Need a break? I know I do. I thought it best to write the weekly letter, when I did not know the results of the mid-term elections. That way, I could still dream, or pretend. Last night I told Mary that it felt a little like Christmas, the anticipation, the waiting, the nervousness. She scoffed and looked at me like I was sick. That may be true, but when we watched the News Hour later, Amy Walter of the Cook Political report said, and I quote, "It feels like Christmas." Amy may be sick too, but at least we're sick together.
So, on to the really important stuff. Here's a poll. Who's seen A Star is Born? Put your hands down. Who did a little internet research to see the old versions of the movie? Okay, hands down. Who bought the soundtrack and is listening to it right now? Just me? As you can tell, we loved it, and I've heard from a few of you that you did too.
A lot has happened since the last letter, since Erin and Sean's wedding. Like Halloween. Another poll. Who buys Halloween candy, even if you know you won't get any trick-or-treaters? Just me, again? Hope springs eternal, or maybe I just need an excuse to buy candy. I did get a Halloween costume this year. They sure are complicated now, battery operated blow-up costume so that it looks like I was riding a chicken, or quite possibly an ostrich. Anyway, from Facebook, it looked like the next generation in Rochester and in Washington and in Illinois was fully on board. Wonderful.
We did go down to Washington recently, and are headed back that way this weekend. We won the lottery and were able to do some babysitting while Joe and Leonor had a weekend away. Thomas was on his best behavior: we went to a gala, we went to a park a couple of times, we played with Legos, we took naps, we read books, or at least individual pages of books. We had a lot of fun, and the best part was that he survived, and he doesn't have enough language to tell his parents what really happened. Joe and Leonor went to Lexington Virginia for a break from the city in the rural mountains during fall foliage. We saw Margaret and Andrew a few times over the weekend, including for dinner at an Afghan restaurant with our Maine friends, Cliff and Sheila.
The big news from California happened today, as Annie let us know that GE had sold her division, and it will remain intact, at least for a while. That's good news, I think, as she can keep working as long as she wants and doesn't have to find a job right away.
Some sad news from Dundee. The Pomfret Ford Taurus station wagon is no more. Claire had been driving it, but it needed a major repair, so she got a new car. When she returned it to Dundee, Andrew took it to a mechanic who said it had rusted so much it was too dangerous to drive. Lots of stories with that car.
We had a car story too. An embarrassing one. We had gone over to the other side of the state to see a museum, Fruitlands, joining Foreign Service friends at kind of a half way point from their home in New Hampshire. On the way home, on the Mass Pike, we had a flat tire. Fortunately, we were near one of only a handful of pull-in breakdown areas. I looked in the rear, and did not see a spare or even one of those little do-nut tires. I assumed that because it was a hybrid there was no room for a spare, as was true with our old Saturn. (Are you bored yet? It gets better.) The state does not allow AAA on the Mass Pike, so we had to call the police and they sent out a registered tow truck, to tow us all the way home. After a hefty bill for the tow, and another one for the new tire, I drove the car home and looked more closely in the rear of the car, lifted up a second tray and found a spare tire. AAAAAGGGGHHHH.
We see Timmy quite a bit, as he has moved back here and found an apartment. It's nice that he offers to come over to watch kitty while we are away, and he has even made us dinner. We went out to brunch for his birthday (November 2) and can recommend Otto's, a new (for us) restaurant on Park Square.
One more poll: Anyone watch the World Series? Anyone watch the Packers-Patriots? Anyone sick of Boston winning all the time? Not me.
So, happy November, happy end of daylight savings, and love to you all.
