Spoooooky edition!

We have considerably overstocked the candy, just in case this is the year we get trick or treaters.  There is an actual kid on the block now!  I know it's a lot more exciting at other Pixie homes -- tell us all about it!

Weather report:  Considerably cooler, normal night fog.  That hot spell and those fires took it out of me.

In the News:  The headlines are making me happy, after all the stuff.

Neighbor Report:  So far, so good.  The home health nurse came yesterday, and instead of the usual 45 minutes, he stayed 3 hours!  And Mrs. Neighbor really felt good about it, liked the nurse, was getting the message about needing to give his meds at particular times and push fluids.  Keeping in touch with their daughter, too.  But another older neighbor a few doors down -- the one who fell and got checked out at the ER and returned home the other day -- she was having really bad pain, so the ambulance came yet again this weekend.

Have a battle plan for the cleaning blitz before my houseguest arrives.

What's new with you?

Anticipatory Whining

Greetings, pixies!

I'm expecting some sad things this week: the friend on hospice is declining rapidly.

I'm also expecting some good things this week: lunch with some friends, and our congregation is celebrating our 140th anniversary this Sunday (good, but means a little extra work).

I'm expecting to whine about all of the above, plus some other things I can't anticipate yet.

How is it with you and yours?

Constant Mild Ickiness Edition

A sure sign that we're fully into the preschool school year: since the beginning of September, our home life has been a constant parade of mild ickiness. Tiny colds and bits of upset stomachs pass through our home, as they pass through the homes of all the other preschoolers and friends. E and I are both sniffling a bit, and on the way home from the indoor playground, she complained that her tummy was queasy, and her friend (with whom we went to said playground) apparently is just now recovering from croup, and so we'll see how all this pans out over the next few days.

And so I raise my glass of hot herbal tea with honey to all the rest of you pixies, and ask how it's going in your home this week.

Oh, I'm late!

I signed up to host, and forgot all about it because we woke up to a whole lot of smoke this morning.  The many fires are 40-50 miles away, but massive -- and our area also remains under a high fire danger warning because it is dry, warm, and somewhat windy.  (Much windier last night.)  Things are very chaotic in the areas affected.

My SIL is in care in one of the affected counties.  The phone line to her place is out -- there are lots of outages, even outside the fire zones -- but the director of her place responded to an email and said they're OK for now, and they have an evacuation plan if needed.   Crossing fingers. 

Anyway, distracted... 

AW:  My son and DIL came for dinner last night, and it was great.  They got to meet Clyde.  The dog was wary of my son for some reason, but son got to feed him treats, and Clyde signaled acceptance by grabbing the shirt my son carelessly left in reach, and slobbering on it.

Happy Thanksgiving to our Canadian Pixies!

Wishing Liz good luck as she starts her new job!

What else is going on?

Wednesday Whining - Last Week Before the New Job Edition

First, to get it off my mind: Good substitutes for chocolate or caffeine are Caffix with a syrup of ginger and cinnamon;  Ginger tea; cinnamon tea; strong flavors; lots of little snacks.

Back to the new job: Starts the 10th, so far filling out lots of paperwork. I am in love with pdfs you can fill out and ship back without printing them off.

I'm doing as much as possible this week to prep for the fact that there will be 10 hours each day when I won't be here. It's been three years since that's been the case.

What's up in your lives?