FINALLY

It took some doing, since Obama doesn't have a campaign HQ in Syracuse (yet), but I finally got a yard sign and have it proudly displayed in front of my house.

Rosh Hashanah

Bobbie offered to send some flowers for the holiday, but I asked (insisted) that she make a contribution to Mazon instead, and I promised I would make a centerpiece giving her credit for her generosity. I really appreciate her being willing to go along with my very non-traditional preference.

Swimming at the Y

Met some friends at the East Area YMCA today. Caleb braved the slide several times until I got a (halfway) decent shot of him coming down it. Alana played with her friend Lily. Caleb and I later got invoved in a rousing volleyball match that at it's peak included 8 or 9 kids and 1 dad. Really a fun afternoon.

Walk in the park

Took Roxy for a walk in the very soggy park, and was rewarded with some fun sights. I often see frogs hopping off the path when I startle them, but this frog (a little bigger than the ones I usually see) posed for the photo instead of disappearing into the bushes. And I loved these dignified mushrooms.

Doctor's office

Alana's school called on Friday around noon, to say that she was complaining that her throat hurt. Both Caleb and I have had what I assume is a minor virus all week, and I think she probably has the same. However, the school said there was recently a case of strep throat, so I don't want to take any chances, especially going into the weekend. We had to wait quite awhile in the doctor's office, but Alana happily drew a bunch of pictures on an office pad and she gave the nicest one to the doctor when she arrived. Her culture came out negative, so she's fine. The doctor recommend hot apple cider, so we stopped at a farm stand on the way home and got some cider and she and I enjoyed a mug of heated cider when we got home.

Root canal

So, I got my root canal this afternoon and I have to say, it sucked. The dentist seemed very capable, and it didn't really take very long, but yuck, yuck, yuck! There was drilling and scraping and poking. At one point he was actually grunting - that doesn't really inspire confidence. And then he cauterized something - I don't even want to know. I tried to psych myself up - I kept thinking, "I've given birth, I've given birth" but honestly, it didn't really help. Then I tried various imagery - "he's just fixing it, he's just cleaning it" - the thought of scrubbing a toilet bowl worked for a little while, not sure why. I'm so not someone who can handle medical stuff - I almost vomited into the dental dam used to keep you from swallowing pieces of your tooth (obviously that's not a calming thought either). What a wretched business, but at least I live in an era of modern medicine - it used to be so much worse. And it's finished, so that's the best part of all.

Card exchange

Caleb got a huge stack of new Pokemon cards from a friend at school and let Alana pick out a bunch for herself, which was so sweet. This is a terrible photo quality wise, but it's fun to see them.