Congratulations sarameg.

At Isaac's request we went around the neighborhood to look at Halloween decorations. Holy handgrenades! I had no idea! There are a couple outstanding houses. I knew about the one done up like a proper English churchyard with a giant Death looming over it, we drive by it when we take Franny to school. But there were more! One house had a full moon over it, and a witch flew past it. Plus they had all the great MGM monsters in the yard.

These I clutch to my bosom and go HELLS YEAH. I was a very important part of them. I've worked my ass off on them.

Oh, sara, go you!

And is it OK to say that it makes me so happy to read somebody being happy regarding what they had been doing? Your joy, in both the awards and in acknowledging that you deserve them, was so much fun to read.

We just finished one of the hottest scorches of the year yesterday. I do not know what is this winter thing which you are speaking of.

My parents used to switch to snow tires in the winter when we lived in Alpena, MI. It's a ways north of Detroit, though, and gets more snow.

I haven't had winter boots since I moved to NC. If I decide to visit the UP with my distant cousin from Finland next March I'll need to get a pair. I'll also probably want one of those big, down, duffle coats. (And when I'm back in NC I could probably convert it to a feather bed, because goodness knows there's no call for those coats here.)

OMG, my dad met my director at a board meeting the other day and was all "My daughter, Sara, work for you in the archive." facepalm Astro = small and incestuous.

As it turns out, I have yet to meet anyone in my field in Boston that I don't already have at least one connection to -- interviewed with one person who used to be my father's boss and another who knows a good family friend well, was introduced to a good contact by two different people, as well as yesterday's story about the person who already knows my parents. The world is very small.

I have a kitten on my shoulder. I'm only partly awake, so I'm not sure I'm not hallucinating it.

Baltimore public schools have instituted "Meatless Mondays" for school lunches. The American Meat Institute says "students are being served up an unhealthy dose of indoctrination." Lou Dobbs says it's "a political storm in the making." [link]

At my high school, Mondays were always meatless, because Monday was pizza day. And during Lent, Fridays were also meatless, though they'd sometimes have fish.

Now I want the Dairy Cheese Board (who'll like the idea of Meatless Monday) to get in a throwdown with the American Meat Institute. Maybe get a few California Raisins in on the rumble?

sarameg, congrats from here, too!

baby night (baby acclimating classes. They always grin at me and splash as I go past and that puts me in a good mood.)

My pool center has two pools, the lap pool that I use and one for families/kids that goes from zero-depth (for the babies) to a lazy-river section with a bit of a current that kids like to swim through. Sometimes the kids come over to the lap pool and get in our way, but the lifeguards do a good job patrolling and getting them to move.

I got my snow boots, but my feet don't quite fit into them (high arch issues), so I have to exchange them for the double-wide size.

Mom's coming up here in the next four hours, and I still have to finish cleaning. I won't have time to get over to the grocery store, so Mom's going to have to come with me this afternoon or evening (maybe after we go out for dinner).

I love how the American Meat Institute person is all about how this is taking away a choice that should be the parents' choice, but CNN can't actually find a parent to complain about it. Everybody actually involved seems to like the idea.

Also, in terms of school lunches, the "choice" argument makes no sense. Most schools will just serve one entree per day. Whether that entree has meat or not, it's still the school making the choice.

I love how the American Meat Institute person is all about how this is taking away a choice that should be the parents' choice, but CNN can't actually find a parent to complain about it. Everybody actually involved seems to like the idea.

I imagine any parents who were really that vehemently opposed to the idea could also, you know...make a bag lunch for their kid on Mondays? It's not like the schools are going to have meat-sniffing dogs roaming the halls looking for ham sandwiches.