30

NaBloPoMo is done!! Woot!
***
I'm a little late tonite since we had St. Andrew's supper at our house. It's the third year for our little tradition. St. Andrew is the Patron saint of Scotland, so we had Beef Stew (Scotland has cows) shortbread and cloutie dumpling ala potluck. There was butter and scotch, but not together. I was not as well prepared as I like, and it was a much smaller gathering than in the past, but I was so ready for a little bit of fun instead of work work work work. We ate, talked, laughed and played some cards. It was just what the doctor ordered.
***
I do hope to post with frequency, but I will wait until I have something to say. I have been intrigued by some of the topics on the writing prompts, but as I mentioned before, I'd like more time than I've had lately to work through them. With that, I'm off to bed.

29

Wow. Two posts left. Thanks for hanging on through all the drivel. Or was it blather?
***
Heard on the radio today: You can't do the wrong thing well enough or long enough for it to turn out OK.
***
Ugh. I'm having a hard time stringing a coherent thought together. I woke at 4am and couldn't get back to sleep, so I got up, ran laundry, and worked on school stuff. Now I'm shot. Guess I'll save up the pearls o' wisdom for the big finale tomorry. I can see you all aquiver with the suspense. Mwahahahahahaha!

28

I heard some good news on the radio yesterday. Good in a weird way. Thanksgiving week gasoline sales were down 1.7% from this week last year. This comes in a series of 5 weeks' decline in demand. Consumption of gasoline is down, if only minimally. It is only a reduction in consumption that will ever bring the cost of gas down. Keep is up consumers! You're on the way!
***
iPastor got an Eagles DVD for Christmas, and we're having a lovely home concert experience as I type. Can't put out the $$$$ for tickets, but this is a lovely substitute.
***
Fun with words: conundrum. We got to explain that one to the German kid over the weekend. When we were more active, rabid Star Trek fans, and Next Generation was still in broadcast, they went through a period one season where the titles of the episodes were "Catastrophe," "Disaster," Conundrum," etc. It got to the point where we wondered why they didn't just start naming the episodes "Really Big Problem of the Week" "Conundrum" has been one of those pet words in our family since then. Just a fun little tidbit to share.
***
Had a couple readers mention troubles reading this here rag. If you're out there at all, would you please leave a comment of some sort, even just "Hi," so I know if anyone can see this. Thanky really muchy.

27

Random bits of internet fun for you today...
***
So, Mama Goose is

AKA:

1.YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet, current car)
Skippy Montana

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)
Cinnamon Bun Monster (????)

3. YOUR "FLY" NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters
of your last name)
G Jon (there was actually a guy named Gjon at college...)
4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
Purple Penguin

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
Jill Rock Rapids

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first
2 letters of your first)
Jon Ge
7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, first tool that comes to mind,
put "The" at the beginning)
The Blue Lopper

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers).
Frank Otto

9. STRIPPER NAME : (favorite candy, the name of your favorite
perfume/cologne)
Mounds Oscar de la Renta (started out strong there...)

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother's & father's middle name)
Mae Gustav
***

I got an email hint to go see this commercial today.



This led us to poke around on Youtube searching Rube Goldberg. Great fun there if you have time and bandwidth to waste.

***

Now i have crabby kid to settle in for bed. G'Nite.

26

From the prompt generator today comes: What was your first car.

Christine was a 1963 Plymouth Fury with push-button transmission. The car was an absolute riot. It leaked oil, water and brake fluid, and started best with a little gas poured into the carb. I carried little bottles of the various fluids in the various cavities of the engine compartment. Her body was mostly bondo, making her a mottled beige and brown sort of holstien. I had more fun in that pile of bolts than I care to recall during my senior year of high school. It was also a death trap. The brakes went out on a hill in Sioux Falls once, and I had to turn into a parking lot that was three feet above the street behind a retaining wall, and I wound up dropping the front end over the edge and dangling the wheels over the sidewalk. My brother was a spit-and-baling wire mechanic, and he had found her and given her to me. When I decided it was not worth the effort to take her to college, he tricked her out and ran her in figure eight races and enduros before flipping her end for end at the Sioux Empire Fair. It occurs to me for all the fun we had in that car, I never got pictures. Probably a good thing. Unnecessary evidence. Great fun, 'tho.

25

When the NaBloPoMo well runs dry, I check here or here for help with a topic. So far I've found several things I want to write about, but not at the time I find them. I've found topics that I think need a visual, so I need to go get a picture, or things that need real concentration or time I just don't have at that moment to do the topic justice. Ironically, one that popped up today is "What do you sense you're supposed to do before your life is over?" iPastor was just asking me today about our overarching vision, as in: we need one. Once again, the topic merits more thought than I can give it right now, but I'll get back to you.

I kept scrolling and got this instead.


Dear Mom and Dad,

I just celebrated one more holiday without you. By now I've had more holidays without either of you than I ever had with you. A person gets used to orphanhood, but there are times when your absence is more tangible. Earlier I found myself typing the phrase "Thanksgiving at home" and I stopped myself. Where exactly is that, anyway? I have many places in my life where I feel loved and welcome, but Thanksgiving "at home" would be in a small grey house with too many people crammed in, but I never realized we were crowded. Holidays at home meant waking up to conversations and laughter drifting up the stairway with the aroma of coffee. Dinner was crowded onto the kitchen table and I usually wound up sitting on a box fan, but I didn't care. The people I loved would be gathered near and I relished it. I somehow tuned into how important those times were and took note of it, even if I didn't realize why at the time. I hope that my children will realize the importance of these times and keep them close to their own hearts. My children are blessed beyond measure to have a huge network of family beyond blood ties to love them and care for them. They will still miss out on having you, the you of your prime, when you were healthy, strong and full of laughter. I often wish you could know your grandchildren, hear their voices, share their triumphs, but moreso I wish they could know you. They will never know what they have missed. I do.

Love,
Gidge

24

The presents are unwrapped and the ham consumed, and another Christmas-at-Thanksgiving celebration winds down. Almost ten years ago I was invited to a work Christmas gathering. We were told to bring three wrapped gifts values at less than $5 each. These were put on a table and we rolled dice until they were gone; rolling doubles earned a present. They were then unwrapped and oohed and ahhed over. A timer was set, and the dice rollng re-commenced, this time doubles meant you could steal a gift. It was great fun. I suggested it to my family. I think I meant for it to replace gift giving, but instead it morphed into a supplemental Christmas activity that is now as traditional as the Michigan Rummy or 31 games. At one time we decided on a limit of $20/family, but I don't think anyone's adhered to that in a while. As large as our family is, the gifts cover a dining table with a card table pushed up to it. There's quality merchandise, white elephants, and schwag from the various corporate employers about the table. Each year the kids' selection gets a little better as they grow old enough to participate. There's screaming, mayhem, greed and excess: all the necessary elements of a successful Christmas. Generally, a select few items get snatched from one end of the table to the other, and there's a bit of horse trading at the end of the game to find homes for stuff you don't want, and foist stuff off on whoever got skunked. This year we filled a small box for the tree of hope charity. It's nice that someone else can benefit from our craziness this year. And I got a fire starter!
Off to bed; tomorrow we pack the troops into the car and head back to work and school. Tough to go back after such a nice long weekend. Hope your holiday held as much laughter as ours did.

23

I maintain that I am not ready for commercial Christmas. I was more than ready, however, for the laughter, the stories, the family, the kids, the singing, and the fun. That part was long overdue. We switched sides of the family and moved the location a couple hours south, and are now having a ball with my 'doptives. We've killed a couple pans of lasagne and a couple bottles of wine, had a game of Michigan Rummy while the rest played Wii, and we're about to break out the farkle dice. Here's hoping you and yours are having as much fun tonite as we.

22

We're home and tucked in after a lovely day with family. I was amazed at my own self control; I did NOT refill my plate. That didn't stop me from picking off the buffet table every time I walked by, but maybe that's the lesser of two evils. We had to bring iPastor home to catch a nap before his night shift, so I left the kids with the family for a while, then we killed some time at the Evil*Empire.
***
Never one to avoid the cliche, the customary list follows:

I am thankful for the relative good health of my family.

I am thankful to have a reliable partner for my life's journey. I've been watching friends with problems bigger than mine deal with them alone.

I am thankful to live in relative safety.

I am thankful for family, friendship and laughter.

I am thankful to have a snug warm bed to crawl into, and I think I will.

21

Long day. Opened at Job 1, ran errands on my break, came home for a while and went to Job 2. Ran to the Stupid Center after work and got a couple treats for the kids and some last minute supplies for tomorrow. Sis-in-law is hosting this year, and we're bringing a couple of pies. Thing 2 took her first crack at baking a pumpkin pie, and it looks like it turned out nicely. We'll throw together an apple pie tomorrow morning and head off to lunch. iPastor will soon be home, so I'll bid you adieu!

20

This morning, I found this little item. The honkers are out in full force. The surface of pretty much any body of water hereabouts is covered with black and grey. I thought it would be appropriate to share this little nugget from my neck of the woods.

Geese

They are over the marsh now
An umbrella of feathers and cries
It's almost more
Than I can hold
The way reeds bend
To spy the shadows
Of their own swaying
They and the fading geese
One string
Inviting the dark to dance
To sift from the branches
Of the actual
To surround me like breath returning
When everything else is gone

Michael Shorb

19

I went to the well at one of my NABLOPOMO groups to look for a writing prompt. Poking around a bit, I found "Why I Chose My University Degree." Now there's a long and sordid tale...
In high school I was a speech and theatre geek (aside for those pitnickers out there: "theater" is a building, "theatre" is a craft (or an art, if you want another argument)) I was even awarded our high school's theatre scholarship. I was the first in my family to go to college, and I had to find the cash to do it. After narrowing my choices to two schools, I went with the state college that offered me more scholarships. I was offered a decent financial aid package at choice number 2 as well, but the private school tuition negated the aid.
I dove headfirst into college life, and floundered my way through with little to no advising, juggling production schedules and part-time jobs, loving every minute of it. I acquired and discarded a couple of boyfriends before diving into a relationship that lasted the better part of three years and which I still cannot understand why the hell I stayed in so long. I was on track to finish my BA in 4 1/2 years, and I was deciding where to go to grad school, considering a masters in dramaturgy.
The old saying goes: "Man plans, God laughs." The Old Boy split his sides when he set me down in a Happy Chef restaurant one August afternoon in 1990. I was back in Marshall apartment hunting for the school year after completing an internship at a community theater in my hometown. We stopped at HC for lunch since I had previously worked there and still had some friends on staff. Turnover being what it is in food service, the new assistant manager was a friend from a directing class. Coincidentally, he was losing a roommate, so I jumped at the vacancy and took the room. We married the following April.
We were on our own financially, and supporting a household and two college educations was a bit too much, so we withdrew from school with the intention of going back when we got on our feet financially. We managed to commute a bit and get a couple more quarters of school completed right after Thing 1 came along. I tried to go back when I was expecting Thing 3, but had to drop at midterm due to financial aid hangups. Finally, when I was expecting Thing 4, I was fat, tired, and truly disgusted with my job. I had four years of college and nothing to show for it. I taught a few workshops and directed a couple community plays over the years, but we had settled in a location where theatre will not pay the bills. So, what to do with all this booklearnin'? I thought about what I enjoy, I examined my transcript for the best transfers and substitutions, and I cobbled together the better part of an English education degree. Bless you, William Shakespeare! I really do enjoy language, reading and writing, so hopefully I'll be able to use that to make it easier for some kids to learn it in high school. Now, once again, my biggest enemy is the almighty dollar. I am no longer eligible for financial aid, which means I must scrounge the cash for each class. Each semester I cannot afford is four months longer before I can go look for a teaching job to pay off all these loans that I took out to get this degree. It's a bit circular. Hrm.
So there's one writing prompt down and a little something you may not have known about the ol' saucy goose. With that, I am off to work a little on a poetry paper, read a few articles on language and literacy, and go to bed!

18

For more on the theme, we have this item today. Humph.
I served a big birthday party today at Job 1. Grandpa took me aside and wanted to pick up the tab. His kids cornered me and said no, he couldn't afford it. The end result was a pissing match over the tab that left me stuck in the middle and grandpa rather crestfallen. If you have elderly parents, do me a favor and try not to humiliate them in public, even though you mean well.

17

Apparently I struck a chord with a couple of y'all out there. With that in mind today, allow me to linky you up with a couple favorite sites of mine.

Check out the fine folks at Buy Nothing Day, and their counterpart, Buy Nothing Christmas.

I appreciate the philosophy: "Buy Nothing Christmas is not really about refusing to spend a dime over the holiday season. It’s about taking a deep breath and deciding to opt out of the hype‚ the overcrowded malls‚ and the stressful to–do lists. It’s about reminding ourselves to really think about what we are buying‚ why we are buying it‚ and whether we really need it at all." Cool.

16

Meh.
My 'dopted family has fallen into the habit of celebrating Christmas together the weekend after Thanksgiving. It stemmed from travel issues, and the other complications that develop from branching out and forming extended families. This year I am just. not. in. the. mood. To be precise, I am most definetely OUT of the mood. I have been noticing in the newspapers and radio ads that I catch, that many communities held their "lighted Christmas (oops, strike that, call it "generic holiday of no religious significance whatsoever") parade" and opening festivities for the holiday season last night or tonight. This moved up from Black Friday, which had moved up from the first couple sensible weekends in December. The Black Friday sales start as early as 5 am, and I have read of some major retailers having Thursday afternoon sales. The grass and trees are either brown and dead or weirdly green from our damp October and mild-so-far November. It doesn't look like Christmas. It doesn't feel like Christmas. I don't feel like Christmas. At all. As a matter o' fact, I have been roaming about aimlessly with a rather large black cloud over my head and a lead weight on my shoulders. Not festive. Not cheery. As much as I loathe the commercialism that has enveloped Christmas, I like to buy gifts for my family. I enjoy giving them something that makes them smile. And I can't afford it. Ever. Truly the Lord protects fools and small children (and ships named Enterprise, I guess); we always muddle through. We always have. But I am tired. Tired of climbing the hill and not seeing the top. Tired of working toward a goal that seems unattainable. Tired of everything I do not being enough. Tired of questioning every single expenditure that is not life dependent. Tired of resenting every such expenditure that anyone else makes. Just tired.
Meh.

15

Long day. Got some homework done and sent it off via email, then worked both jobs today. I worked up some fodder for another waitress rant, though. If there's a hostess, and a sign indicating please wait to be seated, there's a reason for it. The hostess tries to spread people out so one server doesn't get swamped while another has no tables. Murphy's law applies to food service: if you let people seat themselves they will all settle into the same section. If you have to duck around the "Please wait to be seated" sign and nearly knock it over, telling me you didn't see it won't fly.
***
The Things are growing way too fast. Thing 4 wanted to help with dishes last night, so he pulled up a chair next to me and "helped" which involved lots of soap and splashing, but not much washing. As he did his part, he admired his reflection in the window over the sink, and began to sing himself a song about Jedi washing dishes, all the time studying his expressions in the mirror. I have to remember to tuck these times away for when they are 14 and making me insane.

14

Windy. The glass is rattling in the really old panes, and the plastic is fluttering on the ones we've gotten covered. The steady rush was almost soothing last night. Better than the squeaky belt at the grain elevator, anyway. That's been the noise I've had to fall asleep to all through harvest. I wonder what's up with the wind, though. I chatted briefly with Dutch Girl #2 yesterday; she said they've had the windiest weather there on record for 30 years. iPastor told me he heard that Seattle had gusts of 90mph yesterday. Marshall, where I drive for class, sits atop the Buffalo Ridge and has a reputation for being windy. Yesterday as I was approaching town, MPR reported that it was the "wind winner" for the day, with sustained winds of 30 gusting to 45mph. It shook the windows in my poorly-sealed car doors.
***
Thing 4 slept through until nine this morning. We both woke up about 3:30am when the fake baby went off (it goes back today, Yay!) and had a potty break, then snuggled back in to sleep. Now he'll be supercharged. We may be in trouble.
***
No one has posted any questions about life, the universe and everything in comments yet. C'mon y'all; give a girl a hand...

13

I was awakened by a baby in the middle of the night. Thing 1 has her Ready-or-not-Tot from parenting class. It's an ugly little bugger. She was up every 40 minutes last night. I only heard it twice. Divine payback. Heh.
***
I thought of all sorts of interesting things to blog about today, none of which come to mind now that I am sitting here in front of the iMac. The daily diary is getting a bit stale. Had a quick visit with the girls from Job #1 at a good-bye party for one moving to California. Took laundry to dry at the laundromat since we haven't made time to get the new-to-us dryer picked up. Worried that Thing 4 will wake up in the middle of the night because he went to bed early with dad. Oh well, sometimes his little body just needs to catch up with his go-all-the-time brain. I'll leave you now and hopefully return with better stuff tomorrow.

12

It's a two-job day today, so I am granting myself a few minutes of downtime before I take a swipe at the housework and head off to work.
Once again, the weather is promising to be quite mild, but it's really cloudy. The sun did break through about the time we got home yesterday, leaving us the end of the afternoon to enjoy some sunshine. The gray and dark is what settles in to dampen my spirits all winter. Time to hit the tanning bed.
***
As stated before, just because I'm posting doesn't mean it can't be lame! Done and done!

11

Happy Veteran's Day. Thank you.
***
Bubbie's b'day party was fun. He, our sister and her daughter and grands met my family at a hotel with (dinky) waterpark in Watertown. Bro has a tiny apartment, so this way the whole family could stretch out and the kids could blow steam. Sis treated to Chinese buffet for supper. Uncooperative employers kept iPastor at home and sis-in-law at work until late, but we got in some good visiting (sleep is overrated) and spent the first real time together as a family unit since probably 2001. We got the obligatory pictures, and headed home before we got on each other's nerves.


***
The weather was mild for the drive home, but overcast. As we bean the descent from South Dakota into Minnesota, I got Thing 1 to take some pictures. It looks much better on a sunny day, but about 5 miles west of the border, we crest a hill and can see for miles. Someday I'll learn to use a camera to capture the coolness, but until then, all you get are these:


***
We are working on reducing electric use. The LP company came to fill the tank and put the fear of petroleum in us for the year. Gotta try to cut corners where we can. We're working on unplugging and powering down all the little peripheral stuff that we don't think of, and simply being more conscious of our use. If we have to plug it in to use it, we may think twice about the need. With that in mind, it's time to power down and bid you folks good night.

10

Happy Birthday Bubbie Don!
Damn the Double Nickel.
***
As could have been predicted last night, I forgot the camera. Oh well. Thing 3 won, Thing 2 nailed her song but was out-cuted by a red-headed dancing boy. Same here, but the cute was an 80-year-old, one-man polka band. He is a charmer, though ; we've known him for years, even having him play in the garden of our little cafe many years ago. I did a quick google just in case, but only found him here
***
Well, big brother wanted to host his birthday party at a waterpark for the kids. After our trip to the pool/waterpark with him in August, I think he's hooked. Can't check in until three, though, so I'll ride herd here until it's time to leave. With that, i leave you.

9

I got home from the school/work marathon last night and the family was watching "Rescue from Gilligan's Island." What a waste of digital media. With no laugh track, the gags fall flat. The acting is atrocious. Sad how many of the group are gone now.
***
As per a conversation in our house last night, I leave you this for your viewing enjoyment.

***
Contest tonite. Might be back with video if I can manage it...

8

Why I pay the big bux for all this booklarnin'...

***
I am a peripheral member of the Non Traditional Students' Organization (NTSO, affectionatly known as "nutso" because we are.) I'm never on campus for meetings or activities this term, but I occasionally use the lounge and its coffeepot or computer. It's a nice place where I may not be the oldest person in the room (apart from the prof, and sometimes even then...)or be mistaken for faculty. It can be a great source of support, or a huge distraction. Today I was visiting with a woman my age, with as many kids as I have, raising them on her own. We get a little assistance with medical care, fuel and school lunches. As I look ahead to completing this degree, I wonder about starting a job with enough income to make up for that help, and start paying back student loans. Will I be showing a better income, but still be in exactly the same financial hole next year? It's troubling, but I got a good dose of perspective from my comrade in the NTSO. She recieves assistance with food and rent, but in order to keep her kids fed, she is unable to work. She wants to work. She is able to work. The second she earns any income to pay for a car or her utilities, she loses her food assistance. How the hell does this system work? Maybe in a metropolitan area with public transportation a vehicle is a deductible allowance. Try getting to a late doctor's appointment, or working a 3-11 shift in most small midwestern towns. Here is a woman working to complete a degree in social work to help other women just like herself, and she's shackled by the system that's supposed to be supporting her. Are there people who cheat on their welfare? Sure. Are there mothers who commit fraud for public assistance to avoid work? You bet. I could name some names. But for the love of mercy, how do we justify a system that is so inflexible? Rules are put into place to ensure equity and honesty, but how can a social worker look a mother or father in the eye and tell her s/he's ineligible for any cash assistance beause s/he is guaranteed child support by the court, but it hasn't been paid in three months? Crap. Someone knock me off the freakin' soapbox already. It's ruining my mood for the day.

7

After three daughters, I'm still getting the hang of raising a son. Tonight I had Thing 4 in the tub. The entire array of tubby toys accompanied him, including a little terrycloth seal with a tiny red-striped bandanna around his neck. I glanced through some reading while Thing 4 enjoyed the water. Soon he announced "Look!" I glanced over to witness him proudly, um, sporting the little bandanna. I did a lovely spit take, to which he announced, "That's funny." Just so long as he quits that before he starts dating, we should be all right.
***
I almost forgot tonight's post. I'm glad I remembered, but I hope I can find some other habits to establish over these next 30 days that might actually be of some use. That's fodder for another post; for now, my warm bed calls.

6

The cold is improving. I am typing with a chattery four-year-old on my lap. He's telling me all about his little homemade Star Wars lego ship. Until recently, he'd never seen Star Wars, but his knowledge of SW was fueled by the Lego Star Wars PS2 game. Now he's hooked. It gives his Trekkie father fits.
***
I have a fan blowing in my basement along the hanging rack my father-in-law built me. I pull clothes out of the washer and put them on hanngers to dry. I'm feeling rather self-satisfied with my conservationist thrift. As long as I plan ahead, I can make sure things are plenty dry by the time I need them, and I'm saving electricity. Socks and undies are kind of a pain, though.
***
For poetry class, we discussed this the other day:


Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy's Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota

Over my head, I see the bronze butterfly,
Asleep on the black trunk,
blowing like a leaf in green shadow.
Down the ravine behind the empty house,
The cowbells follow one another
Into the distances of the afternoon.
To my right,
In a field of sunlight between two pines,
The droppings of last year's horses
Blaze up into golden stones.
I lean back, as the evening darkens and comes on.
A chicken hawk floats over, looking for home.
I have wasted my life.

James Wright

Bill assigned us to write a suggestion for what the speaker means by "I have wasted my life."
Almost immediately I had my thought, but it came in the form of a response poem, so I rattled it off:

“I have wasted my life…”

By not spending more time lying in hammocks
Listening to cowbells.
I have wasted my life
Chasing the almighty dollar
Instead of Bronze butterflies
I have wasted my life
Burning the droppings
Rather than watching their blaze
I have wasted my life paying a mortgage
Not searching for home
With the chicken hawks

Just remember, any tomatoes you throw will just platter your own screen.

***

Udder den dat, I got nothin', so y'all can go to bed now.

5

The "s" word.
I saw it today. Nasty little flurries scudding up the street pushed by a bitter wind. Quite short-lived, and interspersed with sunshine, but not to be denied. It's heeeeeeeeeeere.
***
Family is acting a bit cranky on the after school shift. Think I'll drag them forcibly to town to dry and fold laundry. New used dryer should be here soon, but we're either hanging or laundromatting in the meantime. Bleah.
***
The cold has moved to my chest. Night before last I awoke every hour or so to a coughing fit. Last night I slept thru until 3, but when I awoke to cough, I kept at it for an hour. I moved to the couch so I could prop myself upright, and got back to sleep for a couple hours. Those are the times I miss having a recliner. Most days it just took up space, but it was nice for headcold or pregnancy sleeping.
***
Nothing much else today. Tired and cranky is contagious. TTYL.

4

Well, pictures will have to wait for a less hectic day.

I took Thing 1 to her job at McD's today. We got there early enough for her to grab her breakfast. They were a little short-staffed, and some of the clientele was a little short-tempered. A hunter was waiting with his son. When told his order would be about four more minutes, he snarked, "It's already been 20, what's four more?" He emoted all over anyone within close proximity. I wanted to say something, but I specifically felt like I wanted to say something to make a positive influence and not just make a snotty remark; at that minute, I didn't have the words. I sat down while Thing 1 waited for her food. A young man got up from where he was sitting in the kids' section and wandered along the line of customers at the counter. He could have been anywhere from 15 to 25, a developmentally disabled young man with a shuffling gait and a huge smile. From where I sat, it seemed like he went directly for the cranky hunter and offered him a high five. The hunter was a little nonplussed, but grinned back and slapped the young man's hand with a "Hey, buddy." The young man beamed at him and pointed out his blaze orange cap, which the hunter took off and showed him. About that time, an older woman with the young man came along to collect him and they headed out the door. The hunter's demeanor had completely changed. Someone else was sent to take care of it.

3

At least the titles I've chosen for the month are easy...heh.

The weather for today looks to be 50-ish and partly cloudy, plenty nice for November, and perfect for an afternoon of forced child labor in the yard. 60s possible tomorrow. That's a two-job day, though, so I'll have to get the yard work in today.
Right now I'm burning daylight, so I'll get to it and maybe be back with pictures.

2

Sick. I had the fever and ache a couple of weeks ago, followed by a minor cough and some sniffles. I thought I'd gotten off easy, until it settled into my sinus and throat overnight. I spent most of the night sitting up to blow my nose, then rolling over so the opposite side of my nasal cavity could fill. I actually feel better now that I'm upright. Got the drainage system working with gravity again, I guess.

96 on the poetry test last week. Woot. Took him a while to get through the exams, as he had three classes of tests to do, and just had cataract surgery. No wonder he retires after this semester. We'll miss him, tho. He's a royal hoot, and a true Minnesota voice. Go check Bill out.

After a long week of work, the whole fam damily is home together tonight, so we're off for a family Guitar Hero Marathon! Traditional family values at work!

1

Off to a roaring start for the month. For some reason, Thing 3 startled awake at 04:15 and went scurrying through the house, certain that she had missed the bus. After investigating the hurried footsteps and slamming doors, I got her settled down with a book, since she refused to go back to sleep, only to find we had awoken Thing 4. He sang himself back to sleep, but I wasn't so lucky. I gave up and got into the shower and now I sit, waiting for iPastor to come home off a marathon night shift. Yuck.