We had a tiny retirement party for my sister last night: just 5 of us, with a pile of good Thai food and a few presents. Seems so unfair.

today I have blown off the entire day, reading on my futon. But I did get through The Return of the Thief, which I enjoyed a lot.

tomorrow I hope to be more productive.

I had a nice long away from my computer day! First thing I went to toss my trash at the transfer station atop a mountain, then stopped at the bakery named Dough a Deer and had lovely pastries. Came back home and went for a boat ride, then drove 5 hours round trip to drop stuff off at my niece's house near Lake Ontario. Awesome autumn glorious views on all the trips.

So one son is staying up there?

Yes, my eldest and his girlfriend are leaving Florida and staying in central NY. They will have their first living with snow experience, as well as first living elsewhere adventure. This is a very good thing for both of them. They both need a fresh start. All digits crossed for them.

Laura, when do you go back home?

I'm looking at a departure next Friday. It is getting pretty chilly up here and my place is not winterized. We have gone below freezing 4 nights already, although today was 70!

sj, Mr. S already lost two baby teeth. Seemed a bit early, but things happen when they happen.

The normal is a super wide range.

How much does the toothfairy leave these days?

I don't know about now. We left shiny dollar coins.

Well it already came out, which seems super quick since she just realized it was loose today, and I'm a little freaked out. The tooth fairy is attempting to do his job now.

Good luck, tooth fairy!

I spent today in some friends' backyard having a mini "fall fest"—they got pumpkins and sheaves of cornstalks and pressed cider from their own apples, and we watched Halloween stuff on a projector outside. And thankfully even though it was supposed to thunderstorm, it was beautiful out and we had blue skies!! I hadn't seen any of them in two or three weeks, so it was really good to see them. And puppy got to run around a bunch in their giant back yard and then conk out. And then run some more, rinse repeat.

Fun, meara! Also, as my vet always says, a tired dog is a good dog.

That sounds lovely, meara. And now I want to go see how cider and apple juice are different and how you press cider.

ETA: Well, that was easy. Basically filtering and pasteurization. Check.

I went to my first house showing as a potential buyer yesterday. I liked the neighborhood, yard, exterior, and living room, but the kitchen/dining area, bedrooms, and bathrooms were no bueno. Didn't make an offer, which was just as well since it was a bit out of my comfort zone price-wise.

Jackson took back his spot sleeping on me last night, for the first time since Little Britches was released into general population. And Molly shared an end table-top with him briefly this morning without hissing or raised hackles, though she was clearly barely tolerating his presence.

Mmmmmmm.... Apple cider. It was everywhere in Michigan, but hard to find at grocery stores in California.

I bought some yesterday at Whole Paycheck. It was interesting that they had it labeled by variety, so I picked my favorite apple (honeycrisp). Will try it later today

Timelies all!

Supposed to rain today, but hasn't started yet.