Sunday Morning in the Dog Park with Shadow

We'd talked for a while with James about getting our dogs together at the dog park at Santa Fe Animal Shelter for a while. The weather forecast sounded good — but, in practice, it may have been temperate, but it was windy out there. We were huddling behind the junipers to eat our bagels; the dogs didn't seem to mind.

We started off in one of the private fields. Shadow loves to run and play and is very obedient; most of our activity centered around trying to get Cheyenne — who still kind of stands around at the dog park, wondering what to do — to chase after Shadow. We spread out and called to Shadow, which would get Cheyenne to run after her.



They tussled and played a bit, I was worried that Cheyenne was getting a bit too pushy, but Shadow can handle herself. I choose to believe that they kinda like each other.

Cheyenne tired fairly quickly, so we headed over to the big park and just walked around there. Some other dogs appeared, Cheyenne got a second wind, there was more playing and some nervous-making runs at other smaller dogs. Met and talked with some other interesting folks — including a fellow there with his dog, who was awfully skittish around us all because she was just one month … umm … liberated … from an abusive owner. Out for about two and-a-half hours before calling it a day.

As I was writing this post up, received some of the 100+ photos James shot; he was using a nice SLR and was more attentive to getting the good shots. He notes "Shadow looks terrified, she is going to be mistaken for a rabbit," but I stand by that earlier statement that they're buddies. Click for larger.

   
   

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It was a weekend of chores; back home to do household stuff and work on the garden. Yesterday was more preparations for spring, but we took Cheyenne to the park across the river. It was gray and cold and windy … so there was nobody in the tennis courts. We did a little warmup for today's activities.





Dinner that evening, we needed a break, so headed out to La Dolce Vita for dinner, (the old Ferragamo's under somewhat new ownership). And David was there as "gelato-ologist, passing along granita samples for the evening, and helping out with the tables of kids there before prom.

Denver and the ComicFest

A long weekend — but still a short trip — to Denver this past weekend. A group of comic fans/writers/reporters/podcasters presented the inaugural ComicFest, giving the Rockies its first comic convention. 7000 BC was invited to be guests at the show, and Jeff was able to make it along with us.

He was getting a later flight, so Monica and I made it into DIA Friday around noon, allowing us a little time to head downtown to the Denver Art Museum before the show got underway that evening.

We'd seen the forecast and were expecting snow for our arrival; when we got there, it was gray and windy and overcast, and the monitors at the car rental were looking grim.



But, for us, a bit of rain (which is kind of a welcome change; I think I've noted [and perpetually think I'm going to do an essay about how] I kind of enjoy the odd dreary day now). Made our way downtown to the museum.



To The Psychedelic Experience exhibit. I'd planned to spend the afternoon at the museum since we booked the flights, but when I learned that it was hosting the only appearance of the largest-ever collection of concert posters from San Francisco in the '60s, I was determined to get there.

And the show didn't disappoint. I figured that it'd get old pretty quick, how many of these groovy posters can you take? The intro set the scene and introduced the personalities involved, then the focus of the exhibit shifted to the individual artists (or teams). And, again, just when you think it would start to get old, it moved on to another. It was a great time and the crowd-watching was even better than at the usual museum.

The educational portion, with its setup like an apartment in Haight-Ashbury, after gave us the opportunity to watch the colored water show projected on the wall, take in some tunes, flip through old magazines, and look all peace and love-y.



We had a little while after we finished that show, but a look out the window showed how much the conditions were changing outside, turning to snow and sticking. A few minutes for quick tour of some of the permanent collection and a quick look at the Sandy Skoglund installation.

Off on the road to the hotel; reasonably well through the with slushy roads filled with commuters leaving work early. It was never bad, and, these days, we're interested in checking out the downtowns of "real" ciites.



Slow, a bit tense, and when we got to the convention hotel, once we determined they had all the necessary amenities, figured we just might not even step outside for the rest of the weekend. Which, other than grabbing some air late Saturday, we didn't do.

Jeff arrived without too much delay, we took it easy and got a late-ish start to setting our table up. We really lucked out with our location, even though it was right next to a door in the guest/artist alley hallway. Evening was slow, but everyone was impressed with how many made it through the weather to the fairly remote location. Stayed up way too late visiting with a bunch of other comics creators (including Stan, who we've met at cons for years but never got to hang out with).

And Saturday, got to business.



The weather continued to be rough, but there was a steady stream of people stopping by, all with different sorts of interests. We were workin' but there was time for Monica to duck away for a mehndi painting. Big, big bonus points for identifying the source.



Though it didn't feel like it was adding up, but the afternoon's total of sales showed that we were having a successful time. By 6:00, we were ready to wrap up at the unenforced end time and went out on a high note.

Now, ever since I saw the South Park episode featuring Casa Bonita years ago — and then Googling to discover that it wasn't something they just made up for the show, I've wanted to go. Saturday night was supposed to be our trip there … but it was still nasty out, we were tired … we rested up in our room for a few minutes then headed downstairs to see who else would be hanging out … inertia set in, and we wound up just staying in the hotel visiting with other comics folks through the night.



Sunday, despite our best efforts, we got a slow start to setting up the table. But there was business, a fair amount of people who had just come to the show that day, and we connected with I Want More Comics, which was interested in carrying our books.

A mad flurry of activity getting out around noon to catch our flight, during which, while trading comics with Stan, I asked him about that oh-so-familiar nose on the Making A Mini Comic: The Mini-Comic cover; as he ran off to a panel, he confirmed that Dot is a Greyhound. Good thing we learned at the last minute, otherwise that would've been dominating the conversation for the weekend. Jeff stayed behind for a few more hours with Chuck and Jake to wrap our appearance up.

Home, where there was apparently around 6" of snow over the weekend — though it was sunny and all melted by the time we arrived. Cheyenne enjoyed another weekend with her Greyhound buddies, apparently having gotten into a running fit on Friday night and hanging out at the monthly GCNM meetup.

More photos from the Con are at the 7000 BC Flickr stream and some more professional-type pictures (though lacking in, y'know, us, but look for those cool couple fisheye ones) are at Anginet's site; go to proofs and then "Comicfest 2009."

Easter Morning

 

Yep. The weather predictions were right. Gray and windy and rainy and haily yesterday (a good day for baking bread, which Monica did). About an inch of snow overnight and still coming down when we headed out this morning. By around 10:00, the sun was out, though it was still flurrying; by 11:00 the precipitation had stopped and the snow had pretty much melted. Back to dreary now, a good day to stay in. Which, fortunately, is what we had planned.

The snow on the (relatively) warm ground and plants was making for, I thought, some particularly interesting textures. In case I was wrong about them being interesting, I won't clutter the page; see them here, here, here, here, and here.

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Last weekend was much nicer, a glimpse of the spring that we thought was just around the corner. It was a whirlwind morning, dashing off to try (unsuccessfully) to pick up a piece of art that Monica had an advance look at from the Folk Art Flea Market, racing off to make our appearance on Mouth of Wonder, and then catching the train down to Albuquerque for the monthly 7000 BC meeting.

The meeting was fun, one of our better-attended ones in a while. Train ride was fun again as well; since our last trip, they've added another train, late morning; that meant we could spend a couple hours there and still make it back that evening in time for the dog's dinner.



On the ride down, we ran into (in addition to another 7000 BC-er), one of Monica's co-workers; the way back, a reporter for the Reporter that we know. Small world train.

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So, Monica discovered that when you blow on a bottle, the dog takes it as some sort of command to just run. We've been trying to make the most of that, but she won't do more than a circuit around the yard.

However, when I was housecleaning yesterday and she was getting fidgety, it proved a welcome distraction (for both of us).

Miscellany

Due to appear on Mouth of Wonder on KSFR, Saturday 10:30 MST. It's pledge season, so we're going to be doing our part to get some more contributions to the radio station. If you were to, say, pledge now, there's a chance they could meet their goal and we'd get to do a regular show (for which we'd be spectacularly unprepared).

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This week's Santa Fe Reporter has an article where the staff has arranged for special deals at local merchants. One of the few that's applicable to me is the offer at Ecco Espresso & Gelato, a free coffee if you recite a haiku that contains the words "ninja" and "nimble." I'm going in tomorrow with:

Ninja at self-serve
accidentally decaf
now, not so nimble.

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As previously noted, NMFF has some internationally ranked fencers, Jake Harbour and Gavin Medley. They're off to Belfast for the 2009 Junior & Cadet World Championships with their coach Jamey Odom as one of the team's coaches. It's a really big deal, a great showing for New Mexico — so Governor Richardson wanted to wish them well.



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M's been working on a Irish fisherman's sweater for Cheyenne for a couple months now. She shipped it a couple weeks ago, and just when we were beginning to worry if it was going to show, it arrived — with its matching snood. And just in time for a cold, gray evening's walk.



The snood was determined, along the way, to not work so well over the ears; it's better as a turtleneck, though not nearly as funny.