Hey Jakey,

Nana and Papa are on their way home. They checked out this morning, loaded up the zoo and headed back to Tivoli. They called the sheriff's station at home before taking off, and apparently there was no damage at all there, and not even any rain. They really lucked out.

The company picnic was a bust. I was the only one who showed up who wasn't from the Carson office. I only knew three other people there, two of whom I intensely dislike. Catered? Yes. Lots of mayonnaise-y salads and hot dogs. Yummmmmm...

You enjoyed the bounce house, at least until the teenagers started climbing in. Then you ran out into the middle of some quasi-baseball kind of game, where the participants were chucking fastballs at the baserunners. This picnic was way too rough-and-tumble for the likes of you, J. And truth be told, the people from the Carson office were a bit too rough-and-tumble for the likes of me. Mothers and fathers of the kids in the bounce house stood around watching their kids, smoking cigarettes and basically blowing smoke through the mesh sides. And those people were playing that really mean-spirited baseball-like game! And I'm just not sure if you're ready to be exposed to mullets yet, sweetheart.

Speaking of mullets, here's the funny picture of the week:

Guess which one is T? Yeah, that's the one I thought, too, but it's not. T is the one on the far left. This is T's family, circa 1988. It appears that in G'ville years, it's more like 1981. For some reason, T always wants to show me pictures of himself when he was skinny. Like I don't believe that he used to be skinny. Unfortunately for T, he actually placed this photo in my hands. I scanned it on the sly so I can make it the screensaver on everyone's computer. Ha. Funny stuff. I'm a laff riot.

On the way home, we stopped at Borders and got our weekly magazine fix. Daddy got Guitar Player magazine (Yngvie cover) and I got Martha Stewart Living (Halloween cover) and ReadyMade Magazine. I also picked up the latest Nickel Creek CD, "Why Should The Fire Die?" Apparently you kinda like it, cuz just now you climbed up in my lap, cranky as hell, and I started up the CD, you sighed noisily and immediately fell asleep. Either you like it or it bores you to death... Anyway, Nickel Creek is coming to the Reno Hilton on Dec. 11! Tickets go on sale Oct. 1. I convinced your Daddy to go with, so that means we have to make sitter arrangements for you. Oh well, we have over two months to think about it.

Okay, rest up, dear heart. Tomorrow we're tackling the Genoa Candy Dance. Lots to buy, lots to eat, and lots of people watching. We're good at all those things. Love you!