"Was That Thunder?" Well, No...

First of all, Happy Halloween (or Samhain, if you prefer) to everyone!

We did NOT get a "treat" last night. What we got were pretty steady rains. And they're continuing through today, which ought to make trick-or-treating interesting.

Last night, about 11:30, I heard what I thought was thunder, but didn't recall seeing the flash...I didn't think much of it; it was, after all, pouring rain. Quinn high-tailed it out of our room and went to hide under my desk, as she likes to do during thunderstorms.

But I didn't hear anything else the rest of the night. 

Here's why: 

Dead Tree In Shed

That would be the middle of my neighbor's three trees. Two of them are dead. We knew that. We just didn't know WHEN they would keel over. 


The damage doesn't look bad, till you get really close up. The roof of our ratty shed is crumpled, and the back wall is split. Luckily, it only dinged the kennel fence there, and didn't fall either (a) toward the house; or (b) onto my truck...

Our neighbor is not going to be happy, but he's not going to give us any trouble. We've been good friends since we've lived there, and we had talked to him about the trees 3 years ago.

The problem is, during that time, he had lost his wife, had been sick himself, and just a week ago, his daughter told Hubby that she was "really concerned" about her dad... He's apparently quite depressed and we mentioned to her that we hadn't seen him outside like we usually do. She said that's because he's refusing to go anywhere. Lately, too, he's not driving, which I know can be devastating to an elder. 

I'm very sad about that; he's a genial fellow and a model neighbor. Hubby will call him later to tell him about the tree. Hubby also called two tree-removal companies. One said they weren't doing any work today because the weather is going to continue to be dangerous for that kind of work (heavy rains), but the other said they'd come out. He wants them to take down that tree to the right, too -- it's next, and it'll whack into Kid #2's car or my truck with no problem.

Oh well. I wanted to replace the shed anyway. I guess this is as good a time as any. Unfortunately, it's likely too late in the year to put in a garage. We had kept the shed around because we were "at some point" going to put in a garage. We have alley access, and so placing the garage would be tricky. 

Not sure what we'll do, but Hubby concurs that the damage is worse than he thought it was at 5 a.m. 

Halloween...

Pencils for everyone!

Tonight we have Evensong service at church, and I'm looking forward to it. I'm working today so Hubby is in charge of treats. And this is what we're giving out. And no, our house has never been egged or TP'd.  The kids like the pencils. And so do the parents! 

Of course, Hubby also has chocolate... But we don't buy as much as we used to. I can get these pencils for a couple of bucks per dozen, and that's just easier and different. We also have given out stickers and erasers. 

I like being different. I'm also wearing my troll earrings. Seriously, I am... I got them at a conference, along with a full-sized troll dressed as Dracula. I can't find Dracula, but I have worn the earrings every year. 

I'm not sure how many of our students are going to come dressed up; but I know my assistant said something about coming as the guy from Breaking Bad. Luckily, we have adult students! 

We didn't get a real pumpkin this year; I haven't gotten one for a while, but I probably should pick up a small one, a pie pumpkin. Those are good for soups. 

There's nothing more comforting than pumpkin or squash soup; it's just nice and warm, tasty and not heavy. 

Politics...

So now there's this.  Seems that every time someone goes ballistic about how the ACA is "screwing" them, the story falls apart. Every time. 

Yes, there are likely to be people who don't benefit as much as some others. Remember, again -- this is not SOCIALIZED medicine. Heck, it's not even HEALTH CARE.

It's INSURANCE REFORM. And amazingly, insurance reform WRITTEN BY insurance companies. So why are we so surprised that they will continue to maximize their own profits at our expense? 

Let's not be naive. Let's use the brains we were given and do our research. 

Phone...

I should probably figure out how to load Sirius XM on my phone. Or add some music. Or just ignore it all and use it as a phone...

In several of our yoga classes, the teachers are using the regular i-devices, but a few of them have been using their iPads to play music. I'm a Luddite and still use CDs. 

Of course, there's the whole question of even whether to use music during a yoga class... However, getting back to my topic, I was thinking about how to load some music on it particularly for the class, but then I realized that the CD player has the i-stuff hook-ups, so I'd have to buy my own speakers.

I think I'll stick with CDs. In the spring, we can update our phones, so maybe I'll just continue to use it as (surprise) a phone. 

Random Picture...

This can't be comfortable...

This is Tippi, all 53 lbs. of her playing "lap dog" in the truest sense of the word. Who knew elkhounds were flexy-bendy dogs? 

Interesting enough, when they stand on their hind legs, those legs hinge so that they're standing straight up. My huskies had a tilt to them. But these critters can stand right up like a human. 

And apparently, they can also pretzel themselves into a ball of grey fuzz.

She'll do anything for a belly rub.