kidsmoke

I wish you a day as lovely as yourself, with fabulous virtual victuals. Here, I'll help: and, fresh apricot ice cream! and: Of course, after the champagne the horizon may get a little tilted, as seen above. But hey! It's your birthday, so just enjoy!!!

That's some mind-boggling footage! Thanks, Mart!

The cover art is now up at WilcoBase. (Thanks Rob!!! ) Here's the link: Cover Art for Columbia, MO, 9-19-07 The traycard's on the 2nd page, for those of you who use one.

Exactly....everyone draws one name to be a secret santa.

Fun last year! I'll play.

:lol :lol I think I like your dad! Hahaha!

Happy birthday, Morgan sweetest! I made you this lovely Orange Chiffon Cake with oranges from my own tree, and sampled it to be sure it was delicious enough for the likes of you. (It is.) So, enjoy! I hope we'll get to see each other sometime soon!

Boots, that is one fine looking pumpkin there , and burns3, as a product of Catholic schools, I've gotta tell you, your niece scares me! (But is so damned cute!!!)

Yeah, and somewhat to my surprise, people mostly got it! There was rather supportive, enthusiastic response. I loved that & was reassured that people are more tuned in than it sometimes seems. I had to laugh (and cringe) when she boldly announced to one couple handing out candy on their porch, "The garlic keeps away colds....and vampires.....and republicans!!!" Yikes, I'd made that comment in front of her half in jest, never dreaming that my little darling would repeat it!!! Luckily for me, the obviously democratic couple went off into gales of laughter, and (having already given her a

Always cool to hear the Wilco when you least expect it.

I know you mean that in a really good way. So thank you! It's something I've worked at over the years.

I'm absolutely loving these pictures, and these gorgeous children you all have!

I was feeling politically disgusted this year, which led to my suggestion to Alissa for a Halloween costume....the scariest thing I could think of (other than Dick Cheney)....a child with no healthcare insurance! Below you see my poor child, who has maybe a broken leg (but we couldn't afford the x-rays) and possibly a broken arm too (again, we thought we'd better just wrap it to be on the safe side, but without x-rays, who really knows...). She fell off her bike. Acted a bit addled, too, and couldn't say who the current president was (repression?) or what month it was, so we think she might

Good one, Christy! I'm in Riverside, which means that while we've had fires all around us, fortunately none have been closer than maybe 20 miles away.....which of course isn't all that far away if the winds shift! But we've been very lucky. Still, it smells like the whole world is having a barbeque, and I keep hearing heartbreaking stories from friends of friends who had homes in the local mountain communities. One of Brennan's teachers lost her home up there. But this hit closet to home, as I told Mart the day before yesterday: "My sister got a helluva scare this morning, driving from

That isn't how it works. The guy was warned to stop the attacks & told he'd be suspended if he started up again. He started up again. End of story.

I'm really surprised that it took this long, aren't y'all? (kidsmoke dusts off hands and strolls into the sunset whistling...)

Ok, darkstar, this ends here. Maybe you missed the memo, but we don't allow personal attacks here at Via Chicago. If you have a problem, go ahead and send me a pm & we'll discuss it. But no further posts of this type.

Led Zeppelin, I believe.

Nice to see you.

Please, let's all refrain from tossing obscenities around in this thread or others. If you have a problem with another member, feel free to report them & we'll step in if necessary. Fighting on the boards makes for unpleasant reading for all of our members & doesn't get anyone anywhere. "A gentleman is someone who can disagree without being disagreeable." I like that. Please, try it. With thanks, your humble kidsmoke

Thanks for sharing that. Good stuff. Nels is such an interesting guy, and so direct. I enjoy listening to his take on things.

I hope I'm not too late to join in the wild rumpus in celebration of the world's coolest Froggie! Here you go Mende, a cake befitting your lovely and legendary self! May the year ahead be the best one (yet) of your life! We love ya, man.

When my brother died, I was so lost that I couldn't think what to do with myself. I wound up going and just wandering some paths down by the river for hours, needing to be out of the direct flow of the ongoing world. It helped me tremendously to accept that he was gone. It felt transcendent, and music has very much the same qualities to it as solitude in nature. I think the loving hands of the universe steered you well, Jen. You needed to feel a part of something larger than your own pain that night. What a beautiful story of your family sharing his treasured things.....especially his sherif

Be a duck. I'm jealous you schmucks.