File: Holiday Cat

Rio checks out the decorations above the mantle. We got all the around-the-house decor up. We will do the tree and its trimmings later in the week.

File: 37 inches of happy

Wow, HDTV really does rock. And there are so many channels hidden in the channels! We may never leave the house again.

File: Black Friday

Happy Black Friday to us. Yes, we were at Target at 6am. Yes, we struck out. Yes, we went to Best Buy and scored!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

We're leaving now for Columbus and the first snow of the season is falling.

Many wishes and blessings to our family and friends.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

We're leaving now for Columbus and the first snow of season is falling.

Many wishes and blessings to our family and friends.

File: Windows to the World

Matt hung the windows his mom designed. I really like how cozy it makes the den look.

This place is coming along. Thanks again, Mom/Barb, for designing and giving us such beautiful windows!

File: Dinner ala Adult, Part Deux

The finished dining room.

File: Dinner ala Adult

The honorary Clairmont Wilson table has been paired with director chairs. And, Matt sawed the chairs down to the right size. We can now invite people over!

File: Frankencat

A little late for Halloween, but clearly Rio enjoys dressing up all year long.

File: Suitcases

So, we've been traveling a lot. Last Friday, we flew to Florida for an extended weekend, celebrating my parents' 30th wedding anniversary. It was a blast.

Tomorrow, we're headed to Cincy for Matt's dad's 60th birthday party. We're packing a lot into the day. We're driving down, helping Heather with the decorations, having dinner, then going to see Nolan in a football game in a real stadium. (Wow!) Then, we're driving to Columbus to stay at Dave and Karen's (they're so good to us and don't mind us strolling in around midnight).

We'll leave mid-morning to spend time with Nanny and Papa (and the rest of the clan). Papa is currently in the hospital. I hope he gets out by the weekend.

On a lighter note, Julie had this fun quiz on her blog: what color are you? It turns out that I'm deep sky blue, a color I had not previously identified with myself. Here are my results:

"Your dominant hues are cyan and blue. You like people and enjoy making friends. You're conservative and like to make sure things make sense before you step into them, especially in relationships. You are curious but respected for your opinions by people who you sometimes wouldn't even suspect.

Your saturation level is very high - you are all about getting things done. The world may think you work too hard but you have a lot to show for it, and it keeps you going. You shouldn't be afraid to lead people, because if you're doing it, it'll be done right.

Your outlook on life is very bright. You are sunny and optimistic about life and others find it very encouraging, but remember to tone it down if you sense irritation."

It's been one of those crazy weeks, packed full of things that make the heart beat faster.

File: Fall

Can there be anything more beautiful than Rogers Park in the fall?

File: Family

The Ks and Ls at the I.

File: Run

The runners are on the course. May it be an easy race. Happy birthday Mom and Kate!

File: Moldings!

Another of Matt's cool home improvement tricks. He cut, installed, and painted the moldings. Thanks to Pop Larsen for the design.

File: Writing in Rooms

I felt completely inspired by this Guardian photo essay. The one above is from Hilary Mantel's writing room.

I adore Seamus Heaney's room, if only for the book stacks:


I also liked this one, too, from Carmen Calill's quarters:

She says, "I can only write surrounded by the silent presence of other people."

I understand this sentiment. I have photos of my mother and father, rocks from my travels with Matt, a typewriter from Matt's grandfather, pictures behind me of my grandparents, a photo Matt's mom gave me, photos of my best friends, a bottle of sand from the beach near where I grew up. These are the things I need around to silently cheer me as I face the page.

Perhaps I'll take a snapshot of our writing room.

File: Deer!

My lunch companions.

File: Pip

Driving back from Cincy. Just hit 20K miles (and one). Yay Pip!

File: Harry Potter

I have the new one. It is 759 pages. My plan is to read it this weekend. I hope this one does not cause me to hurl it across the room like the last one.

Update: 7.22.07 12:30pm: It is done.

File: Tourists in Our Own City

Obligatory Navy Pier climbing shot.

File: Long Hair!

Clair and I went to brunch yesterday. She's the one responsible for my new-found love of synthetic hair.

So it seemed natural that we we would continue our day at the local wig shop. On Clair's suggestion, I bought this one. (Tilt head sideways.)

The weather's still too warm for me to wear it outside yet, but come fall and winter I'm going to have long hair all the time.

For the record, I love having short hair. I don't quite understand why people tell me "it's so brave," because it doesn't feel courageous at all; it's just easy and cool in the summer. There are some days, though, when I long for the joy of gathering layers of locks into a simple, stunning braid. To those days!