Here is our vantage point from the fifth row center.

After all these years, the band can still wow you.

Joe Walsh, a senior citizen now, is still one of the best guitarists alive.

The Professor and I follow the Kansas Jayhawk Football team to 2 bowl games in 2 years.

Here I am in the desert in Arizona in our rental car for the adventure.

The speedometer said it would go to 200 mph. 

We went about halfway and eased off.

It was fun.

Summer 2005

Amanda has grown and changed so much.  Few awkward moments have given way to a nice friendship & gentle camaraderie.  :::So this is the 'mother daughter' thing.... How lovely and interesting.:::

The artsy chapter of my life will begin in August as I move to the River Market Loft.  :o)  ...only 30 years after I originally initiated it...

Started Geo-Caching this year.  Surprisingly entertaining....

Spring 2005

"I'm fine, Mom," he said.  I have a feeling that's what he will say no matter the situation...I am very proud - and I understand.  3 generations active duty now....

The businesses are rocketing along and I am preparing to move into KC.

It was a long winter.  I am glad it is over.  Amanda comes home in June.

Winter 2004

Work, work, work.  The business is growing rapidly now and we are throwing a National shadow.  Though I run constantly, my business travels are a nice break from the emptiness of the house.   I am ever trying to define the new me. 

The kids are good - I think.  Let's hope no news is still good news.

Summer 2004

These are the dog days without number or notice - a blur of mundane activity that fades from memory like the morning dew in the summer sun. 

I am grateful for the smallest of things - not the least of which is the fact that these days fade from memory quickly - as they *are* the most difficult I have felt in years.

Spring 2004

The business is rocketing along.  Just opened our 4th office in Phoenix and are looking to open another in the Rockies.

I travel at will - eat when it's convenient.  Master of my own destiny now - trying to wrap my mind around it. 

I've been playing an online game with the boys and it has made us much closer.   I have to say, while it is odd...I enjoy it very much - I find it so interesting.

 

Winter 2004

Nick graduates at Great Lakes

I think Dad would have been proud.  I know I am.

He's to be stationed on an Aircraft Carrier out of San Diego.

 Winter 2004

Nick, the oldest, graduates from Basic Training on the 23rd at my birthplace, Great Lakes Naval Base.  I am traveling there to be a witness to the third generation of us to wear a uniform.  I am very proud of his decision and am looking forward to the event.

Matt is working and hopes to be in Technical School in the Spring.  

Amanda moved to Wisconsin to try life at Dad's house at the beginning of the school year.  I've been struggling (at best) with the empty nest sensation....but I think I'll live....

Spring - 2003

It seems so odd to have been admiring my tulips in the garden this morning - under gorgeous sunshine - and then hearing the sirens less than eight hours later. 

You know, I've lived in the Midwest for nearly twenty years now and I never get used to the volatile Spring.

Kansas City got whacked, as did the smaller towns down in the southeast corner of the state.

Me and mine are safe and well.

The business, now 7 months old, is doing very well.   We're having a private showing of 'The Matrix Reloaded' for our clients in both Kansas City and St. Louis on the first 2 opening days of the film. 

The kids are terrific.

The boys will leave Kansas in June to trek to Wisconsin for the bachelor's life and technical school.

Amanda has been creating web graphics for my company and making big bucks doing it...ah capitalism - it does wonders for the stubbornness of puberty.

Winter 2003

Now I know why all those people go South when they're old.  It's March and snow is still falling.  My bones ache and I yearn for green grass. 

On a different note - I just got back from Albuquerque last week and here a few pictures of the trip.  Of great interest to me was taking part in a Balloon Rally called Lovers and Friends on Valentines Weekend.  There were about 120 balloons in the sky.  It was amazing.  I've never put so much trust in a wicker basket before!  My friend Weezer and I had a blast on the much-needed girls get-away.

Of particular interest to me was the stillness during the ride.  The pilot explained that we were moving at the same speed as the wind - so it felt still.  We were the wind.  That idea had a profound effect on me as I ponder moving as fast as the wind in life to enjoy the stillness of being the wind.

It was a great trip.  After the hour long balloon ride, I trammed up 10,000 feet to Sandia Peak and had Baileys and Coffee on top of the mountain.

Winter - 2002

Life is grand.

Nick's a security guard at the Power Plant in LaCygne. 

Matt is deciding on a college while working for a Lawn Care company in Lawrence. 

Amanda is, as I type, at her second school dance.  My imagination runs wild as I remember those 8th grade dances.  Hmm.       

Autumn 2002

Sold the big house in the country and moved to a condo in Lawrence, KS...taking the proceeds from the sale of the house and opening an IT consulting firm. 

It's a big step, but I think I can do this.  

Amanda is in the 8th grade, and singing in the performance ensemble.  Matt is 18 and lives here now - working for a lawn care service while he decides what he wants to do.  Nick is changing majors to Wildlife and Fisheries and lives in Fort Scott...or so he thinks today.

I've just recently found someone from N.O.C.C.A., the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, the school I attended for visual arts training in the 70's.  We've been catching up and I am thrilled to relive some of the old memories. 

We've secured a domain www.noccaaa.org and are in the process of setting up a site for everyone to reconnect and are hoping to have an all school reunion in 2004. 

If you're someone who knew me when I was Jeannie Long, please drop me a line. I would love to hear from you!