Category: Life

Liv and I undecorated the tree and put all the ornaments and Christmas knick-knacks away this morning.  Since the three kids decorated the tree this year, I actually enjoyed the undecorating process, getting to see our diverse collection of ornaments.  I remember exactly who gave us some, while others, I have no idea where we got them.  We have purchased very few, if any, so they are virtually all gifts.

The tree had to go up into the attic in pieces.  I have a new zipper bag to store it in.  Last year I learned the hard way that if you put the tree in the box or bag first, you cannot get it up into the attic.  No, not even with my amazing strength.

As I climbed down from the attic and raised the ladder and door, I knew that the memories would be there for me again next year.  Memories of Christmases of my childhood, when our children were younger, and this year.  That’s one of the cool things about Christmas decorations.  They help to preserve marvelous memories of the places we’ve  been and the people we love.

My new running shoes arrived the other day.  Same make and model as I had, but these are new, with lots of fresh cushioning and the promise of much more comfortable runs.  Yes, it’s exciting to get a new pair of running shoes, especially when I’ve put too many miles on the old ones.  They say you should replace your shoes every 300-400 miles, but I know I went way beyond that.  Anyway, the first run in them this morning was much better and even a little bouncy.  Tomorrow’s run will be in 30 degree weather.  I haven’t run in 30 degree weather for a while.  In Des Moines, I ran in 20 below temperatures, with many layers and just my eyes showing.  But that was a long, long time ago.  Yes, I am crazy.

Boring.  That’s all I have to say.  No one has come to our door, and it’s 7:15.  We might get a few, but I think the Trunk or Treats around town now rule the day.  The picture is the pumpkin I carved for our front porch this year.  You must pay for the best pumpkin patterns online, so this is an example of what you can get for free.  The really good pumpkin carving patterns — presidential candidates or movie stars — take several days to finish.  Maybe next year.

Just had three trick or treaters.  A witch, some kind of ghoul, and a tiny batman.  If I remember correctly, batman was popular when I was a kid, too.  The classics never go out of style.  The one thing we had going for us:  big candy bars.  Sizes you can’t hardly get now.  Real candy bars, not the mini version.  Yes, we knew how to do halloween.