I�ve been remiss in updating. My last substantial entry was last Wednesday. Egads!

Last Thursday was our chamber�s baseball outing. The game was unspectacular. But it was wonderful to spend an afternoon enjoying Arizona�s perfect March weather. And I was thankfully spared having to make baseball related small talk with the Judge as Mrs. Judge and MM sat between us.

It was impossible to ignore the ease with which men of all shapes and sizes use the excuse of a little sunshine to shuck their shirts. Ewww. Not to be left out of the bare bellied fun, women of all shapes and sizes were also sporting various garments that covered only enough to keep them from being arrested. Again, ewww. It seems to me that there should be a general rule, applicable to all persons regardless of relative degrees of attractiveness: No shoes, no shirt, NO GOING OUT IN PUBLIC! Admittedly, the �no shoes� part of the rule is irrelevant, but you get the picture. Hey, ugly dude with the beer gut, put on a damn shirt!

After the game, we went to the Judge�s house where he fixed us dinner. On the menu was wild duck and grouse, felled during his last hunting expedition. Having never tried duck or grouse, I was leery, but determined to expand my culinary horizons. That, and I couldn�t very well tell the Judge, �no thanks on the foul fowl, can we order a pizza instead?� And, although I�ll not be ordering duck any time soon (yuck!), I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the grouse was pretty tasty.

So, dinner was nice. Conversation was also good. We talked history, art, politics, law, theater, more politics, current events, travel, and, yes, more politics. MM, in typical fashion, interjected her smartass remarks throughout this fascinating conversation. As she made certain that only I could hear her side line commentary, I had to work hard not to laugh out loud.

At one point the conversation turned to the idea of reincarnation. S, the Judge�s secretary � who is not the sharpest tool in the shed (in fact, MM � again in typical smartass fashion � has previously described her thought processes as a hamster laboring on a rusty and very squeaky wheel) � announced that, if she were to be reincarnated, she�d want to come back as a cow in Austria. What?!?! She said it as if she�d carefully considered all of her reincarnation options, and thoughtfully concluded that an Austrian bovine was her best bet for her next life, because, as she said, they�re well fed and furry. Again, what?!?! S�s comment was alone was hilarious. But I simply couldn�t contain my laughter when MM muttered �squeak, squeak,� under her breath. Thankfully everyone was too confused over S�s wish to live as a cow to pay much notice to my mirth.

So that was Thursday. Friday was uneventful. Except that I found out that my brother and sister in law are in a bit of a financial bind. They�ve fallen behind on their mortgage, and even though they�ve worked out a payment plan with the mortgage company, that situation is preventing them from getting a car loan for a car that they desperately need. The crux of it is that, when I return home next week, we will be brainstorming ways to solve the latest financial crisis. In other words, I�ll be �lending� them money to catch up on the mortgage. �Lending� is in quotes because I have no expectation of being repaid. It�s also likely that I�ll buy the car in my name, on my credit, and then have them make the payments. We�ve been down this road before, but I�m the big sister, bailing out my brother is part of the job description. I don�t mind, really. I want to be able to help whenever and however I can. It was, after all, a major motivating factor in my original decision to pursue a career in law. Those lofty plans may come to naught if I end up accepting a low paying government job, but, at least for now, I have the ability to help my brother out, and I�m glad for it.

Saturday was spent running errands and generally catching up on life. I worked in a trip to the salon. My hair is once again a lovely shade of red with blond highlights and it has been cut to maximize flippage. In other words, it looks damn cute.

Saturday afternoon was spent at Tom�s for a barbeque. Grace, Tom�s daughter, is beautiful. She was born with a full head of hair, that shows definite signs of matching Tom�s red locks. It�s odd, though, to realize that all of my college friends are now married and most have kids. Yikes! Where in the hell has the time gone?

Sunday was a laundry, packing, leaving frenzy. Rich and Anna brought Rianna to the house to say goodbye. Her newest talents are high-fiving, blowing kisses, and making the sign for �more.� Damn, that child is cute and smart!

The flight to Seattle was unremarkable. So far we�ve had excellent weather � sunny and warm. That will probably change before the week is over, though. We had a nice dinner with the Judge last night � excellent sea food, good wine, and decadent desserts. Today�s cases went pretty much as I anticipated they would. MM was in charge of arranging tonight�s dinner plans. And if I�m to meet her and the Judge at the appointed hour, I better bring this entry to a close.

This pretty much brings me up to date. (I feel so unsettled when I don�t write regularly. I feel better now that I�ve reflected on the past few days by chronicling them here.) I�ll be back soon with more news from Seattle.

Listening To: nothing
Reading: tomorrow's bench memos
Feeling: content