Can You Believe it's December Already?

There was a whole chunk of the night last night where I wasn't sleeping. The Spouse's alarm didn't go off which meant that when mine did the first words out of his mouth were not exactly lyrical and soothing. And perhaps I should say a word about my alarm clock.

I had a radio alarm, but the reception on my side of the room was hideous and I could never get anything beyond a very irritating hummy buzz of noise when it went off. Which was very annoying, especially since The Spouse's alarm always goes off to the dulcet tones of Steve Inskeep. So I bought a Baby Ben...a clock that is so retro it has to be wound every night. It has an absolutely appalling ring. In fact, to call it a "ring" is to insult all the bells in Christendom. It makes a gross, rattling tone that grabs you by the vitals and throws you out of bed. But it's effective.

Point is, the day did not begin with promise and yet I feel perfectly happy and content. Perhaps it's to do with the loveliness of yesterday, the first day of Advent. Church was lovely, the day was lovely (very foggy but nifty in that). We worked together to clean the house within an inch of its life, I bought 75 ft of sweet smelling garland to swag all the front windows of the house and we had a nice dinner last night which included an Advent prayer time that set the tone for the season. Plus, I got to open the first window on the Advent calendar, which meant chocolate.

So yeah, I'm a little tired and am pretty sure that massive quantities of coffee will be required today but it's all good.

Dark, Stormy Night

Pumpkins were carved and lit, warding off evil spirits. Beef stroganoff simmered. The Dog got into his role as Hound of the Baskervilles (the Long Island Baskervilles). Little children came to the door. One 2 year old, in a dragon suit was very enamored of the hound barking fiercely behind the window. Unafraid, the little chap walked right up, oogled the doggie and crooned to him, then bent and kissed the window. I gave him extra candy.

Another family came by, neighbors from down the street. The twins were dressed as a witch and a princess. The youngest, who's about 4, was wearing an adorable elephant suit. "This is scary," she lisped. "I'll tell you what's scary about the elephant. It's the sign of George Bush". She got extra candy, too.

The Child, in her retro "Charlie Brown ghost" costume, went off with the M Street gang. But they only worked one block. This is officially her last year trick-or-treating and she felt it should be more expansive. But in the first go she had stepped on her ghost sheet and ripped out the eyes. (Sure, kinda spooky). She came home and changed into an Indian princess, using the outfit her godmom brought back from India and borrowing my wig. The Spouse took her out to hit some more houses. She came back with an astonishing haul, very pleased indeed with herself.

We ate stroganoff and told the hound to settle down. Then I watched "Private Practice". It was a perfectly fine Halloween.

The End.

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