NaBloPoMo: Reflections

I made it - an entire month of daily posts. Not sure this is really an achievement, though. Some reflections:

• I don't get the point of posting when you really have nothing to say. I don't have the time to do it, and why would I expect others to have time to waste reading it? Now I can say I've done NaBloPoMo, but I don't think I'm likely to repeat.
• I did learn some new technical things about photos, Flickr, and uploading music.
  
• My traffic count this month alone was equivalent to what was generated over the entire prior existence of this blog (32 months). I haven't examined my stats to see where people are coming from, but I've only had one comment from someone who appears to have found me through the NaBloPoMo randomizer.
  
• I didn't do as well as I had hoped at commenting on others' blogs, but I have created some new connections, and maybe even have the beginnings of a blogroll.
• Blogging is an investment of time; thoughtful blogging even more so. I'd rather read a thoughtful post once or twice a week than daily drivel, and I really admire the bloggers who can keep that up. I still aspire to be one of them someday.
• (Edited to add) I will probably continue to post inane random stuff, and that is part of the fun of blogging. I just wish it could be more, more often, but I'm not sure I can pull off the tradeoffs needed to make that happen at this point. It's kind of like the difference between conversation and writing for publication. I want to keep the conversation going, but every once in a while I'd like to be able to pull out something that makes someone stop and think for a minute. Maybe that's just my ego talking.
  

Thanks for playing along with me! See you soon.

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Music

I can't imagine life without music in it. I have tunes running through my mind most of my time awake. It's been fun, and gratifying, to see my kids enjoy and appreciate it as well.

Son started playing the double bass two years ago, in the strings program at school that is open to all 4th graders. He has really taken to it, and shown some amazing aptitude (not that I'm biased or anything). This year he has been playing with the local youth symphony, in the "academy" orchestra, and has really had a great time and developed tremendously. They had their fall concert earlier this week, and did a fabulous job. I don't have the CD of that performance yet, but the link below is to a number from the summer camp program. This was the result of 5 days of group and sectional instruction, 6 hours a day, for a group of 4th through 8th graders that for the most part had never played together. I picked this one for two reasons: it's a fun arrangement, with snippets from lots of well-known pieces of music, and you can hear the basses pretty well (he was one of three in that section).

Listen

Technical notes: I've tested the link, but let me know if it doesn't work. The file is about 4.5 MB, so it may take a minute or two to download. Format is mp4, which I hope will work with most music players. As I figure out the technology, I'll try to record some of Daughter's piano for future posting.

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This morning

From our front door, about 7:30 AM.

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Meet Buddy

We adopted Buddy from the local animal shelter in the summer of 2005. He was about two years old at the time. He had been returned to the shelter by the people that had adopted him about a year earlier. Based on the bits and pieces of information we got, I'm guessing that there was maybe a divorce or an unexpected move, and they no longer had time to spend with him. Since he was still a puppy (or at least an adolescent), he developed the usual problems: chewing, barking, digging out of the yard, etc. and they decided they couldn't keep him.

Earlier that summer we had decided we were ready to have a dog in the family again. Our last dog, Molly, died in 2002 and we wanted to wait until the kids could be more involved before we had another one. I had been watching the dog listings at the shelter for a while, and when I saw this one I was hopeful. First of all, he is gorgeous - he has very dramatic coloring and is just a very striking dog to look at, though he's enough of a mutt that you can't quite figure him out. He was also about the right size - 45 pounds or so, not too big for the kids to control, but large enough to play with, hike with, etc. Evaluating a dog at the shelter is tough; you can take one outside into a large pen to interact with away from the noisy kennel, but there are so many distractions it's hard to get a good sense of what a dog is like. We looked at a couple of other possible dogs, just to be sure - I never feel very comfortable making a choice without examining all my options - but he ended up being the one. [My nephew, who was with us that day, likes to say that I brought out successively larger and/or more hyper dogs to make this one look good, but I really didn't stage anything. It was just my usual decision process.]

It didn't take too long for Buddy to settle in. Stray items were not safe from chewing for a while, and Son especially lost shoes and other items since he is the most likely to be lax about picking things up off the floor. But with lots of attention and his own chew toys, that phase didn't last long. Now he can make a rope bone last for months, when at first we were lucky if it made it through a week.

He is very social; he loves to play with other dogs, gets along well with our crabby, aging cat, and of course thinks that everyone who comes to our front door is just here for him. We're not sure what breed(s) he is; his coloring reminds people of a Bernese, but he doesn't have the body type - he has a narrow chest and is long and lean. Border collie, maybe, or some type of setter mix. He's fairly observant, but not as alert as many herding dogs are. He has very little body awareness; his tail is huge and he never knows what it's hitting. He has definite routines and habits. If you wait too long to let him out one last time at night, he won't budge from his bed - he's done for the evening. In the morning, the first person down will let him out, and then he will want to snuggle or lie down again for a while. As soon as the second person comes down the stairs, the mental food bell goes off and he is actively asking for his breakfast. He hates the wood floors in our kitchen and dining room, and will only traverse them if he can make it safely to his "islands" (the throw rugs that are at the foot of the stairs, in front of the sink, and inside the back door). He is goofy, playful, and affectionate. Best of all, he smiles.

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Multitasking

Is it really only two days since we got home from our Thanksgiving trip? It seems like at least a week - there has been so much crammed into that short time. Work has been crazed - we are on deadline for several proposals, and there are some awkward situations involving collaborative projects with outside groups that I am going to have to sort out. At home, there's a huge stack of mail to sort through. I experimented this evening with trying to upload music files to post here, and am having only partial success. There are only a few days left in NaBloPoMo, and I wanted to figure out how to post some of Son's music. But the kids are calling upstairs to tell me that A Charlie Brown Christmas is on TV, so I think I'll stop multitasking and sit down with them instead.

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Lovely weather we're having

We live in a valley that often experiences a temperature inversion in winter - a high pressure system with blanket of low clouds trapping cold air underneath. Everything is gray and dreary, and there's usually a burn ban so we can't use the wood stove to make things cozy. We'd been warned before we headed home from our Thanksgiving trip that this was going on. Today lived up to the billing. To add a little excitement, we've had freezing rain off and on all day. When I went out at lunch I had to scrape a layer of ice off my car. Son had an orchestra concert tonight, and though we got the vehicle as close to the door as we could, we still had to traverse about 15 feet of some slick pavement (plus some steps) carrying his double bass. I'm betting tomorrow morning's bonus will be finding my car doors frozen shut. I'm grateful, though, that we're here and not trying to cross the mountain passes in this stuff.

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Player

This was daughter's first Turkey Bowl game. She was an infant the last time we spent Thanksgiving with my in-laws. She was excited about playing, but the reality didn't quite live up to the hype when it turned out to be cold, wet, and muddy. She wanted to leave after the first ten minutes, so for a distraction I gave her my camera and had her taking pictures on the sidelines. After a while I came out of the game to take some photos. Her exuberant youngest uncle kept encouraging her to come back in, and finally picked her up and carried her (upside down) out onto the field. She stayed for a couple of plays, and then came back out -- and asked me to change her jersey from the blue side out (her uncle's team) to the white side (the team her dad and brother were playing on). I didn't really get an explanation for this, but I wasn't going to debate it with her if it was getting her out on the field.

Everyone makes a point of trying to get the younger kids the football, so after a few plays it was her turn to take a handoff (she said absolutely not to catching a pass). The adults and teenagers make a big show of trying to catch the kids, but really end up chasing them into the end zone. After she scored the touchdown, Uncle Exuberant caught up with her and gave her the traditional celebration: swing her in the air, then lay her down on the ground and drag her through the mud. This was the result. Not only did she stay and play the rest of the game, she now says being dragged through the mud was her favorite part!

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Score!!

The kids have been wanting a Nintendo Wii for quite a while. Our
neighbors got one last Christmas, and that prompted my kids to start
saving up for one, but they hadn't come up with enough money yet. We
decided that we would get them the console as a joint gift with my
parents this Christmas, and they could spend their accumulated savings
on games and accessories. Only one problem: no Wiis to be found.
There are only five stores that carry them in our home town, and after
repeated calls and visits, it became clear that you just had to be
lucky and be in the store when they opened a shipment. They are
coming in by twos or threes or fours, sent via UPS or FedEx so there
is no advance notice. I was seriously trying to come up with
alternatives, but not really thinking of anything that would work.

Since we've been in a major metropolitan area for the holiday, I
thought I'd search here. As soon as it was mentioned, it became a
family project - everyone was helping to track one down. We found out
a nearby game store would have at least 4 that would go out on the
shelves the day after Thanksgiving. My SIL, bless her, went out
before 6 AM on a VERY cold morning to secure a spot in line, and got
one!!! Now I have to smuggle it home without the kids seeing it. I'm
carrying it on the plane, so I'll send the rest of the family through
security before me and hope for the best....

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Branching out

There were a few surprises at yesterday's Thanksgiving feast. Yes, we
had all the dishes I expected to find that were there the last time we
had Thanksgiving here (1999), and the first time (1982, or maybe 83).
But in the intervening years, thanks mostly to some new people who
have married into the family, some new dishes have appeared. In
addition to the traditional family stuffing (which is way too soggy
for my taste), there was a bread and sausage stuffing with cranberries
that was wonderful. And the canned green beans were there, but there
was also a spicy version that was much more tasty (speaking as someone
who grew up with fresh or frozen vegies - the canned stuff was only
for camping trips and other survival eating). And there were two
kinds of red wine (and we only contributed one of them). And of
course there was way more food than we could eat, so the leftovers are
about to commence =)

PS: I read through this and it sounds rather critical. I'm not trying
to put any of this down; it was a tremendous effort and I didn't have
to lift a finger. It's just amazing how family traditions evolve so
differently, even those that are wrapped around the same holiday.

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Happy Thanksgiving

Our celebration this year will include all of my husband's family's traditions:

- the annual Turkey Bowl touch football game. Sometimes as many as
30 people or more show up, but today it's rainy and cold, so the
numbers might be lower. There used to be t-shirts, but last year for
the 35th anniversary they had reversible jerseys printed. (we got
some for Christmas, even though we weren't here to play.) All ages
play, so it's pretty low-key, and manipulated to end in a tie, though
some adult male usually manages to hurt himself.... hoping it's not
DH! We play in the park near his sister's house (which is the house
they grew up in - she bought it after their parents died). There is
always a group picture, and then we go back to the house for hot cocoa
(and other beverages). Game balls are awarded after all the players
sign them - sometimes it goes to the youngest or oldest participant,
or the ones who came the farthest.

- Thanksgiving dinner, again at his sister's house. Always on the
menu: deviled eggs (the "boys" compete to see who can steal the most
before the meal is actually served), turkey & gravy, stuffing (made
with bread, not stuffing mix), mashed potatoes, corn and/or green
beans (usually canned), and rolls -- as close to how my MIL made them
as possible. About 10 or 12 years ago my youngest BIL got into baking
and took over making desserts. He spent yesterday making a slew of
pies: pumpkin, pumpkin/coconut, banana cream, ice cream pie with a
brownie crust, and his fabulous frozen mocha cheesecake.

Hope this day finds you surrounded by friends, family, and good food.
Happy Thanksgiving!

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Cousins

My kids are in the midst of their biennial cousin fix.  All of their cousins come from my husband's side of the family; he is one of 8 children and between them there are 15 offspring.  [I have one brother, who doesn't have kids.]  We are the only west coasters; the rest live in the midwest or east, so we don't see them unless we travel.  We have been trying to do this at least every two years; our last visit was the summer of 2006, so it's been about a year and a half.  The kids are old enough now to remember people well from visit to visit, and can stay in touch by email and phone in between. 

 

Last night the east coast contingent arrived after a 7+ hour drive.  Within minutes, the kids were talking away, exchanging video games and music, and feeling right at home with each other.  I'm glad they get to experience this. 

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Homework

The kids are both missing school, so they each were given a packet of assignments to bring with them so they don't get behind. I have a deadline next week at work, and have some work to do in preparation.

Son's strategy: avoidance. Ignore it and hope everyone else will forget it has to get done. What he didn't count on was having five or six adults asking him about it instead of one or two. So far he has finished almost half of what he has to do, and we've only been here a little more than 24 hours. I think that's a record.

Daughter's strategy: just do it. All it takes is a suggestion, and she's off.

My strategy: procrastination. Since I have to be online to get at the documents I need to work on, it's too easy to check email, read blogs, or whatever. I'll get to it eventually, and there's no question the deadline will be met, but my brain is not up to the task at the moment. I'll blame it on the sleep deprivation/jet lag for at least one more day.

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Arrival

Itinerary continued:

• Land at destination (20 minutes early) at just after 6:00 AM. Feels like 3:00 AM.
• Spend most of the day semi-dazed from lack of sleep. Realize that age affects one's ability to stay up all night and still be able to function. It hasn't been all that long since we had sleep disruptions from infants -- well, maybe it has.
• Despite the upside-down schedule, it's great to see everyone here. Watching the kids reconnect with their older cousins is a lot of fun.

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Travel

Today's itinerary:

• Drive 150 miles, across two mountain passes. The first pass is 40 miles of two-lane road; it's dark, and snowing heavily. The plow is about two miles behind you, so no help there. Watch out for the deer!
• Find hotel, park car, take shuttle to airport.
• Sit up all night on a 737 between your two kids, both of whom are using you as a pillow.

To be continued tomorrow...

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Change in the air

The leaves are down off the trees, though a few still are clinging to the grapevines. There's been enough frost to kill off most of the garden; there are a few carrots yet to pick, and I can bring in more sage and oregano, and there are still green onion shoots coming up, but otherwise it's done for the year. The past few days have been rainy off and on, and this morning when the clouds lifted there was snow visible -- not on the far peaks, but on the second tier beyond the foothills. Tonight the wind is strong and gusty, enough to keep the hot tub from being enjoyable (which is too bad, because my shoulders are tight and achy). Winter is right around the corner. I love watching the snow fall, and seeing the sun on crisp, clear days, but I miss the warmth, and I don't adjust well to the lack of daylight. The sun sets before I leave work now, and we won't have daylight past 5 PM until sometime in February. That seems a long way off.

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Wine pick #2

I found a new item to add to my Trader Joe's list: 2003 Trout Trilogy Merlot, from the Horse Heaven Hills of the Columbia Valley AVA of Washington state. The label caught my eye when I was in a TJ's store last week - it's the color of a brown paper bag, with bright artwork of three rainbow trout (photo here). The price didn't look bad either: $9.99. Then I picked up a bottle and looked at the label - it's made by Canoe Ridge Vineyard in Walla Walla, one of our favorite merlot producers. At that point I was sold.

We opened it the other night and have really enjoyed it. Food-friendly, but not too fruity. To me, less expensive wines tend to be thin, but this lingers nicely on the palate. Not a special event wine, but way ahead of a lot of comparably-priced northwest merlots. This seems to be a TJ's exclusive, and we're planning to get more the next time we're in the neighborhood -- if it hasn't disappeared by then!

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NaBloPoMo: The Halfway Mark

I've made it through half of November with daily posts. The experience so far:

• I was hoping to have some more thoughtful posts up by now instead of mostly random ramblings. I've composed several in my head; mostly in the car, so they've never been written down. The travel schedule has just been too much.
• Yesterday was a close call. I was floored that my 2-month-old laptop wouldn't work with the wireless access point in the hotel (verified by tech support after 20 minutes on the phone). The hotel I was in was shaped like a big horseshoe and I was literally in the second farthest room from the front desk and the pay-to-connect computers. It would have been a shorter walk to go outside, but it was dark and rainy and some of the parking lot lights were out. I may need a Blackberry or an iPhone before I try this again!
• In addition to posting regularly, I am trying to comment more often on others' blogs. I'm having only moderate success so far; I just keep running out of time.
• I also want to learn some new skills, like how to embed a video clip or song. No time to figure that out yet.
• On the plus side, this feels like a project I can finish -- unlike the long, complex process-oriented things that are piling up on me at work. Simple is good, right?
  

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Bah

In another hotel.  Wireless won't work, so I am at a computer in the lobby (a LONG hike from my room).  Get 10 free minutes of Internet access before my credit card gets charged.  Since the manager has gone home for the day, no one has the ability to override the charges.  This part of NaBloPoMo is NOT fun.

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Ouch

A few months ago I was whining about the little glitches that come with moving into a new office. [Did I remember to post that the toilet paper holders were finally installed?] But this guy really gets my sympathy. Imagine winning a contest for "saddest cubicle" -- as a university employee, no less. We've had some charming office spaces on our campus, including converted bathrooms and storage closets -- but at least those had doors. Hope the renovation happens soon.

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Wine pick #1

One of the fun things about visiting the city is trying out the variety of restaurants. The Veterans Day weekend trip to the Emerald City is a tradition; usually there are 12 or more of us along. This year, for several reasons, our group was down to six, and we ended up splitting into pairs rather than trying to do things all together. My friend N and I decided we would try to make a tour of city wine bars. We managed to find and visit three between 1 PM Saturday and 3 PM Sunday, plus we had a late dinner and fabulous dessert (along with more excellent wine) at another local establishment. Needless to say, we greatly enjoyed ourselves.

One of my favorite wines of the weekend was the NV Capizimo from Wineglass Cellars. This started out as a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, and Merlot (hence the name), but has evolved over the years. The current release is primarily Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with some Malbec, Cab Franc, and Syrah. Rich and full-bodied, the fruits and tannins were nicely balanced and at $16 a bottle retail it was also the bargain of the day.

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Communal dining experience

We had a couple of experiences this weekend where we ended up sharing a table with people we didn't know. Usually it's fun; you meet someone new, converse for a while, and go your separate ways. Every once in a while it verges into the weird. I've been asked to take pictures of people I don't know before, but I've never had them rearrange their food to be sure everything was visible and make a special request to get it all into the photo. Or had them ask me to retake said photo -- twice -- because it wasn't to their satisfaction. And it's not like this was a unique or unusual meal; it was French toast with a side of ham, coffee, and juice. It was in the dining car on a train, so I guess that was reason enough. In fact, we learned that he had been on the train for three days and had documented every meal in this fashion. Maybe there is nothing else to take pictures of to prove you were on a train trip? I don't know. At just after 6:00 AM, I was too befuddled by lack of coffee and sleep to do anything but comply politely. You just never know what to expect.

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Off to see the Wizard

Not really - but I am off to the Emerald City.  36 hours of fun, friends, food, wine, and totally unscheduled time (except we can't miss our ride).  I can even read a book AND listen to my iPod at the same time. Indulgence!

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Fall

Norway maple and grape vine (top and bottom, in our yard) bracketing the neighbor's pin oak. These leaves won't be here for long.

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View from the road

The sky was overcast today, the light flat and muted. In the valleys, the apple and pear trees had lost most of their leaves, and the bark of the bare branches was a dull grey. As the road climbed into the mountains, the dark evergreens blended together into a solid background. Some of the mountain larches still had their needles, but they were faded to a mellow tan, no longer glowing brilliant gold. A few lone alders gave an occasional flash of bright yellow.

I drive this highway often enough to know where the deer and elk tend to congregate, which telephone poles the hawks like to use to scan the fields, the shaded curves that tend to hold ice on the road's surface all through the day. It is familiar, but never routine. There is always the opportunity for something unexpected. This morning it was a bird, flying above the road in the same direction I was driving, twice making a sudden dip to the right so that it almost rolled to vertical and then quickly went level again. It was silhouetted against the light, so I couldn't see its color or any identifying characteristics. It seemed to accompany me on the journey for a few seconds, and then was gone, off in search of its own destination.

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The TJ's List

What's on your Trader Joe's list? One of my email groups had a fairly extended discussion of this earlier in the week. Okay, this is a list with food as a topic, comprised of people who have busy work and family lives, lest you think that the motivation was solely rampant consumerism. But TJ's is unique among chain stores in the variety and selection it offers, and it was fun to exchange favorite finds. Pass the chili-lime pistachios!

Unfortunately, our residential trajectory seems to keep taking us out of TJ's orbit. When we lived in Santa Barbara in the 80's, one of the early TJ's was in Ventura County. Since my spouse worked down that way, we shopped the store every few months, and were subscribers to the (paper) "Fearless Flyer." Then we moved to the Bay Area. Just as the first TJ's stores were coming in, we moved out -- to the Northwest. It took ten years or so for TJ's to follow. The closest stores are still over 100 miles away from where we live. For a while, we would visit one pretty regularly en route to my parents' home, but two years ago they joined us over here in the back of beyond. So now we're back to pooling shopping lists whenever one of us will be in the vicinity.

We're pretty much limited to non-perishables; the time and distance make it hard to transport frozen foods, and I'm not enough of a fanatic to hunt down dry ice. But we definitely have some favorites that we can't find locally (like the meringue cookies) or are much less expensive (like Barbara's natural cereals, or dried fruit - love the Bing cherries!) or we find their house brand much tastier than the national brands (rice cakes and biscotti fall in this category). That's just a sampling. What's on your list?

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Phoning it in

In the spirit of NaBloPoMo, I'm making every effort not to miss a day, but this is not much of a post.  I'm tired and I've been fighting a headache all day that is on the verge of becoming a migraine.  We had to have a special conference with Son's math teacher today; I think it was a good thing to do, and he did actually get a fair amount done afterward (making up missed or poorly done homework to try to bring his grade up) -- but not without some angst and drama.  I got my car in to the shop for an oil change, which was good as I have to go out of town AGAIN this week (driving this time), but I learned that it's coming up on some pricey maintenance items because of age and mileage (timing belt, anyone?).  Right now, sleep sounds like the best thing, with hopes for more energy tomorrow to dredge up a more interesting post!

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...it's DEFENDER GIRL!

Daughter has played soccer since she was first old enough to sign up. Before that, she spent a lot of time watching her older brother play. This year was her fifth season. She has pretty consistently wanted to play, but wasn't especially enthused, and never really seemed to feel comfortable out on the field. Our youth league plays "modified" soccer, so up until this year there have been only three players plus the goalie on the field. Like most early youth teams, the kids swarm after the ball and don't understand how to anticipate or why it might be helpful to go where the ball isn't. She always seemed to be behind, and rarely got to make a play.

This year the team could have four players plus the goalie, which meant someone could be assigned to play defense and stay back rather than chase the ball. Daughter finally found her niche. She absolutely reveled in moving back and forth in front of the goal and charging at incoming balls. Knowing that the goalie was still behind her providing another chance at a save seemed to free her up to actually go after the ball instead of waiting for it. She has quite a leg, too, and could almost put the ball in the goal at the other end. It was great to see her bounce with excitement during the game, and get a share of the cheering from the sidelines. She's one of the smaller kids, and has gotten knocked down more times than seems fair - she even got a bloody nose in one game early this season. So it was with mixed emotions - but not a small amount of parental glee - that I watched the opposing players get tentative and slow down or even cringe in anticipation as she moved in.

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Today's accomplishment

New tile, originally uploaded by NW Wing.

The tile on the island is finished!

I got it installed two weekends ago (in between the two Canada trips) with the help of my friend N, owner/operator of a very cool power tile saw. Today I finally got the grouting done. Not easy to do on a vertical surface, if I do say so myself. Very pleased that this is done!

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Breakfast

I'm not much of a breakfast eater. I think it's because most mornings I don't get to sleep as long as I want and wake up naturally; instead I have to set an alarm because I have to be at work or somewhere on a schedule. But when I get a weekend day where I can take my time, it's a different story.

Today is a gorgeous fall day - the air has a chill to it; the sun is out but there's not much warmth, even in full light. It seemed like the perfect morning for some homemade corn muffins. I used the recipe from "How to Cook Everything"; I find that I use this cookbook a lot for technique and traditional/standard recipes, while my old "Joy of Cooking" is getting dusty. I did make muffins in cups rather than the traditional one-dish cornbread the recipe calls for - since I'm the only one in the family that really likes this, it's easier to stash individual muffins in the freezer and use them a couple at a time. After filling a muffin tin, I had some batter left over, but not enough to fill another dozen cups. So I poured the rest into a little unglazed stoneware dish and had a gorgeous small cake of cornbread to eat warm for breakfast with butter and honey.

Son saw me working in the kitchen and assumed I was making pancakes. That's his favorite breakfast food, though it's never really been mine - they get cold and soggy too easily. When he found out I wasn't making pancakes, he asked if he could make some himself, so I helped him through the recipe (also from "How to Cook Everything"). Pretty soon he had a big stack of nice golden pancakes and excitedly asked if he could call one of his neighborhood friends and invite him over for breakfast. It was fun to see him enthused about sharing what he had made. I know by the time I was his age (almost 12) I was doing a fair amount of cooking and baking on my own. I feel like I should have taught him more by now about how to prepare food and handle himself in the kitchen; maybe we'll make that a project this winter. At any rate, now he knows he can make pancakes from scratch. And I have some nice treats to warm up for myself on cold mornings, even when things are rushed.

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Halloween Recap

Halloween 07, originally uploaded by NW Wing.

* 43 trick-or-treaters at our door
* One 90-lb pumpkin, still sitting intact on the front steps. I think the shell is about 4 inches thick, so I doubt it will ever get carved -- maybe we should attempt some pumpkin puree?
* Cash expenditure on costumes: $0.00 Both kids wore things we already had from prior years. I think that's the first time that's ever happened.
* Approximately 75 pieces of leftover candy. I get dibs on the Butterfingers; spouse and I will armwrestle for the Baby Ruths, and the kids can have the Skittles.
* One party in the church basement, at which Son helped run some games and cleaned up afterward, and Daughter stayed long enough to hear her favorite storyteller read "Heckedy Peg" but then opted for trick-or-treating around the block.

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November? Aaack!

So I thought I was getting all organized to do NaBloPoMo, and even got my cute little cat badge posted in the sidebar, and had all these good intentions about not only getting posts up regularly but commenting on others' blogs -- but somehow during all this thought it didn't register that TODAY is November 1st and I should be doing this already!

One of the bigger obstacles to regular blogging is that I can't do it from work.  No, my employer is not in the dark ages as far as technology, and I actually have some very nice tools to work with.  But the governmental powers that be have enacted rather draconian policies about personal use of state resources, and having witnessed first hand how the electronic data trail can be found... well, let's just say I don't ever want to look that dumb.  Ever.  So I don't blog from work. 

In case it might help, I'm trying Blogger's email-to-post tool, so if this one looks really funky, I'll have to try to figure out what happened.  In the meantime, to entice you to check back, I still intend to post every day this month, and have photos, book reviews, and maybe even some wine recommendations coming as well as the usual musings. But for today, I'm getting my post in with a little over 2 hours to spare, and heading off to sleep...

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