DFW was eh

Yes, Mom, I will write a blog, though life has seemed largely un-comment-able. Frank and I took a roadtrip to Dallas-Fort Worth, to conduct a little reconnaissance. It left us rather cold, despite the heat. This is Dallas:

There was one house that was o-kaaay. Largely because it was different from the rest of them:
Because the others looked like this:
Which may have been fine, except they ALL look like this. And they all have the same brick mail box. It seems to be a thing in Texas: http://www.beautifulbrickmailboxes.com/ And when they didn't have mailboxes in front of the houses, they had mausoleum-like mailboxes at the entrance to the subdivision. Imagine the line of traffic at 5:00pm as everyone is stopping by to pick up their mail. Yes, we did see a couple people doing just that when we were driving by.

You know the old saying, "No shirt, no shoes, no service?" Well, this used car lot had a different spin on things in Fort Worth. The sign read something like, "WE FINANCE - no driver's license, no credit, no social security - NO PROBLEM." Interesting.

Me driving:

We stopped for a night in Little Rock, AR on the way home. I found this sign curious--it was in a bar/restaurant we ate at:

Little Rock was one sleepy town, but they do have a nice looking riverfront:
In other news, Frank has a race in October. Hopefully his car will be in good working order when the time comes. Once that weekend is over, we'll start tearing this apart:

My dad's old motorcycle that sat in a barn for 30 years. Every inch of it seems to be rusty. I can't even imagine what a project this is going to be. It's a 1967 Honda CB160, apparently it was quite a popular bike in its day, and still has quite a cult following. Here's a taste (and, yes, I have forbidden Frank from racing this thing, should it ever get running. Thankfully, he is not interested):

I've started my welding classes. I'll take some pictures of my work soon.

Sig seems to have a rodent ulcer, not cancer, as it is slowly responding to the most recent shot of steroid treatment. He's super annoying lately though--he's VERY talkative and wants to go outside all of the time. I'm thinking we need to move somewhere with a barn so he can just be a barn cat.

I've got a lot of availability in my work schedule right now, so if you know any people in Peoria, recommend they come see me for massage. I'll take good care of them. :)

Burglars Busted!

If you've been concerned about our neighborhood thief, put away your fears, the perpetrators have been caught!  The story even made the cover page of the Local & State section of the Peoria Newspaper (see above).  It was a much larger ring than we had suspected with 36+ break-ins and at least 6 people involved.  You can read the article here:  Peoria Journal Star.  There is also a more detailed story in the East Peoria newspaper, you can read that here: East Peoria Times Courier.  So, we're back to parking in the driveway, which is a good thing because we're picking up my dad's old motorcycle this weekend from my mom's house.  It hasn't been ridden in probably 30 years, so it'll be a big pain the ass or a fun project or maybe a little of both.  

Sig (my orange tabby cat) is having some medical problems.  Either a rodent ulcer or cancer, and the vet wants to do a biopsy...this could be a long story, but I'll just say I haven't completely decided on a course of action.  

I'm totally craving Ethiopian Diamond (the number 5 thing I miss about Chicago, I think it is).  Below Sara is modeling the food, from the last time I ate there, 2-3 months ago.  That's the longest it has ever been.  :(  Oh, Diamond, how I miss you so:

Frank and I are planning a reconnaissance trip to Dallas next week.  I'm really excited to be going on a roadtrip!  We found some really good deals on some really nice looking hotels with Priceline and Hotwire down in Dallas (like $42/night including fees and taxes!).  Probably because it's hotter than the gates of hell down there right now, and who would want to go there, right?  But, at least they have pools!  :)

The sound of the rain on the grass

The sound of the rain on the grass.  This is one of my favorite things here in Peoria, a sound I hadn't heard in a very long time.  In Chicago, rain makes the city loud.  Wet roads make for loud cars and there is enough of both in the city that there is a constant whir wherever you are.  But down here, there is not the incessant backdrop of city noise and when it rains I can hear it. 

The other day we woke up to the radio alarm, as per usual, but there was a National Weather Service alert.  Thunderstorm warning!  I'm always somewhat guarded about sensationalistic journalism, even from the weather channel, so a checked the radar.  A huge slash of red was rolling it's way across most of central Illinois.  So I went outside and saw this!  Now, don't be confused, the light color you are looking at is not cloud, that is the light shining through.  The dark gray is the cloud.  It was very beautiful.  The line between the dark cloud and the bright light was wonderfully and ominously distinct and extended from the northwest horizon to the southwest horizon.  I've never seen anything quite like it.

To the west:

To the east, still peaceful (Frank is on his way to school):

The storm was moving in at 40 mph, with wind gusts up to 60mph:

Above, the clouds were churning:

The wall of rain approached:
In other non-meteorological news: 

I've been trying to establish some fitness routine, which has suffered tremendously since the move.  I've started doing a little yoga again, and some walk-runs while listening to This American Life Podcasts, and I even took out a West African Dance video I had bought 2 years ago but never used.  I've been missing West African Dance classes something awful.  You Chicagoans are really lucky to have Idy Ciss teaching in town, and most of you don't even know it.  :)

I've also started working on some mosaics.  When I visited Portland 2 years ago, I discovered how much I loved mosaics and wanted to get into making them.  I had to move to Peoria to actually begin.  I'll post pictures when my first project is complete.  Guesses about what I'm working on?

Aaaaahnd...the news some of you have been waiting for: the unveiling of the new hobby!  I signed up today for some welding classes at the local community college.  Yep.  Welding!  More on this later.  :)