Various stuff:

The show opened to a sold out audience, and it is absolutely awesome. We already have other theaters knocking on our doors wanting to rent the costumes. Whew! Would be nice to get a few pennies for all of that work. Here's a very cool shot of the Beast and the Rose from the photoblog of Paul Wood, an insanely talented photographer who graces our theater with his incredible skills.

The dryer died. Actually it didn't quite die, but it started making a sound like metal grinding on metal and I figured that it would be cheaper to buy a new dryer than to pay the deductible after the house burned down. So Jack and I went down to Our Favorite Appliance Store (otherwise known as the one where I have a line of credit) and after perusing what was available we grudgingly decided to forego buying the cheapest shit they had, and instead coughed up an uncomfortable amount for Maytag Neptune washer and dryer set. Worth every penny. It sounds like an airplane when it's on its final spin. Dries the clothes in half the time of the old one.

A new grocery store opened up nearby--a Whole Foods competitor that will do very well in this yuppy-ville. We are in love with it because we are now buying our evening meal there every night. No wasted food! No leftovers! No messy kitchen! We figure we'll save a couple of hundred dollars a month doing it this way.

I'm gearing up and getting ready to leave for Nasfic in a week. Weather.com says that the temps in Seattle are getting all the way up into the 70s. Oh dear. It will be such a hardship to leave the sweltering sauna that is South Louisiana in deep summer.

Oh yes, by the way, dear brother, if you are reading this, I will be in your neck of the woods in a week. Email me your phone number. No, I'm not bringing the kid. Yes, Jack gets to play single daddy for a week.

[evil laugh]

Slammed out about 2000 words on a new story the other day. I'm hoping to get this one done in time to submit for the next quarter of the Writers of the Future contest.

Nothing too exciting at work lately. No more helicopter rides. Now it's just the grunt work of catalogueing and labeling the 700+ pictures I took.

Anna is now tall enough to reach and grab things off of the kitchen counters if they are close to the edge. I think we are going to eventually have to completely baby-gate off the kitchen for those rare times when we actually cook. Anna also had her very first sleepover away from mommy and daddy last Saturday. My stepson and his wife took her for the night while Jack and I went to go see the play. She survived the experience nicely. So did we.