The Motels

@the State Theater in Falls Church, VA

Another of my music heros

Martha Davis rockin the late oughts!

The Motels were a favorite of mine in the mid-eighties. Their new album This is actually as good if not better than anything they did back in the day. So right on to Martha for coming back with great songs. Her career in music started in 1971, so she's been at it for a long time.

There's this weird bog near my house

The cement "coffin" must be some kind of utility or something. But I imagine it to be the tomb of some resident from the past: someone who wanted to be immortalised. I have dubbed this bog Quercus Weld after a story my friend Doug wrote when we were teenagers. I don't know for sure if those are Oak trees in the picture, but it's likely as our subdivision is called Oak Springs. Also a weld is a meadow, so again it doesn't quite....but i digress. Doug, ever fond of puns, would probably suggest i call the bog Pete.

Thea's Doodle-Pro Art

I think my lil girl is gonna be an artist. Check out this family portrait in which she begins by using the Doodle-Pro shape magnets to make the heads of all of us, humans with a circular magnet and dogs with a triangular magnet. Brilliant! And her representation of us all happy and smiling makes my heart so glad.

I'm so proud of you, Thea!

Stumpjumper Gas Cruncher

In the gas crunch of the late oughts this has been getting a lot of workout (finally). My brother Chris built this bike for me and gave it to me for a Christmas present back in the early 90s. Over the many years since I have ridden it far less than I would have liked. I just never made a lifestyle for myself that gave priority to riding (or very much exersize of any kind really).

Now I ride my bike almost every day. It's my main source of transportation to and from school at the University of Maryland, and will be for the next 3 years or so....in good weather. I'm not as "burly" as my older bro, who lived in Flagstaff, AZ for many years, and for whom biking was his main transportation. Snow, blizzards, rain, or just plain cold, windy days didn't stop him from his appointed rounds.

Thanks again for the wonderful gift Chris.

Love,
todd

First Bikes

It was a nice day at the park, with ice cream afterwards from "Old MacDonald's" as my boy calls it.