armlessbear.com

I haven’t blogged for a while and now it seems I have soooo much that I wanted to say that I can’t say it without sounding like one of those Christmas letters you get from your relatives. (Although, my family’s Christmas letters last year got to include the rather macabre bit about being related to 2 people shot by the crazy Hmong hunter in Northern WI last November. )
Anyhooooo, there are no bizarre murders in this post.
Its fall, or so my calendar has said since September 21st. Yesterday as I was driving to my Science Organization meeting, I noted it was 69F outside. Unfreakingbelievable. The warmer weather is part of the charm of living in Virginia, but sometimes my innate Wisconsin-ness wants it to a little brisker outside. If I’m going to have cravings for hot cocoa with ovaltine and brandy, it should at least be approaching freezing, right?
It has been brisk enough for Mike and I to make use of our wood-burning fireplace at least 4 times and make slow-cooker stew in our crockpot. Technically, Mike is the gourmet whipping up Split Pea and Ham Soup and Beef Barley Soup. Apparently my place as the woman is to get the hell out of the kitchen and let him cook. Except when I make banana bread, then its my turn to clean the kitchen and cook. hmmph!
We also spent a lovely day 2 weekends ago at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. Sorry, no pics. Its a pretty dimly lit place, so the pics might not have been very good. About every third display had Clown Fish. NEMO. Or as Adam likes to say “Elmo!” He is now the proud owner of a giant stuffed (not taxidermied) Nemo fish.
We also carved lovely ORANGE pumpkins for Halloween and took Adam trick or treating. Pictures of the pumpkins and Adam as Lion will be up on Gallery.bloy.org shortly.
That pretty much sums it all up in a nutshell.
We’re now awaiting the arrival of my parents for Thanksgiving at the Ryans, and our 4th wedding anniversary which happens to fall on Thanksgiving.
And since our furnace repairs have hit the $1300 mark, we will be driving to Wisconsin for Christmas rather than incur the expense of airline tickets, rental car, and hotel. damnit.
Perhaps our lovely Madison-dwelling friends will give us a place to crash for a few days — eh?
Eh?
Are you reading this, Amy? We’ll get in Thursday morning, the 22nd and need a place through Monday. And then need a place from Wednesday through either Friday, Saturday, or possibly Sunday.
In all likelihood, we’ll priceline a hotel, but sheesh, if we weren’t going to Spooner for a few days we’d spend enough on a hotel to rent an apartment for a month. Ridiculous, no?