Archives - Weekly Update

This is the time of year that I miss having little ones around the house as I love taking kids trick or treating. I have boxes of the boys’ homemade costumes in the attic. Halloween has been “canceled” in our town the last two years due to storms. In fact, we have not had power at our house for a week around October 29th the last two years after said storms. I am watching the Weather Channel like a hawk looking at the precipitation and temperature. Though all looks clear, I confess that the storms fears die hard. I am holding off on buying candy until the 11th hour as I am not going to eat Peanut M&Ms for a month again! I confess in the past to “negotiating” for the boys’ Dots and Jujubes from their loot.

Last weekend, I had half of a great weekend. On Saturday night, we enjoyed three kinds of homemade pizza, including a killer lemon arugula prosciutto (replicated after eating it at The Secret Stash in Crested Butte, CO last March), four cheese and plain cheese. It was a really fun evening with our friend Cathy --- and Cory and his friends. After dinner, we made a bonfire outside in the fire pit using a Light n’ Go Bonfire Log. Yes, we have firewood, but somehow this log and the way it burned with the log falling into six pieces made the fire all the more special. We tossed a few extra logs on at the end, as we loved being outside on a cool night in October, to try to extend the experience.

Last night after moderating a panel on the East Side of NY, I walked over to the Javits Convention Center on the West Side to attend New York Comic Con. I calculated that that walk was 1.8 miles. A friend who sports a Fitbit and walked the same distance told me it was 5,000 steps. Since the pool has a carpet of leaves on top, I realize I need some new way to get exercise; for the moment, walking is going to be it. I did a lot of trekking around the city this week, instead of taking subways, and I really liked it. I realize I need to allow more time for this than jumping on mass transit all the time.

Until it gets too cold to keep this up, I am going to keep walking. The one bad thing about walking instead of taking the subway is that I am not reading. Well, let me correct that. I will admit I am one of those people who walks on the street reading my BlackBerry. And yes, I still use a BlackBerry, archaic as that may sound.

The week has been so warm that there has been no need for a wetsuit in the pool. I am ready to get my glue gun out and start gluing leaves back on the trees. I know this is the start of a beautifully colorful time of year, but too many leaves will be the hallmark of pool closing time. I still can collect them by hand at this point, but I am a couple of big winds away from the season ending; for the moment, I am urging the leaves to fall straight. The flowers still are blooming (two moonflowers last night), but this weekend will be about transplanting and readying for winter.