Actually, Steph, I meant to ask you or flea at dinner last night about the people we saw running around downtown on Saturday with shopping carts. There was clearly some sort of competition going on (part of Bockfest, maybe??). Every now and then, all morning/afternoon, we'd see a few teams go racing by wherever we were. Each team was outfitted differently (like one team was dressed up like sock monkeys, one like Oompa-Loompas, there were a couple of mime teams, etc.). Any idea what that might have been about?

Sounds like the Cinciditarod.

Did we tell you all that we were reportedly staying in the same hotel as Newt Gingrich??

Dang, I didn't even know he was in town.

And a *fantastic* art museum where we spent several hours today.

Yay! Glad you liked it! (And I didn't realize it was a different Nick Cave. That's pretty funny.)

Oh, and we ended up eating at Dixie Chili on our way out of town.

That's a completely well-rounded Cincinnati trip!

basically just tasted like a weirdly spiced spaghetti sauce.

That's pretty much what it is, so that's about right. It's an acquired taste.

Sounds like the Cinciditarod.

Ooh, we have Chiditarod. I think it benefits animal groups. I meant to volunteer one year but got caught up in life stuff.

I would SO much rather prep for winter.

But, since you're always going to be cold, and you're only sometimes going to be hit by a tornado, well--the choice is different for me. The cold makes me cry. Literally. That's part of my prep for the winter. Weeping.

How the hell did you hold out in Montreal and Michigan for so long? I mean, I mostly love it but it must have been ghastly for you.

Montreal wasn't so bad (!!!) because I really liked the summers. Really really. But it was part of why I left. And then, Michigan...there were no good months to make up the bad. There was nowhere to hang, no cool (safe) jams to go to, no social structure, but safe (horrible) job, and family.

But, yeah--misery was a big amount of my day.

When I went back to NY January before last...and there was snow...it shocked me in a place I thought I'd hidden well.

Yeah, Montreal does winter well, all things considered.

Yeah, Montreal does winter well, all things considered.

Plus you get bagels.

truth be told, when I have been to Montreal (and it has always been in April, when it is still fucking cold up there), I have utilized the downtown underground passageways.

I find that quite civilized in cold climates.

I have kinda mixed feelings about the redshirting. Franny is on the young side, and there are times I wish I had held her back for her sake and times when I think it's really been a bad thing for the school system as a whole to have 6 year olds enrolling in kindergarten with 5 year olds. I think it would be better for all kids in the long run if kindergarten were more like developmental kinder classes and hard academics were delayed until first grade. But as it was there were 6 year olds in Franny's kinder class who could already read chapter books, and they basically got no value from their kinder year, while the kids who couldn't read at all were able to slip into the background and didn't get the attention they needed because it was easy enough for the teacher to miss them amidst all the high achieving 6 year olds.

Franny did fine, I should add, but we were the kinds of parents who were in the classroom a lot and made sure she got what she needed. Plus, you know, we like to read books with our kids.

I should add that I do think there are legitimate reasons to hold a kid back. I think it can be a big boon and I know several friends who have and don't begrudge the choice, I'd have done the same in their shoes. It's just I have also seen it done by some for reasons that weren't as clear to me.

I've read that the differences start to balance out by 3rd grade and that seems true to me. Franny has been way more on top of things this year, more mature. She no longer seems "young" to me, but she did seem very young in K and 1st grade.