Costume

Inspirational song: Whatever Gets You Through the Night (John Lennon)

This year's Halloween costume debuted tonight. I dressed up for the Rotary party as a goth skater chick, and it was fun. I'm really glad I don't dress like this every day, but it was neat to see a different side of me. I really hammed it up when I could, when people were taking pictures or when we were showing our costumes for the contest at the party. But as soon as that was done, I stopped being goth or emo or whatever this outfit called for and just acted like me.

With my housemate's advice and assistance, I put together a layered look. Black long-sleeved undershirt, ratty, faded black tour t-shirt over it. Jean shorts, purple tights, black leather clunky boots. Plaid shirt tied around my waist. Three silver necklaces with goth styling. Four hematite rings and black nail polish. Fake nose ring. Purple beanie. And makeup. So. Much. Makeup. 

I watched a YouTube tutorial on how to apply the makeup, and did my best. How I'm going to get it all off again, I have no idea. I tried scrubbing the liquid eye liner off my hand, where I accidentally globbed it. Regular hand soap failed, as did my face wash. I tried a dry paper towel, hoping friction would do it. Some of it is still there. I can't do this to my eyes. I have to research more gentle methods. I used black eyeliner pencil for my brows, and during D&D tonight, I tried removing it with a baby wipe. I had marginal success. Am I going to have raccoon eyes all the way into Thanksgiving? Time will tell.

The Backstory

Inspirational song: Bad Moon Rising (Creedence Clearwater Revival)

To drive up attendance at the Rotary Halloween party, two clever members rewrote a verse to Bad Moon Rising, and performed it in front of the meeting today, complete with ukulele accompaniment. It was cute and those of us of a certain age and demographic enjoyed singing along. I tried very hard to tamp down the feeling of inescapable dread that this song occasionally inspires in me, and take it as the bouncy tune it is on the surface. I promised the person I usually sit next to that I'd tell the backstory, so let's see what memories I dredge up.

In high school, I used to sleep with my radio playing all night. I still like having noise going when I sleep, in the form of music, audio books, or news. Back then it was the rock station out of Oklahoma City that lulled me to sleep. One autumn night, I woke up a second before the first chord strummed to Bad Moon Rising. I was filled with a sudden joy that came out of nowhere, briefly wide awake in the pre-dawn hours. I fell back asleep when the song ended. I woke later that morning with an ear infection, hurting deep inside my ear canal. I dragged myself the two blocks around the corner to where we practiced marching band, at the field next to the middle school. My friends alerted me that my cat had been either hit by a car, or something more nefarious that is for another story, in the street between my house and the school. I saw him, lying still on the edge of the street, blood congealed in the same spot on his head as where my ear infection was hurting me. Needless to say I was an emotional wreck for the rest of the day, after calling my stepdad and asking him to come retrieve Noa's body. I did the math in my head, and remain convinced to this day that he was killed at the very moment that song woke me.

This was not the only strange event I associated with that song. Twice more it involved cats, another one dying a mere week after the first, and then a few months later, my friend showing up at D&D with a found kitten, who was immediately adopted by my cousin (the game was at his apartment anyway). I know there were other spooky coincidences, but none stuck in my mind as thoroughly as the cat episodes. The first time it happened was almost 40 years ago, and I can remember as clearly as if I were still there, on a humid autumn night, next to an open window. I can smell the warm wood smell of the house. I can feel the firm mattress and the carvings of the bedframe. I can hear the tiny speakers of the clock radio that was always on. I can see my beloved tuxie cat lying in the street, in the gray, foggy light of that next morning. I've had more than a dozen cats come and go in my life since Noa, but I will never forget. 

I don't think I have any surviving pictures of him. He was a handsome, handsome boy. What I do have is a picture of a lovely young lady who was not feeling well at all today. I picked her up from school, and her teacher told me she had a cough and a runny nose. That wasn't the half of it. We needed to do a quick Walmart trip on the way home, and she voluntarily lay in the shopping cart, and curled up and slept while I grabbed the few things I needed. She was pale and her coughing and massive booger nose were pitiful. When we got home, I set her up on my couch, with fresh fuzzy blankets, Disney+ on the iPad, lemonade with added honey, and microwavable mac and cheese. I wonder if this unlocks a new core memory, getting pampered at grandma's house when she feels yucky.

I Wish This Was My Picture

Inspirational song: Rock Around the Clock (Bill Haley & His Comets)

I was invited to go view the comet currently visible in the western sky, and I just couldn't convince myself to get up and go. By the time night had rolled around, my units of "get things done" were completely depleted, and even walking to the door was beyond me. Pity, that. My housemate was the one who invited me, and they have good equipment for star-gazing. They only brought fancy binoculars this time, and that was enough to see the nucleus of the comet and detail in the tail. They took a three-second exposure photo over the pond at the park where they went, and it was an insanely beautiful shot. I said if it had been my picture, that would have been plastered all over social media by now. So, with their generous permission, I will put it here. 

I didn't end up submitting my ballot today. I wasn't sure whether it was still considered a bank holiday today, as this particular holiday is controversial. (Personally, I fall into the group who prefer the newer "Indigenous People's Day" version, but that is neither here nor there to my point.) I assumed that the county offices would be closed, and as my entire motivation for handing in my ballot in person is to get that sweet, sweet sticker, I elected to wait one more day (pun intended.)

I have overbooked myself for this week, and I've started culling projects already. I had a few food and drink items planned to prepare for game night, and I'm going to simplify there. I am keeping my costume for the Rotary Halloween party to mostly items I already have on hand, both to save money and because I want it to be easy. I'm just trying to make it to next Monday without overload, at this point. I don't have a snowball's chance in outer space of achieving that, but here we are.

 

So That They Leave Me Alone

Inspirational song: Shambala (Three Dog Night)

October is taking its time becoming, well, October. Saw our favorite weatherman Chris Bianchi (Crispy Donkey) refer to it as "Scorchtober" today. Finally there are cooler days in the forecast. Not necessarily tomorrow, but in the long-range, and that's enough to give me hope. The overnight low tonight is supposed to barely kiss the 30s, but make it to second base with them in a week. I need to bring the last of the plants in this week, assuming I can make the last adjustments so they have places to overwinter. 

The one thing I am not ready to do is turn on the heat. We came in to watch a Marvel movie and the most recent episode of Agatha All Along, and the bedroom was chilly. A couple of hours later, with two each of adult humans, giant dogs, and cuddly cats, and this room is broiling again. I'm not interested in heating it further. I actually considered turning the ceiling fan off this evening, before the room heated up. What was I thinking. That thing will stay on until January, at least.

I didn't walk the next section of my neighborhood today after all. Instead, the only GOTV effort I made was my own. I did the last of the research on judge retention, which was thankfully detailed in the blue book the state sends out, and the few amendments and ballot initiatives that I hadn't fully considered until today. I filled out my ballot, and I am comfortable with the choices I made. I feel a little hypocritical, because I didn't exactly consult the voter guide I'm papering my neighbors' homes with, although I probably came to most of the same conclusions my compatriots did. I'm going to return my ballot inside the county offices tomorrow, instead of using the drop box next to the DMV, in hopes of getting the sticker. That's why I always waited until actual election day before. But they say turning in your ballot early stops the texts and emails, and I'm willing to trade a sticker for some peace any day.

Shining Stadium on the Hill

Inspirational song: Walk of Life (Dire Straits)

A little more than 20% of our get out the vote effort is done. Housemate 1 and I walked the southeast quadrant, plus our own street. We gave out a total of about 75 voter guides, but this is the section with the most walking, I think. I handed off the walk lists to my partner in the precinct this evening, so she and her brother can do the condo and apartment section. I'll pick back up tomorrow evening, assuming my body lets me. Both feet, one knee, and one hip are on fire. Housemate 1 felt just fine after, but I swear I weigh double what they do. If there were half of me doing all this walking, it would be a lot easier.

As I recovered, I discovered an acceptable substitute for the Braum's cherry limeade I long for when I'm not in Oklahoma. Canada Dry has a cherry ginger ale that I tried for the first time today. Squeeze a fresh lime or two into that, and I can live with it. Will save me a ton of money on the much more disappointing Sonic version.

I'm listening to the CU game as I type on my phone. When I started that sentence, we scored a touchdown. That's great and all, but we are still down an entire touchdown beyond that. It's the 3rd quarter, and two of our best players, including the guy who should be in top consideration for the Heisman, are banged up and not currently playing. I'm so tired, I don't know how I'm going to stay awake to the end of the game.

I had to drive Mr S-P to where he left his car at a friend's house, a couple towns over. We took a rural route to get there, and as we drove in the dark, listening to pregame chatter on the radio, he pointed towards Boulder in the distance, and complained how bright the giant scoreboard at the stadium was. I'm not sure if what he was pointing at was indeed the jumbotron. It may have been aimed the wrong direction to be that. But wow, the stadium itself was the brightest point on the horizon.

Hangin' Out

Inspirational song: All By Myself (Eric Carmen)

It's possible one could say I kidnapped my family this afternoon. Midday I texted my daughter and said I needed groceries. She said she also needed them. And then I threw the family in my car and almost didn't give them back. I had thought I was up for a day alone, with the Park residents off at their various classes and obligations, yet when presented with company to hang out with, I insisted that they stay as long as possible.

We did the two cart method at King Soopers, but even that nearly went off the rails. It didn't take two minutes inside the store before the big kids were dramatically throwing themselves on the floor, because they thought it was funny. Almost immediately, one smacked her face on the polished concrete and bruised her lip. Thankfully there was no real lasting damage. They were plopped in the second cart, and there they rode for the rest of the trip. I got to push the baby around, trying to persuade him to drink a little from his bottle, thinking that was what he was fussing for. Turns out it was because he was ready to sleep again, and the only way he was happy was when the shopping cart was in motion. So I got an extra long walk, doing laps of the store while my daughter filled her cart up with essentials. 

We drove around for an extended time between dropping off her groceries and mine, to give the entire carload of children a chance to sleep, while they are of an age when the rocking of a car is the quickest way to induce a nap. We drove past several 5-10 acre parcels that are out of my price range, even if the kids and we both sold our respective houses and moved in together. There was one that we could probably manage in a pinch, but the house on it is way too small for a multi-generational living situation, so we kept on driving the kids through their nap, and let it fade into memory.

The kids will be here every weekend soon, and if I am going to be ready for that kind of chaos, I will need to throw a lot of stuff into storage to keep it safe. Not sure where that organizational energy will come from yet.

Recommendations

Inspirational song: Sk8er Boi (Avril Lavigne)

I needed inputs today. I had a very low reservoir of creativity. I was on the verge of crowd-sourcing my Halloween costume with y'all, until I spoke aloud some of my rough ideas with housemate 2. She jumped on one of them, and walked me through very specific ways of making it work. It went from a "maybe I should do something this direction" to "show me what you have in your closet so we know what few items to buy this weekend" very quickly. It helps having a close confidant who is 20-plus years younger than you. Now I'm super excited about putting this together, and feeling far less self-conscious about wearing the look.

There is still one thing about which I will need to get opinions from locals. This evening I went to pick up my GOTV materials, and on the way home decided I would absolutely shrivel up and die without a cherry limeade. Crossing the very full parking lot to the Sonic, I noticed this restaurant was thoroughly packed on a Thursday night. I've never been there, but a crowd like that makes me think it must be pretty good. Have any of you locals been to Rosa Cantina on North Main? Do I want to go there next week for my birthday dinner? I kind of feel like I do, but someone giving me reassurance would be appreciated.

My Favorite Gift

Inspirational song: Fire (Arthur Brown)

When my kids were little, every mothers day, birthday, and any excuse I could come up with to ask for it, I liked to say the only gift I really wanted was a clean house. As these were the years before we really understood what ADHD even was, much less had any of us officially diagnosed (one) and others highly suspicious, I can look back and see why this was such a desperate wish for me, and why it was so unachievable. I have a birthday coming up in a week, and in honor of my past self, this is still the present I most want (well, other than maybe a big winning lotto ticket). Sadly I have come to accept the reality that the only way I can get this gift is to do it myself, and then snarl like a half-starved mama wolf when the rest of the household and family try to drop their crap on the horizontal spaces I clear off. There is one adult culprit who is more likely to try this than all the others, but there are also children who roll in here like blue-eyed tornadoes on the regular. 

I started cleaning as soon as I downed a cup of coffee this morning, and I didn't stop until about ten minutes before game night guests arrived. I pushed myself harder than I usually do, and I am able to sit and admire my work now. I put a few things back on the walls that had been lying around since the last painting progress. I dusted like I have never dusted before, making every surface much better (and it's got a chance of staying better now that I'm finally back to the good cat litter, and there aren't fans blowing in every room anymore.) My west side plant shelves are reorganized, finally fully-lit, and properly watered. The cords next to my chair are wrangled. I still have a lot to do, but tomorrow is feeling a lot more manageable.

There were setbacks today. The above-mentioned blue-eyed tornadoes came over this afternoon, while mommy and daddy had a conference with the teacher. (Reports are excellent, and Valerie is nailing pre-K like a champ.) There were little drink spills on the freshly-shampooed carpet, and the puzzles are now shuffled into some wrong boxes. This is to be expected. I have hopes that organizing and cleaning everything else will pave the way for making toy storage more efficient. But for now, I'm more interested in being able to see the formica on my peninsula for the first time in months.

Four Thieves

Inspirational song: Silver and Gold (Burle Ives)

I am either brave or foolish. Or both. Let's say both.

The day after Avery was born, while we still had the older kids, we took them down south to see that new troll installation near Cripple Creek. On the way there, we stopped at a beekeeping superstore. I poked around in the gifts and sundries while Mr S-P asked about whatever it was he needed for the hives. I found a soap with a fragrance I had never heard of before that day, called Four Thieves. Turns out this is a blend of five essential oils that dates back to the days of the Black Death. There were spice traders in France who doused themselves in this blend of oils, which they believed would protect them from the bubonic plague, and then they would loot dead bodies. Gruesome backstory, but intoxicating fragrance.

That soap is almost used up now, but I still really like how it smells. I looked up online what the blend was, and realized I had 3/5 of the ingredients already. I had eucalyptus, clove, and lemon essential oils (but I didn't know the lemon was almost gone). I needed cinnamon and rosemary to complete it. I also needed something to mix it in. Here enters the brave versus stupid part of the story.

My daughter had chores to do, so she wasn't up for a trip to Natural Grocers for oils and Hobby Lobby for small jars. (Although now it occurs to me HL might have had the oils too.) For company, I brought along a handsome young man as my date. He really enjoyed being allowed to walk through the craft store without his hand being held, or worse, relegated to riding in a cart. There was a lot of "let's go this way," and "well, will you look at that." (I might be mis-remembering the second one. It was something like that, or "well, I'll be," or another cute old lady kind of phrase.) Turns out Dmitri really, really likes every shape and variety of Christmas greenery you can imagine. The trees, garlands, and wreaths were endlessly fascinating. In about six weeks, we will see just how dedicated he is to that whole experience. I remember his Professor Grabbyhands routine with the tree last year. This year maybe he will help decorate it, rather than the opposite.

After shopping and a trip through the car wash (he asked), I dropped him off and set about to blending. I used grapeseed oil as a carrier, and just haphazardly dunked in as much of each oil as I felt like. While I was doing it, it was ridiculously strong. I capped it, shook it, and I've been letting it blend and mellow while I shampooed the carpet. I intended to add little bits of it to an unscented hand lotion, or maybe heat it in a diffuser. All depends on whether I have the proportions right.

How You Do It

Inspirational song: Run Away! (Spamalot)

There are some really creative people in this town. I'm feeling inadequate. I drove down a street I rarely traverse today, on the way to Valerie's school. I did pickup today, for the first time. I saw several seriously snazzy Halloween displays on the way, but I only pulled over to sneak a picture the one time. It was a scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, done with skeletons, of the attack of the Beast of Caer Bannog. These are my people. Well done, chaps.

I don't know what I expected Valerie's first teacher to look like, but she was entirely unexpected. Her appearance was irrelevant though, because she had the attention of all of those little goobers, and Valerie tells me often that she absolutely loves her. I'm so happy to see her enjoying school this much. This felt like a very healthy space for her to discover the world outside of her cozy family bubble. 

After school, she and I hung out at my house, while her brothers got their immunizations. I had already shampooed my love seat with the upholstery attachment to the carpet cleaner. I had to do something to keep her occupied and away from it. She did some puzzles, and then I suggested we try out my new toy. She was super excited for the idea of a toy, and more impressively, she was still into it when she realized I had just bought an electric spin brush I saw on a YouTube video. (Housemate laughed at it and said I got TikToked.) Val and I squirted a little dish soap on my shower tile and tub, and tested out three different attachments for the brush. That was the fasted and easiest I have ever cleaned a tub. The grout is improved, the rubber mat was quickly scrubbed, and my body didn't even hurt after. (Wait, I'm lying. It hurts now, but it's five hours after we cleaned, and the upholstery work and long time standing at the stove added up too.)

I was nervous about what it was going to be like picking her up from school, but now that I have done it once, I'm totally fine with it. I had a touch of fear of the unknown. There will be complexity added once I have two little boys in tow, but I'll face that hurdle later.

Honing Skills

Inspirational song: Lullaby (Shawn Mullins)

I have a particular set of skills. I have the perfect energy to get a baby or a toddler to go down for a nap. I used to be able to get Val to sleep faster than anyone else when she was here and fighting sleep. She's beyond daily nap age now, so I've moved on to lulling boys to their rest. I apparently am able to sit at just the right angle to allow Dmitri to recline yet still see the iPad when we watch videos of trains or whatever he needs to turn off his active brain. And I've become proud of how I can usually get those tiny Avery eyes to roll back in his head and drift off to dreamland (for whatever three month old babies dream about). New parent leave is almost over, and grandma babysitting duty is about to fire up again. These skills will come in very handy. Think good thoughts for me to be able to continue them.

Dinner yesterday was punted to today. I made the chicken cacciatore that I promised for the week after Avery was born, that never happened until now. I am pleased to report that after swearing she didn't like it and didn't want it before she had any idea what chicken cacciatore was, Valerie actually did like it, and ate a significant portion of what she was given. Well done, young one. 

The patio didn't end up getting worked on, which was the original plan for bringing the family here. I don't know what blocked the progress, but I'm not going to worry about it. Eventually it will be installed, and I'll forget all about the delays. For now I'm more concerned with getting the house ready for more frequent toddler care. I have lots to organize in the next week. I'd like positive thoughts for that minor miracle too.

Ho Hum

Inspirational song: Abracadabra (Steve Miller Band)

Here I am, trying to get back to that "blog earlier" idea, and I'm still already frazzled. This was a day for catch-ups and delays, and none of that is particularly inspiring. The main goals were reached, stocking up on the good cat litter at Petco and a cart mounded high at Costco (Yes, Mr Door Checker, we did get three cartons of half and half). We were supposed to have the family over for yard work and special dinner, but a tummy bug is spending a few hours in each of us this weekend (and leaving quickly), so that was canceled. 

Now I find myself completely uninterested in writing or taking new pictures. It's not a me day. It's a meh day.

Fly, My Pretty

Inspirational song: Magic Carpet Ride (Steppenwolf)

For all that social media has wrecked about modern life, there are aspects of being "extremely online" that are incredible national bonding moments. There was that time, back in the olden times on Twitter, that tens of thousands of us were deeply invested in waiting to hear that a tiny, three-legged kitten had finally pooped before he exploded. (Man, I miss reading about Bitty, but not enough to go back to Twitter to find out whether his human still posts about him.) Today was a special moment frozen in time, while a nation was enthralled in a cross-platform mystery, with people on TikTok, Instagram, and Threads (maybe more?) waiting for updates from a woman who found a rolled-up rug buried two feet deep in her yard. She did just enough exploratory digging to decide she needed to call in the authorities. A crew from Homicide showed up and taped off her yard. They put up a tent and brought out an excavator. And then, a day into this drama, we all heard that no, there was no body buried in that rug. It was a little anticlimactic, until I learned that while she got extra attention today, some slimeball hacked her TikTok account and robbed her. So I suppose we ride at dawn?

I couldn't stay home today. I had planned to, but by the time lunchtime rolled around, I was itching to go look at stuff. My daughter had too much to do at her house to be my partner in crime, so I did the next best thing. I stole her little girl. We spent hours together, getting Orange Julius, shopping at Magic Fairy for pretty rocks (I got a carnelian, she got a rose quartz heart). We tried the Spirit Halloween for the crow or raven decor I have been trying desperately to find. It was underwhelming. We tried Michael's instead, and for once, I had enough options I needed to choose between them. There was a resin crow with his wings out a little bit, one foot gripping a roughly-sculpted eyeball. Then I saw one that was a crow with wings tucked, bent down, and a battery-operated candle emerging from his back. Valerie got to choose, and she chose the candle. I think it was the right way to go.

I tried to go through the pharmacy drive through from there, but the line was long and not moving. I looked in the rear view mirror, and Valerie was sacked out. I ducked out of the Walgreens line and took her home. Her mommy had made dinner for us all, which was a great way to close out a fun day with my best girl. Dmitri sat on my lap while we watched a movie and ate dinner, so I ended up wearing quite a bit of rice, beef, and peppers, but it was worth it.

The Boys

Inspirational song: Bloody Well Right (Supertramp)

Let's see how fast I can write tonight. I'm predicting I can finish in about six minutes, if I apply myself. I'm starting to get a gurgly tummy, to go along with feeling extra tired and sore, and I want to hit the hay early tonight.

We just got home from meeting up with the old high school friends down in Boulder. Technically, the three men present were in school together, and we two women became BFFs later in life. While we were at the last original dive bar in Boulder, the Dark Horse, my buddy held the phone while the guys video chatted with two more of their gang, one in San Francisco, and the other in Switzerland (he was the foreign exchange student who became family to them all). It was nice to reminisce. But now I'm feeling full and tired.

I got to play with my boys for an hour, while their mommy did a little shopping. We cuddled and watched Lilo and Stitch, and Dmitri dug out the bubble wands. Without his big sister here, he had no competition for the bubbles, so he was running two streams at once. What a lucky kid.

Check the time. Pretty sure I came in under six minutes. Whew. It's bedtime.

New Favorite Tool

Inspirational song: Shattered (The Rolling Stones)

The best twenty dollars I have spent all year. 

I have an addiction to YouTube videos. I've owned up to that many times over. One of my favorite genres is cleaning videos. Even the shorts they offer me on YouTube and Facebook skew heavily towards cleaning. I kept seeing videos of people using stiff, short-bristled broom/brushes to scrub tile floors, and I thought, I need one of those. Auriikaterina uses a squeegee on floors after she mops, and I tried a cheap one from Home Depot that failed. I took one more gamble with an Amazon purchase, and I won the jackpot. I got a twenty dollar combo deck broom and squeegee that has radically changed my cleaning success.

I have been using the broom on the carpets for weeks. It pulls up Great Pyrenees fur like nothing else can, and eases the burden off my stick vacuum. Today I tried it for its other purpose, and it was another revolutionary advancement. I've hated the tile in my kitchen since before we even closed on this house. Little did I know then how badly the grout would hold grease and dirt and be next to impossible to clean. Mopping just made it worse, not better. I tried steam. I tried bleach. I tried acids, abrasives, and peroxide (not all at once). I spent hours sitting on my bad hip on that hard floor, trying to scrub the crap off it. So it was with little confidence that I dribbled Dawn and water on the floor and started scrubbing. And scrubbing. And a little more scrubbing. It was labor intensive, but by the time I squeegeed up the brown foam, I knew it was working. It was a trick rinsing all the dish soap off, but the floor was an entirely different color with the grease stripped off of it. It took hours to do the whole thing, but finally I have slain the dragon. Only took me nine years to find the right tool for the job.

The whole time I was gone, the residents of this house were sick, so I suppose it's no surprise that little cleaning happened. It's Wednesday, so of course I had to spend the entire day getting the place ready for the game group. I had to prioritize what I wanted to tackle in addition to the above-mentioned tile scrubbing. I think I did all right in choosing most of it (I mean, it's October, I had to put the proper couch cover out). By the time the game started, I could barely move. I was stiff and sore, and it felt like the toe that was trying to pop out a bunion moved all the way straight in one painful lurch, and that has been distracting. I'm on the verge of complaining how I keep cleaning and cleaning and I never get ahead of it, but then I have to stop myself and recognize this is the human condition. I will never conquer this.

Regrouped

Inspirational song: Kiss (Prince)

This was an easy trip overall, with painless flights, casual activities, agreeable foods, and quiet nights. I barely spent any money, especially since meals were provided for me (thanks again, family!) Still, once I was home, I needed to decompress. I went to bed at a reasonable hour, and had to work at falling asleep because my brain was roiling. Once asleep I needed to stay in bed an extra hour and a half or more. I promised to stay in my robe all day, and do nothing. I skipped Rotary. And then I got a phone call. 

My daughter wanted to go thrifting, and she lured me out with pictures of handsome grandchildren. I met up with her, and we went a little nuts at the thrift shop. It helped that it was senior Tuesday, and several of the things were 50% off. I'm not used to asking for a senior discount, so that was a novelty. Afterwards we went downtown for lunch, and had the rest of the family meet us there. By then Valerie was out of pre-K, and the men folk were available to join us.

Val's sense of humor is evolving now that she has a new peer group. I want to comment more on it, but I think this needs further observation. It will be a fun study. Dmitri suddenly developed extra skills since I saw him a week ago, dedicating himself to learning to use crayons, and his vocabulary and sentence construction is ten times more complex. I was too sore from travel to hold Avery much, so I'll have to wait to see what new tricks he has.