I’ve just been perusing some photo sites and am feeling inspired. Hopefully I’ll get to do some more shooting soon. However, I’m not getting around very well at the moment. My knee is still not doing well, but at least I’ll find out why very soon. They did another MRI and I get the results next week.

For now I’m looking forward to a long and relaxing weekend.

Rio played in a chess tournament on Saturday and he befriended the boy shown here, who brought a Pirates of the Caribbean set. They played in between rounds for fun. Rio didn’t win any of his matches, but he was a really good sport about it and that was a relief. We had a discussion about sportsmanship before the tournament, because this has been a problem area for him lately. I told him that I would be proud of him if he won, but I would be even more proud if he lost graciously. And he did!

It was a humbling experience for him. My dear Rio is one cocky little dude and I tried to warn him that he would be playing against chess fanatics who eat, sleep, and breathe chess. Sure enough, he was beaten in the first round by some kindergarten prodigy. But he took it all in stride and I honestly think that it was an excellent experience for him. He needs to learn to cope with disappointment because it’s a big part of life, like it or not.

Rio’s no slouch, and he can play a decent game of chess. But he doesn’t take the time to plot out a strategy. He’s impulsive so planning isn’t one of his strong points. The kids in that tournament were mostly all chess club regulars and devote quite a bit of their free time to playing and thinking about chess. Rio was a bit of their league but he played well enough. And like I told him, the only way to get better is to play against people who are better than you.

I can’t be sure but judging by the subdued atmosphere, I’d bet that Rio was the only ADHD kid there. I’d also bet that he’s the first kid at a chess tournament to have his Harry Potter book confiscated because he was being “too rambunctious” with it.

That’s MY boy! I sure am proud of him:)

I finally got to try out this old Polaroid and it works! I’m quite tickled with it.

I’ve been intermittently sick for the last week and instead of getting better I’m feeling worse and I’m pissed. I had my heart set on skating tonight and I really NEED to, dammit. What I’d really like to do is crawl into bed and knock myself out with some heavy meds. I haven’t been sleeping well because I’ve been waking up with my head all full of phlegm and a nasty cough. I would so love to sleep for a very long time. I really just want to feel NORMAL again so I can get on with my life.

We took our new pop-up camper out for its maiden voyage this weekend and camped with all the kids at Katfish Katy’s in Huntsdale. It was lots of fun, though a bit chilly. We had a chance to inspect the camper and we were quick to determine that we paid far too much for the shabby old thing, but oh well! We will just make the most of it.

I took some pictures but not nearly enough since my OM2 locked up on me and I’m not sure why. I need to look into that more now that I’m home. It was awfully disappointing since we awoke to a beautiful morning mist on the Missouri River.

I’m really not taking very many pictures these days. Our camping plans keep getting shelved, and not much else is happening. I have taken some photos, but it’s gonna be a while before I finish a roll of film. That’s the biggest drawback to shooting film, for me at least. However, I am quite enamored with this new high speed film I’m using because I can shoot in a lot of places that I never could before without a flash.

I’m STILL not skating because of my stupid lump. I’m finally going to see a doctor about it tomorrow morning. I injured myself a month ago now and I’m annoyed that it’s still there. I’m dubious that she’ll have any useful advice for me, but I’m desperate. The lump must GO!

DJDD is playing their next bout in Arkansas, and I’m planning to tag along and help out. Hopefully Steve will come too. We’re gonna be serious derby groupies, right up until I’m out there skating with pack! God, I love derby:) It sucked missing out on the last trip, so we’ll make sure that doesn’t happen again.

The Derby Dames are off to Bloomington, IN for the Banshee Brawl. Steve and I fantasized for a while about making the trip, but it’s just not possible so we’re missing out on all the fun. I’ll get my chance eventually, though, so I won’t sweat it.

Sorry I haven’t been posting much lately but I’ve been too busy with life, and life has been especially good lately, so take what you can get;)

Instead of camping this weekend, I ended up flying to NH for my grandfather’s funeral. He was 95 years old and it was time. It was nice to be with family, many of whom I hadn’t seen in over 15 years, and reminisce together. He was my paternal grandfather, Grampa Maxwell, and he was a remarkable person. He will be dearly missed.

The Maxwell clan is a truly pleasant and easy-going crowd to hang with, if I do say so myself. It made me a little sad to be so far away from that whole side of my family. I don’t see them nearly enough.

We bought a camper last night! It’s a little pop-up trailer and the price was right so we jumped on it. We’ll be taking it on out on it’s maiden voyage this weekend. Weeeee!

The Missouri Massacre derby bout on Saturday was truly a wild night. I feel sorry for everyone who was watching Mizzou football because there was way more action on the rink that night.

There’s a vicious monkey on the loose, folks. Hide your children!

“One of the things we have found out through all this is there are a lot more monkeys than we thought in the area.”

And that’s just one more reason to love this town. Here’s another good line:

“He said of monkey owners, in general: ‘They’re a wary bunch.’”

As a matter of fact, this is not the first time a monkey has eluded authorities in Columbia MO. See for yourself (You gotta scroll down to see the monkey stories).

[That's Steve and the 6 boys we brought to the Arts Festival last weekend]

I’m pleased to announce that I’ve earned my first big badass derby bruise. It doesn’t have any color yet but as soon as it does I’ll be sure to post a photo of it. It’s gonna be a beauty;)

Here’s how it went down:
I was skating with the big girls last night in the endurance skate because beginner’s practice was canceled on Saturday due to the float trip. As luck would have it, it also happened to be the first 3-hour practice session, now that they’re doing warm-ups for an hour in the parking lot, so they can skate for a full 2 hours during their rink time.

It was a tough practice but I was hanging in there and feeling pretty good about it, considering it was my first time skating with the advanced group, but by the end of the night I was definitely starting to wear out. Naturally, in the last 15 minutes of practice, during a whips drill (which I really need to work on!), Addie whipped me into the inside track and I somehow managed to wipe out hard. It happened so fast that I’m really not sure what went wrong, I just know that I hit that floor like a ton of bricks. It’s a good thing I was wearing my helmet because my head bounced off the floor, too, when I hit. I’ve got a nice ding on my helmet now:)

I got right back on my feet and I was all ready to keep skating but as soon as I stood up my right hip protested loudly. Ow! I mean, damn that hurts! Now I’ve got a big fat lump which is actually on the back and side of my upper thigh. It mostly hurts to sit down. It’s still wicked tender.

I really need to take my skills test this Saturday, though, so I hope the pain subsides. If I were to take another fall on that spot right now I wouldn’t be able to walk! And since I tend to fall quite a bit, well, let’s hope that this thing looks worse than it feels by this weekend. But hey, this is Roller Derby, so I guess I’d better just deal with it:)

In other news, Festival of the Arts is this weekend and once again I’ve entered 2 photos in the Visions exhibition. I chose this one and this one, neither of which I’m terribly enthusiastic about. I really don’t feel that excited about any of my photos from the last year, unfortunately. I certainly don’t expect to get first place again - that was a big shock - in fact I don’t hope to place at all, but I’d be pretty happy if someone buys a print. That would help me get some new derby gear. I need better padding!

Saturday’s derby bout was BIG fun! The turnout was excellent and from what I could see the bout was awesome. Unfortunately I didn’t get to see much of the action, though. The other junior skaters and I had volunteered to mingle in the crowd selling beer, and when I wasn’t peddling my wares I was on tiptoe behind the crowd, craning my neck to catch a glimpse of the girls whizzing by on the track. It was one of those times where being short was a serious disadvantage.

The Blarney Banshees edged out a narrow win over the Yo Ho Ho’s. It was a very close game all night, which made it even more exciting. It was lots of fun but all I could think about was how much MORE fun it will be when I’m out there on the track, throwing blocks and racing with the pack! I can’t wait:)

I also didn’t get to take a single photo, since I had such a lousy view. I had my camera on me all night, just in case, but no luck. Oh well, them’s the breaks.

[See this photo on the Flickr map]

It’s been a busy week! But we’ve been doing a lot of fun stuff: roller skating, live music, and a derby dinner gathering. Tonight is Destruction Junction Derby Dames’ first public bout and it should be a blast! I’ll be there helping out and hanging out and I’m looking forward to it. Steve’s got a gig but hopefully he’ll be able to make it over to the rink afterward. I’m going to try to take some photos but since my equipment is ill-suited to indoor action shots, I can’t guarantee that I’ll have anything worth sharing. We’ll see!

In other news, Rio had an excellent week at school this week. Go RIO! He has come so far in the last year and I’m wicked proud of him:)

[See this photo on the Flickr map]

Rio and I went to see Pirates 3 tonight. I’m now convinced that seeing that movie with an 8-year old boy provides the optimum experience. What fun!

Rio and Dizzy at Bear Creek enjoying the summertime. This photo has a very nostalgic feel to it, I think.

This is Tiger Country.

Well, True/False is over now and it’s back to everyday reality. This film festival was an all around fabulous experience and really made me proud to live in Columbia. Documentary films seldom get the attention they deserve, so it was encouraging to see our community come out to support this event. Every single film was shown to a packed house! I saw some incredible films. Some made me laugh, some made me cry, but they all made me think and in the end these are the hallmarks of great film-making. In addition to the films, there were many other events and performances to take in as well. It was impossible to see and do everything the festival had to offer, and I would have especially liked to have seen more of the bands, but we still caught some great acts. Pictured here is a shot of members of Mucca Pazza, a punk rock marching band who were featured in the March March parade. They also played at the Blue Note another night but we weren’t able to make it to their performance. These guys are amazing!

I find myself wanting very badly to revive my old Hercules blog. I have this overwhelming compulsion to put my parenting strife into words again, and this is not the place for it. But I shouldn’t give anyone false hopes. Because the thing about raising Rio is that it’s an incredibly demanding, time-consuming job. And he needs me more than ever right now. Don’t worry, we’re pulling through. It’s just . . . damn . . . I never knew a kid could be so hard while he’s still so young. Sorry for the random personal rant, but I’m a bit consumed by all of it these days.

Happy New Year! Sorry for the lack of updates, but I’ve been rather consumed by home improvement projects. I’ll be back on schedule after tomorrow:)

My favorite of all my snow pictures. Have I mentioned that the XA kicks ass? I just love that little camera!

We’ve been safely snuggled in here in our little house amidst the snowdrifts. I’m very thankful that we don’t have to drive anywhere for a while. I went for a walk around town early this morning and it was pretty deserted. I had to walk in the street because the sidewalks were buried, which wasn’t a problem because there few cars on the road. I took a lot of pictures because I thought I should make a record of the Blizzard of ‘06. I’ll try to finish up the roll this weekend so I can get them developed soon. Wherever you are, be warm:)