Ghosts of Halloween past

Josh and Shanna: age 11 and 8
I would like you to think that those ugly glasses were just part of the costume but..no. I am pregnant with Naomi here. Shanna's skeleton glowed in the dark to show only bones

Naomi at 11 just before she got braces

I have spent a good part of the morning looking for Shanna dressed as Don Mattingly (her unusual choice for a costume at age 9 or 10) but  it seems to be missing. She must have been the only girl in the state of Michigan, if not the whole country, to dress as her favorite Yankee.

Halloween was my favorite holiday as a child. As treats were very rare around my house and I loved treats a bit too much (or a lot too much), this was my opportunity to score. Alas my friends were not similarly motivated so I usually ditched them as they were too slow. I would stay out well beyond when I was supposed to, had to get those treats.

This is my Maya day. I hope to take pictures of her in costume.
Alas it will be cold tonight and possibly raining.

Black and White

Black: The color of Josh and Julia's dinner the other night held in the unlit basement of a local restaurant. Patrons were asked to dress in all black.The food was all black too such as squid ink risotto. It was a wine-tasting dinner. Presumably without being able to see the wine, one could concentrate on the taste. Josh isn't much of a wine drinker preferring beer or mixed drinks but he was the only one who guessed the first wine tasted was a red.

White: The color of the ground around Shanna's with the freak October storm yesterday. Boston did not get the 2 feet as other parts of Massachusetts did but still there was several inches on the ground. No snow here but it definitely was cold enough for it. 24 degrees when I went for my run this morning.

Black and yellow: Ms. Maya's bee costume for tomorrow.

Orange and purple: My nails. We went for a mani/pedi yesterday sitting in the massaging chair for more than an hour while having our legs and hands massaged with hot stones. Fun except now I have a backache. I selected the pearlized orange for my fingers and metallic purple for my toes although with the cold coming, no one will be able to admire my now pretty toes.

White, green and red: The Italian flag. After our nail painting, we went to a new restaurant opened by Italian brothers. They are trying to replicate their mom's Neapolitan cuisine. Although raised by Italians, they never learned the language even though it was spoken in the house. One of the brothers is trying to learn it now but is having difficulty with all the rules. Good food though they need to work on the ambiance.

Yellow, red and black: The German flag. Josh is probably going to be asked to do a long term assignment in Germany. Julia would be done with her classes so she could go with him. As a child, she learned German while living in Zurich though she thinks she has forgotten it but maybe it would come back to her. Josh should learn more beyond greetings and Kolsch, the local beer.

Chillaxin'

Obviously not a recent photo as we finally had a killing frost last night. My impatiens had survived until now. Ms. Maya will fall asleep within minutes of being in a pool, a sure-fire way for her to take a nap.

At her last visit, the pediatrician suggested an evaluation for her speech delays. The expert comes in next week. We will see what she has to say. The last one thought Ms. Maya was just fine.

The map of the world according to many Americans

From Campanastan

This has been a very uneventful week. I haven't gone any where except by foot. I've spent quite some time trying to straighten out my health insurance. I am choosing a new company: hopefully they will be better than the last two I had to choose.

But I should be the master or at least the mistress of my life: if my life isn't exciting, I have no one to blame excepting myself.

The dress

Recently I was rooting through my closet and came across a beautiful silk dress. I don't remember buying it at all! It is a size smaller than what I am now so maybe I bought it a while back. It definitely is a dress that is my taste but it scares me that I have no memory of buying it.

I used to list all the teachers I ever had (to myself) to make sure my memory was intact. I stopped at junior high as I had too many teachers there but some of them remain in my mind. I am drawing a blank now on who I had for 5th grade. I remember the other 5th grade teacher; I remember a sub we had for a week because she went out of her way to hurt my feelings and I knew her nasty daughter but I can't even remember the sex of this teacher or who was in my class. I remember where the room was, to the south side of the other 5th grade room and I know we faced east. I could ask some of my Facebook people I guess. I do remember being asked with the other girls to go down into the basement for that talk on menstruation, which was news to me. All the other girls seemed to know all about it. I felt bad being so clueless and angry that this was a big surprise. But I was raised by wolves.

It is cold and rainy, a good day to stay in and perhaps tackle some ignored projects.

In case you were wondering what you could be for Halloween, I offer you this:

An In Bread Cat.

Northern lights

Northern lights over Lake Michigan from web on Oct 24, 2011

On my bucket list is seeing the Northern Lights. Generally this means travelling very far up north but if I were paying attention, one could have  seen them from Ann Arbor 2 nights ago at around 10:30. I was asleep.

Since the storm on the sun which caused these was still going on, I thought I would have a second chance last night and went out but instead, there was a thunderstorm.

I thought I saw some when I was about 10. Every weekend, we'd see my father's best friend and his family. He had kids around the same age as myself and my brother. One night as we were pulling out of their driveway, flashing lights appeared in the Northern sky which my father said were Northern lights but I don't remember any colors. Perhaps I was seeing a meteor shower. I can't remember the time of year, just the light show over the cornfields.

I never wrote down a bucket list but I have one in my head though it isn't completely formed. Top on the list is getting to meet all my grandchildren, even the 3-4 unconceived ones that I feel that are out there. But 4 is definitely a good start. I do hope to be there when the newest little girl makes an appearance next March.

This week, I managed to find nice times to run between the rains. I have been amusing myself watching a little TV in the time that ordinarily, I would be gardening.
Things I have enjoyed the most: The Scorcese documentary on George Harrison. I was quite the Beatle fan long ago. Also, the new shows Enlightenment and The Boss. As it is Pinktober, the local cable company has an all pink selection. Not so enjoyable.

Turtle or hamburger? Redux

Are you a boy?

Or are you a girl?

With your long, blond hair

You look like a girl

(yeah you look like a girl)

You may be a boy

But...you look like a girl

Silly song from the 1960s sung by some one hit wonder band whose name escapes me

No long blond hair was spotted today on my half pound grandchild during today's ultrasound but neither was the sign of the turtle. Nor was there the clear sign of the hamburger (3 vertical lines in this baby's privates that could only mean girl). But the clear absence of the turtle, which had  plenty of opportunity to show itself indicates a very strong possibility of a little girl in the making. The official odds of a girl is 85%. The due date, late in March still stands and all is well.