not disappointed. I was still really sick, however, so we did not stay the whole show, but we won't tell Grandpa (wink).