For some reason that song just came up in my head to put up as the title of this post. We weren’t robbed…and the only tramp would be on our DVD of Lady and the Tramp…but we have been moving around from place to place like Gypsies.

Here we are in beautiful Topeka KS! YAY! It has been a long day of traveling. We are at location 3 of our 4 location vacation. Travel today went well but it was a long day.

Things started off with me doing a mad repacking of items at 7 am EST trying to get everything together. It amazes me because I started off packing yesterday and I thought that I had done a better job on getting everything together. Oh how wrong I was. We actually packed up three boxes of stuff to ship home from Hilton Head. It isn’t that we bought so much stuff while we have been traveling…it is just that once our suitcases exploded in the hotel room in Florida, we could not pack it all back in the way it was. Well I added a fourth box of just MY stuff this morning to ship home. (Lindsay we actually put your address on the boxes so expect at least 4 boxes from UPS from HH). When we checked in at the airport in Hilton Head our bags were still over weight even though we are sending 4 boxes of stuff home through UPS and I had taken out my antique camera from my luggage to have it as a carry on. Well we got lucky with our weights as we were flying first class (you are allowed up to 75lbs per bag I think….well at least up to 55lbs with no charge).

OK so we made it to the Charlotte airport no problem and as we were on the moving sidewalk, going between gates on our 2 hour layover, Mrs Honey sees a Harley gift shop. I got antsy and started making all sorts of noises cause I wanted to go over and look but the moving sidewalk was taking me AWAY from the store! Mrs Honey reminded me that we can walk back to it and that it will still be there. I guess once a kid always a kid rings true for me huh? So I bought three shirts at the Harley shop there in the airport because they actually had shirts that fit me! (Big burley biker that I am). Well while I was basking in that post consumerism glow, Mrs Honey asked “Where are you going to put those? We both already have two carry on items…” Well it wasn’t a total buzz kill when she asked that as I sprouted a great idea for carrying on the shirts because I had room ON a bag (not IN mind you). Well we got that sorted out and got on the plane to KCI.

No issues getting to KCI. Mrs Honey actually caught some shut eye during the 2 hour flight. We did have to fly around a little extra on the way to KCI as the pilot wanted to avoid some weather and make it a smoother flight. The flight was fine for us so the pilot must have missed the weather. We gathered our bags at KCI and headed off to the car rental mega-tropolis to get our car. Mrs Honey chose a car with a Miss GPS unit in it. Miss GPS is our affectionate name for the GPS units after using one in Houston getting to MD Anderson. The voice on all the units we have used have been set by default (or by the previous user) to use the female voice when the unit tells you how far the next turn is, when to turn, or when you have missed the turn and she needs to recalculate the route to get you to the address that you typed in. Let me just say that so far our experience with Miss GPS…wait….MY experience with Miss GPS has not been that stellar. While in Houston I was out till 3 in the morning with Miss GPS trying to find the Walmart address that I had typed in. While on the way from KCI to Topeka I turned when Miss GPS made her little sound to turn and ended up going the wrong direction on I-435 EVEN THOUGH I saw the exit sign that stated the exit would send me in the direction of St. Joseph instead of Topeka. That one I cannot totally blame on Miss GPS as I saw the signs….but….whatever.

We made it in to our hotel here in Topeka (despite Miss GPS sending us around the north end of town instead of the more direct route) and unloaded. Mrs Honey needed some allergy medication as she was unable to find hers in her suitcase (I think that she packed it in one of the boxes to be shipped home…oops). More fun with Miss GPS trying to find a drug store (we found one on our own THANK YOU Miss GPS). At this point I know where I am in town and navigate myself out to dinner at the Aunt and Uncle’s house. Marv started smoking some pork around 10pm last night??? and then also fixed some brisket on his grill today. Lemme tell you something…Marv loves to cook on his grill and I think that he knows what he is doing. If you ask him he will tell you all about the grill and it’s design…he will also go into detail with you about the charcoal he uses and where he gets it. Tonight he also had some BBQ sauce that no one else had opened yet. The pork was spectacular! It was so tender. He brought out the bone from the pork and you could tell that when it was done cooking and he moved it to the serving tray that it just fell off the bone. It was real good.

I got ahead of myself there. We were a little later than everyone expected us to be. Everyone was done eating dinner and some people had already gone off to the kids little league game. Grandma and Grandpa were still there and I think that Grandpa was having seconds on dessert (or maybe thirds). So we had dinner and chatted and hung out for a bit. I picked up a brick from the bookshelf and somehow or another it became my property as Aunt Martha handed it to me and told me to take it home. If you want info about the brick just ask and I will give you the details. Mrs Honey was tired from all of the traveling so we went back to the hotel and unpacked and pulled even more clothes out to send home with Mr Honey’s Dad. Dad was out here visiting his parents and just happened to be here while we were in town. Lucky for us! Mr Honey sent the brick home with Dad along with 4 bags of stuff we pulled from our luggage.

Where the heck did all of this crap come from in our luggage? How did we pack it all in to get it out here in the first place? That my friends just might be a topic for the Coast to Coast AM radio show. It is now getting late and I think that I have dumped enough words out on this post. We will be visiting with family again tomorrow both here in Topeka and then in KC. We will be at our 4th location for this vacation tomorrow night. Sleeps now.

**people have commented that they could not see pictures…can you see them now?**

Here we are! We are playing hotel! Dogs and MomDad!!! Yay! We are here in Breckenridge Colorado on the off season. Off season….hrm. It snowed 6 inches up here last night. HA HA HA off season. It was kind of erie driving up to the lodge here. I had visions of “The Shining”. There were no cars on the street and no one shoveled the snow at the entrance. That is ok…it means that the dogs can bark all they want and no one will hear them.

Lets put up some pictures shall we….

Here is Mrs Honey eating lunch….she says “We are play hotel?”

Dobby is the “Prince of quite a bit”. “Take me to my room” he says.

Ok we are just staying one night…can you believe that?

On our way over here we stopped in Silverthorn to load up on fast food grease for lunch. Then we drove around lake Dillon and made our way to Swan Mountain Road. On the far east side of lake Dillon we pulled over and took some pictures of what I always called Buffalo Mountain. It looks like someone skinned a buffalo and draped it over the top of the mountain. Honey took some pictures with the Nikon D80 and I pulled out the Graflex press camera and tripod. Honey took her pictures and took some of me setting up and got in the car all before I had even prepped for the picture. It is funny how much setup it takes to use that camera. We will post some of those photos later.

Ok we are off to lounge around for a bit. Yay hotel.

We like to blog!

Cameras cameras cameras. I have always enjoyed taking pictures and even back in high school I took a photography class. That class was very fun because we had a darkroom at school and we had to develop our own film and make our own prints. Antibiotic cream for the treatment of secondarily infected traumatic skin lConsumer information about the medication MUPIROCIN - TOPICAL OINTMENT ( BCOMPOSITION: BACTROBANFeb 19, 2009 Information about mupirocin, mupirocin calcium (Bactroban,Find Bactrobans at Great Prices. Compare Prices, Buy & Save Online. buy Bactroban Find the formulation that you need below and click for specific product information. Fast delivery guaranteed. I used an old 35mm cannon camera that we had. We had no flash for it so I had to compensate with using a different speed film so that I could get good pictures in the lower light levels. After high school I did not really use cameras…I spent my time doing college things and I am actually kinda glad that we did not document some of those times

A couple of years ago I got a nice new digital camera for Christmas. Nikon D50 6 Megapixel camera. Man I started snapping pictures all over the place. It is so cool to be able to take a picture and then preview it on the back of the camera. Last summer we went on a fishing trip up in Canad BIAXIN should be used only to treat or prevent infections that are proven or Therefore, BIAXIN tablets may be given without regard to food. Caution is advised when using Biaxin while breastfeeding. buy Biaxin Explore 5,000+ Medicines & Remedies. Buy Biaxin from Canada. a. I had a back pack full of my computer and all my new camera gear. Mrs. Honey told me “why are you bringing all of that stuff with you?”. But then we got up there and I started snapping pictures of the wildlife (eagles and seals and such)…I got action pictures of people pulling in fish or snapping the line as they pull up halibut from the ocean floor 300 feet down (you know who you are). Each night I was able to pull out my laptop and transfer the pictures from the camera to the computer and we could all see the large versions of the images and oooo and aaahhh over them.

Then we went to Santa Fe for new years that year. It was kind of crazy because we arrived during the blizzard. Most of the shops were closed while we were down there because there was so much snow. I got some more great pictures of the snow falling and the accumulation. I also took one of my favorite pictures so far. It is of my Father-in-law. We were sitting in a tea house up at the top of canyon road.

During 2007 I got a little antsy and wanted to upgrade my camera so that I would have more options and more capabilities. I sold my D50 to someone at the office and purchased a D80 on ebay. I am now up to a 10+ Megapixel camera with more options and capabilities. This camera is great and it helps me to take some great photos. I carry my camera with me everyday and it is funny how I look at things now. Now when I am walking down the 16th street mall at lunch I stop and compose these pictures in my head. I look and what people are doing, what is framing them, what does the background look like, etc. I have yet to take my camera with me to lunch…but now I am convincing myself that I should.

OK…topic is “of digital and analog”….The digital camera is really nice because the results are pretty much immediate. I can view images and delete them if they are no good. There is no waste of film or prints.

Last year I found out that my Mother-in-law had an older 35mm Nikon FE with 3 lenses. I had read online that many of the older nikon mount lenses would fit on the digital cameras and you could use them and go in an all digital mode. I borrowed a couple of lenses from Windy and used them on my digital camera with some interesting results. When Windy passed away last year Honey and I acquired her 35mm camera. Honey kept telling me that her mom had taken some great pictures and that it was a very good camera. I started to thing back to my photography class and how much fun it was developing film and such.

Earlier this year I started to get interested in large format photography (negatives that are on 4X5 inch sheets). I tivo’d some shows about the history of photography and famous photographers on Ovation. I gotta say that I really enjoy learning about the history of photography and seeing images from the late 1800’s on in to the 1940’s and 1950’s. These shows spurred my interest and quest to participate in the large format photography arena. I told myself that it would allow me to get back to the roots of photography. No light meters on the camera…no automatic settings…back to really composing the picture before it gets taken because you are now back to film (not only that but sheet film).

I put some effort in and found a press camera on ebay. I bought an old Graflex Crown Graphic. If you have seen pictures of photographers from the 1950’s you would recognize this camera. It is square and has bellows on the front. Flash on the side with a big round reflector with the flash bulb. With the reading I had done on the Internet many people wrote that a Graflex camera is a good place to start with large format photography.

The camera I got is a great looking antique. Probably made in the late ’40s early ’50s. I found a shop here in Denver that would work on it and had them clean the lenses, shutters, check that everything is light tight, calibrate the rangefinder and infinity stops. I found out after I got the camera from the seller that it does not take the 4X5 film but the slightly smaller 3 1/4 X 4 1/4. I was worried because some webpages stated that there is no longer film made in that size. I searched around and found some film made by a manufacturer in Croatia. I also found some film cartridges to hold the film. My next hurdle is the film processing…not sure if I will develop it myself or if I can find a shop in town to do it. I have actually taken four pictures with that camera. It was a new experience to load the film holders…I had to create a completely dark room in our house and then I had to sacrifice one sheet of film so that I could teach myself how to load the holder in complete darkness.

Today during C.A.K.E. I am using MIL’s old Nikon camera with black and white film in it. I am really excited to see how these pictures turn out! But alas we are going to have to wait. There is no preview of the image (except through the view finder). If I had the settings wrong it was a waste of film/learning opportun Find Bargains on Sporting Goods, Toys, Collectibles, Car Parts, Food, and the Good Things in Life. Includes Zyrtec side effects, interactions andWe will beat any competitor’s price. buy Zyrtec Comprehensive and accurate ZyrtecBoth she and her whiskit tosin sauered by snapt as profligate and unusquisque, and quite unworthy the ZyrtecNews on Zyrtec, Cetirizine Hydrochloride (generic) continually updated from thousands of sources around the net. Find medical information for Zyrtec Oral including side effects, drug interactions, images and pictures, medication uses, warnings, user ratings and reviews. ity. There is a lot of stuff to take pictures of while were are here at C.A.K.E but I am not sure that the feeling of being here can be conveyed in the pictures. I don’t know if what Honey is going through…what she has to deal with is going to come through in the photos. The pictures will be a reminder to us about that moment in time captured on film.

Analog camera with film- There is something nostalgic about using the camera and a different kind of feeling in the pictures that come from film…the issue is that it is not an instant feedback media.

C.A.K.E is almost done and I have only touched on today’s topic.

I have had this topic in my head for a few days now. What is normal? Normal life? Unfortunately at the Hospital, Internet connectivity is a little slow (it makes me think of the South Park episode from this Wednesday night). The website dictionary.reference.com has a definition of normal as: 2. serving to establish a standard.

Previous to last September, normal for us was probably just like everyone else (at least that is what we like to think). Abbey would work with the kids at pre-school and I was working downtown. Hospital trips were few and far between (ask me sometime about our “motorcycle accident”). Honey’s energy levels were up and we could stay out all day and party all night (well at least till 10pm.). We could eat at restaurants whenever we wanted and didn’t have to worry about whether or not food was too spicy (Honey would never choose the spicy green chili at the Rio anyways). We would ride motorcycles together and go see bands that had people we knew playing in them.

Most of that has changed. Normal now is Fridays at the hospital…spending lots of time at home…cutting short or cancelling travel plans. Now don’t get me wrong! We went to Santa Fe last month and had a very good time. It just seems that what is normal now is something that we never expected.

Momma and I talked a few weeks ago and she apologized to me saying that she was sorry that she didn’t prepare me for this. I told her that there this is one of those things that you really cannot prepare for. It is one of those things that you have to take and fly by the seat of your pants. Momma don’t worry it is tough but we can do it and we will beat this thing.

As we go on and when Honey beats this cancer into submission, our normal will change again. Things will be different than they are now. We will be older and we will have new stories to tell our friends. We will be able to drive past this part of town and say “Do you remember when we were going over there every Friday?”

What does the future bring to all of us? Change. I will always love my Honey and she will always love me but she may drive a different car….we may live in a different town…we may have different jobs.

Wow. Ok so I ride along on these philisophical waves and ram myself right into a brick wall. My brain says “STOP” and I say “um what was I talking about….where are we going”

Honey is sleeping and twitching as she gets her IV drugs. I am going to go get a copy of her cat scan from earlier this week so that we can send it to Dr Curly in Texas.

Time for another Mr. Honey update. As you may have surmised, Mrs Honey is still trying to sleep off the procedure from last week and all the extra meds it brought with it.

We went to see the Embolization doc yesterday so that we could touch base with him and verify that everything is going the way it is supposed to. Doc says that everything is going good. The nurse told Mama today that Mrs Honey is running par for the course and that things are probably going to be like this for another week or so.

Mrs Honey has not touched her computer since Saturday, so if you have been sending her emails like Mr Honey has…she has not seen them yet. We will see if we can’t get her online this weekend to post some info for everyone.

Well Mr Honey has to go put away some dishes and then hit the sack…8pm is my bedtime during the week.