Halloween, part two

Pumpkins through the ages.

Hanuween, first night

Pumpkin pi

this year's, in the light

this year's, in the dark

Halloween, part one

Halloween is tomorrow and we are facing our annual debate.  To trick-or-treat with a UNICEF box or not?  The debate is not about the value of what UNICEF does, although some people do not support its use family planning.  The debate is whether the embarrassment of approaching people who are unprepared to donate is outweighed by the value of the organization.  Then there is the awkwardness of standing by the door waiting for the person to find change when you'd rather be off to the next house.

Our personal collection of boxes.

The one with the QR code is the most recent.

Donation calculations from five (+/-) years ago.

Of course I have the original from 1993, but this was cut 

from the Tom the Dancing Bug blog.

No news?

So many things to write about and so little time.  Please accept my apologies and a few pictures.

Looks fake until it starts moving on its own!  

Relocated from the phone closet to the great outdoors.

Not a humane trap, but on the other hand it hasn't killed anything.  Yet.

The disappearing mailbox

I think this is a mailbox stump.

This is definitely a mailbox stump.

When there was a Hallmark store in this center there was a mailbox here.

Do you think people in Denver even know why this is called the mailbox building?

One of my childhood mailboxes is already gone and now the other one is scheduled for removal along with nine others in my hometown.  After learning that fact from my mom I shouldn't have been surprised to learn that half the boxes at the colleges will be removed.

Some boxes are being recycled.

I am not sure how our neighbors got an old box (maybe on ebay for $800 plus shipping).

Do your part - write more letters and postcards!

Another fire

It is never a good sign when you hear the sirens and they seem to get closer and more frequent.

It isn't a good sign when the police tape is across the end of the alley and police cars are blocking the streets.

My sister-and brother-in-law lived here when we first met,

The Red Cross was on the scene, presumably helping the people in each of the apartments.

The upper apartment on the west side of the building at 12th and Indian Hill is gutted.  I don't know the cause, but I did hear from a police officer that no one was hurt.  Maybe the local paper has more information.

And at risk of sounding very shallow, what happens to the recycling or green waste that couldn't be picked up?  Are people out of luck and grateful that that is their biggest worry?

Fall day near Chicago

 Before heading out for the day's activities I took a stroll down the street with B.

 Then it was off to watch N. play soccer with other six- and seven-year-old boys.

B. is only four and at this age they spend most of the time doing drills with international volunteer coaches.

It was exciting to go to the Highwood Pumpkin Festival, even if they didn't set the world record for most lit jack-o-lanterns.

pumpkin hut

I wish I could have seen this at night!

a small, small sample

I flew United to Chicago O'Hare and flew US Airways home.  I had no idea that there would be a difference, but even with my short legs I appreciated the space on the US Airways flight.  I hope when they merge with American they'll keep the same seating arrangement.

My layover in Phoenix was over three hours and tried to get on an earlier flight, but it didn't seem worth $75 to change the ticket.  As David pointed out, I could stay in the airport and spend $20 on something good and just enjoy myself.  I didn't spend any money (I had already bought popcorn in O'Hare, a tradition started last summer), but it was relaxing.

It was great to visit my friend and be a part of her life, to laugh over old stories and to make new memories.  I was surprised how much I missed my own family and how nice it was to get home.  Now it is back to my regular life, which is a great one!

Solo trip

Maybe it was inspiration after my trip to Cleveland that motivated me to visit my oldest friend, who  now lives in the suburbs of Chicago, as does her sister's family and her parents.  They weren't all in town when I was, but I got to see most of them and see a small slice of their lives.

Highlights from the first day included visiting the Highland Park library.

View from the parking area!

Looking toward the main entrance.

The periodical room

Kids can put their name on a waiting list in order to display their collections.
The child is also in charge of making the sign with information about the display.

We drove down the main drag and I wish I could have captured the amazing decorations.

It wasn't a heat wave, but I might have gone in Lake Michigan if I had my swimsuit on.

Instead we walked along the shore and I found sea/lake glass.  Every rock was beautiful and I could have spent ages examining each one. 

Another highlight was going to work with my friend and seeing her in the role of teacher.  My heart melted when one of her students came up to me and told me I had a great friend!

small town+high taxes = fifteen kids in a fourth grade class

and world languages with a visiting scholar.

More treasures were found outside the school.

One mystery of the day hasn't been solved.  Why does every (almost every?) stoplight have a folded stop sign underneath?  In case of a power outage?

That was a lot for the first day.  The best part was getting a hug from my oldest and dearest friend!

Another vacation

Souvenirs from the trip.  Details to follow.

License plates again

This was auctioned off to raise money for the group.

Last year I wrote about our license plate meet and it wasn't much different this year.

Same great location in Ontario.

There were plenty of plates that were of interest, but usually our of our price range.

There are many Olympic plates in our (A.'s?) collection, but not this one (yet).

pre-1914 handmade plate ( >$1000)

A. is no longest the youngest member locally.

all the kids holding the group sign

We voted for this for the best-of-show award.

We added only two plates to the collection (sample pictures).  Don't you just love the word sesquicentennial?

I think there will be a bit of a break from collecting until there is an agreement about ownership and purpose.

On the way home we drove along Holt, which is dangerous since there are so many things to look at!

An older 

Sharp-eyed folks - notice that the speed limit has changed?

Bowlium!