Fall Fun!

Sunday, October 30, 2005

Fall Fun! Current mood: good Today is littleman's birthday! He is now officially 2. We are looking forward to having a bunch of friends and kids out to the house today. I'm sure it will be chaotic, but fun. I'm tired (had to get up a bunch for baby and even a few times for Simon) but I'm in a good mood. We had such fun last night- took the boys to a farm for a corn maze, spooky hayride and other stuff. Littleman had a BLAST. I think we all enjoyed it. We saw cows, a kitty and bunnies, wandered in the corn maze, toasted hot dogs at the bonfire, rode the starlit "spooky" hayride and generally had fun. Littleman will happily tell you all about it- I've heard him independantly say "cows", "corn maze", "hiding" (what we did in the maze), "stick" (what he played with in the maze), "fire" and "hot dog", "running", "house" (there was a great log cabin there), "tractor" and "riding", "witch", "skeleton" and "people" (which are all things we saw on the spooky hayride). I guess that about tells you the whole story! ;) It was so nice being out in the country, feeling the bite in the air and smelling sweet woodsmoke, green grass, dry leaves and corn. Cows were lowing (picturesque black and white jerseys, no less), kids were shouting and you could hear their feet pound the wooden porch as they ran in and out of the house. Every once in awhile the big tractor would start up and move off, taking another group of people around the farm for a hayride. Walking through the corn maze many of these sounds seemed far away, and your ears were full of the sound of the dry cornstalks rustling in a cool breeze. The setting sun poured liquid gold over the fields, and it dripped onto the tops of the stalks. Later as more people started to show up, you'd hear the shouts of the boys throwing a football, an occasional screech as amps were being set up for a live singer, kids shouting to find each other in the maze. The smell of toasting hot dogs and marshmallows started to linger in the woodsmoke, and the air was getting decidedly chilly. The hayride was sweet fun, sitting on the haybales, rocking gently against each other as the tractor bumped along. Sitting cozily all together (baby in a carrier on my chest) under a soft blanket, we admired the heavens, twinkling with all the stars we never see close to home. We even saw the milky way, and a shooting star to wish on. Moving into the trees we admired the "spooky" handiwork of the local kids- ghosts, skeletons and bloody victims loomed at us in the tractor headlights. Later live spooks added to the ambiance. It was a perfect ending to our fall farm visit.

Well, here we go. . .

Friday, October 28, 2005

Well, here we go. . . Current mood: hopeful OK, So I've toyed with the idea of starting a blog, and perhaps this is as good a place as any to do so. I have not been writing anything for ages, and I would like to get back in the habit. It's often a good intention that ends up unfulfilled (especially now that I have the boys keeping me busy!) but I think it's an important habit for me to cultivate. So, here we go! We'll see if this works better. Blogs are an interesting phenomena- it's basically a private journal, but in a public forum- and I have to admit that the possibility that others will read my rantings does add a different dimension to the habit of journalling. I hope that, just as a walking buddy makes it more likely that I'll find the time to go walking, perhaps a theoretical audience for my journal will make it more likely I will find time to write. About whatever- I hope also that as I get back into the habit, once again I will find my thoughts ranging farther than the day-to-day necessities that are my current sole mental fare. It's so tough just keeping up with all the practical things I must remember, let alone having brain space left for musing on more interesting subjects. But sometimes the habit of writing starts to unlock extra brain space- I start to feel like I opened a window inside my head. It's a liberating feeling, tapping into the muse. And sometimes, it actually makes me feel more relaxed and competent in other parts of my life too. So, despite the fact that a small part of me says I am wasting time here, when there is SO much I need to do- the wiser part of me knows that perhaps a blog is EXACTLY what I need to be doing. There. I feel better already! :) Now I have to pick up toys and do some laundry.