Schoolless

Thanks a lot, meme!

Thanks a lot, Lori, I can't believe it's been a year since the last time we did this!
It is a given that we are thankful for our families, pets, warm homes, our new president-elect, and, heck, I would even say that Jon Stewart is a given ;)
Without further delay, the not-so-obvious things, that make my enjoyment of the obvious things more complete, ahem!...

1. My Shred Alert fleece beanie. Lets me go out of the house with my hair wet.

2. Bill Bryson's Short History of Nearly Everything on audio. Kept me entertained and informed for many hours on a recent solo drive from Florida.

3. Knudsen Cranberry Juice Concentrate. Not to sound like an old lady or anything, but drinking this stuff every day (diluted, of course) is making my joints very happy.

4. Half Price Books. If I lived in Hyde Park, I could go to Powell's, but I don't. Half Price gets most of my annual book budget. We especially like their dollar bin, the great coupons they send out, and we love taking our unwanted books there to resell. They may not pay as much as Powell's, but they take the lot off your hands.

5. Grass-fed beef from Wettstein Farm (chickes, too!). Local, organic, affordable and delicious. Because our freezer is always stocked, we rarely get take-out anymore.

6. Homeschool swim at the Y. A great way to spend a part of every Friday catching up w NUG moms, while kids swim.

7. My compact upright bagless vacuum. Now that I don't have to drag the monster up from the basement, my house is a lot more hair-free a lot more often.

8. Teeccino, especially the Mayan Chocolate flavor. Brews like coffee, tastes a little different, perhaps even better. Great for reducing caffeine consumption around here.

9. Because of my recent costume-making stint with Mudlark Theater, I have rediscovered the joys of thrift shopping. Thank goodness for Unique Thrift Stores, their clean, well lit aisles, and organization by color.

10. And last, but not least, my favorite discovery this year, the thing that helps me save face every day, Weleda Iris cleansing lotion. Never in a million years would I suspect that a cleansing milk is just what my generally oily skin needs, but once I tried this stuff, there is no going back to soap.

Thank you, Lori, for inviting all to play.
And won't you join us, gentle reader?

Communing with Nature

This is a picture of our toilet on Boblo Island.

You will note, that although it is a perfectly serviceable toilet, it is situated outdoors on a deck, where its normal use is somewhat impractical.
Issues with the toilet on Boblo have a long and colorful history. Last summer, Chris spent two days beating it into submission, and we were finally able to make partial use of it. This time, too, the toilet's capricious nature made it necessary for Chris to remove it from its usual location while he attended to needed repairs.
I mention all this only to explain how it was, that I found myself in the thicket, with a shovel and a roll of slightly damp toilet paper, communing with nature.
While I was thus engaged, I heard knocking. It wasn't the insistent tdtdtdtdtdtdtd! of the woodpeckers I've grown accustomed to in Chicago, but rather the slow, deliberate knock!.... knock!.... knock!... of a much larger bird. I quickly composed myself and pointed my face up into the tree canopy. And there, on a branch not ten feet above my head was the most beautiful pileated woodpecker I ever saw.
I've glimpsed others before, and they were doubtless just as attractive. It's just that none ever sat still long enough for me to appreciate its charms. This one continued its laborious knocking, slowly circling the tree trunk as it went about its business, as if I hadn't been there.
This was, understandably, one of those moments when I didn't have my camera. I rose to my feet and gingerly started to move in the direction of the cabin. The bird continued to ignore my presence. Encouraged by this, I ran to collect both the camera, and members of my family. Alas, while the woodpecker was tolerant of a solitary person in the vicinity, a larger group alarmed him, and he took wing, and disappeared from view. Chris and the kids gave up on him, but I was determined to get a photo. I knew where he had gone, and reasoned that if I stay still enough, as I, after all, had been doing when I first spotted him, he was sure to reappear.
He did. But, sadly, I never got close enough to him to get a decent picture. He was now aware of my presence, and every time I raised my camera, he flew off to a more distant branch. I followed him as stealthily as I could through the damp woods, and I was able to observe him quite well in flight, but this was the best I could do. This one's for Kim, such as it is.

A smashing pumpkin

Among the ghosts, the black cats, the witches, and the bony skeletons rising out of the ground, this Halloween decoration made a different sort of statement.

The Barack Obama visage carved out of a pumpkin was surprisingly subtle and dignified, unlike certain VP candidates we can think of.

"I like the pumpkin" I said to the lady handing our treats to our kids.

"I just hope it doesn't get smashed..."

Me too.