Arizona

Sun 24th	Met up with Graham and Beholder and between us worked out how to progress in Diablo-2 (mostly by getting help from a more advanced character of Graham's!). Started masking the edges of the next wall to get painted. Next weekend we shall see if our Southwest pink goes with white and turquoise. Gulp. Finished working out what to claim back from the healthcare spending account. Emma's new lenses, some dental work, prescriptions and the chiropractor. The latter seems to be working. Very slowly my lower back has been less noticeable as a source of worry, stiffness and aches. The drumming has been helping. Went three times this week and met a group of young women from Tucson who drum (Hi Rome, Karen and Susan!). Esther is trying to teach us a weird song.
Sat 23rd	Enjoyed a nice stroll in the DBG (Desert Botanical Garden). We went to see what they were exhibiting about Maize. Nothing exiting alas. Emma then introduced me to "Whole Foods Market" at NW Baseline and McClintock. This is the shop we have been searching for. They have REAL food, beautiful fruit and veg, an excellent selection of wines at a wide variety of prices, though they really should not charge that much for a 1993 Barbaresco, even if is by Bruno Giacosa. No I'm not a wine expert, but the village of Barbaresco is about 45 minutes drive from Emma's parents' house and I just happen to know that 1993 was a really bad year for wine in most of Piemonte. Bruno Giacosa was the rebel son of a famous winemaker. When he and his brothers inherited the winery he sold his share and set up by himself and has surpassed his brothers even though they still make highly acclaimed wines. This place has real cheese, local and imported. They even have beer-infused cheese from the small Belgian town of Chimay where the monks make cheese as well as their world-famous beer. To be indulged in lightly but as necessary when the call becomes too strong (the store not the beer, although...).
Sun 17th	Quiet day at home. Set up http://myriads.campobianco.com for Jeni Decker's Amber PBEM game. Still struggling with Diablo-2 Hell level, but no John or Graham today. Emma went to help out at the Mexican fair at the Heard Museum. Started preparing the Healthcare account claims. Sigh.
Sat 16th	Drumming at Dawn! Well Taiko at 7.30 actually to encourage runners in a 5k fund raiser for cancer. Played for almost two hours more or less solid rotating with Esther, Beth and Karen. My right arm is sore. And even if I still cannot get "Matsuri" right it was still gratifying to get some bits applauded and to be told that we could be heard miles away. Over lunchtime we went to the DBG to see their Chili and Chocolate extravaganza. Apart from some great salsa we found an absolute treasure. Kathy's Gourmet Chocolates use real Belgian couverture to make chili chocolate truffles; Ancho, Cipotle and Jalapeno in increasing order of spiciness. They are sumptuous. The way the hint of dry pepper flavour interacts with the bitter semi-sweet chocolate is majestic... [long stupid rant about chocolate and chili]. The Ancho is barely perceptible. The chipotle just has a delicate warmth at the end. The Jalapeno has quite a kick but without destroying the enjoyment of the chocolate.
Fri 15th	Tim and Trish left. This is sad as they have been some of the most convivial guests. They seem to have the same pace of tourism as us i.e. slow!
Thu 14th	Emma took Tim and Trish up to Montezuma's Castle, a pueblo cliff dwelling, and Montezuma's well, a strange water formation, and then to Oak Creek Village and the beautiful scenery at Oak Creek near Sedona where many photos were taken.
Wed 13th	I took the day off work and we all went down to Tombstone. Actually saw the real historical museum in the courthouse as well as the delightful "carny show" of the Bird Cage Theatre. Had a fake Old West photo taken with Tim and Trish to add to the collection. Went to El Zocalo in 'historic downtown Chandler' for dinner and I escaped just in time to go drumming.
Tue 12th	Emma took Tim & Trish to the Desert Botanical Gardens and the Heard and we all went Taiko drumming in the evening. They were both amazingly quick learners, but then they do both sing in a choir and are used to counting. Tim is also a jazz musician. So...
Mon 11th	Flew back from Ambercon North West with Tim & Trish
Sun 10th	Ambercon NW: Played Leomor in Sara Mueller's "Neither Interested nor Fit". Had a great talk with Sara afterwards about the "Out Of..." game. I understand more and she has ideas from some questions I asked. Cool.
Sat 9th	Ambercon NW: GM'd "Trial and Tribulation" with Andy Ransom. The universe ended badly. GM'd "Mine Fill of Blood and Glory" by David de Jong in the evening. It worked much better than the UK run and gave one of the players vivid dreams. Alas I could not keep it short and we finished at 2.30 am.
Fri 8th	Ambercon NW: Played a Chaos Lord in a council game in the morning. Was killed by Dan by mistake and in the only possible way without a chance of defending myself. Still fun. Also played Peregrine again in Sara Mueller's "Out Of The Frying Pan". Perry continues to agonize over the fate of the universe and his parents. Sadly was so tired and sleepy I missed the big conversation with my father, the dragon Weyland.

Sun 22nd

Quiet day at home. With Graham and John Beholder we finished Diablo-II nightmare! Bohemund is now a 57th Level Paladin and Weblowe a 57th Necromancer :)

Sat 21st

Drove up to Flagstaff to the Pai Peoples market at the Museum of Northern Arizona. Pretty much of a non-event. Very small show. However we happily arrived in time to be dragged into a collections tour. I had never seen the non-display storage of a museum before. It was fascinating seeing the stuff that real researchers can access. Had lunch at Cafe Express for the first time. The sweet potato and roasted poblano chile soup was fantastic. Drove up to Wupatki national monument to see the pueblo ruins. The heat was just bearable. It was 3pm. We claim the tiredness from the brief hillside walk must have been from the altitude. Back in Flagstaff we stocked up on tasty real pork sausages of various styles from the Sun Sausage Co. We refilled our "growlers" with Railhead Red and Stout from the Beaver St Brewery and ate good sausages and a rather spicy mushroom sandwich topped off with apple-ginger stout cake. Something in that lot upset Emma's stomache so we distracted each other on the drive home by doing some diceless roleplaying storytelling. It certainly made the trip back seem much shorter than normal especially given that we arrived about 10pm. That would normally see me feeling very tired.

Sun 18th	Slow sleepy start. Dip in the pool to wake up. Framed another photo. Emma did the UK tax paperwork. She is an angel and a hero!
Sat 17th	Quiet day at home. Bought wonderful fresh fruit at Guadalupe Farmer's Market where we really ought to go more often. Hung a picture, framed a photo, changed a thermostat, persuaded the PC to talk to its scanner again. Reorganized the lights in the living room.
Fri 16th	Had a farewell lunch with Fabio and Silvia at Z'tejas on Ray Rd. A fine touch of classic Southwest to send them off. Dropped them off at the airport. Rescued the huge brightly coloured plastic water gun after they refused to let it through security. It was too big to fit in a suitcase. It also only cost $6 in an end of season sale!
Thu 15th	Alvise departed today. Took F&S out to the famous Rosa's Mexican Cantina in Mesa. We had forgotten that it was quite as good as it is. Everything really tasted special even the warm tortilla chips and salsas.
Wed 14th	F,S&A returned today from San Diego which they loved. Came with us to Taiko. Esther loved having so many people playing at once even if it was very simple stuff perforce. I completely forgot the second solo to Buchi Awase which I had learned the previous night. Shows how much my brain was frazzled.
Tue 13th	Monthly presentation at work had extra spice as a higher-up was present. Went well but I was very tired from preparing. Emma had miserable headache and sent me to Taiko lesson alone. Good session with just Beth and Brian.
Mon 12th	Worked late. Ate. Worked some more.
Sun 11th	Had brunch at the Flamingo and drove home from Las Vegas. Collapsed.
Sat 10th	Drove to Las Vegas over the Hoover Dam. Scouted for place to stay. Naturally all full or crazy prices. The Excalibur is unbelievably dreadful tat. Worse than anything else we saw. The Luxor does the Egyptian thing very well. Met up with the F, S & A in the Hilton for lunch in Quark's bar! Food was good and the names naturally hokey but good puns. The passing Ferengi and Borg were a bit disconcerting! The Star Trek shopping, museum and Experience were great for suppressed Trekkies like me and Emma. I'd never been in a flight simulator before and the shuttle ride was absolutely brilliant. The theatrics and immersive storyline were extremely well done. Suspension of disbelief was not too hard. I will happily go again next time we visit Vegas. We traipsed round a lot looking for a place to stay and got lucky at the Tuscany which was very nice and easy walking distance. Walked The Strip, enjoyed the Bellagio though the Chihuly glass really needs better lighting. The son et lumiere fountains are spectacular, but you need somewhere to sit. It was crowded and extremely hot. Emma looked stunning in her new beaded cape and a little summer dress. Exhausted we dived into Treasure Island to eat. It was pricier than we really wanted but very good food and while seated we were able to watch the ten minute battle between pirates and His Majesty's Navy in the lagoon outside. Much hamming and pyrotechnics! We retired at one AM leaving our friends in search of more excitement.
Fri 9th	Drove to Kingman and stayed over night at the Quality Inn. Great sunset. Pink!

Sun 4th	Breakfast at Macy's of course then drove up to Hopi on the direct road through Leupp. Saw a social dance in Walpi. Stopped at Tsakurshovi where Joseph was very helpful in finding the quickest route to Kayenta for FS&A. Drove back through Winslow. It may be famous for the Eagles song but it is tiny and mostly boring except that there is a wonderful old hotel being restored, La Posada and there is now "The Seattle Grind" that serves espresso in the middle of the wilderness!
Sat 3rd	Horrible traffic jam north of Phoenix. Arrived in Sedona at lunchtime via new and picturesque road. Lunch at Oaxaca was pretty good. The seared cactus pad was better than before. Drove up though Oak Creek Canyon to Flagstaff. Enjoyed the Navajo Market at the Museum of Northern Arizona. Ran into Virgil Nez and Sally Black again. Sally suggested guides for Monument Valley. Bought Virgil's 2003 calendar to have a selection of his work. The Beaver Street Brewery quoted us a 90 minute wait. So we ate at in the beer keller at the good sausage place. It was slow and simpler than we remembered and didn't have everything on the menu, but it was a relief to eat a bit less than usual.

Sun 12th	A quiet day at home. The last of the Belgian waffles expired nobly with strawberries. Met John and Graham in battlenet US West. made it through Nightmare/River of Flame, but with difficulties. Died a lot. Emma put together fresh garden rucola (Roquette/Rocket/Arugula) ham and parmesan with a little pepper and a drizzle of oil for a late lunch.
Sat 11th	Went out for a special lunch in honour of Emma's saint's day. We tried a posh little place which calls itself a bistro. Nice cool airy decor with clean lines. A kir, very nice fresh salads, a glass of vouvray and shared a delicious key lime pie. Just right. Then on for an espresso elsewhere. Went to visit the Titanic exhibit at the Science centre since it moves on in a couple of weeks time. Alas everyone else had realised this too and the queues were horrible. It was nicely done if not very profound. On entering they give each visitor a White Star Line ticket with a passenger name. Mrs Charles (Ada Maria) Clarke, 2nd Class, survived. Mr. Lockyer, 3rd class, was not so fortunate. More than half the 1st class passengers survived (130 vs 110), almost half the 2nd class survived (113 vs 166) only a quarter of the 3rd class (<200 vs 550+) and barely one in five of the 900 crew.
Fri 10th	Emma volunteered to fill in at the Heard museum information desk. It turned out that one of the guides was late and another had a huge group for the Highlights tour. So Emma gave her first fully "licensed" tour as a Las Guias guide! In the evening we had a great Taiko lesson. Very cheerful and we got many things right! Afterwards went very Mediterranean and had an ice cream outside after dark.
Wed 8th	Emma was presented with her Las Guias badge at the Guild spring lunch.

Tue 9th
Mon 8th	Emma collected Adam and Julie. They were less jet-lagged than expected having slept a night, albeit in Dallas airport with 600 other passengers grounded by the bad weather.
Sun 7th	National pastime preparing IRS Tax returns while Emma cleaned house for Adam and Julie's arrival. Alas their flights were delayed and they are now stuck overnight in Dallas with no luggage and no hotel. ETA Phoenix, 10am. Actually sent the Tax return. Yay!
Sat 6th	National pastime preparing IRS Tax returns.
Fri 5th	In this week's Taiko lesson I played Hya Ku Nin on the biggest Odaiko. What a beautiful sound. Especially when you are right in front of it. We almost got Edo Matsuri right. At least I think I now remember all the lines and the sequence they come in.
Mon 1st	Emma had a really busy day helping put up the student art exhibit at the Heard. So she stayed in while I went out to a 'Stagecraft' workshop for the Taiko students. This was ironic as I've done some theatre but can't play Taiko yet. It was however great fun and great to be around people who can play.

Sun 31st	Managed to get the pool up to 30 Celsius. So went for a dip (just so I could say we started in March!). Perfectly bearable if a bit brisk.
Sat 30th
Fri 29th	Good Friday is a floating holiday and much appreciated. Back for our third Taiko lesson!
Mon 25th	Sad farewells after Ambercon US and a visit to Joe Saul's. Flight home delayed a couple of hours by weather in Minneapolis.
Sun 24th	At Ambercon US Noir, X-Men and Neil Gaiman in "The Dreaming City" and a great middle-eastern dinner with Kristen Gibbs at La-Shish in Ann Arbor.
Sat 23rd	At Ambercon US Dale Cooper rides again as the One-Armed Man saving the Universe of the Babysat. In the evening David de Jong's "Mine fill of Blood and Glory" was one of the most intense games ever.
Fri 22nd	At Ambercon US Damien Delmar & Christophe de Grissac make their mark "When The Queen Says Go And Die!". Leo Selinon has cliffhanging adventures with many escapades on the Shadow Planet Mongo in "Flash Gordon and the Warriors of Chaos". Squirlons - One bite means Madness!
Thu 21st	Up before dawn to catch flight to Detroit for our first Ambercon US!
Sun 17th
Sat 16th
Fri 15th	Emma finally makes it to the DBG plant sale. I return home to find her tired but happy playing with plants in the garden. Second Taiko lesson!
Sun 10th
Sat 9th
Fri 8th	Emma has a lovely time in the Desert Botanical Gardens after a night of rainfall even though the sale she was evilly intending to profit from does not in fact start until next weekend. We attend our first lesson in Taiko drumming. What a blast!
Thu 7th	Emma had a very interesting talk about the Heard sculptures, about which she may have to talk while the Native Peoples of the Southwest exhibit is being overhauled.
Sun 3rd	Volunteered to help with Artist Hospitality (delivering snacks) at the Heard Museum Guild Fair and Market. Had great fun talking to the artists and actually starting to recognize and be recognized by Virgil J Nez(painter), Sally Black (top notch Navajo Basketweaver), Shawn Bluejacket (Jeweler using exquisite stones), Joe Maktima (painter), Buddy the carver, Jimmy and Olivia of the massive turquoise pieces and too many others to remember all at once, but I have their cards and memories of their beautiful work. We also met the man who made Anna and Giulia's eighteenth birthday presents whoe name I will insert when I ask Emma! (who knows it perfectly well). We gave away thousands of oranges.
Sat 2nd	Volunteered to help with Artist Hospitality (delivering snacks) at the Heard Museum Guild Fair and Market
Fri 1st	Emma helped prepare the Native American food for the Guild Fair

Sun 24th	Matsuri (Japanes Festival) in Heritage square. Arrived to the deliciously tantalising aroma of char-grilled beef. So we had some. Browsed the food stalls, calligraphy, bought a fan for Graham-san, the paintings, posters, materials recovered from old obi's, the Bonsai club, tea-ceremony group (rather toffee nosed), dog clubs, carp clubs etc. Watched demo's of naginata (really cool), iaido (quite cool) and swordsmanship (rather tame) and then listened to the wonderful Fushicho Daiko drum group. Signed up for drumming lessons.
Sat 23rd	Matsuri (Japanes Festival) in Heritage square. It was so god we decided to go back the next day. The Drums! Enjoyed the youth drum group, the kyudo demonstration (inscrutable) and the fashion show which explained quite a lot about kimono. Had planned to play 7th Sea in the afternoon but it fell through. Had a very pleasant evening playing Diablo.
Sun 3rd	World Championship Native American Hoop Dance at the Heard. The returning champion from two years ago did not win it. Derek Suwaima Davies, four time champion, totally cool member of the rock/reggae band Clan/Destine improved from ninth place to second, but by a point last year's champion successfully defended his title.
Sat 2nd	Met Zack at our place for the first time. Had fun planning characters for 7th Sea.
Fri 1st	Museum of Northern Arizona, wonderful exhibition of paintings by Paladin. Found that specific exhibition we were looking for was the previous year!

Sun 27th	Indian Market and Rug auction at the Holiday Inn Express east Mesa. Emma went to meet Jan. I stayed to give my back a rest and fix computer stuff.
Sat 26th	Indian Market at the Holiday Inn Express east Mesa. Had a wonderful discussion with Olivia and Jimmy of Ca'Win about the stones in the huge jewelry he produces. Met a friend of Emma's from the Heard. Jan is passionate about rugs and listening to her discuss the merits of the hundred or so up for auction was both entertaining and enlightening. I didn't know you could tell which end was the beginning and which the end by the width and tightness of the weft. We offered Jan a lift home to let her daughter and husband escape the enthusiasm. Jan very kindly showed us her collection of rugs when we dropped her off. Beautiful. So was the view out near the Superstition Mountains. Drove home in the gathering dark out in the farmland. Alas my back was killing me after the standing and slow walking.
Fri 25th	Finally sent the last requirements to Alitalia for our refund from last year. Chris and Cory were absent but Justin turned up now that his work shifts have changed. Eric was exhausted by his efforts. Justin's mysterious trader showed up, departed and came struggling after when pursued by a Willow. We reached the place foreseen by Eric's grandmother and released Merlin from the crystal cave.
Sun 20th	Played Diablo-II with Graham and Beholder in US West. Weblowe and Bohemund both made it to 43rd.
Sat 19th	Went to Tempe to meet up with a new gamer. Looks hopeful, thinking about trying Castle Falkenstein and 7th Sea. Had forgotten how cheerful downtown Tempe feels. Found a decent wood-fired pizza place. Window shopped and hung out in a new bookstore for ages. Found new things by favourite authors. Anyone remember Madeleine L'Engle?
Fri 18th	Had a very pleasant evening at home in Emma's Avalon with Chris, Clark, Troy and Cory. We met a shipwrecked musician from Eireann with a tale of unnatural storms. We bad farewell to the druids and departed from Holy Isle to seek Merlin along the Ley Lines. At sea we were assailed by water leapers and nuckleavee. Gwynabwy is now convinced that Eric's arts attract the notice of the Saxon Powers. Recovered Gwen's horses, used Ephramor's Shiral to find the line and set out when the moon rose. Near dawn made camp by a quiet well some distance from a village. Concerned for her safety Ephram followed a woman who came to draw water. Connor and Hugh argued over letting him go, but both vanished. Eric sought the boy through an ash tree and recovered him, but now full grown and magnificently garbed.
Sun 13th	Beautiful day. Sunny clear 25C. Emma's parents sounded happy to be out of Milan in the country again. Phoned Zia Pina in Palermo. Phoned Cochi and swapped news about the twins 18th birthday presents. Bohemund made it to 42nd Level Paladin. Dug hole ready to transplant plant-thing Replaced standard yellow 65W kitchen lights with clear white halogen 50W lights. Less power and better light. Went to bed happy.
Sat 12th
Sun 6th
Sat 5th
Tue 1st	Holiday

Sat 29th	Reading: Flight 26 hours late missed seeing Susie Griffiths
Sat 22nd	Italy: Moved a lot of furniture!