It IS Christmas

Christmas was a wee bit different this year primarily because a majority of the family was somewhere outside the United States; Kate and David in Australia and Hennessy in Paris to be with Jeff and Jessica. Being resourceful we just imported more "family" from New Jersey, our great friends The Sawanoboris. Christmas Eve found us with 50 friends eating our traditional turkey sandwiches and sipping on Gloria Ferrer Champagne and then...just before bedtime...I pulled out the tattered (and often hidden) "The Red Ranger Came Calling". (Some things never change.) Bill and Keenan sat attentively through the entire reading and NEVER complained. (Some things DO change.) The following morning after we dragged Keenan from his bed Bill set up his tripod to take the traditional "family rounding the corner from the bedroom wing' photo and decided that due to the small number of family, he could actually squeeze into the shot this year. Kevin and Pauline came over around lunchtime and then the remainder of the day was spent alternately eating and napping. Happy New Year gang!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Finals have touched down at Cal Poly and it is stress center around here. I just keep reminding myself that in FIVE days I will be boarding a plane for PARIS! In preparation for this trip I have successfully learned absolutely no french. I have however purchased a very warm pair of gloves and European style hat, so while I am lost navigating the french streets at least I'll be nice and cozy.

I also bought a train ticket to San Sebastian, Spain for four days right after I arrive. San Sebastian is where I hope to study abroad next year and our good family friend Mia Carella is there right now so I'll get to check out the town and hang out with her a bit.

The apartment I live in is a "complex" (called the Pink Palace) that is really more like a house that was turned into four different apartments. Anyway our neighbors got into the Christmas Spirit and went all out with christmas lights. Amanda and I did our part by making the star in the window (which we've noticed they casually forget to turn on every night. I think it's a pretty damn good star)!

Keenan and I also made it to the ND game at Stanford over Thanksgiving. It was a good game that ended in a win for Stanford :( We still had a good time though.

As the official Miller/Mellin/Walker/Nicol ambassador, let me know if there's anything you want me to pass along to Jeff and Jess!

The Mutants are coming!

Allo! Second brother online finally. I gave my first lab meeting talk to an audience of 20 yesterday. Since I did it in English, and I mumble, I think probably only five people understood, which makes giving science talks a helluva lot less nerve-wracking I have to say. It went pretty well though, and I survived. Lab is pretty cool these days. I don't work in this building, but I work right next to it, and it's a lot prettier than my building so I decided to show you this instead. Actually, this is where Louie Pasteur used to live and now it's a museum. They still have his flasks where he proved that microorganisms come from the air and are not spontaneously generated. And they are still microorganism free! Pretty cool actually. As for me and my work, I'm pursuing some nice results in the lab. I've been making mutant bacteria which fluoresce which is cool since I can show you a picture. The bacteria growing on the right will be the topic of my first paper out of this lab I think.

Jessica started her nannying job yesterday and discovered that the three year old is a monster. She was pretty wrecked, so here's to hoping it gets better. If anyone has any great ideas about how to deal with a three year old monster, we're all ears.

Multimedia message

Light the fireworks!  Call the president!  Your son/brother has just taken the step into bloggdom.  Yes this is my first post....... ever.  I'm not much of a blogger in spirit and paitence.  As you can tell.    However,  I have worked it out to be able to blogg from my phone.  So. This is cool.  I'm liking it.  My messages will be in incomplete sentences with typos in order to maintain a texting "wild man on the go type feel".  I hope you enjoy.  I have included a pic of Kate and David's loving, kinda confused, awesome animals "kicking" it together.  And my favorite pic of P and I from the summer.  Our camping trip to the Yuba river.  The bed was in the back.  In a van down by the river!  Xoxo   

Ah, it's December

We celebrated First Friday at David and Kate's. Kate stuffed a pork loin with figs and it was delicious. Their new puppy Jackson provided all the entertainment. He and Shiloh the cat are an "item." (Well at least best friends.) The two of them not only share pillow space, they also are quite happy to smooch. (Yes, one is a cat the other a dog.) Jacque led us in a toast to Kevin who just signed a recording contract for at least one album. That break may be coming! Keenan spent most of the evening asleep on the den couch next to Melia who happily watched an "academic" video. Hennessy was absent (as is normal) studying for her upcoming finals as well as Jeff and Jess who are happily adjusting to life in Paris.

Slide Show #2

Thanks to Jeff for telling Kristy and me how to post a slide show to our blog. It'll save some room and keep the shots all in one place. Thought I would try my luck with three additional Thanksgiving photographs.

More Thanksgiving Photos

A Tahoe Thanksgiving

Glenbrook was at its finest-fall colors, crisp air, patches of snow and blue skies. Rena discovered that water is not so scary and that fetch is actually quite a nice game. Keenan discovered that even with blue skies the Lake is VERY, VERY cold in November and taking a kayak out without paddles is not a good idea. The entire family discovered that you can have a GREAT Thanksgiving meal even when you forget the mashed potatoes, peas and warm rolls.

Meet Jackson!

Jay B. Miller - RIP

Brother and Uncle Jay passed on to the other side on September 30, 2009. A fine and gentle man. May he be in peace.

We had the November First Friday with a small but valiant group. Tidbits: Deb and Jerry whipped up a fine, spicy pork roast, fall meal. Jerry and I traded secrets on our twin cameras. David discussed his truly wonderful and fabulous sentence (below). It will be interesting to read his completed thesis. Kevin and Pauline were manifique and shared a fine bottle of French wine and lore from Euro land. Is there any other type of wine? Kate was telling us chilling tales of her work world and dysfunctional types. Kristy whipped up a cranberry tarte that would win an award in La France. Bill laughed a lot out of pure joy of the family around the table. We missed Keenan, Jenny, Hennessy, and Jeff. Jeff, of course is too busy to attend, living in Paris and all. Zut alors!

Hey guys, get it together and post something once in a while! What's up with this Brady bunch. Are we really better than them? Well let's prove it by some n'ing and blogs and stuff.

xxo to all. Dad/Sdad/Pazpo of the future.

My great sentence

Here is the sentence I wrote yesterday which I like. I've added the whole paragraph so you can get the context. It's the last sentence.

"...Moreover, there are several good reasons why we should not overly rely on scientific models as a means to ground the validity of the phenomenon of subtle activism.
First, there is the danger that, if we primarily use the methods and standards of empirical science as a way to explain the nature of subtle activism, we risk reinforcing the pervasive cultural assumption that empiricism is the rightful adjudicator of knowledge claims from all domains of human experience, not just those emerging from the study of the natural world. Let us recall that the phenomenon of subtle activism is most often a spiritual activity -- participants typically meditate and pray, they may encounter beings from subtle worlds (guides, ancestors, angels, etc), hear messages of guidance, sense subtle shifts in collective energy flows, or simply be filled with essential spiritual qualities such as love, peace, or compassion. To burden such subtle phenomena with the demands and standards of empirical science may be the epistemological equivalent of attaching lead weights to the wings of angels as a way to measure how well they fly.

YEAH!! YEAH!! YEAAAAH!! WOOOH! WOOOH! in your FACE!!! (Spikes the ball as in a touchdown)



OK, a little bit of an overreaction, but these are the things we dissertation writers need to do to sustain our enthusiasm over the long haul.

Hennessy and I had a little mother/daughter bonding last week-a 48 hour decorating marathon in San Luis Obispo. Hennessy, her roommate Amanda, Amanda's mom Marise and I hit Home Depot, Joanne's Fabrics and Ross and then painted, sewed, sawed and "remade" the girls' new apartment. At 10:30 Thursday night we invited the guy from upstairs (along with a college buddy Montana) out for a late night (well late for the mothers) pizza and called the flurry of activity a huge success.

Merced news

Hey everybody! Nobody's spoken in a while so I thought I'd ramble a bit of an update on here for anybody who checks it.

In case you haven't heard, I'm now in Merced. I have a freshmen mandatory event day tomorrow and classes begin Tuesday. I already talked with my parents, Kate, and Jeff, but for those of you who I haven't gotten around to calling here's where I stand on it all:

I am really upset and unhappy about being at UC Merced. Not that it isn't a good school it's just not a good school for me. The town is not really what I was looking for in terms of a social leisure time scene. Due to my unhappy stance (although I am doing what I can to pull myself together and make the best of it), I plan to transfer out at the spring semester. I'm looking into USF (taking the tour this upcoming Friday), Saint Mary's, and Notre Dame de Namur. For now I plan to come home every weekend of the semester unless I find myself comfortable enough to stay (although at this point I am seriously doubting it).

I want to thank you all for your support thus far and any future support that may come. It means a lot to me to have family there to help me figure out this difficult obstacle in my life.

Want to see some pictures from our Shasta trip???

OK, cool, I am finally doing this! This may be the last time I come up for air before the school year begins, but hopefully not.

I want to report that David and I are not having any crying babies until 2012 (I'm only 33...we've got time). Instead, we have decided that we will take advantage of our current lack of kids by touring the natural wonders of California for the next couple of years in what we're calling the Lakes, Rivers, Mountains, Forests and Deserts Tour.

We had our first adventure not so long ago.

David's been longing to visit Mt. Shasta for awhile now, but since I was the one making the camping reservations, I booked us a good-looking site at Lake Shasta instead (it's hot up there!). I figured that two natural features of the Earth with the same name couldn't be that far apart. I also didn't bother to consult the atlas because it was buried in a junk pile in the car.

As usual, we left 5 hours later than we wanted to and paid the price in traffic. Kind of a long drive...we had to play 20 questions for three hours or something crazy like that. And it was hot, really hot, so said the car's thermometer, but we weren't feeling it because we were utlizing that modern convenience called air conditioning.

At long last, we arrived at Bailey Cove, conveniently located next to I-5. Ah, yes, our first lake experience was about to be had! So what if the trucks were loud! So what if it was too hot to breathe! We were about to dive into the cool refreshing waters of Lake Shasta!

NOT!

We asked the closest campers how to get to the lake because it wasn't where it should have been! They kind of looked at us funny, but suggested that if we walked quite a ways, we would indeed find some water.

We walked and walked and finally noticed that we were walking into an ugly wasteland reminiscent of a bauxite mine. Then it hit us! This used to be Lake Shasta!!!

Needless to say, we did not get to go swimming in Lake Shasta. And the evening only got better when we were visited by a bear at dinner time (we couldn't see him, but he was definitely there!) It was really scary to fall asleep that night. I couldn't help thinking of how weird it would be if we got gobbled up by a hungry bear in a place that was well within earshot of trucks, cars and trains zooming by. I mean, if you are going to get eaten by a bear, shouldn't it be deep in the wilderness away from all signs of civilization? Not on the banks of a parched man-made resevoir while your neighbors doze nearby in their RV!

Anyway, the bear decided not to eat us, so we thanked the Universe and opted to move on to Mt. Shasta.

We lucked out and found an awesome campground called Fowlers, which is right on the McCloud River. Our campsite was perfect! Only $15! And this time, the background noises were the sounds of a rushing waterfall and the squeals of delight from folks jumping off cliffs into deep pools in the river.

We hiked in a sacred meadow still harvested by native americans, drove as far as you are allowed to go on Mt. Shasta, visited an awesome, fearsome waterfall by night, and trekked to the mecca of swimming holes.

What started out badly ended beutifully!

We'll keep you posted on the next stop on our tour de nature!

Keenan has decided to change his style. Here's a before and after shot.

Ok so i think i finally figured it out. Well for those of you who haven't already heard I am no longer going to Regis, but UC Merced instead. So I will still be around on weekends for Friday dinners. Hopefully I don't get any late Friday classes. I must say the summer is going faster than expected.

July and Glenbrook Time.

Hey Guys,

I agree with Hennessy, we are pretty lame for not adding to this family blog. Er, eh...well this is my first entry. Anyway, tomorrow is July 1 and I am wondering where June went. But July brings a few of us up to Glenbrook for a few days and definitely looking forward to that. Maybe I'll throw in a picture of our time up there. Happy July 4th and 3rd, and 5th, etc. Dad

Kate & David's Quilt is DONE

The quilt is finished. Twenty-seven months of quilting pleasure, pretty well split down the middle between making the blocks and quilting the quilt. Lee Fowler, friend and quilter extraordinaire basted this enormous top to its back and then machine quilted all the tiny patches that make up the sashing. It's impossible to see how heavily quilted this top is but it IS! I have learned to love hand applique too-a reality that shocked me. I also think I will never cross hatch a quilt by hand ever again. Beautiful but....

IS ANYONE AWAKE OUT THERE?

Hennessy and I might begin to believe that we are the only members of the Miller-Mellin-Walker-Nicol family. Can others in our family not type? Are you too busy? Come on family, this is a good idea and just a simple hello once and awhile can't be that challenging.

First Friday Fun

We had our First Friday dinner at Kate and David's. Our family gathering is growing. Joe, Jacque and Melia joined us this evening and they are hosting our August gathering.  July 3 is the next FF and it will be at the Mellin's.

WOW, I did it. Let me try a few more photos and then I can go to bed. (Am I twittering with that inane comment?) 

Let me try pictures again.

Okay, if Hennessy can do it then I will at least give it a try. My life isn't nearly as interesting as the one posted. I am not moving anywhere. I have not climbed anything higher than Arbolado Drive. My big adventure today was searching for rhubarb. We are having a First Friday meal two days hence at David and Kate's house.  And, right this minute I need to leave for work. Oh, tonight I am taking my staff out for drinks to celebrate our first year together at The Creek. As my Grandma would have said, "bye, bye for now."

Bringing it back

Hello Family!
I've been inspired by Jeff and Jessica to bring back an official Mellin-Miller-Nicol-Walker Family blog. I know our last attempt failed pretty miserably (we had something like 8 total posts over the span of a few years- YIKES!) but I decided the time has come to give this blog another shot. (or could by sudden inspiration be the result of me not wanting to study for any of my finals? Maybe..:))
I know everyone is busy working, traveling, schooling, partying, sleeping, etc, etc, but it might be nice to update everyone about your life every once in a while. Plus it's super easy! Only ONE post and you've let your entire famiy know what's happening! We're not talking essays here (don't worry Keenan), a few short sentences will do.

In fact, I'll do an example.

I am finishing my first year of college in LESS THAN TWO WEEKS!!! which makes me both very excited and very sad. As much as I loved the dorm life, I'm excited to move back into my own room, not have to wear sandals in the shower to avoid dirty feet fungi, and eat food that was not mass-prepared. However, I will be very sad to leave all my friends and neighbors.. I know it will be strange to go from seeing these people every single day to not seeing them for a few months!
I am also doing a great job at avoiding studying. I don't know what to blame it on but I definitely feel like a second semester senior again. This is very bad because i am only a freshman.

I also recently went to Yosemite. We hiked half dome which was AWESOME. If I can figure this out I'll try to include some pictures.
Well it looks like they went to the top of this post.. That'll do for now.

Anyway, let my know if anyone else is intersted in keeping this thing going. With me and Jenny off to college soon, Keenan becoming a big-bad sophomore, Kevin's band adventures, Jeff doing everything and anything, Kate being a bad-ass principal, David doing his dissertation (I think), and the 'rents doing whatever they do, I think we'll have a lot to share.

Goodnight!