How horrendously lax have I been? Oh, it can only mean one thing. Opera. Lots of it. It's true, I haven't been able to photograph anything lately. It's not that there's nothing to snap, it's that I'm suddenly shy pulling the camera out at all opportunities with people I don't know as well. So I photograph the city. The cafes. The bookstores.

This is my new dinner-coffee-if it's not raining-spot. It's a big ol' bookstore called the tattered cover. Very nice.

She can't be mad at me for photographing her. This is Foxy. Park and George's pooch. She lives in the big old rambling Victorian I'm staying in. I get to walk her whenever I want. She's exactly the dog I'd get if I could. It's funny, because I've had a ridiculous amount of dog fever lately. I have no idea where this is coming from, but I'm convinced that before this year's out (2006), I'll have a new place to live, a '60 Ford Falcon, and a little Foxy of my own. Who knows where the hell I come up with this stuff.

In other new, Carmen is going well, all things considered. Getting to finally meet and work with Rupert has been an absolute delight. One could get addicted to having folks like him around. Tim Buck, Master Carp of Seattle Opera, is here with us loading in the set. He's such a good man...makes me miss home all the more....