For some reason, I've been getting about 4 or 5 hits a day from someone (or many someones) searching on Jacqui Malouf. (Perhaps she is vain and narcissistic and is doing the searches herself, though I doubt it.) I also get about 10 hits a day looking for information on lobotomies--history, what the procedure is, pictures. Scary.

I spent 5 hours in the dark room today and I got a substantial amount done. I got several good prints of photos I need for my final project: one still life (final quality, that is. I have another copy that I can play with if I want to tint it), one body-part abstract, one use of light to highlight a body part, one "in the style of" picture (where you recreate a photo taken by the photographer of your choice), and 2 action shots (both of Joey playing soccer). I have a night action shot, too, so I'll probably only use one of the soccer pix. My notebook is nearly full--time to get a new one going or buy a bigger book (though I'd rather have 2 than one honking big one, I think).

Tonight was Joey's first piano recital and she played her little song flawlessly. She didn't get scared and she didn't play too fast. It was really wonderful. She is totally in her element when she is performing music--she loves to perform. She's not a goofy, microphone-hog ham like Baylee. She wouldn't do something silly to get attention (usually). Instead, she wants to just give a high-quality, serious performance. It's very important business. Not something to be taken lightly.

Afterward, we picked up her friend Nicole and went to a local game-and-play-structure place. The girls loved playing games and redeeming their tickets and then crawling all over the jungle gym play structure. It is just wonderful--the best play structure ever. Ed and I clambered all over the structure ourselves along with the girls. It was great fun and great exercise, too. (I may be sore tomorrow!) We finished the night off by going to a family restaurant for Dirt Sundaes. I foresee many family outings with Nicole--she's very nice, very sociable, very well-behaved and her family is the type who love to let their daughter go do things with other families. I expect that after the twins are born in a month, they will be even more amenable to it because they won't be going out much as a family themselves for awhile.

All in all, it was a wonderful day--productive, creative, playful, musical. It was great.

Oh, and I met Art Aleksakis's (I don't know the spelling of his name) wife today in the dark room. He's the lead singer of Everclear and he lives here in Portland. I was helping her with getting a photo balanced and doing some dodging and burning and I noticed that he was in one of the pictures of her daughter. I recognized him right away (ever seen the AM Radio video? His hair is much shorter now, but it's still that flaxen blond color) and coyly asked her "what is he doing in that picture with your daughter?" She said "He's my husband." And then we both kind of chuckled. No one else seemed to recognize him but the group in the dark room seemed to be of two camps--either they listen to Whitney and Mariah or they listen to Papa Roach and Godsmack. Perhaps Jenny and I are the only ones who knew who he was. I thought it was pretty kewl, though. I like Everclear. I shoulda kiped one of her throw-away pictures today. Drat! Now I think of it. :-)

--Lisa