Atomictumor

Those of you who are fans of some olde skool tumor action may be happy with whats popping up at the bottom of the page, but I’m warning you, drop down boxes can be dangerous things…

Can go in your little day planners as the first day that it was colder outside the house than inside it.

I’m totally freakin loving it.  Bring on the cold.  Course, around February, as usual, I’ll have a different think.

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Heres a picture from our mighty visit to the zoo last week, just to show you what I have to put up with from my heathen children…

I was in the shower when the first plane hit; October, 3, and Spotz, 10 months, were watching a videotape of Blue’s Clues. My early thoughts that morning were of what I needed to get at the grocery store. And then Bos called from work, and said, “Turn on the TV. Two planes have hit the World Trade Center in New York.”

The world never felt so small. I felt like I could look out my window and see smoke and ash, like I could stick my arm out and feel places thousands of miles away. And I was scared. I watched those clear blue skies and wondered if one of those missing planes was headed for ORNL. Every old junker that backfired going up the road made me jump, made my heart pound. That was the first time I have truly ever worried about my safety.

How removed we are from those who worry about their survival on a daily basis.

I saturated myself with TV and online news coverage.  I couldn’t look away.  As the hours went by, and the footage of grief-stricken people searching the ashy streets of NY for their loved ones, and the stories of people clasping hands and jumping dozens of stories to their deaths, and of all of the folks who died trying to save the lives of strangers.  I grieved then, and I grieve today as I recall all those words and images that struck me 6 years ago.

I imagine there are people out there who poo-poo the media frenzy brought by the 9/11 anniversary.  And sure, some (okay, a lot) of it is overkill.  But I also think it is so important to remember and reflect.  I need to remember, because that’s what feels right to me.

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A few years ago, October brought home a book from the library, Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey. It’s a wonderful story about a restored fireboat that came out of retirement to help in the days following 9/11.  It tells the story of September 11th from a perspective that is good for kids and parents alike.  Check it out if you get a chance; I know that it will be part of our 9/11 remembrance for years to come.

It’s been feeling a little too cozy at the Cemestos Gardens lately. <1200 square feet + 6 people with varying degrees of mood swings = high probability of irking someone just by existing.  It’s fun to whine about, but even more fun to figure out solutions:

• Get smaller furniture.  In theory, if we have mini-furniture, we’ll have more room to move around, right?  And it’s fun to buy furniture.
• Daydream about adding on, despite the fact that we don’t like the road we live on, we’d have to chop down several trees, any addition would make the house look lopsided, and home renovation is a pain in the arse.
• Convert the crawl space into a bedroom for Wingnut.  He’s too young to be afraid of spiders, and he’s a great crawler.
• Okay, back to that daydream about adding on - did I mention that the plans I drew up included a super-secret parents’ room with a plasma TV and wet bar?
• Search the classifieds for homes we can’t (yet) afford, like this one (which, admittedly, I like primarily because it actually has 1.3 acres - that doesn’t happen very often in the Oak Ridge).  Wait, can this be considered a solution?  I don’t think so, because it just makes me woeful.  I’ll have to cross it off.
• Try to make myself feel better with the whole “the longer we live here, the more equity we’ll build” line.
• It’s handy to remind October that she’s the only one in the family to have her own bedroom.

Hmmm…that’s about it on solutions.  Back to browsing the classifieds.  I also like this one.  Dig the stone.

Last night drinkin wine
deep talking with the lady
Fun ponderations

Biscuits and oatmeal
Pigpen getting his socks on
MG beat Halo

Going to the zoo
On a beautiful Sunday
Don’t get much better