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(Check it out, Zenmomma's actual answering machine.
Did she mention how old she'll be in January? Oy!)

Friday Fill-Ins

1. The last band I saw live was Paolo Nutini, a singer/songwriter from Scotland (yes, Scotland). I went with Diana and Carolyn for a Girl's Night Out. We had entirely too much fun. It was a seriously good time.

The band is kick-ass-good and Paolo has a full rich voice and wide range of musical styles. He's none too hard on the eyes either.

See? Damn the boy is cute!

My friend MJ, who first gave me Paolo's CD, Sunnyside Up (for obvious reasons) corrects me that he's not cute, he's HOT. Agreed...in theory. But let's face it, I'm old enough to be his mother, so cute it will have to stay. sigh

2. What I look forward to most on Thanksgiving is good food, good friends and time to enjoy them both. And pie. I really look forward to pie.

3. My Christmas/holiday shopping is not something I'm ready to think about yet thankyouverymuch.

4. Thoughts of the Sunnyside Up makeover fill my head. More on that, with pictures, to follow soon.

5. I wish I could wear my heart a little further up my sleeve.

6. Bagpipes make me sad. I'm always reminded of a funeral.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to resting up for the big work weekend ahead, tomorrow my plans include working Dad's Weekend at the cafe and Sunday, I want to get through the day!

Want to play along? Get your own Friday Fill-Ins here.

Boo!

From savagechickens.com

One more from Japan

"Deer are fucking cute...right up until they eat your rail pass." ~Conor*

*Today's Facebook update.

Emails from the World of Tomorrow

In case you didn't know, Conor is in the middle of a three week tour of Japan with Eli Gerzon's Worldschool Travel Tours. Amazingly, he's actually been in touch to let me know his general whereabouts. Not surprisingly his messages are short and to the point. So very "Conor" in their succinct and no nonsense format. He probably would have loved the old telegrams of yesteryear.

But emails are free, so I actually got a couple of extra words. And lucky for me there are some bloggers in the group so I can get a few details and lift some pictures.

So here they are, my Hello from The World of Tomorrow emails. (That was actually the subject line of the first email.)

I'm doing fine, Japan is amazing. I would have called but I can't get a signal and it would have been about midnight for you anyways. I'll try for daily emails but we both know that won't happen. (zenmomma's note: LOVE the honesty!)

Doing fine. We've just arrived in Kyoto, I really hate this keyboard and yeah I think that's about it. (zenmomma's note: I'm not sure where this picture was taken, but apparently he's rubbing the Buddha's head for luck.)

Really tired. Lots of trains and moving. But yes I am having fun. (zenmomma's note: Don't let the lack of smiles fool you, he almost never smiles in pictures. But, yup, they sure do look tired.)

We'll be spending the rest of the trip here in Kyoto, We're staying in a traditional Japanese house home like thing complete with one bathroom and two beds and yeah doing fine. A bit home sick but good. (zenmomma's note: There's a smile! They must have threatened bribed him.)

So that's what I've got, four emails from the other side of the world, filled with wonderful stories and interesting details short and sweet and true to the nature of my son. Pretty amazing actually. Almost as amazing as the fact that MY KID IS IN JAPAN PEOPLE!

You can see more photos and read other people's blog posts about the trip here and here.

Jesus and the Dinosaurs

Because Jesus was awesome like that!

Isn't this just too perfect for words? Check out the coloring hints. This isn't a real coloring page. It's the brainchild of artist Derek Chatwood. But from what I've seen about the Creation Museum, this could definitely be in the gift shop because "Biblical history is the key to understanding dinosaurs."