Halloween

IMG_0751
Originally uploaded by jmsmall2005.

I have to admit, I was pretty excited for Halloween this year. No, we did not dress up as Napolean Dynamite or the Two-Headed Michael Scott, and we did not party raucously around the Beltway. Instead, we have been holed up in our little condo waiting anxiously for miniature ghosts, witches, and Elmos to come knock on the door. I have never had trick-or-treaters come to my door before. (Well, that's not entirely true, as a few came last year but I had not been planning to be home and didn't have any candy, so I had to turn all the lights off and hide. I watched through the peephole as little girl cursed our door in spanish. Yikes!) It was like an epoch in adulthood.

Plus, no cursing of our door, so we can expect a pleasant 2007.

On Saturday we went to Elizabeth's for her annual pumpkin carving party. The party was full of artists, and our little pumpkin (top in the picture) felt much less self-conscious once we got him home away from all the fancy pumpkins. It was fun to see Elizabeth, who recently moved back to town, and the night was blustery and sort of ghoulish. Dawn and I agreed that it was very Halloweeny. I was full of extra shivers, as I finished reading "Dracula" last week. Incidently, Jason would not let me read it a) before bed, or b) any time he wasn't home, as I once woke up screaming about vampires. But it was very good.

NaNoWriMo

Okay, Scott, you've convinced me:

Where We've Been

Your turn...

Breakfast with the Riches

Breakfast with the Riches
Originally uploaded by jmsmall2005.

Last week I got one of those emails that makes me smile a little wider--Oxford friend coming through town! Ryan Rich and his wife Lindsay were headed back to Charlotte, NC, from Pennsylvania, and they stopped by for breakfast on Sunday. It was fun to reconnect. I really enjoy discovering that old friends are not just friendships from the past caught up in "remember whens" but are also friendships very dear and relevant to the here and now. Plus, it was delightful to get to know Lindsay better.

Our weekend looks pretty unexciting to outsiders--well, and to Jason--but it was a pivotal one for me, as I finally cleaned out and organized the hall closet. The hall closet has been the bane of my existence since we got married--you know, that one closet stacked so high with unlabeled boxes shoved in haphazardly that it is impossible to get to the one thing you need right. over. there...? Well, now it is vacuumed, neatly organized, and, thanks to the inspiration of Andrea, labeled. I'm so happy.

AppleFest

Apple Festival 2006
Originally uploaded by jmsmall2005.

"...Please meet your party at the Big Red Apple."

My favorite catchphrase of the weekend. Dawn and I took our husbands (we have husbands!) up to Pennsylvania on Saturday for the annual National Apple Harvest Festival. We drank cider, ate fried apples, and got our picture taken with--what else?--a giant apple. It was good fall fun. I didn't know that Pennsylvania was the Apple Capital of the World. (Since they were using Washington State apples to make cider, I am still quite skeptical...)

The Fest was outside of Gettysburg, so we took a little spin around the battlefield. Dawn and Brian had never taken the tour. Plus, I've been anxious to go back and see the view from Little Round Top in autumn ever since I was there in the spring ten years ago. It was absolutely lovely, and we came back with red noses and fall-happy hearts.

In other weekend news, Jason and I rented the first 12 episodes of "The Office" and proceeded to watch all of them within two days. We laughed so much and so loudly that I'm surprised our neighbors didn't come a'knockin'. It more than made up for the embarrassing loss by the Redskins (perhaps our football interest is waning...).

Idaho 2006: Take Nine

Cole and Aunt Missy
Originally uploaded by jmsmall2005.

Needless to say, Cole and I had a good time getting to know each other. His aunts and his granny spent a lot of time passing him back and forth, especially during his lunch at Red Robin (first of many). Shaanti is doing great--I was complaining to Jason that when we went shopping she, brand-new mother, looked so put together and I looked like a scrub! (it IS nice to be back into the same state as my wardrobe!) :)

After smothering Cole with kisses, Jenny, Mom and I drove up to McCall to check out the new "cabin." I put that in quotes because it is more like a lodge or a villa than a cabin. (Jenny stood by the door to give a proper sense of scale in this picture.) It is soooo amazing, and we are going to have the most lovely Thanksgiving there next month. When we got there we found a mountain bluebird in the fireplace, and, after many screams and ducks, we finally got it to fly out the door.

Oh, and the IHA conference was good--especially with Mom there. But not as good as my adorable nephew...

Columbus Day Weekend in Ohio

Small Family at Fiesta Mexicana
Originally uploaded by jmsmall2005.

While Missy headed to Sun Valley, Idaho to present the latest on healthcare legislation to the Idaho Hospital Association, Jason flew to Ohio to visit his family. His brother, Justin, is the operations manager of a new Candlewood Suites hotel in Polaris (just outside of Columbus). Jason and the rest of the family got the full tour -- including the privileged behind-the-scenes exclusives, such as the pump, fire, and phone switching rooms. Justin exudes pride in the successes he has had in working to launch the new property, despite all the kinks including 120 alarm clocks going off at midnight (two nights in a row), leaky dishwashers, and other hazards associated with a new start. He is clearly on his way to the top -- he secured a substantial increase in reservations the day of the tour (and associated revenue) landing a 20+ room reservation for 30 days while his sales manager and general manager were on leave.

The balance of the weekend was spent viewing dad's latest property acquisitions and renovation projects, lunching at Landoll's Mohican Castle, playing a rousing game of Scrabble, and watching the Washington Redskins embarassing defeat to the NY Giants. We also went to see The Guardian at the Mount Vernon movie theatre (a compeling tale), and wrapped up the visit with lunch at Fiesta Mexicana.

It was nice to get away and spend time with the family again, regaining those Ohio "roots" (Justin bought me an OSU Buckeyes hat and blared the fight song in his truck on the way to the airport), and enjoying time out of the hustle and bustle of our daily life in the nation's capital.

At the Pumpkin Patch

Pumpkin Picking
Originally uploaded by jmsmall2005.

It's finally October, the best month to be a transplanted Washingtonian. We ventured outside of the Beltway today and into the Maryland countryside (lots of Maryland for us lately, huh?) to our favorite farm for some produce pickin'. There are lots of little "fall festivals" around here, places you can take your kids to give them a little exposure to the countryside--hay rides, pumpkin patches, farm animal petting zoos, etc. Our country excursions are a little tamer, and we usually head up to Rock Hill Orchard at least once a year to pick berries or apples.

Besides, I don't pet cows. Just ask my dad--if the cows get out, I will be hiding under my bed.

As it's the end of raspberry season, pickings were slim, but we managed enough to make a pie or so. Then we picked a couple bags of apples (now that Congress has FINALLY recessed for campaign season, I have great ambitions of making applesauce) and a couple nice little pumpkins.

I love fall here. The tree outside our window blooms pink in the spring, and now its leaves are trembling with anticipation at turning brilliantly red and gold. Autumn makes it worth living here during the rest of the year.

In other news, the Redskins just won. And Cole has opened his eyes...

On the Point

Biking Beauty?
Originally uploaded by jmsmall2005.

Last weekend we loaded up our car with bikes, picnic equipment, and books and drove down to southern Maryland. Destination: St. Michael's Manor. The bed and breakfast is 200 years old and perched right on the edge of Point Lookout State Park. Point Lookout was once a Union prisoner-of-war camp, and we biked on a thin sliver of land between the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay. In the afternoon we visited St. Mary's City, the first settlement in Maryland, and we ended our visit with a canoe trip, ala Lewis and Clark. It was really peaceful and relaxing...and especially nice to not have to take a plane :).

Of course, by now we are amazing plane travelers. The highlight of Jason's week was when TSA announced that we can take liquids on planes again. He dug through his travel bag with unbelievable excitement to make sure that everything he owns is under 3 ounces...