Back In the Blogosphere

Yup, tempus does fugit -- at warp speed, it seems. But I'm nearly back to normal, whatever that is. Here's a quick nod to the last couple of months in pictures...

Just after the start of school, the kids enjoyed a warm but windy ferry ride over to the city to meet Daddy for dinner. The gusts nearly knocked Jack off his feet!

In early September, we finally got notice from our contractor that he could come in and repaint/recarpet the whole house. We had about ten days to basically completely move out, and the TO DO list was understandably long...

Pease Porridge Tot: With all the toys in the house packed away, the kids were reduced to playing with empty instant oatmeal packets (James' clever idea). I especially love Claire's Picasso-esque faces.

Chloé gets a job! As soon as she was eligible for her Driver's Learning Permit, she decided she better earn some money to buy a car. She started as a bagger and has already been promoted to cashier.

Barely has school started, it seems, than the kids have a day off from classes. We flee the hotel where we're living for a few weeks and head to Point Reyes. There are several hundred steps down to this lighthouse, and even more coming back (!).

My beautiful, amazing grandmother, Gigi, passes away peacefully in her sleep on September 25th. I miss her so much, it feels like a light went out in my soul.

My elegant Grandmom, Mona, came to California for a visit and we celebrated her 88th birthday at a mini-reunion down in Santa Cruz.

October 12th: Angel Island, site of James' annual 4th-of-July camping trip, goes up in flames. We've moved back home and can see the great clouds of smoke from our house. Half the island burns, but none of the historic structures.

October 14th: What would have been my mother's 65th birthday.

I miss her, too.

My Grandfather (sitting next to me) turned 90 on October 23rd, and we threw him a surprise party with nearly fifty people at one of his favorite spots, Gibson's BBQ ("Too Much Pork for Just One Fork").

While back in Alabama, I had the happy chance to meet up with my own First Grade teacher, Mrs. Brown. She's still one of my personal heros to this day.

I missed Halloween all together, but the trip to the pumpkin patch was a huge success this year. James got into the spirit of things (and in costume) and took the kids out for two rounds of trick-or-treating! We're only about a third of the way through eating the sugary haul they brought home.

I was home just in time to vote in this historical election. Even though James and I both have permanent absentee status, he says he likes to go and get the sticker, so I proudly displayed mine, too.