Go East, Young Girl

Inspirational song: Mockingbird (James Taylor and Carly Simon)

The miles are catching up to me. Even though it is not quite 10 pm in the time zone I just left, it's midnight where I am, and I feel every bit of it. We woke at 6, left for the airport at 7, and have been traveling almost every minute since then. We arrived at my parents' house sometime between 9:30 and 10 local. That felt like an epic journey.

That baby was a natural at plane travel. She didn't freak out on takeoffs or landings. She kind of plugged her ears when they bugged her. No crying. Not much fussing. She played with iPad and watched stuff on the seatback screen. She hopped between laps. And she really listened when we pointed out what we could see out the window. I could not possibly be more proud of her than I am.

Thank goodness we took the shuttle from the airport to The Villages. That was a painfully long drive (emphasis on painful, as the van oscillated and put strain on my joints), but it took us right to my parents' front door. If we had rented a car, we would probably still be driving in circles through swampland. I'm content to just stay very local from here on out.

We have had a little tour of the house, and visited over a late dinner. We met a charming calico cat with an epically floofy tail. And Valerie was pleased to show off to the latest set of grandparents she has discovered. So far a lovely start to the week. I have photos from the plane for tonight. Tomorrow will be reserved for my first Florida trip since... hm... possibly since high school. I bet a lot has changed since then.

Bags Are Packed

Inspirational song: Leaving on a Jet Plane (John Denver)

It has been thirty years since I traveled on an airplane with an infant. It's so much more complicated now than it was then, but thank goodness, I will not be the parent in charge this time. I get to be there for grandma snuggles and to help distract, but that's the limit of my actual obligations. We head to the airport at dawn, and won't arrive to our destination in Central Florida until well after dark. I'm packed, as full as that new little suitcase can be, and I have snacks and games in my carry-on. I think I'm set. 

I had a bunch of things I had to run around and do before I went away for a week. I helped a Rotary friend put together party favors for the Christmas luncheon, I had a PT appointment, and discussed a game plan to avoid edema problems during travel, went to brunch, shopped, and had a house showing, all before I came home to pack. On one hand, it kept my mind busy, so I didn't get stressed about prepping to go, but it also wore me out a bit. I hope I get enough sleep before that alarm goes off ugly early tomorrow.

I consider myself a seasoned traveler. Why is this trip stressing me out as if I never went anywhere? Is it the pandemic? Traveling with baby? TSA? DIA? Maybe it is that last one. The airport in Denver always feels like more of a hassle to depart from than most other airports I've regularly used. My daughter says leaving from LAX is a breeze. DIA makes me tense. I wonder whether any of the little regional airports closer to home will ever be reasonable alternatives for me. It would be nice to have options.

Squmpkin

Inspirational song: Squonk (Genesis)

What exactly is a squmpkin? Good question. Yes, it's a word we more or less invented for our purposes, but we still are not sure how accurately it describes the vegetable in question. Over the years, our garden has been performing its own hybridization experiments, independently, regardless of how many times I have insisted it be stopped. It seems to me that squash plants are capable of mixing and matching pollen at will. They reseed themselves, so they can volunteer year over year, blending and folding themselves into new weird shapes, colors, and tastes. 

This year, what we had the most of resembled slightly oblong pie pumpkins. One would think this was a good thing. One might be wrong. There were bunches of them, in various stages of ripeness, harvested and stored in the garage when the first freeze hit. At Thanksgiving, the Mr took a bagful of them to offer up to his family, and a few were game enough to take them. 

We were supposed to do a potluck tonight (which was canceled mid-day), and we decided to make a squmpkin soup to take to it. Before Mr S-P and daughter number one went up to the cabin, they started them roasting. I am so glad they took on that task. Even tough man hands had a terrible time getting the mystery squash to cut. He had to cut them along their equators, rather than pole to pole, and even then it was a challenge. There is no way I could have managed it. My daughter seasoned them, and they roasted gently for upwards of two hours. I let them cool completely, and then scooped out the flesh to boil into soup. Amazingly, cooking made the shells even harder. They were like dried gourds. (The Mr later said, "It's a good thing we can put them in industrial compost." Our home compost would never break these down.)

I still don't know what this stuff was. The flesh was fairly yellow, sort of dry, and only vaguely stringy. It had aspects of acorn and spaghetti squash and pie pumpkin all at once. But with the right spices, boiled in a little chicken bouillon, with cream, butter, and black rice added at the end, it made a hell of a soup. I guess I don't need to know exactly what it was, as long as it does not grow next year.

Seeing Things

Inspriational song: Hallucinogenics (Matt Maeson)

Massage brain is a real thing. It gets way harder to push thoughts out into words, and at the same time, it's harder to filter what does escape through your mouth. For the life of me, I was sure that was the extent of it, though. By the time I made it home from my massage today, I wasn't sure of anything in life anymore.

I drove home up Main Street. Before I even hit downtown, things got weird. Traffic was backed up, and I just managed to squeak in across a crowded intersection before the light changed leaving my car butt sticking out just to the edge of cross traffic. While I sat there, waiting for the cars to advance, coming down the hill (the opposite direction), all by himself, taking up a whole lane in the road, was a 20-something on a skateboard. He was a thin guy with a Mohawk haircut, and he kept crouching down and then standing up and spreading his arms wide, three times over or more. I marveled at the strength of his quadriceps to be able to do that. 

If I thought that one guy was the extent of the weirdness for that drive, I was so wrong. At the top of the hill I found downtown packed with pedestrians. Maybe it was for Small Business Saturday. People were everywhere...including the trio on the sidewalk dressed as Santa's elves. I mean a dark green velvet skirt on one lady, yellow and white striped tights on a guy, pointy hats, the whole thing. Okay. I really saw that. I think I did, anyway. I slowly drove another block and... is that a big silver Christmas tree dancing by the historical church? Is it a person in a costume, or a robotic display? Or am I actually just hallucinating? I just wanted to get home. Traffic just would not let up, even after I cleared downtown. A few blocks south of my turn, I figured out why. One whole lane was blocked off with emergency vehicles. By the time I passed it, I couldn't tell what actually happened. There were people on the steps of a business, and I didn't see any crashed cars, but there had been a flatbed tow truck? I just drove past without trying to fix in my head whether there was a car on the tow truck or not. 

I'm amazed with how confusing the drive home was that I made it to the right house. If I hadn't had mush-brain, the things I saw probably would have seemed more normal. This is just my week for seeing weird things I can't unsee. I'll post the photos of the potato I rejected for yesterday's lunch, without comment. You get to decide what you see in it. 

Auntie

Inspirational song: Word Crimes (Weird Al Yankovic)

For a few glorious days, the world is complete. I'm always happiest when my nuclear family is all in one city. My older daughter arrived early this afternoon, and the younger came over so we could all have lunch together. The baby showed up once she completed her nap, still wearing bed head hair. (She refused all attempts to pin it back with a barrette, so we gave up.) 

We have been able to see each other a couple of times since summer, so we settled into a calm routine a little faster than when we have too much to catch up with all at once. We have something like 10 days together, so we can take it easy. The animals are already coming to my daughter to beg for snacks or to snuggle in her lap, so she is already assimilated into the herd.

I have an old trumpet in my closet that I got from a white elephant swap one Christmas with the Smiths. Since my older daughter is the real trumpet player of the group (Mr S-P can play, and I can sort of manage a few notes), she brought it out to try to woo Valerie a little. We all think Val will be a brass player of some sort, probably tuba based on watching her at the pep rallies, so the sooner we get a mouthpiece in her hands, the earlier she can demonstrate talent or at least interest. She still wasn't fully on board yet, but there is so much time before she shows up at middle school band needing to make a choice.

Overstimulated

Inspirational song: We've Only Just Begun (The Carpenters)

This afternoon at my in-laws was the first time I really got to see Valerie interact with children close to her in age. Two of her cousins were present for the holiday meal, brothers who are 3 years old and 11 months old. The older brother was a little advanced for Val, but he was very friendly and sociable, and he kept her playing. The baby brother was toddling around skillfully, but he was obviously half a year behind Val, so there were lots of things he wasn't able to do with them. It was clear to me that she loved being able to run around a huge house, being a total kid with her cousins. I think this play time will serve her well developmentally. She also did way better with a houseful of adults than I expected. What a good kid. She was absolutely exhausted by the time we left, and she was asleep before we made it to the city limits leaving Boulder.

As with many families, we skipped most traditional gatherings over the last (almost) two years. This was the first time we have attempted a big meal together since the start of the pandemic. It wasn't even all of us. The whole branch stemming from the oldest sister (there are 5 siblings in Mr S-P's nuclear family) stayed out, to be extra careful about the virus. I respect that. If they're not ready, no one should force them into uncomfortable levels of risk. We missed them, though. It was great seeing everyone who did show. My in-laws have always been a very close-knit family, who place a high value on these chances to meet and break bread. The gatherings are more casual than they used to be decades ago. I think all of our kids mellowed us out when they grew up and led by example.

I hitched a ride home with the kids when they took Valerie home. I couldn't ask the Mr to stop reconnecting with his family just because I was worn out. We had animals who needed to be fed anyway, so I was fine with leaving early. "Early" may be the wrong word to use. I had been there four and a half hours when we left, so it wasn't exactly eating and running. But when we hit the outskirts of town, I swore it had to be 8:30-9 o'clock. Nope. It was barely 6:15. I was as overdone as Valerie, conked out beside me. She and I both need an early bedtime tonight. This was only day one of two weeks of holiday fun. We need to pace ourselves.

Brave

Inspirational song: Brave (Marillion)

I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts (History That Doesn't Suck, the episodes covering the Mexican-American War), and it was interrupted by an ad. Not tragic. Folks gotta earn a living for their art. I wish I could do the same. But this ad was for a service that interviews people over time via email and then compiles their answers in narrative format to give back to you, helping you create a family story. One of the example questions the service can ask was "name a time in your life when you were brave." Is that something people can answer? What constitutes bravery in the mind of the person seeking the information and in the person answering? That seems so subjective and difficult to me. Is brave the same as being bold? Extroverted? Aggressive? Or is it just showing up, not shutting down when you are overwhelmed, or running away when you're scared? How could you pick just one brave action in your life? We have to do little ones all the time. Bragging about a big brave action kind of takes the shine off it, doesn't it? What a strange concept, asking someone to describe their own bravery. I'm not sure how I could answer that appropriately.

How's this: My daring action for the day was to join my girls to go to the grocery store on the day before Thanksgiving. Daring, did I say? Maybe foolhardy is better. I made them wait while the Merida-red hair dye I applied on my roots this morning soaked in, and then we tried to go to the King Soopers near here. We got a surprisingly great parking place, got the baby out of her car seat, and walked maybe six or seven steps up the parking lot. Some guy was walking back, saying a pipe had burst in the store, and the only people they were allowing inside were those who were picking up precooked holiday meals. The baby cried when we put her back in the car seat. Poor thing. 

We went down to the Safeway down the road a ways and it wasn't as crowded as I expected, but the lines were long inside. Val was much happier to be riding free in the cart, not strapped into the back seat of a car. She played with all the food we selected, and checked to see whether she could drink milk directly through the sealed top of the jug placed next to her. She learned she couldn't, but she tried to few extra times to be sure. She was a little too shy to say hello to the three year old girl who waved at her. I wonder how long this shy stage will last. She couldn't look T in the face today when he came over to borrow something. We will be with family starting tomorrow, running almost continuously for a week and a half. You'll need to be brave, tiny queen. Lots of people will want to meet you.

Knots

Inspirational song: More Than This (Roxy Music)

Traditionally, writing these nightly blurbs gets harder the closer we get to major gift-giving events. I'm terrible about keeping secrets, plus I also always want advice. I'm not sure whether that is eased or compounded as we reach a stage in our lives where we desire less stuff, and thus always say we don't want to exchange many gifts. I know having a little girl who I want to spoil senseless definitely puts a hitch in those plans of scaling back the holidays. 

I went shopping after Rotary with my buddy, and already bought one gift. This means the season has officially kicked off. From here on out, I'll be tying myself in knots wanting to write about what I bought or made, but knowing I like gifts to be surprises. Some people are super easy to buy for. Most everyone else is an enigma to me. I have no idea what to give the people I know are in the same boat as I am, those who know they have too much stuff and want to downsize or just not fill up their limited living spaces more than they have to. I never know if they understand I do appreciate them, if I struggle and often fail to give gifts at the winter holidays. I would like to be better at giving. (Yep, I've almost completed one full knot as I compose.)

Mr S-P went up to check on his cabin today, while the big snows are holding off. He could only get so far before he had to park his truck and hike in, even during this dry autumn. He set a brace under his new deck cover, and moved an aspen tree that came down in the wind. He arrived home well after dark, and as he was devouring leftovers, he said something like "I didn't mean to, but I might have brought back a tree." It was too dark for me to be able to see properly where it was leaning in the back yard, but it's looking likely that our Christmas tree this year will be a gangly teenager tree from the mountain instead of the prelit artifical tree I got last year. Early in our relationship, we avoided arguments by alternating who got to choose the tree each year. Looks like it is his year. I just hope we will set it up right away. Like tomorrow.

(I stole a random photo from the ones he sent back to the family chat. This one shows an example of what I think the tree in the back yard looks like.)

Right as Rain

Inspirational song: Queen Bee (Grand Funk Railroad)

As I hoped, as I wished, after one day of increased stiffness from the booster shot, I am back to normal. It's like nothing happened to me, other than gaining a sense of euphoria. I just heard some doctor say on TV that the effects of the booster set in much faster--like within 48 hours. So that means now! I'm already improving, according to whoever it was on TV. I felt so good, I went ahead and got a flu shot this afternoon. Watch out, viruses. I'm on to you.

It's a good thing I felt improved. My tiny queen was here for several hours today. She was in a fantastic mood, and we had a blast together. I regret not having a camera ready when grandpa first picked her up. She had a toy smartphone that makes all kinds of noise, and she had her head down, playing with it. He asked her if she wanted to "fall," her favorite game with him where she dives backwards and he swings her back up. She looked at him through the curtain of her bangs, not picking her chin up even a fraction of an inch, trying to decide which was more compelling. The toy phone won out. But oh, those eyes showed how tempted she was.

I had been so bad about leaving laundry, sewing projects, and assorted junk on the guest bed. I had to clear it anyway before daughter number one comes over the weekend. I made myself stick to the job and tidied it up while Val started dropping hints that she was ready for her nap. I had to chase silly, loud grandpa out of the room, so she could quiet down and sleep. Once it was still and silent, she went out like a light. I haven't figured out why it seems so satisfying to see that kid relax and sleep, but it makes me feel like I'm doing this grandma thing right.

Immune Response

Inspirational song: She Blinded Me With Science (Thomas Dolby)

First time around--well, first two times around, I didn't think my reaction to the vaccine amounted to much of anything. I mostly just slept a little more. I admit, I worried a little that without all the misery other people had, maybe I wasn't as securely immunized. I didn't know what to expect from the booster. I know so many people who said they were laid out for up to two days. One said the vaccine hurt more than having actual Covid, which he did months before the vaccine was out. 

I let myself hang out in the living room, doing not much of anything, all day. My head hurt just enough that wearing glasses was too much pressure. I didn't ever fall asleep for a nap, so that was different than last time. What was also different was me noticing that my body was actually stiff and sore. It isn't horrible, not so much more than what I feel most bad days. I can see how someone not used to considering a "4" on the pain scale a good day would be freaked out by how much this hurts. I wouldn't want to be babysitting Val during a day like this, but I have had to function at this level of pain many, many times in my life. 

So I have a good feeling about this booster. I think it is actually eliciting the proper response this time. It's not fun, but it is reassuring. Now maybe it's late enough in the evening (checks clock--8:30) that I can go ahead and go to bed.

Boosted

Inspirational song: Long Distance Runaround (Yes)

There was very nearly a reason to be angry--I waited all day to drive up to Loveland, to get my booster shot. It was all I could do to wait until 5 o'clock to leave for it. It was full dark when I arrived, and I got a pretty good parking place up front. I tried to check in on the UCHealth app, but it took forever to get logged in. I made it past the first checkpoint, and up to a nice lady at a computer when it finally connected. While she was trying to find my name, I brought up my appointments tab...

It said my appointment was December 11. 

I just about died on the spot. Thank goodness they were flexible about it. The very helpful lady said that happens a lot, and she set me up. She even canceled the other one. Bless her.

The shot process was as quick and joyful as the original vaccinations. The lady who administered it was friendly and didn't mind me taking a selfie while she did it. I felt absolutely fine in the waiting area, and the whole drive back was no problem. I got a little dizzy walking into 5 Guys for dinner, but I brought my food back and settled into the recliner for the rest of the evening. Here I remain. Maybe half an hour ago I started noticing a tiny headache that goes in and out. So far there's nothing else; not even my arm is sore. Suppose I will react at all?

I feel like I should give a shout-out to the city of Loveland and the commercial spaces contained therein. They have their Christmas lights up all over, and boy did it look good. It provided the emotional boost I needed.

One Shot

Inspirational song: Accidents Will Happen (Elvis Costello)

Looks like I'm back to one of those "you get one activity per day, choose wisely" phases. I hope it is short-lived. I'm pretty sure I know what caused it, and I'm still peeved. I got Chinese takeout Wednesday night, and made such a point of making it gluten-free, not arguing at paying extra to make it possible for me to eat it at all. I was halfway through my dinner when I looked down and thought, huh, that's a funny looking onion. I pushed it around on the plate. Not an onion. It was a lo mein noodle. I sighed, picked it up with my fork, and put it on Mr S-P's bowl. Then I finished my dinner, figuring I'd already done whatever damage by that point. Since then, not only was I (ahem) dyspeptic, I swelled up visibly. When I changed into jammies last night, I saw my legs in the mirror and was concerned enough to weigh myself a second time that day. I was holding on to eight full pounds of water. Yes, that is uncomfortable, thanks. About half of it is gone now, as are all of my reserves of energy. All of this over a noodle I didn't even eat! Anytime I start to think, hey, maybe it's all in my head, maybe I'm not that sensitive to gluten, something like this happens. Yes, Anne, it's real.

If I was only getting one good activity today, it was gonna be with my girls. Sure it was just grocery shopping, but any hour with a grandbaby is quality time. I wish I could fully express how much fun it is to creep into that kid's field of vision when she is in her car seat, waiting for her grandma to come out to see her. She grins and giggles, and she kicks her feet. What a welcome. At the store, we got two shopping carts, one for mommy to load with food, one for grandma to push while Val cart-surfs. We definitely got the better end of that deal.

I probably won't get to see either of them much this weekend. I made my appointment to get my booster shot tomorrow evening. I tried to find one in town, and had no more luck than I did back in the spring for my original shots. So I have to drive a half hour each way, hoping I don't react any worse than I did the first time. First two shots made me nap a little. Who knows what this will bring. Gotta do it. Gonna see people soon. Better to be safe.

Spice

Inspirational song: That's Entertainment (The Jam)

So I'm getting the message that being a community college instructor is emotionally draining right now. At least it is for the instructor I live with. We are getting very close to the end of the semester, when young students tend to get really squirrelly about getting all their assignments completed and submitted during the best of times. Now that the world has been upside down for almost two years, the stress of a semester ending is taking its toll on far more students. And teachers, apparently.

I got a call from the Mr as he left the school, at the end of one of his long days (three classes taught in two cities), informing me that he needed a break from reality in a big way. He needed to go to an actual theater and watch a movie, specifically a sci-fi movie that came out a few weeks ago that we had yet to see. He had me buy tickets to Dune, and while I was nervous about sitting in a movie theater, I was relieved to see that it had been out long enough that only seven other people had bought tickets ahead of us. We were well-spaced and masked, except when consuming our snacks.

We arrived with only a few moments to spare, and rather than starting the previews on time, the screen went dark and quiet. We all sat there confused for several minutes, until one of the guys in front of us got up and walked to the exit. The Mr said, "there's someone with slightly less patience than I have." I came back with, "no, that guy is our hero right now." One of his friends heard me and agreed. He came back and told all of us in the theater (all ten or so) that someone was on it. I was just glad that the first time I got brave enough to go to the movies in almost two years didn't end up being a total bust.

I saw the 1984 version of Dune once, probably in 1984. I remember going with the group of guys who were my closest friends. They had all read the book and I hadn't. They probably understood most of it. I did not. Not in the least. I haven't read the book in the decades since, but I sure followed the story better this time around. 

Life

Inspirational song: Some Kind of Wonderful (Grand Funk Railroad)

I was glad to be wrong about one thing last night, and very sad to be right about another. When I stumbled out of bed this morning, it was to find a dusting of snow lingering on the grass and cars. I honestly didn't think we would see any moisture at all, so that was a nice surprise. It was much less pleasant to have to pass along the news to my mother that they did find the pilot in the plane crash of a tanker fighting a fire in Estes Park, and he did not survive. Our hearts go out to his family and friends. 

I spent a lot of time with the baby today, here and at her house. My daughter asked me to come over this morning and entertain Valerie while she cleaned and rearranged her living room ahead of holiday decorating. Val and I sat at the table and had grits (butter, salt & pepper, for the record), and had more much-needed spoon practice, while mommy mopped and moved furniture. I volunteered to have Val come over this evening, even though neither of her parents expected to make it to game night. That was a lot of fun. She was on her A game while she was here. She was interactive and showing off how well she was understanding and trying to repeat back words. Or she was until the folks started arriving for games. She is intimidated by T, probably because he is so tall and kind of loud. She gets shy and hides her face against me when he tries to talk to her. I'm not surprised. I can remember being very little and being super shy around a lot of grown-ups, even my uncle who was totally sweet and funny with us kids. I promised T that she would eventually come around and be chill around him.

Kruger Rock

Inspirational song: Spooky Mormon Hell Dream (Book of Mormon)

I had been looking forward to the dramatic weather change we are currently experiencing. We had had a ludicrously warm weekend, in the mid-70s in Colorado in November. That heat continued through today, and then a strong front rolled up and kicked up winds and brought down temps. It is supposed to dip a little below freezing at dawn tomorrow, and the next night will drop into the low teens. Originally they said we might get our first real snow of the season (not a lot, but more than a trace, so would be official first day), but the forecast is for dry, dry, dry. We will probably set a record for latest first measurable snow this year, unless the meteorologists are way off.

As if this wasn't enough to kill my pleasure at the weather change, at lunchtime I learned that a fire has started up in Rocky Mountain National Park, a half-hour drive from here. The early suspicion is the fire was sparked by a tree falling on electric wires, so to me that says the wind is to blame. We have been keeping an eye on updates, seeing videos, and hoping for our favorite national park and its neighboring community to be okay.

Then the news got really bad. They were ready to break ground, doing something for the very first time in wildland firefighting. They launched a fixed-wing tanker to fly at night, all night, as long as needed to fight the fire. It's very dangerous, which is why it has never been done. Literally the next tweet I read after I read aloud the report of the flight, was a report that the tanker had crashed. Search and rescue teams have been searching ever since. As I write, I am watching local news and reading Twitter, and Twitter is saying they believe they have located debris from the crash. Not yet confirmed on 9News.

Folks, firefighters do the angels' work. Keep them in your hearts. This is hard.

In Brief

Inspirational song: Dreaming (Blondie)

The well is dry. Seriously. I've managed to scrape out the last little bits of blog topic from the jar lately, but now my brain is as empty as the paper products aisle in a grocery store in late spring 2020. I have spent the last 48 hours staring off into space, trying to daydream, and even that is just returning static. Maybe I ought to just turn in early and hope that something exciting wafts by me tomorrow. I mean, if daydreaming isn't working, maybe it's time to start night dreaming.

Anyway, here is a battle for space I don't see often: Jackie literally trying to move her butt onto a pillow Athena nabbed fair and square.

Coated

Inspirational song: Walk of Life (Dire Straits)

My entire day was consumed by two activities that should have seemed easy. We had to go to Costco (for an appointment to have snow tires put on), and we invited the kids over for dinner. Nothing there sounds exhausting. Yet it was. When we arrived at Costco, they told the Mr that his appointment didn't appear in the books. He had texted me when he booked it. Both of us had it scheduled for noon today in our phone calendars. But we were there, and they took the car in without a fight. They just warned us it would take a little longer than usual to fit it in. Great. That means longer in the store, which translates to a lot more time to put things in the cart. Knowing we had to fit everything around the four all-season tires that would be put back in the Focus kept us from getting too-too much, but only just.

In the two plus hours we were there, I must have done the equivalent of five or six full laps of the store. I don't walk this much on a regular basis, particularly not while pushing a cart weighing more than a hundred pounds. My old, out of shape body is mad at me now. My hips and knees are going to get their revenge on me tonight when I try and fail to sleep.

We are nearing the end of the Rotary coat drive, and as I have been trying to remember to give to it for years and failing (executive dysfunction is a monster, trust me), I figured it was time to get some coats to drop off. I asked what they always need to buy at the end, what they never have enough of, and they said the largest adult sizes and all children's coats. So I grabbed one each men's, women's, and children's. Now the hard part will be making myself get them the three blocks to the drop-off at the hardware store closest to me. Wish me luck.

While at the store, I got supplies for a classic Sunday dinner, pot roast and roasted veggies, and had the kids come over for it. We are trying to eat together a lot more often, now that Valerie is finally getting the hang of this whole silverware thing. We let her eat only finger food for too long, and we had to back up and start putting forks and spoons in her hands. She's not graceful with it yet, but she is game to try. As she sat on mom's lap, eating ice cream, we noticed she doesn't quite get that food is supposed to stay on top of the spoon as it goes to her mouth. Her tongue is below it, so it makes sense to make those two meet, right? Makes for a messy dining experience. Still cute, though.