Thanksgiving Cookies

I gave a homeless guy a few bucks the other day for the first time in many years. Not because he looked particularly destitute or hungry. He just said that he wanted a cookie. For some reason that hit me. Everybody should be entitled a cookie once in a while. Especially around Thanksgiving. Maybe he went and spent the money on a 40 oz of Old English, but that's okay too. Everybody should be entitled to a bottle of malt liquor once in a while. Especially around Thanksgiving. In fact, our own Thanksgiving desert last night, Christine's tiramisu, had a whole bottle of malt liquor in it, so we could hardly complain.

We enjoyed an excellent Thanksgiving dinner last night. We also discovered that the best way to get Ava to eat her dinner is to smother it with cranberry sauce. We're going to buy a case of it at the store today.

Break Dancing

breakdance,
originally uploaded by meikhael.

Since moving to our new house we discovered that the linoleum in the kitchen is PERFECT for break dancing. Here, Ava busts out with an omega bomb.

Ava's Euro Bed

Ava's New Bed,
originally uploaded by meikhael.

We have no money for a European vacation this year, so we settled for the next best thing: A Saturday morning at Ikea.

Shopping at the Swedish super store is a rewarding cultural experience. There are no cigarettes or topless beaches, but just like in Europe, everything at Ikea is done just a little bit differently. For example, the shopping carts at Ikea have nylon BAGS instead of metal baskets. Weird! There are acres of existentialist furniture with names like Tovik and Mysa Moln. There are plates of cheap meatballs drenched in logan berries. The breakfast special is only $1.99 (what an exchange rate)! And most of the employees speak little English.

We went to Ikea because Ava needs a new bed. With a new young'n on the way, we decided to clear out the crib ahead of time so Ava doesn't get jealous. After much debate we settled on an Ateles expandable toddler bed with a Sultan Sova. We also got a Gosa Lagom and threw in a Mysa Moln for good measure.

Ava seems to like the bed but we're not sure if she's ready to sleep in it yet.

Did We Say Pregnant?

pregnant,
originally uploaded by meikhael.

That's right. Monkey number two is scheduled to arrive on February 14, 2005. This one will be a boy, which means we'll have the entire collection. This picture is when Lisa was 5 months-now little over 6.

We've Moved!

Our Old House,
originally uploaded by meikhael.

It's been an exciting and eventful year here at the Turner Family Compound! In August we moved from our old house in Mill Valley to a spacious new home in sunny San Anselmo, California. According to our new landlord, Mel, the town is named after Saint Anselm, the patron saint of pregnant women and small claims court defendants. It's an amazing coincidence because Lisa is pregnant and Mel says he's sued most of his previous tenants. We knew this place seemed right!!

As you can see, the old house was small, but it had a lot of character. The floors in the rooms sloped up and down like a carnival house, and you could sit on the toilet and grab a beer from the fridge at the same time! There was an extended family of rats in the attic, and a 280 lb. ex-car salesman named Truett lived in the basement apartment. Truett was about 6'4" and the ceiling of his apartment was about 5'9". He spent his days hunched over, listening to George Thorogood and the Destroyers, smoking dope and poisoning rats.

Our new house is on a quiet cul de sac. There's a neighborhood poodle that frequently shits on our lawn, but otherwise it's paradise.