skies

The sun peeked out after Sandy's amazing thunder and lightning display, just in time for trick-or-treating.

oh, my

First things first: I'm feeling a little on edge tonight about Hurricane Sandy, with my sister and her family in the Northeast US, and so many people in its path. And so, rather than spending my evening productively engaged in a task, I'm skipping all over the internet and hoping that people act wisely and are safe.

We're supposed to get high winds and a pile of rain here, but nothing too out of the ordinary. The house lets out a little creak every now and then as I type - some of the gusts are pretty strong. This house has been in this spot for over a hundred years, though, so I don't think it's going anywhere tonight.

I'm edgy about the weather, and Thomas is edgy because he had a dose of steroids yesterday. He came down with croup all of a sudden in the middle of Saturday night, and it was worse than pitiful. If you've never heard the cough, it really and truly sounds like a seal barking. It's sudden and loud, and scared him with every cough. We started the humidifier and were up for most of the night, and when he woke up on Sunday, he seemed to be feeling okay, aside from the cough. But after his nap, he woke with a fever and was breathing too quickly, so I scooted over to outpatients with him. Yipes, that's scary. I often wonder about what people did way back when, and think fondly and nostalgically about all of all of the folk medicine and knowledge that has been and is being lost. That said, I am so very, very thankful for modern medicine, and try to use it wisely, when warranted. They gave him a very small dose of steroid to calm the inflammation, allowing him to breathe normally, and although he definitely wasn't himself today, he's over that awful cough.

Speaking of pitiful, Adam wrenched his back somehow on the weekend and is miserable. He's going to physio tomorrow, and hopefully he'll be up and running again soon. In the meantime, since he's the stay at home Dad, I'm trying to keep things running smoothly, while working. Trying. (I've been impatient and abrupt with the boys. Sigh.)

And that concludes the "tales of woe in our house" portion of tonight's program. We're all more or less fine, and thankful.

In other, completely unrelated miscellany that I want to share, (and that I have no affiliation with, whatsoever) there is a bundle of e-books on sale this week only that I just bought. I won't give you all of the details, since the scoop is over here, but I think it's a good deal, and the subject matter (natural, healthy living, gardening, food and stuff) is probably information that most of you would be interested in, too. I'm particularly excited about the bonus free 3 month subscription to Plan to Eat - I'm hoping that it's a tool that we'll use. We usually plan a weekly menu and grocery shop based on that, but I'm hoping that this might make the process a little bit more smooth.

Take care.

good morning!

I had a lovely week at an in-service in beautiful Halifax. But man, I am so glad to be back at home with my sweet boys! I learned a lot, and as usual, left feeling both inspired and overwhelmed. It's so nice to get together with my colleagues! I'm the only one in my area who does my specific job, so it's kind of a treat to chat with people who really know what I'm talking about and to have great discussions, to ask questions and get suggestions from them. It was also a treat to not have to cook, clean up, or take care of little ones! (Thanks, Adam.)

My completely un-work-related advice for your weekend: pick up some beets, if you don't have some in your garden, and roast them in a bit of olive oil, with salt and pepper until they're tender. Yum.

And now I'm off to the playground with those sweet little ones of mine. Have a lovely weekend!

checking in

Just popping in to say hello and share a sunrise from last week! More soon.