Julia and Kurtis at Home

Introducing Max

2010-04-27T10:03:00.001-07:00

Introducing our newest kitty.... Max. He is a one year old, long hair, orange male full of furry love.

We didn't know it but we went looking for Trouble.

2010-03-24T12:28:00.000-07:00

Our last kitty, Sylvester, passed away in November 2009 right before Thanksgiving. He died in Kurtis's arms at home. It's always devastating to loose a pet but for us this was beyond devastation. This was our 3rd and last cat to pass away in 13 months. Zoey in October 2008, Pleko in February 2009 and now Sylvester, November 2009. Kurtis said he wasn't up to doing a blog entry on Sylvester right now. We will do one but it will come with Kurtis is ready.
This is one of our favorite pictures of Sylvester.. also known as The Cow Cat and Mr. S.

Neither of us were ready for another kitty right away and with the whirlwind of the holidays, traveling, winter, bridal shows and weddings all of a sudden we found ourselves in March realizing that our house is still too quiet.

Our neighbor, Dee, said she wanted to get Kurtis a kitty for his birthday so we started looking and looking and looking. Kurtis has decided that he wants an orange, long hair male kitty and we can't find one anywhere. (if you know or hear of one... give us a holler!!) We also decided that we would get 2 cats and get them around the same time so they would have a friend and we would have kitties again in our house.

Yesterday we went out to Lollypop Farm to look at the cats. We didn't find any long hair, orange, males... but we did find Trouble. That is his name. Trouble. He is a one year old grey tabby with white paws and a white dot on his forehead, very affectionate, curious and very friendly.

At Lollypop you are allowed to pick out 3 kitties to meet and greet. We had originally only picked out 2, a short hair, orange, male and a small, female, tabby. As we were waiting for our turn to see the kitties we noticed this one kitty in his cage, very playful, rolling around, talking and playing with his sister. The Lollypop lady saw us looking at him and said "That's Trouble, he is a great cat, just got here a few day's ago" Since we didn't have a 3rd pick we decided to toss him into the mix. We couldn't see the orange kitty as he was sick and wasn't available, the small, female, tabby was really shy and scared, but Trouble was a hoot. He came into the room talking and jumped into our arms, loving and purring. Since they didn't have an orange kitty we decided to wait on Trouble. We went out to the car got halfway down the street and decided that maybe this kitty might be worth the trouble. (ha ha) We went back and adopted Trouble.

This kitty had a really big day. He was neutered in the morning, his sister was adopted right before we adopted him, he had to spend the afternoon at the studio, played with Hayley and Kiera, explored every inch of my office (and I mean every inch... even behind the book shelf on the third shelf). Then right after he got comfortable at the studio it was time to go home. So then he had our entire house to explore (which he did in about five minutes running from room to room). After he explored everything he jumped up on the couch snuggled next to me and laid down as if to say "ok, this works for me, I will stay" Besides exploring the house, Trouble is really good at sleeping.

This is Trouble.

Checking to see where everything is.

He was at the studio for 3o min before the girls arrived. This is Hayley with Trouble after 2 minutes. He jumped into her arms and loved her.

Sleeping position 1

Sleeping position 2

Sleeping position 3

We didn't know it, but we went looking for Trouble and Trouble found us.

Pleko 1991 - 2009

2010-02-21T11:48:00.000-08:00

It's been a year and I still miss him. The house is still too quiet.

Happy Valentines Day!

2010-02-13T16:17:00.000-08:00

I am a sucker for funny cat pictures

2010-01-24T12:49:00.000-08:00

I am a sucker for funny cat pictures. Friends and family have been sending them around in emails and I have been collecting them for awhile and realized that I have quite a few. So I thought I would share starting with my favorite of all time. The Karate Kat. - Enjoy!

Thanksgiving 2009 according to Thomas - Age 4

2009-11-27T18:18:00.000-08:00

This is Thomas...

This is also Thomas.... He is 4 years old and my nephew. He was having a tough day on Thanksgiving... It's hard being 4 in a world of grown ups. He found a Kodak disposal camera that someone brought and loved taking pictures until it was full because it wouldn't "flash " anymore. Now he was really, really board. I gave him my Canon G7, showed him how to look at the LCD panel, push the button and and set him loose. I showed the pictures to him the next day and he told me the ones he liked and who or what was in them. Below is Thanksgiving 2009 according to Thomas - age 4. ...Enjoy

Emma

Butt

Dolores

Mommy's shoes

Turkey

Nama (Thomas's way of saying Grandma)

Mommy

Mark

Butt

Daddy

Floor

Papa

Buck and Lilly

Daddy's shoes

Aunt Julia

Aunt Julia's shoes

Thomas's shoes

Downstairs

Uncle Kurtis

Jim and Uncle Tim

Tippy

Mommy

Emma

Nama

Karen

Aunt Julia

Tippy's butt

Ham

Cranberries

(he didn't have a title for this picture, but it is one of my favorites.)

Glass

Candles

Upstairs

Dolores and Jim

Nama

Thomas's shoes

Thomas and Aunt Julia (I was showing him how to take a self portrait)

Stairs

Aunt Julia and Mommy

Mommy

Daddy

Curtain

Floor

Rug

(he didn't have a title for this one either.... again one of my favorites!)

Papa

Papa and Uncle Kurtis

Uncle Kurtis

Papa, Uncle Tim, Uncle Kurtis

Outside

Daddy and Mommy

Duck

Thomas's feet

Uncle Tim's bathroom

Circle (Shower curtain)

Circle

He didn't have a title but it is a picture of inside the toilet bowl

Circle

Aunt Julia's shoes

Emmie to Emmie (his way of saying Aunt Emily... we thing he got it from a Sesame Street character "Abby Cadabby")

Emma and Mark

Mark

Karen

Jim

Emmie to Emmie's room

Angel

Teddy Bear

Book

Princess

Flower

Thomas's feet

Blue (there were 4 or 5 pictures of this wall. He liked this one the best.)

Kitty Litter

Emmie to Emmie's ball

.... Then the bunny ears were found and portraits had to be made again...

Aunt Julia

Aunt Julia (Trying to help him level the camera)

Emma

Mark

Daddy

Bruce

Papa

Thomas (Self portrait #1)

Tippy's nose

Nama

Jim

Bruce

Gail

Thomas's feet

Emma and Mark

Emma

Daddy

Mommy

Daddy

Deer

Squirrel

Doggie balls

Aunt Julia

Daddy

Mommy

Papa

Daddy

Red

Emma

Daddy

Hope you enjoyed Thanksgiving 2009 according to Thomas - Age 4. Hopefully I can get him to take more pictures soon.

Hockey Game with Kevin and Tonia

2009-11-12T12:43:00.001-08:00

Kevin and Tonia took us to a Sabers Hockey game last Friday and we had a blast!! Thanks for a great time you guys!

Amazed?? Me too! Photoshop and Lightroom are amazing! I now realized that I should of had Tonia take the first picture so I would of been in the image instead of the lady sitting next to me chowing down on pizza..... oops!

Happy Halloween 2009

2009-11-03T07:05:00.000-08:00

Puppies

2009-07-19T17:47:00.001-07:00

My neighbor's puppies got a haircut. Here is Fuji or affectionately known as "Fat Boy" before.

and here is Fat Boy after. Such a cute little cow dog.

Here is Mouse and Fat Boy with their new haircuts.

Yogi, Zenna and Squiggy waiting for their haircuts.... don't know about you but I don't think I want to mess with Zenna.

Self Portrait June 10, 2009

2009-06-10T19:35:00.001-07:00

Ever want to know what the emergency room looks like when you are being checked in from the ambulance?

Car Crash

2009-06-10T19:27:00.000-07:00

I was T-boned this morning. Thank goodness the car did what it was supposed to do and I was able to walk away from the accident. They did send me to the hospital because the airbags deployed. The car that hit me was the 4 door model of our car. Very strange... we bought a lottery ticket just in case.

Julia and Kurtis in England - the easy version

2009-05-18T14:34:00.000-07:00

Here is the quick and easy version of our trip to England.....

Stonehenge - Amesbury, Wiltshire, Southern England

The Roman Baths - Bath, Somerset, South West England

Thermae Bath Spa - Bath, Somerset, South West England

Caerphilly Castle - Caerphilly, South Wales

Chepstow Castle - Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Southeast Wales

Lacock Abbey, Lacock, Chippenham England

The Oriel Window, Lacock Abbey - Lacock, Chippenham England

Lacock Abbey Cloisters - Lacock, Chippenham England

Chinatown - London, England

Piccadilly Circus, London, England

Peter Pan Statue, Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, London, England

The Tower of London, Central London, England

Tower Bridge - Central London, England

Westminster Abbey - London, England

Big Ben - London, England

Buckingham Palace - London, England

The Golden Hinde - London, England

Hedgehog and Sunset - London, England

FINISHED!!!

2009-04-02T08:17:00.000-07:00

54 Sanford Street is finished and ready to be rented!

Sideyard

Backyard

New Kitchen - 8' x 13'

detail of kitchen backsplash and new sink.

Back bedroom - 14' x 9'

Bathroom

Entrance to front bedroom

Front bedroom - 13' x 13'

Middle Room - 12' x 10'

Living room - 15' x 13'

Kitchen almost done

2009-03-20T11:21:00.000-07:00

First Day of Spring

2009-03-20T06:13:00.001-07:00

Happy first day of spring!!! Thank goodness it's here!

Hardwood floors almost done!

2009-03-12T10:31:00.001-07:00

Here is Kurtis sanding the hardwood floors. He will put the varnish down this weekend and we will have new floors by Monday.

My poor sweetie, I really need to take him on vacation...

Quote of the day

2009-03-10T08:26:00.000-07:00

We don’t have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change.

Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.

Even when we don’t “win” there is fun and fulfillment in the fact that we have been involved with other good people, in something worthwhile.

- Howard Zinn

Pleko 1991 - 2009

2009-02-25T04:32:00.000-08:00

The Story of a cat named Pleko

Pleko, Pleko, Pleko, my dear sweet Pleko,

I love you with all my heart and always will.

We lost a very god friend and member of our family this weekend. We had to put our little boy Pleko down. We discovered that he had a large aggressive tumor in his stomach. He had lost so much weight and was in so much pain that we made the very painful decision to put him out of his suffering on Saturday February 21.

It was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I held him like a baby as the vet administered the drugs. Kurtis stood next to me holding me up and scratching Pleko on the head. Through tears and sobs I kept telling him. “You’re ok baby, you’re ok. Look at me, just keep looking at me.” The drugs worked quickly and he looked at us the whole time while he slipped away.

Is has been devastating to loose Pleko. The house is too quiet.

Pleko had a rough beginning; he came to me full grown. (I am sure he would have been a cutie pie as a kitten) In 1995 I was living in an apartment in Kansas City with my college boyfriend. The man across the hall from us had died of AIDS and his family came to clean out the apartment. They threw everything in the trash, washed the entire apartment with bleach, shooed his three cats out side and left. It was horrible. 14 years later and I still can’t believe that a family would do that. But I digress. When we came home from school Pleko was sitting on his back porch meowing and meowing. He wanted back in the apartment. We felt bad for the little kitty and tried to approach him. Pleko took off like a shot and we didn’t see him again until the next afternoon. He was on the back porch meowing and meowing to be let in. It was breaking my heart and I tried to approach him and again he took off. The next afternoon Pleko was back meowing with more force and determination. I put a little bowl of food and water out for him and waited. Pleko could smell the food and tentatively came over to our porch to check it out. My heart broke at the sight of him. The poor thing was so hungry, tired and scared. He looked awful, but from that point on he was my cat and best friend. Todd suggested his name, plecostomus or Pleko for short, after the plecostomus fish (you have seen these fish before. They are the ones that suck to the side of the tank) Pleko sucked on to me like the fish and the name stuck.

He was a great cat. He loved to curl up and snuggle down on the couch especially if there was a person their to sleep with. He had this amazing ability that I called “I’ve been Pleko’ed” You could be wide awake sitting on the couch watching TV drinking a triple espresso and if Pleko jumped up and snuggled with you, I can guarantee you would be sound asleep minutes later. I think it was his purr. Even up to his dying day he had an alluring purr. Pleko stuck with me through college, graduate school, roommates, boyfriends, marriage, other cats, dogs and 12 moves. He took it all in stride, and was always ready for a new adventure.

Pleko loved to talk and he would talk all the time. You could ask him questions and he would respond... We started everyday with a little chat. He would follow Kurtis and I into the bathroom and hang out on the rug while we got ready. Here is a typical morning conversation that we would have. Hi Pleko, how are you this morning. “Meow” Oh, good. Did you sleep ok? “Meow” Are you hungry? “meow meow” If we were getting dressed you could ask him… what do you think? “meow” Red or Pink? “meow” You’re right Red, I don’t know what I was thinking either. … or other questions you could ask him. Hey, Pleko, how was your day today? “meow” I love you Pleko. “meow”

Pleko would answer all of our questions and each answer would have a different kind of meow. Different pitch, length, emphasis… etc. I swear that he could understand what we were saying.

Pleko loved all food but chicken was his favorite. He would do anything for chicken and sometimes he knew we were going to have chicken for dinner before we did. He loved to sit at the dinner table in my lap. He would sit just like a little kid with his front paws on the table. When I had a desktop computer he would sit like that while I typed my college papers. He would get tired and put his little head down and go to sleep.

He was not a cold weather cat so when Kurtis and I moved to the East Coast, Pleko had a rude awakening. In our apartment in Buffalo he spent the entire winter wrapped around the steam radiator in the bathroom. He would lie on his back and put his back feet into the radiator and when he got too hot he would swing around and put his head and tummy right next to it. In our apartment in Rochester he would sit / sleep on the floor vent. If he heard the heater click on he would come running from whatever room he was in and hunker down. The rest of us would get cold but Pleko was warm and toasty. He would dry himself out and be a huge ball of static electricity. You couldn’t pet him with out shocking your self; he couldn’t rub up against anything without shocking himself. Everyone once in a while the charge would build up enough that he would really zap himself. If the heater wasn’t on and the oven was he would curl up in front of it and sleep on the floor. Kurtis and I used to tease that when Pleko got to retirement age we would have to set him up with a winter house in Florida.

Until 2002 Pleko was an indoor outdoor cat. He loved to sit on the porch or sit in the flowerbed and watch the world go buy. He would disappear for days in Buffalo only to show up in the evening meowing to be fed and loved. I have no idea where he went. I always wanted to put a little camera on him to see where his adventures took him.

Pleko loved boxes, any kind of cardboard box and he loved to sleep in them. No blanket or cushion, just the box. We always had on average 3-4 Pleko boxes around the house, one or two in the kitchen, one in the living room and one in the bedroom. The smaller the box the better. He loved to squeeze himself into the tiniest of boxes, curl up, put his paw over his eyes to block the light (it always looked like he was sleeping on his head when he did this) and go to sleep.

He had 2 arch nemesis … Plastic bags and rubber bands. He loved to chew on rubber bands. When he found one he would hook one end around his tooth and put his paw in the other end and pull back and forth. He would pull that rubber band farther and farther until it snapped and hit him in the nose. He would jump up in surprise slap the rubber band a few times and start all over again, determined to get the upper hand.

When I lived in the Midwest one of Pleko’s favorite things to do was sit in the paper bag from the grocery store. Just like any cat it was a favorite past time, especially if I rattled the bag and played with him. When I moved to the East Coast I went to the grocery store and noticed that they would put the paper bag inside a plastic bag. One day when I came home from the grocery store I put the paper / plastic bag on the floor for Pleko. He immediately crawled into it but crawled in between the plastic bag and the paper bag. He was very confused and didn’t like the sound the plastic bag made. He tried to back out but ended backing up out the handle of the plastic bag. Since he was a fatty at that point he got stuck. He panicked. He took off like a shot and the paper and plastic bag went with him. He was growling and hissing at the bags and whapping them with his paw. He was loosing the fight and he knew it so he took off trying to run away from the bags. Since the handle of the bag was caught around his middle the bags were not going to go away. He panicked more. He ran faster and faster, jumping up in the air to try and escape the bag. I heard this entire ruckus went to see what was going on. What I saw was a howling kitty attached to a paper and plastic bag running a million miles an hour running under the dinning room chairs, successfully knocking them over adding to the noise and confusion and leaping in to the air like a gazelle. I was laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe let alone help Pleko with the enemy. Finally I calmed down and found him under the couch panicked beyond panicked. I got him out, took him into the bedroom and took off the bags. He curled up in my arms for a few minuets and then wanted down. He jumped to the floor and saw his new arch nemesis… the plastic bag. He raised his hackles, poofed out his tail and gave that bag the best warning growl he could muster. When the bag didn’t move he figured he had the upper hand. He crept forward and whacked the bag. It flew up in the air and Pleko being the big scaredy cat that he was took off like a shot. I didn’t see him for a couple of hours.

He loved to play with twinkle balls. What is a twinkle ball?? …It is a sparkly pom pom ball. He would chase these all over the house. At one point we must have had 20 of them. I kept them in a little bowl in the living room and when he decided he wanted to play he would go pick one out and bat it around, chew on it and chase it. But his favorite this was to play with Kurtis or I. You could toss the ball at him and he would whack it back. Over and over and over. He had the most amazing hand eye reflex… I guess that would be paw eye reflex.

In his later years Pleko didn’t clean himself like he should of. I ended up having to give him regular baths. (Giving a bath to a cat? I thought they hated water!) Well.. Initially he did, but then he got used to it. He would sit in the tub or the sink and holler and holler like he was dying but he wouldn’t move. I could lather him up and put the 3min deep conditioning on him and he wouldn’t care. I tried to not wash him in the winter, as it was just too cold. One winter it just had to be done, he was stinky. I washed him in the kitchen sink and he put up such a fight until I used the sprayer on him. All of a sudden he had a jet of hot water on him…. Just like a massage. He flopped down in the sink and rolled over so I could spray his belly.

Besides Kurtis and I (and a few select humans) Pleko had 2 animal friends. Zoey the cat and Pablo the dog, here is a little background info. During college I lived with my college boyfriend. One place we lived was a huge loft with Zoey and Pleko. We decided to get a puppy and Pablo The Great (and yes, that was his full name) showed up in our lives. He was a great dog (I will have to write an entry for him as he passed away this summer) Pleko and Pablo got along amazing well. My theory was Pleko finally had someone under him and a crony. They used to play for hours running back and forth chasing each other. When Pablo was a puppy Pleko had the upper hand. He could sit on the puppy and pin him to the ground when they were playing. But as Pablo grew and got stronger Pleko could no longer tackle him. One day I was doing dishes in the kitchen and heard a very strange muffled meow, I turned around and Pablo had Pleko’s entire head in his mouth lovingly sucking on it like he was a Popsicle. I told Pablo to let go, out popped Pleko’s sopping wet head covered in dog drool. Poor thing. His equilibrium was all off because his ears were full of dog spit.

Zoey was his girlfriend. They had an off on relationship but were always buddies. They would play fight. Pleko always laid on the floor and let Zoey wail on him. Even though Pleko was declawed in the front he could still hold his own. Kurtis and I used to call him Joe Frazier. He would hook his paw around Zoey’s neck pull her down, spin around and kick her with his rear feet. Amazing move and it would get her every time. When Zoey died in October Pleko’s health started to go down hill. It seemed like he became an old cat overnight.

Pleko was very grouchy last week, growling and hissing when I would pick him up, which was not like him at all. I took him to the vet on Wednesday and that is when we discovered the large tumor in his stomach. We were devastated. The vet gave me some painkillers and fluids, said to call if we needed anything and I took our boy home. The painkillers worked really well for the first day but after that he was still in pain even with the drugs. I took Friday off from work and spent the entire day with him at home. We talked, and took a nap on the couch. He couldn’t snuggle like he used to, as it was too painful for him. So he and I were content on holding hand and paw and catching a few winks. Saturday morning it was obvious that the decision had to be made. He was growling more and more and I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was in immense pain. Kurtis and I made the decision to help our boy and we took him to the vet. He was a wonderful kitty and best friend. I will always miss him.

Good night my sweet prince,

I hope you are playing with Pablo and Zoey among the stars.

WOW - pictures of Julia from College

2009-02-24T12:15:00.003-08:00

I was looking for picture of Pleko last night because I am creating a blog post to him. I found these jems...

The glass block wall goes up!

2009-02-13T11:36:00.000-08:00

The glass wall for the other side of the shower arrived today. The boys almost have it done!

Ready for Grout - Home improvement projects ala Kracke Style

2009-02-11T07:58:00.001-08:00

Winter time is the best time for us to catch up on all the home repairs and other projects we can't get to during the summer. Kurtis and Brian retiled the bathroom and it looks wonderful!

Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address

2009-01-22T07:06:00.000-08:00

My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors.

I thank President Bush for his service to our nation as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath.

The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age.

Homes have been lost, jobs shed, businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly, our schools fail too many, and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable, but no less profound, is a sapping of confidence across our land; a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real, they are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this America: They will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less.

It has not been the path for the faint-hearted, for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame.

Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor -- who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life. For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West, endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died in places Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions -- that time has surely passed.

Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done.

The state of our economy calls for action: bold and swift. And we will act not only to create new jobs but to lay a new foundation for growth.

We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together.

We will restore science to its rightful place and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its costs.

We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age.

All this we can do. All this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions, who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short, for they have forgotten what this country has already done, what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them, that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long, no longer apply.

MR. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works, whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified.

Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end.

And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account, to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day, because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched.

But this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control. The nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.

The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on the ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart -- not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.

Our founding fathers faced with perils that we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations.

Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake.

And so, to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with the sturdy alliances and enduring convictions.

They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use. Our security emanates from the justness of our cause; the force of our example; the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy, guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort, even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We'll begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people and forge a hard- earned peace in Afghanistan.

With old friends and former foes, we'll work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat and roll back the specter of a warming planet.

We will not apologize for our way of life nor will we waver in its defense.

And for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that, "Our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken. You cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you."

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness.

We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth.

And because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.

To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict or blame their society's ills on the West, know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy.

To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds.

And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders, nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages.

We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service: a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves.

And yet, at this moment, a moment that will define a generation, it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies.

It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break; the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours.

It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new, the instruments with which we meet them may be new, but those values upon which our success depends, honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old.

These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history.

What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence: the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed, why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall. And why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day in remembrance of who we are and how far we have traveled.

In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river.

The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood.

At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive, that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet it."

America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words; with hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come; let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Thank you. God bless you.

And God bless the United States of America.

Yes We Can

2009-01-20T13:26:00.000-08:00

I was privelidged to be able to watch the ignauration in the Dryden Theatre at George Eastman House with 500 other people. Here is a small video of the oath and some images from the event.

Road Trip Picks

2009-01-09T07:57:00.000-08:00

2009-01-09T07:41:00.000-08:00

This is for our friends and family that don't live in Rochester or Upstate NY. We had 11 inches of snow on New Years Eve day. Kurtis, Denise (our neighbor) and I shoveled and snow blowed 5 driveways and all the walks in between. We were out there for 4 hours. ....I don't know if I have recovered yet!

Julia and Kurtis at Home

2009-01-08T12:13:00.000-08:00

Kurtis and I have realized that we like to add posts to our blog but sometimes the posts are not all about our photography business so we have decided to start a blog for The Krackes. You all can keep up to day with the other goofy stuff we do.

I usually have my little camera on me at all times... the Canon G7... great little camera. I always get goofy pictures of what is going on around us and this blog is a great place for me to display them.

Like this picture.... really goofy. We were at the National Museum of American History in DC over the Christmas holiday and discovered that they have a thermal imaging camera. How cool.... Julia is the one to the left holding the camera and Kurtis is standing right next to her. .....have no idea who the other folks are...don't we look pretty though!!

Julia Child's Kitchen

Wall paper too funny to pass up

the new display for the flag..... beautiful

Piece of the Berlin Wall

Abraham Lincoln's top hat he was wearing the night he was shot.

Oscar

The Ruby Red Slippers.... had to take a picture of them as an ode to the homeland (Julia grewup in Kansas)

and of course, everyones favorite..... Kermit