The Last Video of Mia & Chulo

Fire Photos

I have thought about how to recap the events of April 18th when our home caught fire around 3:30am. I still haven't come up with a comprehensive and unemotional way to do so. I'll let the pictures both Rob and I took tell the story. Thank you to Adi for taking video footage of the VIP room as it is today.





































































































































































































































































































































































































































We could not have gone through this and come out the other side without the unbelievable support of both of our companies, our old and new friends, The Kicks & The Guerras, The American Red Cross, our apartment rental company BDC Management, The Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation (specifically Lee, Jerry and Kerrie) and our new rental home's owner Renato. That's right, we have a new home. Not bad for a week and a half.

Rob is the most amazing person I know and I'm so relieved he is here to carry this work and this emotion with me. They are both heavy but have been made lighter by so many people's helping hands. I just want to say - thank you.

Fire

A short entry to say we lost our two kittens Mia and Chulo in a fire yesterday morning. Our home is unlivable and most of our belongings gone. We have each other and we made it out to watch our home and the gallery downstairs come close to disappearing. Thank you Santa Barbara Fire Department and the Santa Barbara Police Department for doing what you do. Rob and I want to thank everyone who has called or emailed for their good thoughts. We are overwhelmed with the support of all you good people. A more complete account of what happened will follow within the next few weeks as we get our bearings.

If anyone knows of a Santa Barbara location of 400 to 600 square feet where Christi and David could continue their framing business (even if temporary only) please contact them at the_frameworks@cox.net.

Better European Photos From Rob's 35mm

The Coolest Thing I've Found Lately...

Love music? Experience the Music Genome Project at Pandora.com. There's no download, no rewinding, no cost. Start by picking a song or artist you love and turn on your own radio that will introduce you to new music similar to what you started with as well as tracks you already know. You can listen to other user's stations that they've created too. Look for Kickster to join in on what I'm listening to.

My current channels:

• She Wants Revenge
• LCD Soundsystem
• Stan Getz
• Chet Baker
• Daniel Lanois
• Marvin Gaye
• Jimmy Cliff
• Sufjan Stevens
• Jay-Z (no snickering, I admitted to liking hip-hop a long time ago and I'm fine with it)
• Stevie Wonder
• Ella Fitzgerald
  
• Arcade Fire
• Rufus Wainwright

The Best Show In Santa Barbara Ever...In An Art Gallery

Every spring in Santa Barbara something called the June Gloom rolls in and keeps whole days cool and foggy. Sweet and misty, it has come early this year mixing with the smell of jasmine blooming on every street. My spring skirts and sandals sit waiting on the edge of the closet ready to come out. Soon the summer parades down State Street, the international festivals and backyard barbecues will begin and the season will be in full swing.

1st Thursday this month in Santa Barbara was bigger than ever before.










Pete came up early to help set up and I was so excited to see the band that David and Christi had booked for their gallery. Spencer The Gardener is a well known local band that I'd heard about but never actually heard. Turns out there really is a Spencer...










We had the band up to the VIP Room for dinner before they played their first set downstairs at the gallery. They were a bunch of great guys and we got to spend time with them and their girlfriends and wives. The percussionist from Los Lobos Cougar Estrada as well as renowned jazz trumpeter Nate Birkey joined Spencer and the band for the best show ever in Santa Barbara...in an art gallery.
I first heard of Nate Birkey when a friend introduced me to the sounds of another local band The Coral Sea who by the way really rock it. Their last album Volcano and Heart is the most played album on my iPod and I have to insist that you buy it to support your local talent. Nate joined the band on one of the tracks (Descend) on that album and after hearing it I was an instant fan of both of them. Glad to meet you Nate!













Nate doesn't like tomatoes. Ha ha...












The big news of the night was revealed when Kyle and Tori arrived newly engaged! Kyle flew back to Montana where the two of them are from and asked Tori's dad for permission to marry his daughter and he even talked to her grandfather about marrying her before he passed away last year. Ya, every girl was in tears by the end of that story. We're so excited for them and happy to have two more join our club.

They were so giddy they were glowing (damn you digi-cam and your 'no red eye' setting)...









Crowds poured in to The Frameworks and soon the courtyard and gallery were packed. The band put on three sets of great music and the audience loved them. Dancing and a good old time followed...













































































































~Sigh~ what a great night it was.
My grandmother had a loving way of referring to her family as "you people".
My friends, you people know how to have fun. Thanks for coming and making it another memorable 1st Thursday.
See you next month!