Anyway, lets get to the pictures. First up, was Smokie's birthday. This one I enjoy, especially since I get to be here for them now. We've known each other a long time and I value her friendship and her company very, very highly.

Taken two weeks after her birthday party...but who cares?

Then there's my sister and my Mom. Don't have any pictures of them. But jeez, with the price of cards nowadays..the expenses are climbing! But I love them both, too. And again, now that I live much closer, I can attend!

Recently added to the list was my old friend Doris. I've known her about 10 years. We're not what I'd call close friends, but she's always glad to see me, and I'm always glad to see her. She probably thinks of me at least as a friendly face in the sea of assholes she has to deal with in the bar she used to work in, topless I might add. Anyway, I was lucky enough to go to her birthday party this year, too. So I had to bring a camera as I only have mental images to remember her by.

Insulation, anti-freeze, and fine company.

One of things I sorta worried about was being out in the middle of nowhere, free-flowing beer, and a jealous boyfriend. And his friends. But Doris assured me she had all that straightened out and not to worry. And she was right. He turned out to be a pretty nice guy and we had a few good conversations. Heck, he took the picture of me and Doris above. Naturally I had to return the favor.

Can you say "American Bad-ass"?

Now this last picture below is where I have to bitch and moan about disposable cameras, especially the Fuji version. This would have been such a killer picture had it caught all the details as they appeared. I probably could have done better with my big fancy Pentax, but I was concerned about being too drunk to focus it, so I took a disposable.

Witchie Woman

The fire looked bigger, raging in a way. And the firelight caught this look on Doris. She can get this "witchie woman" look on her face when she's fixin' to get up to some no good. But it's the kind of look that will make a man's blood boil. But the so-called "MAX" film in the camera just didn't catch all the subtle lighting. And I wasn't too drunk either. Early on in the evening I had decided that I would drive back home and sleep in warm bed, so I kept the beer drinking to a minimum.