It was a lovely Early Thanksgiving
I had the best time yesterday, which would only have been better if the WHOLE Souza clan were here! The locals are heading to a lovely vacation while the Schnickle visits his other grandparents with his dad this coming week and so I was grateful to be able to do The Meal with all of the trimmings, in a relaxed and fun manner. Rod made his Famous Mashed Potatoes (actually whipped in the Kitchen-Aid) that he was been doing since he was a kid and they were to die for. He and Lauren got busy channeling Baba Souza with the best gravy yet and so the little guy at the end of the table was just stuffing food down his gullet like a champ. He came with the announcement that he was going to eat 10

cold & clear today, emphasis on the cold.
We have had quite a few cold mornings lately and with the thermometer reading 39F at almost 10AM, I think that we might be In For It, this winter. Needless to say, before writing more than a couple of words, I found that I needed to go back to the house, fire up the little red Bodhum tea kettle and get some of Harney's Cinnamon spice tea into a mug, to both warm my hands and my other senses. Delicious.Rod just moved something over from the main garage to a perch in here. I am happy to see this happening because it appears that he is finally inspired enough to begin work in earnest on transforming that three car garage over there into a real train layout. I think that the sudd

Books- Atlas Shrugged And Then Some
I really like Audible.com and have become hooked on getting the Classics and other giant tomes in this form because when I am alone in the dye room, I can create and "read", all at the same time. I could always do several things at once, as long as I was not required to talk, too. :o) I had a marathon going on the iPod in the player because I had decided that now was the time to listen to Atlas Shrugged. I had always thought that this was a piece that I should read in the old sense of the word but if I gave over my eyes and hands to such a task, I would feel like a scholar, instead of a learner; tied to the physicality of reading. I chose to do the precious download (whe

What I Did With My October
I got a year older, that is one thing. Next year is a milestone birthday and so for the meantime I am going to like staying this age. It is hard to fathom being what I used to consider as OLD, let alone living it. I am telling you...I am going to squeeze the most out of life and thank the universe for all of my wonderful friends and family. There is a lot to do before I even consider retiring, that is fo'sho'.We spent my birthday up in the thick of it, in Apple Hill and enjoyed every bit of the fun. It is a lot more fun when you have young people and especially VERY young people to share it with. Mama and the Schnickle helped us pick out pumpkins from the spot where you

Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival
A fine time was had by all, to my estimation. It was our second year at OFFF, in Canby, Oregon and once again, the weather could not have been more beautiful. I choose to have a booth on the lawn because it reminds me of all of my years doing craft fairs in Berkeley and Santa Monica and evokes good memories. Just look at that sky. We set up on Friday, as early as we could. The aroma from the lamb barbeque booth was just too much, right around noon and I succumbed to the call