A New Plan, A Better Plan

If I only post every four weeks, I can re-tread that Hair Day post and get a lot of miles out of it, can't I? But that defeats the point of blogging, and I doubt very much the children would appreciate the digital version of their family album being a list of Mom's weird appointments.

OK. Fine.

I was busy wallowing in October. Every blessed under-80-degree-but-not-below-40 moment of it. It was spectacular. Coffee on the balcony in the mornings (until the acorns began falling - then I had to bring it back in because the welts were unseemly, and so was the swearing), windows wide open and that delicious combination of sweatshirts, shorts, and flip flops that I just can't convince myself to try any other time of year.

The boys Scout Troop finally went backpacking in October. I got to go, since Zorak isn't much on the backpacking thing. It's hard to feel like you're taking one for the team when you're as giddy over going as your spouse is over not having to go. We spent two nights in the Sipsey Wilderness, camped creekside, slept under the magnificent pine and hardwood canopy... didn't loose anybody or have to build a travois! You just can't ask for a better backpacking trip than that.

We built the stairs to the balcony in October. They are exquisite. And now, they're partially stained, to match the partially stained balcony. As soon as the treads weather up a bit, it will look like it was all intentional. (One might suggest we just stain the decking and treads, but we missed the window and there are leaves... so many leaves. We'll have three days in March where the leaves aren't falling and the pollen hasn't descended on everything yet. Maybe then.)

The Volvo died in October, and we spent most of the month with only one car. That part? Not such a great time. But it could have been worse. There was never any need to call in reinforcements for a trip to the ER. Zorak took it to the auto hobby shop, where George The Car Magician pulled a rabbit out from under the hood and *poof*, it started again. (Not an actual rabbit, but it might as well have been. We still have no idea how he fixed it.)

We felled a gigantic tree that died this year. Nature makes some impressive noises. We gave thanks, split the wood, saved a stump to use for knife throwing, and gave a target stump to Pastor's boys. I'm sure Pastor's wife was thrilled. (She's so patient with us.) The boys dug it, though.

We took the steel wool and stove black to the wood stove. If you've never cleaned up a cast iron stove using that stuff, you've got to try it. I felt like a cross between Ma Ingalls and Ron Popeil.

Then we careened wildly into November, voted, prepped for the kitchen window project, started rehabbing my old pickup, and tonight enjoyed the first fire of the year.

Not bad. Not bad, at all.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy