....And That's It.

I am no longer 49.

...and no longer keeping an online blog that isn't art-related. Good-bye!

Thanksgiving

I spent the day (noon to 7:30 pm) at Dad & Ma's. Sarah & Jon and the 4 kids (plus Hayden's Audrey and Celia's Michael) all had dinner with us around 2:00 pm. Sarah & I each had a beer. The Bears beat the Lions in the early game. Chocolate cream pie & coffee for dessert around 4:00. Hung out with Ma during the 2nd NFL game (with "FRIENDS" on too). Home with a ton of leftovers (turkey, gravy, stuffing, Syrian bread, dark roast coffee, pepperoni, cheese, crackers, a chocolate cream pie & a can of whipped cream) and two cool pint glasses (Brooklyn Brewery and a combo Wachusett Brewing Co & Westminster Crackers). Also, Dad & Ma gave me a $50 bill and a nice card for my birthday 2 days early. The sky was blue, but it was below 10 degrees all day!

Final Week...

...of this blog. My birthday is Saturday.

I haven't decided if I am going to reboot with a new one, jump back to Kenozoic Tales, or return to print-only, in my ongoing journals that I began back when I was 17.

One week to decide...

Winter Rumblings

Since the temperature was in the 20's yesterday I wore my winter coat to work for the first time this season.

On the way home from work last night I saw the ski slope lights on Mount Wachusett for the first time.

And Winter Storm Avery is supposed to drop up to 8 inches of snow overnight tonight...

BLEAH.

Yep, the snow began at 7:00 pm, and dropped 2 inches per hour for awhile.
I drove home at 9:30 pm, and spent the entire time on Route 2 going 20 mph.
And then I had to park at the bottom of my driveway because the snow was so deep,
and my drive has a rather steep incline.
Plus, everyone in an SUV or truck was driving as if it was his/her first winter ever.
WEAK!

Magical Art Challenge

Coming soon! I think I can handle one full week of prompts:

It'll carry me to the end of this year-long blog, as my birthday is on the 24th...

Wildfires

There are fires in northern California, pretty close to Walnut Creek. This is the view of Mt. Diablo from my brother's neighborhood:

A far cry from when I was there last week:

Final Night

Today was my final full day in Walnut Creek, CA.

Jason was still on Italy time, so he was up at 3 am. He ran out to get coffee at 5 am (he only drinks ice coffee, and never homemade), and then ran out again at 8 when I woke up, to snag me coffee, and bacon for both of us. Nice!

Sawyer had a soccer game and a basketball game spread over the day, so J & Stacie were in and out with him all afternoon. The NFL begins at 10:00 am on the West Coast, so I spent the day continuing to read "A Dance With Dragons" with football on in front of me. We had chicken fingers from Safeway for lunch, and deep dish pizza for supper during the Patriots demolishing of the Packers. It was a fun sit-around day, and I got to hang out with my little brother for a day. Saying goodnight (and good-bye) to the boys was hard, it was such a great week having them all to myself.

I packed, read for a bit, and then was asleep by midnight for tomorrow's 5:00 am wake-up (flight at 8:05 am).

Oh, and J & Stacie brought me some stuff back from their trip:

Some Italian instant coffee, a bar of Italian chocolate, 

and a journal with an Italian leather cover (they all smell awesome - haha).