The Burnsides

We connected with a great couple, Biljac and Joanna Burnside, who were on the same flight from Denver to Kauai and needed a ride from the airport. We stopped by Sears to pick up their tent and get stuff that we still needed like chairs and beach towels. We had borrowed a tent and had three suitcases so by the time we got everything in the SUV we still had to tie some luggage on top (thanks to Biljac).

Biljac had cooked for a football team at Old Miss years ago and volunteered those cooking skills for breakfast and dinner times. He knew what he was doing in the kitchen and we were grateful for it. Joanna was usually at his side cleaning and organizing. They made a great team. Biljac owns two businesses - he teaches Karate and tunes pianos. Joanna teaches piano at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. They live in Hattiesburg, Mississippi with their cat, Nudge. I'm so glad I didn't do anything to tick Joanna off during the week - I'm sure Biljac has earned numerous awards for his Karate skills but he also informed me that Joanna has been the state champion seven times for their particular style of Karate. Those southern women are velvet covered steel!

The cup in my hand was my cup for the week because the Rundgrens strive to be environmentally friendly. They also used biodegradable cups and utensils made out of corn. I kept watching my martini served to me by Todd himself that he had been poured into a "corn" cup and just waiting for the vodka to melt right through it!

Part 2 of the Accordion Story

Apparently, Todd heard about the accordion riding in first class because just before he autographed it he asked Chuck, "How's your marriage?" Chuck's reply, "We're probably looking into many years of intense therapy."

I would show you the photo of Todd autographing the accordion but we signed an agreement that we would not post pictures or send them through the internet until Todd releases us to do so. I'm sure there is a dvd of the events around his 60th birthday that will be available for purchase and given the amount of money that was spent on that week (i.e. vodka for martinis and kegs of beer for Michele's bar), he deserves to earn every dime of it!

The Journey to Toddstock: Saturday 6.14.08

The journey began to Todd and Michele Rundgren's home on Kauai on June 14th. Chuck had to take his digital accordion, of course, so he had called ahead to make sure that it would fit in the overhead storage - no gate check for this baby. They reassured him that the accordion would fit. On the first leg of the journey we flew from Cincinnati to Denver and the plane was small. There was no way the accordion would fit in the overhead storage. The stewardess was very accomodating and reassured Chuck that she would find a seat for it. Probably due to the weight of the instrument she put it in the nearest seat possible which was FIRST CLASS. Yes, look at the picture again and you will be able to see for yourself that the accordion is sitting in first class. And where did the wife sit? In economy, of course! I had to pretend that I was upset because I did think it was hilarious. I did ask the waitress for the accordion's drinks and lunch. Apparently, it likes foreign beers. Fortunately, she enjoyed playing along with the joke.

Yes, it's hilarious but, at the same time, there is something so wrong with this picture - especially for such a long flight!

Rudy, the Metrosexual Dog

I suspect he's metrosexual. Caught him working out in exercise clothes. He like this particular one piece because of the amount of chest hair that's revealed. He's so vain. He bites his nails if they get too long before I can trim them. The crunching sound is weird until you realize it's him chewing on his nails. He grooms the other dog's ears and eyes once a day. They have a regular routine - I think she makes an appointment.

I can ask to see his eyes and he looks at me to wipe them. I can also ask to see his teeth and he lets me raise his lips to look even though it messes up his lip gloss. He especially appreciates when I ask to look into his ears because that's what he likes to groom on the other dog. He's so high maintenance.

I caught him walking out of the room for an appointment - something about getting his eyebrows waxed.

The Bluebird of Happiness

My lovely friend, Cyndi Nabors, was patient enough with me to actually take me to the fabric store and let me pick out this beautiful batik fabric. She then went on to amaze me with her sewing skills and made this purse and wallet by the next day. Very talented lady. I love all the pockets on the outside and all SEVEN pockets on the inside - no more digging for stuff at the bottom of the purse where most stuff lands. I love the wallet because it is light weight and can easily be picked up to run into a store instead of dragging the whole purse. She even named the design after me - the Deb bag. Now when the purse gets really old I can call it Deb, the old bag.

You can visit Cyndi's blog about her handiwork at Bluebirdswing. Her purses are well designed, durable and washable. She and I are having an open house at my house on July 12th from 11 am to 4 pm. Stop by for browsing and refreshments.

Me Camping? Stop Laughing!

Yep, I'm going camping and you would too if you were going with Chuck Wiggins to hang out with his alltime favorite musician. You can read more about it at Chuck's blog, Entering the Noosphere. I encourage you to play the video at the end of the post - Chuck probably looked much like this kid when he was a youngster.

Day 21 Resurrection Stories - Mother's Day

In these last few minutes left of Mother's Day all I can think is "God, I hate this day." I miss my mother even though she's been gone 12 years. I will never get used to it - I've just tried to adjust to it like a person who has lost a limb. I think the resurrection part of this story has yet to play out. My beliefs tell me that I am separated from her temporarily and I will have eternity to yell at her for not letting us know sooner that she had breast cancer while hugging her for handling it with so much courage.

I also hate this day because I was not able to have children. I was fearful of adoption because of the unknowns. I have great respect and admiration for the people who were not as fearful as I. There have been signs of life as I have grieved the loss of the unborn over the years. I was a teacher for 23+ years and had the priviledge of mothering many children. It took me awhile to understand that there would be children in my life.... just not the way I thought. Even now at 53 I have a friend who has asked me to babysit her three boys once or twice a week this summer. What a wonderful arrangement - I get to hang out with them and then send them back! It's a gift to be trusted with someone else's children. It gives me hope that I might have been a decent mom if I had been able to have my own.