Please Excuse My Absence for the Past Week

I was at my parents Wisconsin cabin, where they stubbornly refuse to subscribe to Internet access before getting plumbing or telephone service. Epu had to stay home and work, but the rest of us enjoyed the usual autumn itinerary of apple orchard, pumpkin farm, hiking the acres of former pasture around the cabin, and hanging out in country taverns.

Nutmeg kept us laughing with the first joke she has memorized ("What do you call a fat jack-o-lantern? A plumpkin!") and with her dawning realization that some words have two meanings. I shivered, getting back into the car at the cheese factory Wednesday, and said it was a raw day.

Several minutes later, Nutmeg piped up, "Is the day supposed to be cooked?"

Much to the delight of my parents, who praised her behavior the whole trip. It's true, she bore up remarkably well when Pebbles cried for a lot of the trip home. She can now occupy herself for stretches of time by singing to herself or counting. She can count to 80 or so, although she often skips numbers.

Pebbles was also a delight with her new interactive personality. One thing she does now, is if no one is talking to her, she'll let out a big yell and enjoy all eyes turning in her direction. Nutmeg and Pebbles did some great playing at my brother's new house while the Cubs lost on Saturday. Nutmeg used her legs and arms to hold Pebbles onto a sit-and-spin, much, much, much to Pebbles' ecstasy.



Meanswhile, the flames of Nutmeg's Halloween mania are being fanned by all the seasonal yard displays she saw on our long drives. Today we just had to put out a little of our own decor: A couple of funky pumpkins from Wisconsin and half a dozen ghosts made of scraps of an old Tshirt. We'll have to make some more spooky things this weekend. And yeah, I'll have to post some pictures. Just wait for my mums to recover from a week alone with Epu first.