New Year's Eve Festivities - Part II

Right after dinner but before the beginning of our New Year's Eve festivities (well, actually, my New Year's Eve festivities - see previous post), Sam and I decided to take one last car ride together for the year - a last chance to look at Christmas lights together and a last chance to drive around listening to Christmas music together - at least until next year (which, I guess legitimately, could be tomorrow).

It didn't last long. The fog was unbelievably thick. Here's a picture of the tower from exactly two years ago...

And here's a picture taken tonight...

Usually you can see the lights of the "tree" from miles away. Tonight, you couldn't even tell the lights were on, not until you got about a block away.

Not only was it foggy, it turned out there weren't a lot people who still had their Christmas lights on anyway. Unlike me, many people apparently don't subscribe to the notion of keeping their Christmas lights on, either into February or until the squirrels have chewed through the wires.

So, we didn't stay out long. And besides, we had to get back. The night's exciting festivities lay ahead (for one of us, that is).

Back at home, at bedtime, I left Sam with the usual kisses and "I love you", as well as my annual joke (which, despite it being an annual "event", still somehow manages to be well-worn), that of course being, "See you next year".

And with that, like every year, I'll leave you with my best wishes for the year ahead, and with this...



Now, back to my festivities...

New Year's Eve Festivities

Due in part to inclement weather, we are postponing our traditional New Year's Eve almost-dinner, consisting of take-out Chinese food followed by indigestion, and we will instead look forward to partaking in both at some point over the weekend.

Instead, after a dinner of left-overs, we will go straight to our typical traditional-type festivities. I'm thinking of maybe lighting-up the spruce-scented candle - and then at some point, maybe around 10:00 PM, maybe even 10:30, I intend to pour myself a FULL GLASS of non-spiked egg nog. And if things go well, I may pour myself a SECOND GLASS. (I have almost a full carton left over from Christmas so I may as well use it up.)

Then, depending on how I'm feeling, I may turn down the lights and look at the rainbow LEDs stuffed in the bird feeder, which is hanging from one of the plants, while listening to the clocks tick.

If I have any energy left, I may even put up next year's calendar - even though the new year is not until tomorrow.

After that, bedtime. Probably.

I hope your New Year's Eve is all you hope it to be, as well.

The Aftermath

It’s raining outside. At least, I think it’s raining. It keeps trading off between a heavy, wet snow, then ice, then rain. Right now, I think it’s rain.

It’s been this way since I got up this morning - cold, grey sky; cold wet something, falling on the ground, trying to freeze, sometimes succeeding.

What better day than this to begin taking down Christmas decorations. After a family-filled Christmas, the house is now quiet. The garland and lights have been stripped off the banister, packed in a box along with the stockings - all to be put away in storage for the next eleven months.

The ornaments are off the tree. Soon the lights will be off, as well. By the end of the day, the tree, having served its purpose, will be sitting curbside, waiting to be taken away to wherever it is old Christmas trees go to fade away.

Soon, the spaces once occupied by the tree and other various decorations will be filled with the more mundane encroachments of everyday life.

It’s quiet in the house.

And it’s raining outside.

Santa's Long-Winded Response

Before I post Santa's response to Sam's letter, let me qualify it with a few explanations (i.e. excuses).

First of all, Santa, at least the Santa that visits our house, is barely coherent on the best of days. The fact that he can string together more than three words and still make some kind of sense is in itself a minor Christmas miracle.

Add that to the fact that Santa is jotting this letter down late at night (for him), while exhausted from stuffing stockings, hauling in presents, and whatever else he may have been doing earlier in the day.

And, although Santa is allegedly a semi-bright person, a guy who supposedly “knows when you are sleeping ... etc, etc,etc," - in reality, he doesn’t know ahead of time what he will be responding to - and therefore, he doesn’t know what he’s going to be writing until he writes it.

Finally, for some insane reason, Santa writes in pen. That’s right, I said “Pen”. That means that whatever Santa puts down on paper, stays down on paper. None of the luxuries of writing and re-writing, say, a blog post, until a completely incoherent thought approaches semi-coherence - which can then be given up on and dumped - or posted for no one to bother to read.

Given the opportunity, I’m sure Santa would have liked to have said things a little differently. Probably a lot differently. But, hey, that happens to the best of us - or so I’m told.

All of that said, here’s Santa’s loooong response to this year’s letter from Sam… 

12/25/19

 Dear Sam,

I am so glad to hear that you have co-workers. I remember a couple of years ago, you were worried about finding a job - and here you are! That’s great!

I understand what your co-worker means - the older you are, the faster time seems to pass. Of course, it just feels that way. Time passes the same for the old and young alike.

Still, I understand why you worry. Love is a great thing. And if you are lucky enough to love someone, then there will be times you will worry about them. It’s all part of the same package and it’s natural to feel that way.

I think if your parents are telling you not to get worked up about it, what they really mean is, it’s ok. It’s ok to feel these things. It’s ok to think about these things. And it’s ok to talk about these things. As a matter of fact, that may be the most important thing - to talk about things when they’re bothering you. It can be hard, but sometimes, that’s when it’s most important to talk. 

Your feelings matter. You matter. And I am sure, just like you worry about the ones you love, the ones you love worry about you. And that’s ok. Like I said, it’s all part of the same package. You are lucky enough to love each other! How great!!

I am also glad to hear that you are beginning to hang out with old friends. Friends, like family, are important.

It certainly must be better than doing nothing all day. Though I imagine, knowing how hard you work, doing nothing must feel nice after a long day at work.

But having friends - how wonderful! That gives you options in life. And it gives you even more people to talk with, to share your feelings with and, like I said, that’s important.

I am so proud of you and I am so happy to see what a fine young man you have become. You are doing great, as always.

Thank you again for all the snacks - and I hope you have, not only a merry Christmas but also, a happy new year.

Love, Santa

This Year's Letter to Santa

Another Christmas Eve, another letter to Santa. This was one of Sam's longer letters...

A year or two back, Sam told me that Santa "...gives good advice", so I guess I should be flattered that Sam shares such deep thoughts with Santa. But it's sad to me that Sam often has such weighty issues on his mind, especially on Christmas eve.

These are issues that, unsurprisingly, Sam has difficulty expressing on our frequent car rides. Still, he brings them up and I do my best to address his concerns, trying to do it as simply and straightforwardly as I can. Some of these things, though, are difficult to break down into bite-sized pieces that are easier to understand. Still, we do our best.

Sam's lengthy letter prompted a lengthy letter from Santa in return - which, once I recover, I may eventually get around to transcribing here.

On Christmas morning, Sam once again came downstairs, bypassing both his stocking and his presents in order to read Santa's response. He was happy with it, therefore, so was I.

I hope your holiday season has been wonderful - whether you celebrate anything or not. And I hope each of us has a decent year ahead.

 

Just in the Nick

Yikes! I almost let Christmas slip by without posting this classic:

Holiday Shopping

One of these days, I'm going to compile a list of "almost gifts" - things I either bought or almost bought with the intention that "Santa" will give them as gifts - that is, before being foiled at the last minute when my constant companion catches me in the act.

I am, of course, talking about Sam. It's rare that I ever leave the house without Sam at my side. This is in no way a complaint - far from it - but, boy, when it comes to playing "Santa" and doing a little Christmas shopping, it can be a challenge.

For better or worse, most of my shopping is done online so other than an onslaught of mysterious boxes coincidentally showing up on our doorstep just before the holiday every year, this can be done almost under the radar. Almost, that is, except for the times when I'm sitting at the computer, seemingly alone, when all of a sudden I get the "Say, what are you looking at?" or the "That's pretty cool," coming unexpectedly from somewhere over my shoulder.

But every so often, when we're out and about, I come across something that I think would make a good gift for someone, but my plan falls through once I'm eventually spotted by Sam. Sometimes this happens at the point of purchase (the worst), sometimes it happens just before the point of purchase (almost the worst).

The latest example, a Life Magazine "Special Edition" on Mr. Rogers, currently sits on the dining room table for all to see - instead of in a bag filled with stocking stuffers, for no one to see - until Christmas morning.

The last couple of times we were standing in line at the grocery store, I noticed Sam taking an interest in this magazine, but until yesterday, I couldn't find the opportunity to somehow slip it in, unnoticed, and hide it among the usual crowd of our grocery items.

But yesterday, we were at the grocery store (again), and while standing in the check-out line, it seemed that Sam was more preoccupied than usual, looking for spare change on the floor (and finding a cool seventeen cents, by the way). So while he was intently scouring the floor, I quickly slipped the magazine off the rack and slid it face down on the belt, under our small pile of groceries.

I kept one eye on Sam as he scouted for lost change, and one eye on the magazine, watching as it slowly inched closer to the scanner. It looked as though it might be a close call - but I was pretty sure that success was at hand.

One-by-one the girl scanned our items. One-by-one Sam spotted another coin. One-by-one our items, including the magazine, slid closer to the finish line.

Finally, with Sam still intent on finding treasure, the magazine reaches the cashier. Almost there... almost there. The cashier scans it - and for some god-unknown reason, she for once decides to be helpful, so she holds up the magazine says, "You want a separate bag for this?" Sam whips around, "Oh! You're getting that???!!!"

This is one of those moments in life where a person's creative lying is put to the test. Do I pretend that the magazine must have somehow fallen off the magazine rack, right into our pile of groceries? Do I draw upon my seldom used acting skills and ask the person behind me if this unwanted item really belonged to them - and by they way, please do a better job of keeping your items away from my items? Do I just deny it and leave this entire awkward incident behind me - and then come back and try again later?

No, I do none of those things. Like too many times before, I fold and tell the truth. I tell Sam simply, "Yes, we're getting it." (I'm not sure if the check-out girl picked up on my glare or not. I may have to go back there and glare at her again.) Flash forward to Sam and I walking back to the car, me with groceries in hand, Sam carrying the magazine.

Now, the magazine sits on the table behind me, for all to enjoy, in these chilly pre-Christmas days.

This kind of thing has happened a lot this shopping season - the spice store, the local book store, the Farmer's Market, the local game store - you name it. Each of these shopping endeavors have resulted in Santa having to somehow come up with a "Plan B".

Of course, all of this would be a little easier if I could just figure out if Sam still believed in Santa or not. But that's not a can of worms that I'm willing to open right now. And for now at least, neither, apparently, is Sam.

Photos from the Tree Hunt

Apparently, I never posted the exciting photos from this year's Christmas tree hunt-stravaganza. Sorry about that. Here you go...

Here we are, heading out to the deep, not-so-dark forest, filled with neatly planted trees, cart and saw in hand.

Finding just the right tree is always the challenge. Fortunately, this particular tree farm is filled with a lot of beautiful trees to choose from. Unfortunately, many of the most beautiful trees have already been tagged by other customers.
Our hunt for the nicest tree would be a lot easier if we did it in several steps. For example (just thinking out loud):
   Step One: Cut the tag off someone else's tree.
   Step Two: Cut down their tree and take it home.
   Step three (Optional): Before leaving, pick their tag of the ground (next to the now freshly cut stump) and put their tag on one of the reject trees.
I'm kidding, of course. We would never do something like that. Really. Never. (Even though it would probably save us some time.)

Anyway, back to our hunt for the perfect tree...

Here's a possibility. With my top-notch negotiating skills, we might even be able to scoop this fine specimen up for a hefty 5% discount. Easy to get home. Easy to get in the stand. Plus, the "pile" of presents sitting under it might look bigger by comparison.

Unfortunately, it's a little on the short side. Still, have to remember the location... just in case. (After all, we are talking about a possible 5% discount.)

Here's another possibility. Is this one tree or two? It appears to be two trees growing out of the same stump. Does this mean we're going to have to pay double? If so, scratch that! There seems to be a bit of a bare spot on it. Maybe we can turn that towards the wall...

More looking. More debating (about cutting off other people's tags). Just kidding (...though it is starting to get a little cold...).

Finally! A keeper! Sure, it's a little thin, but it's evenly thin. The only drawback I can see is that I might have to buy another tree stand. (I don't think mine cranks down that small.) However, this minor inconvenience would be more than offset by not having to vacuum up any more loose pine needles. Sold!

Here we are, back at home, dressing the little fella up. Looks almost normal.

And one final photo, getting the ornament. Just. Right.

So, there you go. A lot of fun - which fortunately, we were once again able to share in together. And, like every year (mostly), another beautiful tree.

(Though that 5% discount would have been pretty sweet.)

A Rough Day

 Sam's snowman (before I left for work early this morning)...

Sam's snowman (when I got home this evening)...

I feel your pain.

A Belated Note About Thanksgiving

In between dealing with other issues, I was going to write a little something about the past Thanksgiving weekend which naturally included our annual Christmas tree hunting, hauling and decorating. But after struggling with typing some notes and writing and re-writing and re-writing some more, I realized that by the time I was able to devote enough time to it to get it to meet even my extremely low bar, the post- if it ever managed to appear at all, would be completely outdated.

And anyway, as with pretty much everything I write, I'm sure I've written something similar to it before. And while it may not be identical, we'll call it "close enough".

All of that said, I will say (also, again), that I'm glad that the family could all be together. I'm glad everyone was healthy, and I'm glad everyone was able to get home and back, safely, to wherever they needed to be.

And at Thanksgiving - or every day, really - does anything else matter?

Maybe at some point, I'll get around to posting some exciting photos from the tree farm.

Maybe.

Snowmen

At Sam's request, I now have well over a dozen photos on my phone of various combinations of Sam, Rachael and this snowman.

I'm not sure which Sam loves more, this snowman or the fact that he made this snowman with Rachael.

Radical Changes

Yesterday started with a 6:00 AM meeting with Sam’s supervisor, a meeting which fell somewhere in the middle of an email chain about twelve emails long and was book-ended by conversations with Sam, plus one or two phone calls to the transportation company - all for the goal of trying to get Sam’s afternoon ADA bus to pull forward another twelve feet or so, so that Sam can see the bus from inside the school instead of having to wait outdoors in the soon-to-be bitter cold winter weather.

We'll soon see how successful this was. This massive shakeup to the status quo starts Monday.

Weather Report

Awoke to over a foot of wet, heavy snow this morning. Another six inches to a foot are supposed to fall throughout the day today. Right now, it appears to be raining. I assume this will freeze and turn to ice, making shoveling/walking/driving/living even more of an adventure than it already is.

Late Breaking News: Sam just informed me that "it's starting to pick up" and sure enough, it is now back to wet, heavy snow.

I have nothing more to add at the moment.

This concludes today's update.

Morning Light

A lovely sunrise on my way into work yesterday morning. Unfortunately, by the time I fumbled with my camera and managed get it turned on, most of the sunrise was gone.

Pretend this photo is pretty.

Random Thoughts Before the Holiday

Today is the day before Thanksgiving and as with most holidays, it’s a mixture of excitement along with a(n) (un)healthy dose of apprehension.

Sam has the day off from work today. As with pretty much every morning, I’ve left breakfast on the table for him. And, pretty much like every morning, I’ll be in touch with hi throughout the morning, checking to make sure everything is going well. I’ve no reason to think things would otherwise, but still, you never know…

If everything goes well, I’ll be picking Rachael up from the bus station later this afternoon. Jake will be heading home for the holiday- either tonight or tomorrow morning. I’m not sure which. And Helaina will be home tomorrow morning, as well. And hopefully, if everything goes well, we’ll spend the day together, enjoying each other’s company

I look forward to Thanksgiving, just as I look forward to Christmas. I look forward to any time the family is able to be together. But until everyone is home, safe, it’s always tinged with an amount of apprehension.

I’m not exactly sure why this is.

I wonder if it might have something to do with Dad and I wonder if it might have something to do with Sam.

A little over twenty years ago, Dad died unexpectedly, just before his fiftieth wedding anniversary. A surprise party had been planned, with invitations for the big event having been sent out to Mom and Dad’s old friends. Needless to say, everything had to be canceled.

I think back to that period of time and how it felt like being on a roller coaster - the car slowly climbing up a long hill in excited anticipation, only to find that the track ended at the top, and the car fell off a cliff.

Just under a year later, Sam’s troubles came suddenly and profoundly to light. All these years later, I still remember it, I still feel it with a unsettling amount of clarity.

What was supposed to be a day filled with joy, a family day of going to the fair, instead ended up being a life-changing day, a day book-ended by hospitals.

The morning began at the local emergency room and by the evening, we found ourselves at the pediatric intensive care unit at a hospital some forty miles away. This was not just the beginning of a two week long hospital stay but, as I could never have guessed at the time, the beginning of a life-long journey.

But you learn from things. Things are fragile. Things are temporary. Things change in a heartbeat. You learn, hopefully, to appreciate the things you have in the moment you have them.

I often wonder how much, if at all, these events play into my life. Would I worry as much as I do about those that I love? Probably. But in the end, the answer doesn’t really matter. These events, like all events, are a part of our lives.

One other story, which I’ve written about before..

When I was much younger, long before the events I mentioned above, long before Sam was even born, I remember a particular warm summer afternoon, standing alone in my living room, looking out at the maple tree in the front yard.

The kids were down for a nap and except for the soft ringing of the wind chimes, all was quiet. I stood before the large living room window, watching as the tree swing drifted gently, almost imperceptibly, side-to-side, over the patch of well-worn earth below it

I remember feeling, suddenly, that I was much older, that I was looking back on this moment as if it were a memory - a memory of a moment long since passed.

And I remember wishing that I could relive this ordinary moment, this ordinary day, just one more time.

This feeling has stayed with me through the years - whether it was fighting off exhaustion so that the kids could go to their socials at their elementary school, or when I was sitting in the cold, drizzling rain, watching any number of after-school sporting events, or when I was sitting in the freezing cold car, late at night, waiting for the team bus to return from an away game - or any number of the seemingly infinite number of moments. It was always, enjoy this moment. It will never come again.

In many ways, that’s what Thanksgiving is for me. That’s what Christmas is for me. That's what any moment is, when we're lucky enough to be together. It’s the chance to enjoy the company of each other - just as we did in the ultimately finite number of "ordinary" moments of years past. And because things are fragile and because things are only temporary - to try and appreciate them in the moment, and to give thanks. 

To Our Valued Customers...

I spotted this sign at a grocery stores the other night. Originally, I was just going to post the photo with no remarks, but the more I looked at it...

First of all, its a sad, yet probably accurate commentary on our obese and/or entitled society, that a sign like this even needs to be posted.

What buffoon thinks that’s it’s actually ok to eat the food in the store before they pay for it - let alone before they make it all the way back to their car. Are people so hungry that they can’t last the ten, maybe twenty minutes it takes to get back to their car, without having to shove something else into their gaping maw?

Even worse is that it must be happening with enough frequency that the store felt it necessary to post a sign to try and put an end to this apparent epidemic.

Obese and/or entitled customers aside, there is also the question of the admittedly artfully designed sign itself. Maybe its projection on my part, but I sense barely restrained hostility in this sign.

As you may have noticed, sprinkled among the semi-normal mix of upper and lowercase letters, are a few key words. Not only are these key words shown in ALL CAPS, but they're also underlined and in bold - just in case SOMEONE is NOT GETTING THE MESSAGE. (HELLO? IS ANYBODY HOME!!!???) See if you can find them.

And, as if that were not enough, there are asterisks on either end of the “BEFORE”. What’s that all about? Have they approached powdered sugar-encrusted customers in the past about this problem, only to receive an indignant response along the lines of, “Hey, I was gonna pay for it!!!”

There’s also the capitalized “Must”. This looks ambivalent to me. Was this going to be another ALL CAPS and they thought better of it? Maybe they felt it would detract from the more important “*BEFORE* and "NO EXCEPTIONS". I guess I agree with this decision - though it would have offered a nice visual balance to that particular line.

Finally, there’s the problematic conclusion. “Thank You, the management”.

Really? Thank you? If this isn’t sarcasm, it totally undermines their message. You just reamed people out (rightfully so) and now you want to be friends?

And then there's “the management”. For god's sake, at least capitalize it! If the "Thank you" before it is supposed to be sarcasm, then don't stop at standard capitalization. Put it in ALL CAPS - maybe even with a few exclamation points at the end. And if the "Thank you" isn't sarcasm, then "the management" should be in a really tiny font (weak).

One last thing I would like to note. For all their effort, the pastry case behind this sign is entirely empty. I'm not sure if there's any significance to this, but I feel it should be mentioned.

First of the Season

I don't know if it's coming across in these pictures or not - but it was snowing after I got to work this morning.

When I was a kid, this would have been great news. The only thing better would have been if it were snowing the night before a big (or little, even) homework assignment were due. Oh, how many times I was let down by the Snow Gods for not dumping enough snow on the ground thus causing school to be canceled ... but that's another story.  (Actually, probably several other stories ... but they all ended the same - tragically).

Anyway, as I was saying, this would have been great news when I was a kid. But it's been a long time since I was a kid (chronologically, that is. We're not speaking mentally here). Now though, for the most part, I can do without the snow.

I no longer have little kids at home who like to build snowmen or go sledding and as for the little-kid-less me, I don't like driving in it, I don't like slipping in it - and I really don't like shoveling it. Sure, it can be pretty, but not when you're trying to keep your car from sliding into a tree.

Nowadays, the only time I really like snow is starting from about the evening of December 24th, say sometime around 4:30 in the afternoon (and that's assuming everyone has made it home safely) to early in the morning of December 26th - maybe even stretch it out to December 27th, if we have to.

Other than that, I'm all set.

Fortunately, today's snow didn't last long. All of it was melted by the time I left work - leaving nothing behind but wet, salted roads  - and the bitter memories of being betrayed on too many elementary school mornings.

Starting Early

Sam and I drove down to visit Grandma on this raw and grey November afternoon. I flicked on the radio and since it was a Sunday afternoon, the choices were either opera or news.

Since I'm not a big fan of opera and since I get my fill of the news during the week, I fumbled around with my phone for something less challenging to listen to. Success! I came across my playlist of kid's Christmas music, still there from last year (and the year before... and the year before...).

It's little early in "the season" to be playing Christmas music (even by my standards) but Sam didn't mind one bit - as evidenced by his foot tapping in time to the music. And that, of course, meant that I didn't mind either.

My (our) playlist consists primarily of music from one particular kid's CD. I bought this CD about twenty-five or more years ago. I remember buying it on a whim, looking for something the kids might enjoy. It wasn't a whole lot of money, even back then. (As a matter of fact, you can still buy it on Amazon for about what I paid for it all those years ago (or listen to it for free if you're  Prime member!)).

I have a ton of Christmas music CDs - choral, instrumental, classical, modern, etc. But out of all the CD's I have, this one gets played the most. This still surprises me.

It's not that there's anything wrong with it - it's a classic kid's type of CD. But I bought it thinking that it might be something the kids would enjoy, for the brief moment in time we were in - and then they would outgrow it. So it's surprising to me that, here we are, some twenty-five years later, still listening to it.

I enjoy it a good bit, but not for the quality of the singing necessarily, rather for the quality of - and the abundance of - many fond memories.

And I like the fact that Sam still loves it - and I like it that in some way, his joy connects him with the joy his brother and sisters felt when they used to listen to it, many many years earlier.

Tonight's Fill in the Blank

A typical fill-in-the-blank conversation with Sam, usually goes like this...

Me: "Hey Sam. I'm going to go to  the field  to  take a picture of the sunset  . Do you want to..."

Sam: "I'll come!"

You can pretty much fill in the blanks with anything you want. The response is almost always the same and it almost always comes before I can get all the words out of my mouth.

Holiday Dreams

Last night, I had a dream. In this dream, it was late afternoon, the day before Christmas - almost Christmas eve.

Outside, a light, powdery snow was gently falling, leaving a soft, thin blanket which glistened in the blue glow of the approaching winter twilight. The once bustling streets were quiet - the stores and the banks and the businesses all having closed earlier in the day.

Inside, the lights of the Christmas tree cast colors and shadows over the otherwise dark living room as Christmas music played softly in the background.

I checked once more on the turkey and I checked the pans on top of the stove, turning the heat down on each to a low simmer. The scent of roasting turkey mingled with that of the tree - and together, they filled the house with a special kind of warmth.

Walking out of the kitchen, I passed through the dinning room, the table already set in anticipation of the coming meal. I walked into the living room, past the tree - stopping briefly to admire the ornaments - and then went over to rest on the couch for those final, brief moments - the moments before the approaching rush of getting dinner out of the kitchen and onto the dining room table.

With the music softly playing, I sat and watched as the occasional strand of tinsel swayed side to side in a dangling, slow motion dance under the glow of the colored lights.

And I sat - not thinking, only feeling.

And as I sat there, winding down, I slowly began to realize... I forgot to do any of my Christmas shopping.

---

I've been feeling the residual panic from this dream all day long.

Friday Night

Friday night was trick or treating - having been pushed back a night by a threatened storm which barely managed to materialize. By Friday evening the little rain that came through on Thursday was gone, leaving clear November skies and a bitter November wind - perfect for walking the dark streets of the neighborhoods on the outskirts of town.

Before we left on our adventure, I gently suggested to Sam that maybe it was time we considered shortening our trick or treating a bit by cutting out some of the "less productive" areas we typically visit. And pretty much like every year that I've made this suggestion, this insane idea was discarded, though not immediately.

Sam's perfectly happy to entertain the idea cutting it short, even going so far as to say it sounds like a good idea. But when we get into the nuts and bolts of it, what it boils down to is that, a) it's a great idea, and b) he's perfectly happy to cut it short - as long as we can still visit all the same houses that we visited the year before.

In the end, all of this is fine with me. But I wonder how long the various houses will put up with a young adult knocking on their door for candy.

And the thing is, I'm not entirely sure what Sam gets out of all of this. He definitely isn't doing this for the candy. His bag from last Halloween had to be emptied of all the year-old candy before he took it out again this year - which, by the way, is the same routine as the year before, and the year before that, etc., etc., etc...

Whatever his reasons, at least it gets us out of the house - so there's something to be said for that. And we get to spend some time together, walking around, occasionally chatting - so there's something to be said for that, as well.

So, the routine is that after dinner and after last year's candy gets dumped, Sam gets dressed in his costume, we both grab a flashlight and then we head out in the car to the outskirts of town.

When we reach one of the neighborhoods, we park at the edge of the long, dark road, and Sam and I get out and walk around. My flashlight is usually off, but Sam's flashlight is usually on - though shining in every direction except where he's walking.

As we walk the dark neighborhoods, we appraise each house: is there anybody home - and if they are home, does it look like they want any trick or treaters? For most houses, this is pretty straight forward. Car in the driveway? Check. House lights are on? Check. Porch light is on? Bingo! Go for it.

If the lights are off and the house is dark, we let it go (and I, at least, make a mental note of the house and wonder silently to myself, what's wrong with someone who can't be bothered to hand out candy to someone who isn't interested in eating it?).

Every so often, we come across a house which is hard to judge. Sometimes, there are lights on in the back of the house but no porch light is turned on. Sometimes, there are walkway lights on, yet the house is dark inside. Last year, we came across a house that was completely dark inside - but it had, not only walkway lights turned on (granted, they were pretty dim), but it also had what appeared to be a pumpkin sitting on their porch. What does this mean?

Sam and I stood in the dark street, staring at the house. After some discussion, Sam thought it was worth trying, so I stayed at the edge of the lawn, like usual, while Sam, with his flashlight swinging in all directions, went up to the front door, like usual.

First, Sam tried the doorbell. Nothing. Then he tried the doorbell again. Nothing again. Then he tried it again. Still nothing. Then he started knocking on the door. I'm at the edge of the lawn telling him that there's nobody home and let's move on, but Sam wasn't giving up. He's still knocking on the door and ringing the doorbell.

Finally, after not getting any action, but still not convinced that no one was home, Sam goes over to their living room window and starts shining his flashlight into their dark house. Whoa! Time to move on, Sam!

Needless to say, this opened up a little discussion.

This year, we again came upon the same house. Like last year, the house was dark inside. Also like last year, the same dim walkway lights were turned on. There was even what could have been the same pumpkin sitting on the front porch.

Just as we had before, Sam and I stood in the darkness at the edge of the lawn, and looked up at the house.

"What do you think?" I asked Sam. Sam stared up at the house and thought for a bit. Finally, he said, "Maybe we should skip this one."

So we turned and walked on, continuing silently down the long, dark road together, looking for more opportunities, while Sam flashed his flashlight in every possible direction.

Tonight's Videos

While I'm out Trick or Treating with Sam, I'll leave these videos with you to fill the void...

I have no idea who Ed Sheeran is and I only have a glancing familiarity with Andrea Bocelli. So how did I come to find myself watching this particular video?  Who knows - but I keep watching it...



Sometimes though, when I get tired or it, I break up the routine by watching this video instead...

Today's Big Mystery

What does it mean when this song keeps playing in your head the entire time you're trying to get dinner ready?

Easy Recipe

Sam and I make this baked apple pancake recipe all the time in the fall and winter. Simple and delicious!

1) Find some apples.

 2) Chop them up and cover with batter.

 3) Sprinkle with plenty of cinnamon.

4) Bake at 400 for 30 minutes.

Weekend Run Down

Our normally sedate weekend was actually kind of jamb packed.  Let's see how much of it I can remember...

Saturday started with Sam and I (joined by Helaina) running our usual Saturday morning errands. Just the two grocery stores this time. No banks. No post office. Oh, but we did stop along our way at the farmers market. Since Rachael would be visiting, I bought some kale and garlic along with three small containers of maple syrup (all of which will end up in the kids stocking this Christmas - don't say a word).

Back home after the grocery stores, Sam wolfed down his pizza while I put away away the groceries and then threw laundry load #2 into the washer. (Oh yeah. I meant to say the day started with laundry load #1. Please insert above.)

After that, we took off so Sam could meet a friend from his high school days. Sam and his friend bowled while his friend's Mom and I talked about exciting topics such as navigating SSI and DDS and the struggles and anxieties and maybe even the rewards (well...mostly the anxieties) of dealing with all of this. Anyway, it was fun - for me, at least.

Afterwards, Sam wanted to go over to the neighboring town where they were having a so-called "pumpkin festival" - so we headed over for the first of likely our one and only visits.

It's not that there was anything particularly wrong with the pumpkin festival. As a matter of fact, it was perfect - as long as you like crowds of people, loud, blaring music, and a lot of smoke. I happen to like none of those things. Fortunately, Sam likes none of those things, as well. But we stayed long enough to make sure our last impressions matched our first impressions. And they did, so we left.

Note the throngs of annoying people behind Sam. Now imagine this with blaring music.

Since it was still a nice day and since we still had a tiny bit of energy left, Sam and  I decided to head over to the bike path and go for a stroll. We figured it would be a good way to wind down from the "excitement" of the pumpkin festival and allow the loud, blaring music more time to fade out of our still-rattling heads.

The scenery, as usual, was lovely. Particularly so this time of year. Here are a couple of pictures taken from the well-known Bridge of Death...

View from the Bridge of Death.

Another view from the Bridge of Death.

Saturday night, as far as I can remember, was uneventful.

On Sunday, Sam wanted to take in the so-called Scarecrow something-or-other. This was another festival, but in a different neighboring town. For some strange reason, I agreed - and we headed over in the morning. Thankfully, unlike the pumpkin festival, this Scarecrow something-or-other was a lot more to our liking - fewer people, no blaring music, and best of all, fewer people.

At the Scarecrow something-or-other. Note: the fewer people, many of which were not annoying.

The place was pretty much filled with nothing but vendors, each hawking their homemade goods. Most of these goods were things like jams and jellies, wood carvings, various sewn or knitted items, etc. Some of the things were really quite nice but there was, like usual, a fair portion of the "why-is-someone-in-their-presumably-right-mind-investing-their-time-making-all-of-this-stuff-and-anyway,-what-is-it-supposed-to-be?" variety. 

Naturally, Sam took his time looking around, stopping at each booth and having a kind word or two for almost every vendor - usually ending with a, "Well, have a nice day." I spent most of my time trying not to make eye contact with anyone.

Afterwards, Sam and I stopped at the local bakery - which, by the way, was the only place we bought anything(!) and then we headed home once again. I got Sam a quick bite to eat and while he ate, I did some exciting vacuuming around the house (for the second time this month!). Then, Sam and I headed out for a quick visit with Grandma before heading over to pick up Rachael at the bus station.

Back at home, we kept it low-key. For dinner, Sam and I made a baked apple pancake and later, we (meaning everyone but Sam) started to watch a bit of a movie - all the way up to bedtime.

Monday morning was spent with Rachael and I hitting up a couple of stores in the vain hope of finding me a new jacket to replace the raggedy one that I can't seem to give up. I'm pretty sure I bought this current jacket many, many, many years ago at a second hand store and let's just say that it hasn't improved with age - the cuffs have worn through and so has the collar. And any elastic it may have once had has long since given up any elastic-like properties. But it's comfortable - and it's hard to give up on things that are comfortable.

Despite our best efforts, (well, maybe not our best efforts, but efforts none the less) a suitable replacement was not to be found.

So from there, Rachael and I headed over to Sugarloaf mountain - and for some crazy reason, we decided to hike up to the top. (I'm pretty sure this was Rachael's idea.) 

I don't have a lot to say about this - at least, not right now. A couple of years ago, I wrote about walking to the top of Sugarloaf with Sam (way back here) and while I haven't bothered to reread what I wrote back then, I'm reasonably sure that most of what I wrote likely still applies.

Anyway, despite it being "exercise" it was a nice day and certainly the company was great. And as an added bonus, I didn't die on the way up (or on the way down).

Seeing how the walk up Sugarloaf didn't kill me earlier in the day, we decided to make another attempt at it by going on a walk up to the tower on Monday evening.

I was going to mention something about all the mosquitoes buzzing around my head when we got up there- appearing right after I had just finished assuring Sam that there wouldn't be any mosquitoes this time of year- or mention something about the plethora of ladybugs that for some odd reason were all over the tower (which I think might be one of the signs of the End Times), but since I don't have much to say about any of this, I won't get into it.

All that's missing is Jake.

Returning home after the walk, Sam eventually headed to the shower, which gave Helaina, Rachael and I the opportunity to finish the movie we started the night before. I don't normally like to exclude Sam from things but there are some things he won't deal with well - and watching a documentary-style comedy about vampires is one of the things he won't deal with well - no matter how good it is and how ridiculous the spurting blood and other effects are portrayed.

Anyway, this brings us to Tuesday morning. On Tuesday morning, I had to bring Rachael back to the bus station - and from that point on, settle back into my normal, so-called lifestyle. And like much of my usual so-called lifestyle, there is absolutely nothing even remotely interesting to say about it.

But there you have it. That's the busy weekend. I may have the order of some of those things wrong and I'm sure I'm leaving out some other things but, as near as I can tell, those were the highlights.

At least, that's what I remember.

Fall Activity

I should mention that it's apple picking season again. Every year we buy at least two bags to fill up - totaling at least a bushel or more - and every year the bags seem to fill up faster than the year before.

I only took a few pictures this year - which seems to be my trend lately. Here are a few of the few...

The Sunset

This picture was taken back in August of 2010. I think this was our next to the last family vacation on Cape Cod.

I like a lot of things about this picture. I like the memories. I like the subject matter. I like the sunset. But along with all of that, there are things about it which I'm not talented enough to articulate.

There's some kind of analogy in there about my family being on the beach, watching a near-final sunset together - and me with my all too keen awareness that these family vacations were winding down.

And there's something in there about looking to the horizon - or maybe it's about getting ready to set sail - or maybe... any number of things.

Maybe, whatever the analogies are, they're best left to unspoken emotions.

But there's something else in there. Something connected to the three older kids - each of them  looking off towards the sunset together - while Sam looks away in a different direction, looking towards something unseen.

The Little Things, I Guess

The happiest feeling is when I have no idea what I'm going to make for dinner - and then all of a sudden, at the last minute, I have a brainstorm.

It's the same feeling I get when I'm completely stumped on what present to get for someone I love - and then out of nowhere - an idea for the perfect gift.

Ten Two Eighteen

Happy Birthday Dad.

Changing with the Times

What the hell is going on with the people that make Beanie Babies? They were never my thing, but way back when, I could see how someone else might have found them cute (especially if they were of the monkey variety).

But over the last several years there seems to have been a trend towards making these things with large, zombie-like eyes. Now this style seems to have completely taken over their product line (as , I guess, zombies will do).

Do kids "nowadays" really like them like this? Am I really this far out of the loop? I think if someone had given me one of these when I was a little kid, it would have given me nightmares.

Though, maybe if the eyes would light up, that might be kind of cool.

Lesson in Life

Yikes. Today at work, this poor guy (or gal) landed on my window. He (or she) spent a few minutes there, crawling around, battered and beaten, struggling, resting a little - refusing to give in. Finally, after a few minutes, it somehow managed to regain some strength and eventually, it flew away, continuing it's journey to who-knows-where.

I feel like there's a lesson for me in there somewhere. I just need to figure out what it is.

Baking Season

Today marks the official beginning of weekend baking projects for Sam and I. It begins today for a couple of reasons. First, cooler, fall-like weather has finally arrived (well, except for yesterday... and today, as it turned out) and also, for some inexplicable reason, Sam came home from work on Friday with about five pounds of overripe bananas.

That said, guess what we baked? (Hint: look at the picture.)

If you guessed anything other than banana bread, I feel sorry for you. You may move along. We have nothing more to talk about.

If you guessed banana bread, congratulations. You know us well.

Maybe it was due to the long, hot summer but for whatever reason, Sam and I decided to shake things up a bit by adding some cinnamon to two out of the three loaves. This is very unlike us. We'll let you know how it worked out.

Late update: It worked out just fine.

Fair Season, Part II

Here are a few exciting photos from this year's fair. (If you want to relive the excitement from the fairs of years past, click on the links of the previous post.)

Sam in front of his blue ribbon artwork (and by "blue ribbon" I mean red), wearing a very Sam appropriate shirt .

Any pig races? Absolutely! In fact, we now arrange our entire fair schedule around the pig races.

 Helaina and her pickle in front of the Gravitron.

Not everything was the same at the fair this year. Here are some pics of Sam on, believe it or not, the Sizzler...

And the obligatory shot from the Ferris Wheel. (Odd that the height doesn't bother me.)

Nice, but I think it looks more magical at night. This, from a few years back...

And we closed our visit, like usual, with the bumper cars...

Of course, the real finale is getting cotton candy and fried dough on our way out. I have no photos of that event, though.