Leaving in a hot car

I've got about five different blog entries in different states of completion, but they may not get posted anytime soon because in a couple of hours Dan and I are taking Moxie and blowing this popsicle stand. We're headed east on I-70, camping in Kansas tonight, meeting up with Cagey of Rancid Raves for breakfast tomorrow morning (we hope! stay put, little baby!) and ending our journey in Louisville, KY, where our friend and Impressive Clergyman EEK is gracious enough to host us for a couple of days. We've known EEK for years but never been to Louisville, and she's talked it up so much that we just can't stay away any longer. While we're there, we hope to live it up in true Louisville style - EEK's mentioned the track and there will likely be bourbon and bars and debauchery of all types. We're excited to see a new city and I'm excited to see a part of the country I've never seen before - I'll be able to add Kansas and Missouri and Kentucky to the list of states with which I've graced my presence.

Moxie's all tuned up (though somewhat the worse for wear; someone spilled a bunch of latex paint in the alley near our garbage cans and it spattered the back of the car, which is really annoying, but luckily it's nearly the same color paint as the car, and also it kind of scrapes off with my fingernail) and our neighbors will be feeding/watering the kitties, so we're pretty much ready to hit the road. I'm also excited because we have two (two!) sets of tickets. Yesterday, we used our gift certificate to the Denver Center for Performing Arts to buy tix to Spamalot (mezzanine level, opening night, sweet!), and today I took advantage of Southwest airlines to buy tix to California in August for wedding-related activities. I nearly kissed the TV the first time I saw them advertising nonstop Southwest flights between Denver and Oakland, and they're so cheap!

Hmmm, what else is new. It is really, really hot here. We have been sweltering under our ceiling fan, next to our box fan, and in front of our tower fan, because we live in an old house with no AC. Our kitties sprawl out in the coolest areas of the house and park themselves in front of/underneath the fans as well, telling us in the only ways they know how that oh, how poor and pitiful they are, those hot kitties. So hot. Loki doesn't sleep with us when it's that hot, but creeps in during the cool part of the morning and flops on his side to spoon whichever of us is getting the most fan action. Our tomatoes and peppers love the heat, though, and I'm started to get excited about freshly made salsa from the garden.

Exciting things are happening in the lives of several of my friends - new relationships, new babies (woo! wheels is a daddy!), and sad things are happening as well (coworker's 8-year-old cat stopped eating on Saturday after long illness). After a couple of weeks of feeling stagnant, I'm looking forward to this trip as a little get-away; I'm hoping to push away the stress I've been feeling surrounding a particular upcoming event about which I cannot blog (not our wedding) and just let it all out the window where it can live nestled and carnelian-colored amongst the corn in Kansas.