A family of North and South sensibilities, four furry four-leggeds and a sea-salt blend of ethnic flavors and crunchy shrimp rolls. We like movies…we like music. Actually lots of people like those two things too. One of us likes audio-stuff WAAAAY too much, and one of us has a hair-dye addiction (we’ll let you figure out who’s who). We have a super awesome house that was built in 1945 in fabulous North Knoxville which is decorated in a blend of Ikea meets Pottery Barn – minus the PB price tag.

As a couple – overall, Jim’s the chocolate to my peanut butter…or am I the chocolate to his peanut butter…wait a minute, he’s allergic to peanuts…and we’re both more like white chocolate I guess.

Anna hails from Pennsylvania. She’s outspoken, yet socially savvy. She’s been dying her hair since she was 13, and has finally embraced her natural curls. She’s a dancer deep inside her heart, but her body has a bit too much fluff on it to do it professionally. She loves movies and select television shows, and is a fan of various music styles and tastes (but probably leans more towards 80 style sounds and dance beats). She’s got a masters in psychology, but lives and breathes in social work jobs. She’s dealt with a lot of loss in her life, but is learning to move forward and treasure the past. She’s a Lutheran-Unitarian Universalist, and proud of it. She’s a liberal-moderate, and tends to vote democrat. She’s still trying to figure things out in life, and working to love every minute of it.

Jim hails from Middle Tennessee and is the resident photographic journalist of our family life (i.e. he’s not too much into blogging, but does provide the nice pictures). He owns more copies of 2001 and Blade Runner than should be allowed by law. He loves music…of all variations, but is a student of artists like Tangerine Dream, Vangelis and Kraftwerk. He’s also has a great pioneer spirit that enjoys camping and fishing.

Iris is a Philly girl all the way! Adopted 8 days after 9/11, she gave comfort during a time of chaos. She was once in a (fantasy-alert), rock group called Feldspar Crinkletoes, but they broke up and we constantly have to hear about her decision to potentially get the band back together. She’s our special needs diabetic kitty and often pretty OCD about making sure that any household changes are submitted in paper, in triplicate.

Kira is an East Tennessean cranky kitty. She’s fond of the men in the house and tolerates her fellow ladies. She doesn’t like kitty treats but give her some spiced ham or SPAM and she’ll love you forever. She needs a tummy tuck. Overall she’s quite chatty and I’d imagine her voice would sound a lot like Bea Arthur.

Easton is a golden, Lab-Pointer Mix (aka – a Golden Labointer), that we excitedly adopted from the animal shelter in Hendersonville, Tennessee when he was about 1 year old. He’s got a deep voice, but we don’t hear it often. He intimidates people because he’s a large breed, until he lays his head on your lap. We often get told how AMAZING he is – loyal, gentle, even-tempered, well-trained, sweet, snuggly and all around one of the best dogs you’ll ever meet. He never meets a stranger, and I often joke that he’s so nice it’s almost like he’s running for mayor! He does tend to lick a little too much, so perhaps he’s actually running for Lickman At Large. Most people want a dog like Easton…somehow he’s blessed our lives. I’m not sure how we got so lucky.

Uli is the baby that we gloriously adopted from the Mid-South Eskie Alliance. She is part American Eskimo/Spitz (or Eskie), and part…well, we don’t know. Apparently, since she had black ears and black spots (one on her back and one on her butt), people didn’t want her. I guess the markings made it obvious that she wasn’t a pure breed. We got our first picture and we fell in love. She moved in on a “foster-to-adopt” basis, just in case she didn’t work out with the other animals. Blessedly, she does. She’s learning more every day too. She’s feisty and sassy and all ours! The markings on her make her more distinctive and adorable, and she quickly becomes the one that everyone asks “What kind of dog is she?” and “She’s soooo cute!” She is and she’s OURS. If you do come to visit us, don’t keep anything on the floor around Uli…you’ll soon find out why.

So, that’s us…the whole GANG.