Welcome to Coffee Hour, the part of the StreetProphets day that most reminds me of the lobby in the hotel in Austin. I come here, find friends to chat with, have a snack and a drink, and a laugh or three, and learn stuff I wasn't planning on learning.  What more could I ask for? :-)

I"d love to say I have a wonderful coffee hour planned with pictures and reflections and whatnot about my time in Austin, but the truth is our flight was so delayed that I only got in at 3am, my luggage has not yet arrived (it took a scenic layover in New York) and I got 3 hours of sleep. Suffice it to say that the service was spectacular, that StreetProphets should be darned proud of the quilts that have been and will be produced, and that everyone should find a way to either get to Pittsburgh next year, or come via Second Life.

Kid Brillig is thrilled to have us home, always a gratifying thing :-).  So tell me... what are you all having for dinner? It's gotta beat our meal du jour... takeout pizza. Until I grocery shop, takeout is our friend.

Welcome to the Friday Random 10, StreetProphet's weekly music discussion group. Grab a beverage of your choice from today's Happy Hour thread, pull up a comfy chair, and start thumbing through the records, 8-tracks, tapes, CD's and mp3's lying around. If you're not into music, here's some noise-canceling earplugs- they'll filter out the music while you stay and chat with us about other stuff :-).

Live from an undisclosed location a hotel in Portsmouth NH, I bring a special Late-Night Edition of the Random 10. If I'd been more organized I would have had it written in advance, but life intervened as it often does. Kid Brillig is at a 3-day swim meet, had a great first day with two more morning sessions to go. When I say morning, I mean "in the water at 7am" morning... I'm just glad there's plenty of coffee available nearby!

I had a whole list of music we love to listen to whenever the progressive community in Second Life gets together... but I left it at home :(.  So...

Welcome to Coffee Hour, that minute or ten twenty where we savor a cup of something soothing, grab a snack, and chat with our fellow Prophecy Street residents about matters great and small. If you're new to the Street, welcome! Take one of the special mugs or cups (leftover red white & blue from our outing to the fireworks, thanks for helping me recycle them!), give us a hearty hello! and we'll make extra sure to greet you!

Kid Brillig and I are enjoying a week home together! She is not going to summer camp the next two weeks- this one because she did not want to do the field trip to a water park, and next week 'cause she'll be with her grandparents while Mr. Brillig and I are in Austin.  So today we did a 4-mile walk around a local lake, then spent time relaxing at home. We've got playdates, swim team, and a trek to see a friend's band upcoming, then we head to Dover, NH on Friday morning for a 3-day swim meet... put in a prayer for nice weather as the pool is outdoors!!

So- what's on your agenda for this lovely summer week? And as always, what are you having for dinner? :-)

Welcome to the Friday Random 10, StreetProphet's weekly music discussion group. Grab a beverage of your choice from today's Happy Hour thread, pull up a comfy chair, and start thumbing through the records, 8-tracks, tapes, CD's and mp3's lying around. If you're not into music, here's some noise-canceling earplugs- they'll filter out the music while you stay and chat with us about other stuff :-).

This is an early edition of the Random 10, because Casa Brillig is on its way to the banks of the Charles River in Boston to snag a choice spot, hang out for the day, and relax until the Boston Pops take the stage for their annual concert.  Then we watch the most massive fireworks I've ever seen up close and personal with 500000 of our closest friends!!!

Making this possible are the visiting friends who are going with us- you need a minimum of four adults so two can wander and someone stays with the blanket and cooler.  To reward them- and 'cause it's always fun to peek at someone's music library- today's Random 10 is a shuffle of the contents of my friend Tim's iPod....

Welcome to Coffee Hour, that minute or ten twenty where we savor a cup of something soothing, grab a snack, and chat with our fellow Prophecy Street residents about matters great and small. If you're new to the Street, welcome! Take one of the special mugs or cups (red white & blue this week), give us a hearty hello! and we'll make extra sure to greet you!

I'm very excited about this week... I love fireworks, AND we have guest coming into town to go see them with us.  Now, going to the fireworks may not sound like a big deal, but we're going to the Esplanade in Boston to see them. We won't get seats to see the Boston Pops; no, those go waaaaaaaaay early, and we have two kids to drag with us. No, we'll wait til maybe 10am, and go get seats on the banks of the Charles River, right in front of where the fireworks barge is parked.  We then occupy ourselves until night falls. It's been a decade since we had people willing to go!!

The next day, I'll be inworld in Second Life for a fireworks display over the Statue of Liberty. I've seen a preview and they are indeed spectacular.

What are your plans for the US Independence Day holiday?

Welcome to Coffee Hour, that minute or ten twenty where we savor a cup of something soothing, grab a snack, and chat with our fellow Prophecy Street residents about matters great and small. If you're new to the Street, welcome! Take one of the special yellow mugs or cups, give us a hearty hello! and we'll make extra sure to greet you!

I remember George Carlin vividly from my teenage years. I was just finishing 8th grade when the FCC vs Pacifica Foundation was delivered, and that list of seven words you can't say on television  served as our out-of-parent's-range vocabulary guide, with a few additions of course :-). (umm, John?  You might wanna look at word #4 there...) I'm sure I watched that first Saturday Night Live, which he hosted. He paved the way for a generation of comedians to strut their stuff today, and he will be sorely missed.

So here's to George Carlin, whose soul hopefully is stuck up on the roof right now. Share your favorite bits of his- or any of your favorite performers- so we can all get a laugh today.

as always, this is an Open Thread. What's on your dinner plate today?

Brillig tentatively checks calendar and Friday Random 10 schedule...

::happy dance of joy::

Welcome to the Friday Random 10, StreetProphet's weekly music discussion group. Grab a beverage of your choice from today's  Happy Hour thread, pull up a comfy chair, and start thumbing through the records, 8-tracks, tapes, CD's and mp3's lying around. If you're not into music, here's some noise-canceling earplugs- they'll filter out the music while you stay and chat with us about other stuff :-).

Casa Brillig is on summer vacation, finally!! Next week summer camp starts, but this week was a lovely mix of relatively lazy mornings and late nights, simply Because We Could. During a wonderful talk on anything and everything this week, newly minted double-digitter Kid Brillig asked if I was "writing that music blog thingie" this week. When I said yes, she said "on what?" That's when I paused... and ummm'ed...

Welcome to Coffee Hour, that minute or ten twenty where we savor a cup of something soothing, grab a snack, and chat with our fellow Prophecy Street residents about matters great and small. If you're new to the Street, welcome! Take one of the special yellow mugs or cups, give us a hearty hello! and we'll make extra sure to greet you!

Momentous week here at Casa Brillig...

Welcome Coffee Hour, that time in our day when we come together on the Street to share a snack, a drink, and a bit of our lives with each other. If you're new, grab a yellow mug or cup so we know to be extra special nice our usual charming selves with you!

It's hot here in New England... apparently we had Spring and I missed it. One day I'm in jeans, long sleeves and socks, the next I'm wearing shorts, a  tank top and sandals. The grill looks a lot more appealing than the oven, and I bought my first box of popsicles. It's summer and we haven't even finished school yet.

When it gets hot my appetite drops way down. I don't want heavy food, I want light and easy. Tell me what your favorite summertime foods are. Salads, grillables, easy or complicated... do share!!

As always this is an open thread.  Tell us what you're eating and drinking tonite!  

Welcome to Coffee Hour, that minute or ten twenty where we savor a cup of something soothing, grab a snack, and chat with our fellow Prophecy Street residents about matters great and small. If you're new to the Street, welcome! Take one of the special yellow mugs or cups, and we'll make extra sure to greet you!

Welcome to the Friday Random 10, StreetProphet's weekly music discussion group. Grab a beverage of your choice from today's  Happy Hour thread, pull up a comfy chair, and start thumbing through the records, 8-tracks, tapes, CD's and mp3's lying around. If you're not into music, here's some noise-canceling earplugs- they'll filter out the music while you stay and chat with us about other stuff :-).

Getting ready for a meetup tomorrow ::waves at PoliSigh::, so my mind is once again on cleaning and organizing. What's that? It should be on the outdoors, on fun and sun? Well, it would be if the forecast wasn't for thundershowers :-(. We'll have a great time anyway, just let's just say that the downstairs needs a bit more.. umm.. straightening up :-). So with that, I bring you the next installment of our by-the-letters series. Up today: K thru T! Step inside for my picks...

Welcome to Coffee Hour, Prophecy Street's place to gather, share a bit about your day, and relax from the hustle and bustle of our lives. Today's is a BBQ Edition- so grab a burger or a hot dog, a soda or beer (there's wine in the cooler, and plastic cups over on the table).

What have you been doing with your long weekend, and (hopefully) day off today?  I went for a bike ride with Kid Brillig and a friend, and KB and her dad are off at the store getting grillables for dinner. It's been a relaxing weekend, except for the part where we sprayed our grapes, raspberries and nectarine tree with something that clearly was not soap.  Pray they don't all die :(

How has your Memorial Day Monday been?