Hocus Pocus

Inspirational song: I Put a Spell on You (Annie Lennox)

Best idea ever-- this year, to encourage trick-or-treaters to stop at our house, I met them halfway. I sat at the end of the driveway to hand out candy. I set out a camp chair, covered it in a thick blanket, and had a second blanket for my lap. I ran an extension cord out, and encircled my chair with purple lights, plus I plugged in my little "bubbling cauldron" of lights. I slapped together the sloppiest costume. I was going for spooky witch, but it looked more like kooky fortune-teller when it came down to it. I'm sharing the embarrassing photos I sent the kids to prove how goofy it was. I had a can of peach tea, and two screens on which to watch Hocus Pocus (one battery died). I was set.

When Mr S-P got home from school, he joined me. He carved two pumpkins really quickly, grabbed a wool cloak he has used for a costume before, and we waited to see who would come by. There were several slow periods, but overall, it was incredibly successful, compared to the trend of the last decade. I think the lights really helped us out as it got darker. We easily got 25-30 kids before my movie ended and it got too cold to be outside. When we moved inside, I draped the purple lights along the side of the porch, and we had three more groups show up. Saoirse ran out to greet the first one. 

Now that I know this works, I have a year to plan. Next year will be more put together. I'll be better prepared for the weather. And our display and costumes will be ready to go before the sun goes down.

Flipping Birds

Inspirational song: Another Day (Paul McCartney)

They don't come around often, but sometimes there are times I don't feel like sharing. It's no-share Wednesday for me this week.

I have a couple pictures of Alfred, the game we played, and Alfred suggesting he wanted to play the game with us, since it was the bird game. Best I can do for now.

Food Coma

Inspirational song: Food Glorious Food (Oliver)

Not sure it is worth fighting it. I made the most amazing dinner, and I have been sedated and happy ever since. For over two hours, I've just been sitting here digesting, and I'm getting more and more relaxed and sleepy as I do it. I didn't want to write. I just wanted to enjoy my happy tummy feelings. 

I went to meet the new botox doctor, as my previous neurologist has left patient practice and gone on to teaching. I'll miss him, but I'm happy for his job change and opportunity to be with his family more. After my migraine treatment, my daughter and I took Dmitri to King Soopers, and that was worth the trip. Little man is enthusiastic and smart and chatty. We had so much fun with him. He helped us each pick out two pumpkins, and I wish you could have seen our two-year-old strong man try to lift them.

The dinner I made is one of my oldest recipes, that translates well to gluten-free. My mother called it "Stewart chicken" after the person who taught it to her. My housemate told me that once she moves out next year, and comes back to visit (at least annually), she will request this for dinner. I think I can swing that. But for tonight, I need to go sleep it off.

Some Boys

Inspirational song: Steppin' Out (Joe Jackson)

I wasn't intending on leaving the house today. I was going to wake up slowly and then try to find something to work on here. Instead, I had a request to come sit on some boys for a few minutes while their mommy had a surprise meeting at work. I had to recenter my head and move a little faster and more purposefully. My brain resisted, but I worked it into line.

The boys were pretty chill when I got there. Dmitri was powering down, alternating between watching Toy Story and drawing on a Magnadoodle. Avery was content to sit on my lap or stand, and we spent almost the whole time I was there making smiles and giggles at each other. Then it turned out the meeting should not have been scheduled when it was, and was postponed, so I had an extra hour to sit with everyone until regular work time started, and the Monday sitter took over. By the time I left, both boys were sound asleep. Dmitri stretched out on top of me, with a fuzzy blanket, Mario and Luigi dolls, and an ambiance video playing. That was the easiest I've ever gotten him to sleep. He was moved to the other side of the couch and he didn't stir at all.

I'm not sure what I did that qualifies as overdoing it. Maybe scrubbing doors and doorframes at my friend's house. Maybe lifting children yesterday and today. Maybe being in a weird position for too long cleaning cat boxes. Something irritated my shoulders, and I don't like it. I'm pondering some sort of pain relief and an early bed. In fact, yeah, that's next on my schedule.

Break's Over

Inspirational song: Back on the Chain Gang (The Pretenders)

(Long, drawn-out groan) Ooohh, we are rusty. Sure, we have continued to take the kids with us on outings during the long maternity leave, but most of those were either short or featured only one or two children. Today was our first full shift at home with all three, just like we did up before leave. The older two are big enough to qualify as, shall we say, rambunctious. There were a lot of elbows thrown and take downs happening, intentionally or not. I know we have predicted that wrestling may be Dmitri's preferred sport, but I don't know that any of us thought we would already be steamrollering or coming in off the top rope. I certainly didn't expect Val to hold her own as well as she does. I need to hide my breakables for the next decade, at a minimum. 

This is the age where the baby needs to be held nearly constantly. It's not really every minute, but when you're trying to get other things done, it feels like it. It's a lot of fun, and he is at that age where he makes a lot of eye contact and smiles freely. Doesn't make it any easier to make a multi-step stew, when a young man is throwing a fit from his baby swing.

Their dad came early to pick them up, and after hours of playing hard inside and in the back yard, and then a relaxing bubble bath, Dmitri fell asleep right as daddy came to see him. They were in my room, watching TV with minimal ambient light, and the kiddo just melted. We need to work on our timing. We are supposed to get him a nap mid-afternoon, not run him like a diesel train and then let him collapse late. We will get the hang of this again soon.

Why So Hard?

Inspirational song: Easy to Be Hard (Hair)

After a long day of cleaning, both here and with my friend, all I wanted to do was lie in bed and watch the football game. I tried to get it through the apps on the TV. I fought with Hulu ("delete this version of the app and update it" and then I could do neither of those things in settings), and finally got it working through Roku. But even though it said it had college football as something I could select for recommendations, it had none to offer. So I tried ESPN. Found the CU game listed, but the only way I could watch live would be logging in with a TV provider. Why do we pay for the streaming apps if they are useless unless you also pay for cable, satellite, or something like Sling? I got rid of those things on purpose. I freaking hate the way things work now. Or fail to.

I should be relaxed. I did something that has been a giant weight on my shoulders. The end-of-season disarray on the porch made me feel awful. Housemate and I went out and completely revamped it. I sorted and stacked all of my terracotta and other planters. I packed up supplies and fertilizers in their storage tub. I emptied dried soil into a separate tub, where I can rehydrate and condition it for next year. Piles of irrigation supplies and yard tools were taken to the garage. The last plants to be saved came in. Plastics taken to be recycled. And the whole area was swept and straightened. Ah, bliss. Tomorrow we can ponder buying some pumpkins.

With many hands, the porch work was light. Only took an hour and a half. But then I spent all of my energy with the kids, and cleaning my friend's bathroom. By the time I got home I was wiped out and my back was sore. I guess karma is not like a bank account where I can deposit good works and draw out luck. Otherwise I would be watching the game now. At least the announcers on KOA radio paint a clear picture with their words. The fourth quarter is about to start. I'll post this and close my eyes, and watch the game in my head. 

Read the Cards

Inspirational song: Come and Get Your Love (Redbone)

I only accomplished one valuable thing today, but it was a good one. Three of us, the Mr, housemate 2, and I, went to a Halloween party at a friend's house. We had costumes of a sort, nothing super elaborate but fitting our personalities. And we arrived late, but to be fair, it was in a town that was over half an hour away from here. 

This was my first time going to this friend's house. They had done such a great job decorating for Halloween, but it sounds like their daily decor kind of slid right in to being holiday appropriate too. One or both of the couple is a big horror movie fan, and there were original movie posters all over the place. I doubt they keep the giant animatronic skeletons up in the yard all year, though. 

For a little while, housemate and I hid in the basement, when the noise of the party got to be too much. We hung out and got to know their handsome black cat. Then when we went back up, a group that included our host was playing with a tarot deck that had been used as decoration. They didn't know anything about how to read them, but H and I knew some. So our friend asked me to read the cards for him. I was honest that I didn't have every card memorized, but I could come up with reasonable interpretations of the ones I didn't know. Overall, I think I got it right, and maybe it's just me, but I think it was a really good spread. I hope he liked it.

Fall Things

Inspirational song: Criminal (Fiona Apple)

As we drove to and from Costco this morning, the trees were absolutely shedding leaves in a forceful, beautiful way. Mr S-P said what I had been thinking, that we suddenly went from late summer to autumn, and it was in full swing. Several times we passed through thick showers of golden leaves, and I felt a burst of joy in each one. Once home, I watched as a cold front passed through, sending curtains of leaves sideways over my front garden. I don't care how basic it makes me sound. I live for these few weeks of autumn, and I never get tired of it. Winter starts next week, sort of, so I must enjoy it while I can. This evening's forecast revision moved in favor of rain and snow leading up to Halloween.

While I was trying to make progress in the kitchen, I started eyeing a bag of apples I bought last week. As snacking apples, they were incredibly disappointing. So to try to use them up, I decided to bake them. It's a great time of year for apple pie. Before I knew it I was putting together dinner for the house, with my grandma's beef-tomato-okra casserole (I wish I had a name for it) as a main course. I hadn't planned on cooking much at all, but suddenly it felt so good to do. I hope this signals an upturn in my attitude too. 

Housemate 2 and I watched another couple episodes of Agatha All Along tonight. Rewatching it on the big TV downstairs is helping me catch a lot of things I didn't notice before, especially for episodes I watched on the shattered iPad. I wish I had energy to keep going and get up to date on the big screen. I also want to find images of all of the costumes online somewhere. Not just stills from the show, but closeups of the stitching and fabrics. It has been thirty years since I had a costume design company, but that doesn't mean I don't really geek out on this stuff.

Big Boy

Inspirational song: Traveling By Steam (Fairport Convention)

The entire family of train lovers trekked out for a special day. I went along too. (Trains are neat and all, and I like riding them as transportation, but I'm not running around screaming, "TRAIN GOES BOOBOOO!!") We drove out just to the other side of highway 85, to a crossroads where a whole lot more trucks traversed than I expected. There were more than a dozen other cars full of people besides us, several with giant, fancy cameras and tripods. We waited almost two hours in the morning sun (bad news for Annie) until finally the star of the show rolled by. The largest steam engine ever made was on the move for train enthusiasts to marvel over. 

They call this one Big Boy, and I'm pretty sure that name will echo down in our family from here on out. The kids were so bored with the long wait, but once the train was in view, Valerie was sitting on the roof of their Jeep, bellowing at the top of her lungs, "HI, BIG BOYYYYYY!!" You can hear her on some of the videos our family took, but I know videos don't upload well on this app. Once the train went by, the kids drove up to Greeley, where there was a planned stop for crowds to get a good long look at it. We raced home, so the Mr could zoom into a class and I could go back to bed, feeling awful from the cold, Valerie's stomach bug that she shared, and hours in the sun. I slept until 4 this afternoon, and I'm still tender.

We did something different for game night. We went to 300 Suns brewery, hoping to see Monty the Longmonster, our hometown's new mascot. We arrived after he had already left, but we stayed and played Cascadia. It was nice to switch things up, but I probably should not have gotten the second agave peach cider. I'm not used to drinking on game nights, and doing it after a day of feeling puny was a dumb idea.

 

Pressure Point

Inspirational song: I Feel Like I'm Drowning (Two Feet)

Who doesn't love a nervous breakdown at four in the morning? There I was, wide awake, whispering an argument with the ceiling fan, about how overwhelmed I am by other people's junk. I can't tell you how many people have said, hey (Mr S-P), can I store this in your garage? It's bad enough that we have our own stuff collected over two lifetimes. We seem to be the repository for everyone who just needs to put things "for a while." It's never just a while. And the lack of space for my own life got to me today. I've been grumpy and depressed and explosive and weepy. I realized that the avalanche of shit is closing in on me so badly that I basically live in a chair. The Sisyphean task of trying to clean a path before the tide of junk refills the space made my brain break, and I'm not quite over it. I can hear my friend's admonishment, "learn the word NO," in my head, but that does me no good when crap just shows up at my property, and I don't know whose it is, nor how to make it leave. This is going to take some time to work through. 

I was asked to pick up our girl from school today. When I got there, the teacher said she had been struggling with a tummyache all day, and even fell asleep for a while. She was listless and quiet when I got her, so I let her call the shots. She asked for a snack when we passed a McDonald's, and I set her up with a place to eat and watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She kept having waves of cramping, so we lay down in front of the big TV instead, and I stroked her back until she calmed and closed her eyes. She wasn't fully asleep, but the pain lessened. Her mommy has been making sure she's okay, and it sounds like she is on the mend. I was actually glad to hear she barfed, so anything that was irritating her is out now. Let's hope this is the end of the upset.

I've Done Better

Inspirational song: Poor, Poor Pitiful Me (Warren Zevon)

Sometimes it's probably healthy to lower your expectations. For example, as hard as I coughed all night last night, I'm just glad I never wet the bed. I could have gotten away with another dose of NyQuil before bed, but I didn't take any. Today I took life in small bursts, and celebrated the little things. Loaded the dishwasher--yay! Sat for a while--sure, I earned it. Cleaned the cat boxes--well done! Rewatched the second half of Wandavision--of course! I think I'm nearing the end of the active phase of the crud, but I still have a runny nose, deep coughs, and explosive sneezing out of nowhere. Friends and family tell me all that part will be with me a while.

I realized that we aren't as far into October as I'd thought we were, and now I have a whole extra week before my next medical appointments. I'm in bonus time now, so who can guess how I will waste it. I'll be sure to come up with novel and creative ways to do that.

I had no real photos to speak of for most of the day. (No documentation of cat box cleaning. You're welcome.) I walked around while the plant lights were still on, trying to find something pretty. I got an okay shot of Hoya carnosa krimson princess, a mediocre picture of Thanksgiving cactus, and I noticed that my baby Monstera Thai constellation is pushing out a new leaf. Might as well post them all.

Go On Without Me

Inspirational song: I Hear You Knocking (Dave Edmunds)

My own life was pretty boring today. I went back and spent another couple hours helping my friend who is doing a major cleanup of their house. I scrubbed a bathroom, and just about did myself in when my bleach-covered gloves touch a spot where a cat box had once sat. What do we get when chlorine and ammonia come into contact? A quick trip outside for fresh air and those gloves tossed in the trash, that's what we get. Eventually I managed to get the bathroom clean enough to call it a day, and that was all I could have hoped for.

The rest of the family had much more fun. The children started their day at a nearby apple farm for festivities and apple cider donuts. Later in the day they went on a hike in the foothills of Boulder. The Mr took both dogs on a quick trip to the cabin, so he could drain the last of his stored water before it froze and ruined his cistern. The dogs have been suspiciously silent since they returned. Wearing them out is the key to stopping the barking. If only I had the energy to take them romping through the mountains to stop them barking at cars on a regular basis.

I only have stolen photos for tonight. At least they are adorable.