Growing up in the northeast, we always had basements. The houses were older, and so were the basements, but kids who had big ones always used them, for rolling skating in the winter and stuff, if they weren't finished.

Our basement here is as old as the house and just as creepy. Low ceilings, uneven floors, nooks and crannies and exposed pipes. I never, ever go down there.

I was desperate for doughnuts this morning, so I found a local doughnut place and got some.

Now I'm full. Very full.

I spent most of my childhood (other than the first three years) in a ranch house in the suburbs. When we first moved in, it was brand new and had an unfinished basement. Over the first eight years or so, Dad finished half of it and subdivided it so there was a family room with paneled walls and carpet, a playroom for us kids which my brother turned into his bedroom after he got into high school and the rest of us got too old for a playroom. The other half of the basement was split into my dad's workshop and Mom's laundry room/sewing area.

It was never creepy down there, although my sister did like to hide in the dark and scare me when I was coming downstairs.

In non-basement memory news, Comcast just left after installing cable into my bedroom. Since my bedroom tv is old and not HD, I only needed a little box that will sit on top of the 12" tv with no problem, but I do need to still use the tv's remote to turn it on, and then the Comcast remote to navigate the channels.

I have a blueberry-peach pie in the oven. I can't wait until it's out. Mmmm....

The air quality at JPL on Friday was ridic. It was raining ash up at my building.

I hope they close tomorrow. With the heat and the ash and the air quality, having five thousand people wandering around the lab = bad idea.

I went to my first Jimmy Buffett concert last night. I don't think I've ever seen that many drunk people in one place. We had four hours of tailgaiting time. I made a great pitcher of margaritas but we were sorely lacking a grill for anything more substantial than snack food, which sucked.

Jimmy does sing great drunk songs but it was misting rain and about 40 degrees which sort of killed the mood.

I have a blueberry-peach pie in the oven. I can't wait until it's out. Mmmm....

I would like that!

I would like that!

I will send a slice through the tubes.

I am contemplating getting ginger ice cream to go with it, because another cookbook had a recipe for ginger peach pie.

I'm a terrible person. My uncle sent me some paperwork to fill out which my mom had to remind me about a week or so ago, and I signed it and put it in my purse to mail back to him, but have yet to go to the post office. I completely forgot about it until a few minutes ago, when my uncle called me to ask about it. I think that's the first time he's ever called me since I moved out of Mom's place 16 years ago.

You're not a terrible person, Kathy. People forget things.

Sue, ginger ice cream would be divoon with that pie!