Moscow Cat Theater

I've arrived home from a visit to my friend's home in Lansing, Mich., and last night Bob and I saw the Moscow Cat Theater. We watched a professional clown pantomime vignettes and every now and then, he would bring out a cat who would do a paw stand on his palm. Other cats ran atop a rolling disco ball, stood very still while the main clown dressed them in cute costumes and held on while being swung in huge circles from a rope hung from the ceiling.

The only thing that bordered on animal cruelty was the swinging from the ceiling. For the most part, it was more animal humiliation than cruelty. But it was fun nonetheless. Whee!

Left at Climax, onto 69

To get to Lansing, Mich., from Chicago you travel across Indiana and when you get to Climax, Mich., you get onto I-69 going north. The way I drive, I get there in about four hours. I visited my friend John H. over the past couple of days and we spent time catching up and giggling at his YouTube downloads of bad (and good) American Idol auditions. With a news season coming up (and the second half of Top Chef), 2007 looks very promising.

Holly Days

Over the past couple of weeks we've been visiting with friends we haven't seen in a while--it's part of a holiday tradition. Bob and I were successful in seeing our friends the Rupps, the Zapatas, the Shingles and the Turners. It's great to see all the kiddies growing up so quickly and knowing we're a treasured part of their lives. Here we have pictures with Tom and Angela Rupp and their kids Leslie and Andrew. And then I visited with the Turners, Jean Ann, Al and their kids Matthew (who's a Junior in college already) and Elizabeth. I met the Turners downtown on the last day of Santa's Village in Daley Plaza.

Christmas the next day was fun. Bob and I didn't take pictures but we loved each other's gifts. My highlight is a new Razor phone and Bob's was an automatic shoe buffer (we know how he likes everything cleaned and polished) and a massage-manicure at Nordstrom's spa. Jolly, jolly to all!

Those Wacky Asians

Our Asians and Friends group had its Holiday Dinner party last night. Here are a few pics. The meatballs were so big!

My Co-worker's Cupcake Tower

Here's a few photos of a surprise birthday gathering for my co-worker Jen. Her sister Amy came in with her (Amy's) daughters Madeline and Sydney. We surprised Jen with a cupcake tower and a Japanese tea set. Fun, fun, fun!

TV Reporter in a Car Wash

Winter Wonderland

The Midwest made a lot of news for being "slammed" by a winter storm yesterday. As a matter of fact, a lot of folks at work stayed home. I would have if I did not know myself better. I really don't get a lot done from home, and since I "won" a book case from work that I had to move back to my house, I decided to go in. But in that atmosphere of coming in on a snow day, I sauntered outside with the camera and took some photos of the snowy landscape right outside my work place. Seasons greetings to one and all this holiday season!