A Year Younger

The Maker
Originally uploaded by Polish Carpetlayer.

Another birthday came for my dad and he unveiled his latest little bit of genius; a series of homemade beers so tasty that they're destined to win any number of awards. It wasn't tough to get dad to pose in front of his brewing concoction, it was just hard to get him to stop talking about it. When he gets passionate about something, that's it. He's like a teenager in love for the first time and that's all that he can think or talk about. Luckily for anyone who knows him, his passions usually revolve around things that taste really good. And he likes to share them.

Happy birthday dad. It was great spending it with you and mom.

Only 17 Years Until Mica Can Vote

Happy Baby
Originally uploaded by Polish Carpetlayer.

December 8 is a beautiful day. It's the day that this infectiously happy little girl entered the world. And this December 8th she turned one. Big smile everyone. Mica's already got hers' and she gives it out freely to anyone who's willing to take it. Steve and Amy did good on this one. Real, real, real good.

Thanksgiving, Family and a Tree

11-27-2007 035
Originally uploaded by Polish Carpetlayer.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at my Granny's in Yreka. While I studied (boo) the family and Caspian went to the mountains and got Christmas trees! It's our first tree in two years!

Ignite

New BBQ
Originally uploaded by Polish Carpetlayer.

I got a new barbecue. And it even cooks meat... but mostly vegetables. You got a problem with that? Talk to my wife.

Do those dishes

Do those dishes
Originally uploaded by Polish Carpetlayer.

See what happens when Autumn and Eric come into town. We men find ourselves knee deep in dishes. And where are the ladies? Drinking wine. Making small talk. Drinking more wine. Oh, and taking pictures of Eric and I knee deep is dishes.

We got away from the dishes long enough to visit Napa Valley, eat some great food, play games, and celebrate Autumn's birthday.

Now back to the dishes. Man Eric, this dove dish soap really does make the skin supple and radiant.

Pat and Jeff

Pat and Jeff
Originally uploaded by Polish Carpetlayer.

Uncle Pat and Aunt Nancy made there way up north to visit Jeff and luckily Michelle and I got to spend a little time with the family. Of all the pictures I took, this is the one that I decided to put up on the blog. It really captures the gagsta mentality that this part of the Michalowski clan exemplifies. You can put the boy in Harvard Law, but you can't take the gagsta out of the boy. Thanks for keeping it real, boyz.

Breath Plastic

Breath Plastic
Originally uploaded by Polish Carpetlayer.

Michelle studies... a lot. She spends an obscene amount of time at school and, unfortunately, they don't pay time-and-a-half. She's got to get a union to start working on that.

So, spurred on by the fact that I was getting close to forgetting what my wife looked like, I ventured over to her school to meet the person who's been keeping her away from me. And here's a picture of him. Not much to look at, but he's the gateway to treating real flesh and blood humans. Oh yeah, she's also got some classmates, teachers, books, papers, tests, and even a cadaver that's vying for her time. But they don't photograph as well. This guy's got that certain something that the camera lens' loves.

Aka Gabe

Aka Gabe
Originally uploaded by Polish Carpetlayer.

Just found this painting in the middle of a massive piece of street art. It's a few blocks away from my work. And it proves that Gabe once lived (and rocked) in California.

A New Trader Joes Opened Next to Us

A New Trader Joes Opened Next to Us
Originally uploaded by Polish Carpetlayer.

In New York our trips to Trader Joe's involved: A) A 30 minute subway ride into Manhattan, followed by a 30 minute line to get to the checkout counter, or B) a 40 minute drive upstate accompanied by a powerful hope that we wouldn't get stuck in traffic on the way home.

Here, thanks to the Trader Joe's that just opened, our trip to the store involves walking about 3 blocks, picking up whatever it is we want (they even sell alcohol here) and then carrying the bags home. Done.

We like living next to a Trader Joe's.