New Year's freeze

The weather forecast predicted that 2 to 4 inches of snow might fall today. But we've ended up with more like ten. And the temperature an hour and a quarter before our New Year begins is 8F (about -13C), and falling as fast as the stock exchange.

We've just returned from a New Year's/Rock Band/Wallace and Gromit party with the Exiles and friends. The Boy is set on staying up until midnight, but he might be doing it alone.

We wish you health, happiness and all good things for 2009. Happy New Year!

Play it again, Man

This is the 500th installment of the Albaniana blog. What you make of it all I don't really know, though I hope you generally enjoy being along for the ride. For myself I'm happy rambling away, and like having the opportunity to get things off my chest from time to time. There have been tears and laughter. Some of your entries in the caption competitions have been quite inspired. But feedback suggests that the most popular episode to date has been one involving few words...

I(heart)NY bureaucracy

Good old New York State! Thanks to your bureaucratic incompetence I'm set to make a killing on WALL-E toys!

D'you remember way back when I tried to apply for my state driving licence? I'd been wrongly informed - by the Social Security Office, no less - that I wasn't eligible for a Social Security Number, so I was one point short of the six points of ID needed for the licence application. I was advised to sign up with discount supermarket BJs - the last line of defence in the war on terror, apparently - to obtain definitive photo-evidence of my identity. I wondered at the time if I'd ever recoup the $45+tax sign-up fee.

Well, I could be quids (or is that greenbacks?) in now! Sometime in October I was in BJs failing to shop (I feel obliged occasionally to exercise my membership rights by just going there) and found a boxed set of four small WALL-E action figures. At $17.50 they didn't seem to be giving them away, but I reckoned the Boy would appreciate them for Christmas, so I bought them.

Would you adam-and-eve it - the exact same boxed set is now retailing on Amazon for $130!

So, all I have to do now is prise the little figures back out of my son's loving grasp and e-bay here I come...

Rawsome recipes

My parents-in-law kindly sent us some money for Christmas, and the Man chose a gift to buy with it so that at least one of us would be surprised. He chose a recipe book: The Complete Book of Raw Food, which boasts over 400 recipes from the world's top raw food chefs.

I hadn't realised there were specialist raw food chefs. Anyway, what a great idea! Healthy food, and bound to be quick to prepare since you don't have to cook anything...

Oh, no no no no no no.

Granted, there are plenty of recipes for smoothies and the like that just require you to chuck a load of fruit and/or veg (and garlic!) into a (very expensive) blender. But there are also pages of recipes that start like this:

Advanced prep: 2 to 3 days for sprouting and soaking, + 24 to 36 hours for dehydrating.

That's for 'Grawnola', a version of breakfast cereal. Now, I don't know about you, but I don't think I'm prepared to wait four and half days for breakfast. Not to mention the bizarreness of having to spend 3 days hydrating the ingredients and another day and a half drying them out again.

Then there's 'Thai Wild Rice with Spring Vegetables', which starts with you having to soak half a pound of rice for 4 days. For crying out loud! Cook the damn rice - it'll only take 20 minutes!

However, I think once we've got our heads round this different approach to food preparation we're sure to find some real delights in the book. What our absurdly fussy children will make of raw cauliflower soup and sun-dried tomato pesto nut loaf remains to be seen (though I'll take a wild stabbing guess...).

Z-factor

Ever wondered what happens to the contestants who don't win X-Factor or Pop Idol? Today we found out what three also-rans from American Idol 2007 find themselves doing: Albany, on an outdoor stage in late December. And though Albany has its charms, well, it's still... Albany.

We were downtown with some friends for the annual Winterfest on a dampish afternoon. Performances and activities (such as fun-runs and llama-petting) were taking place at various locations, but we concentrated on City Hall where we ended up watching quite a good reptile show. Reptile shows are emerging as a major feature of most public events, parties and museums we attend. We've come to regard them as top entertainment: you see what I mean about Albany?

After the reptiles we wandered outside for the closing ceremony, featuring the aforementioned Z-listers (they weren't bad, actually, though a couple of them did fancy themselves enormously considering), and a firework display. Funny how firework displays always go on about ten minutes longer than strictly necessary when you are standing outside in the cold.

Tonight we have just been watching Alvin and the Chipmunks on DVD, with lots of 'This is a good bit! Oh, this bit is REALLY funny!' from the kids, who had seen it before on an aeroplane. An official notice at the start of the film warned that we might be offended by instances of 'mildly rude humor' - and indeed, there were several 'hilarious' butt jokes.

Walking on the white

The Man writes...today we had our first go at snow-shoeing. The adult snow shoes really do look like large tennis rackets and take a bit of getting used to, but the childrens' versions are pretty nifty and our kids soon got the hang of them...and then wanted to go home.

The Girl then went out for a playdate while the rest of us enjoyed our new toys and books.

On Christmas Eve I listened on CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) to "The Shepherd", a short story by Frederick Forsyth. Apparently, it was the thirtieth consecutive year that CBC has broadcast this story on Christmas Eve. Certainly The Shepherd is a good story, but I find it curious how some programs become adopted as firm Christmas fixtures, and how appealing tradition is at this time of year.

Christmas post

I hope you all had a merry Christmas, however you celebrated it. Did Santa bring you good things? We've just got home from a secular Jewish Christmas party. It was fun, and the food was fabulous, just too much of it. I need a long sleep now.

Was anyone given anything particularly notable that they would like to tell us about?

It must be Christmas...

...because we've just had to listen to It Must Be Christmas, a compilation cd of the world's most irritating Christmas songs (and let's face it, that's all of them) sung badly by a bunch of Cockney session singers. The kids think it is the best cd ever, bar none. They sing and dance along to it for hours. Thank you Maths Expert for 'letting us' keep it a few years ago after I'd borrowed it for the playgroup Christmas Fair. I've been thinking of you, all evening.

Strangely, since it is not yet midnight as I write, I have 'dun wrappin'. In fact I had everything prepared and the house in order before dusk (after a whole day of tidying and cleaning). I've never been ready for Christmas so early, and frankly I find it a bit unnerving. What have I forgotten?

Checking in on NORAD Tracks Santa I see that the man in red is currently in New Brunswick, Canada, so he may be with us soon... quick, better get the mince pie and carrot out on the front step!

Insanity Claus

The Girl is out on an extended playdate-and-sleepover with two of her best friends from school - we dropped her off this morning. That gave the Boy a chance to Christmas shop for his sister and then come home and enjoy unimpeded access to the computer while I quietly got on with some wrapping business.

This evening we collected the Man from work and joined the long queues of traffic for the mall. Apparently there is still a recession on, but judging by the hoards out shopping tonight you wouldn't think so. They're probably still there now - the mall is open until midnight, at which magic hour the real die-hards can move on to Walmart which is open all night.

Even late into the evening a long line of children at the mall were waiting to be photographed with Santa, who must be crazy to be wasting his time on such nonsense so close to his biggest night of the year.

Notta lotta bottle

The kids and I went looking for a hot water bottle for the Man today, for Christmas. It's what he especially wants.

Could we find one anywhere? Could we heck. It's very hard to get any device here that doesn't need plugging in (unless it's a kettle - for some reason Americans seem very attached to the whistling stove-top kind). We tried asking in several shops, but were met with mystification and directions either to the flasks section or to the surgical appliances department where we found plug-in heated arthritis pads.

The nearest we got to what we were after did look a lot like a hot water bottle, but turned out to be one of those grain-filled things you heat up in a microwave. Which would have meant us having to buy a microwave, too.

Ah well. On really cold nights the Man and I will just have to resort to our old trick of popping one of the kids in the bed to warm up our sheets for a couple of hours before we turn in for the night.

Snow - more!

It's officially the first day of winter. No kidding!

All white now

About eleven inches of snow had settled by this morning, so the driveway took some shovelling. It continued to snow gently for most of the day so we must have accumulated another three inches. Yet more is expected tomorrow. Snow, it goes on.

The kids rushed out to sled straight after breakfast (oh, it's great, the first major snow, before it's been around so long we're all fed up with it). After lunch we had another long sledding session. The snow was so powdery it felt almost dry.





Then I took the Girl over to the ice rink for her skating lesson. I'd been on the ice myself yesterday, for my own lesson. It's very hard. Skating, I mean. Though so is the ice when you fall over on it, which I did.

We then ummed and ahhed about heading off in the snow to the other side of Albany for a birthday party. In the end, since the route was all on major roads, we decided to chance it. There were sporty activities, followed by food, followed by bouncy castle action.

You'd think the children would be tired after such an active day. You would (sigh) be wrong.

Sledding galore!

So proclaimed the Girl this evening, after several hours of snowfall left us with many inches of whiteness. 'Sledding's the law?' queried the Boy, in amazement.

Everyone was home early today on account of the weather - the kids around lunchtime and the Man mid-afternoon. The three of them sledded on the slope across the road while the snow was still coming down. I stayed inside in the warm.

This morning I was at school again for the annual Peace Assembly. Due to all the unscheduled days off recently the event was a little under-rehearsed. The Girl's class effort, a demonstration of sitting in contemplative silence, looked to me like a fine example of winging it. The Boy's class sang a number called 'We All Sing With One Voice'. That'd be 'all' except the Boy - he refused because the song was 'dumb'.

The Winter Break has officially begun, and we've hit the sled run towards Christmas. We feel pretty confident it's going to be a white one.

Whizzing by

I've spent most of the day doing pre-Christmas jobs, because the holidays are nearly upon us - yikes!

I also made a trip up to school to deliver a big box of t-shirts and sweatshirts which I'd had to sort through matching up shirts to orders, a surprisingly complicated business. I'm glad to have that responsibility over with. We had a fair number of orders and made some profit, and the shirts have come out well (though not according to the Boy, who took one look at the t-shirt I'd ordered for him and cried 'Yuk! I HATE it!' Gee, thanks, Boy).

When the kids got home the Girl was very keen to go sledding down the slope in our-neighbours-opposite's yard. Both kids enjoyed having a go. I'd have taken photos of them, but it was already dark and anyway they were going too fast.

In between times I've been scratching my head over a load of quiz questions emailed by Royal Rockfish - books and their authors, identified by initial letters only. I keep going back to them when really I should be writing Christmas cards. They are driving me quietly crazy.

Snow start

We awoke this morning to that eery silence that can only mean - snow! About three inches thick, so the Man got out there and did his first shovelling of the season. Much more is expected on Friday, so watch this space.

I had a routine medical check up this morning. Though as it turned out, just the first stage of it. I have to go and have blood drawn somewhere else, and a mammogram (standard procedure once you're in your 40s here) and some other tests next month. Lovely.

In the mailbox was a note from my dentist, a 'friendly reminder' that I have an appointment in the New Year - 'It's time for your dental examination. This time is reserved exclusively for you.' So, they're not planning on examining someone else's teeth instead of mine during the appointment, then? That's good, I suppose. The Man reckons they must be feeling the pinch, what with the recession and all, and have been wondering what to do about it. Ah ha! Let's get that Albaniana in - she's always good for a few bucks!

Empty Bowls

Tonight was Empty Bowls night at school, highlighting hunger in the world. Every child in the school had made a pottery bowl in art class, and these were displayed for parents to buy - all monies going to a local homeless shelter. The Eighth Graders gave a presentation of facts they had learnt about world hunger and showed us this video (bear with the blurry opening).

The director of the shelter then spoke about the plight of local homeless people, and the older kids served us soup they'd made themselves.

Coming so soon after the cold and discomfort that many of us experienced during the recent power cut, the evening made us even more keenly aware than usual that generally we want for nothing, and that we can and should do more for those in less fortunate circumstances.

Oh the weather outside is...

...unusually mild, actually. The ice has melted away as temperatures have soared up into the 50s. This must be at least a slight relief for those still enduring the power outage.

The children and I spent the day at home, which was fun - if by fun you mean having to play Monopoly for eight hours only to end up losing to a six year-old. Also we had the neighbours' kids round for a while, which is always slightly dicey as the older of the two (who is five) knows no boundaries when it comes to rearranging the Boy's carefully constructed train layouts. Ah well, everyone lived to play another day.

The Man took the Girl to the library this evening and they were gone so long that the Boy started a stamp collection. So far it features US and UK stamps. If you happen to know our address, feel free to send samples for his album. You could even add a letter or a Christmas card in the envelope, if you like...

The Man was disconcerted to see children and grown women at the library with their noses painted bright red, and wondered what strange religious cult was meeting there. It was only on the way out that he saw a leaflet advertising a "Reindeer family event" tonight. Which went some way (but not all the way) to explaining things.

Ice and easy does it

It's been kid city round at our place today. The Girl had a last minute sleepover guest last night who ended up staying with us 'til midday, and meanwhile the Exiles arrived en masse seeking refuge from their still-cold house. Then more friends appeared in the afternoon - it was a non-stop party.


The Man and the Exile busied themselves doing manly stuff with a chainsaw. Least of our problems during the power outage, the ice storm on Thursday had brought down a tree in our backyard which needed to be dealt with.

Ice - so beautiful, so destructive.


The Exiles' electricity was restored during the afternoon, so they are back in their own home again. School, however, is still without power, so tomorrow will be another unscheduled day off for the kids.

The heat is on!

And oh how good it feels! Thirty-seven and a half hours without power was no laughing matter. Stumbling about by torch and candlelight soon lost its charm, the temperature indoors dropped down to the low 40sF (around 6C), and we couldn't even make a warming cup of tea or slice of toast.

Worst of all was having to crawl out of a cosy sleeping bag several times during the night in order to trek down to the basement and plunge hands into the icey water of the sump as we bailed it out with bottles and a baked bean can. Really not fun. And to make matters even more depressing, we had no way of knowing when it would all end.

After some initial excitement, the kids decided they were not impressed. Luckily friends stepped in and invited them to warmer houses during the daytime. And last night we ate out at our local diner, bringing home takeaway for the Man who stayed home on sump duty.

I'm not ashamed to say that I whooped for joy when at 3:45 this afternoon, just as I was halfway through bailing, the sump pump suddenly churned back into action and the boiler (furnace) hummed with life again.

As I write, friends of ours (including the Exiles) and hundreds of thousands across the Northeast are still minus power, and there are people in more remote areas who might not be reconnected until the middle of the week. We've had a fairly miserable couple of days, but all things considered it looks like we got off lightly.

Ice stops blog

Thursday's ice storm turned out to be the worst to hit the Northeast for twenty-one years. Innocuous looking rain froze up to an inch thick everywhere it landed, bringing down trees, branches and power-lines across the region. Something like a million properties are without power - including ours. I'm blogging from a nice warm cafe, but at home it's freezing for we have no source of heat that doesn't require electricity. But we can't just abandon the house until power is restored (which may not be for some days) because the sump pump in the basement isn't running, but water is and we have to keep bailing out, including through the night, to avoid a flood.

What larks!

So anyway, blogging may be a bit intermittent for a day or two, depending on how things go. Normal service will be resumed in due course.

Weather watch

It has been a day of nervous glances out of the window, waiting to see what the weather would do. A winter storm watch was upgraded to a warning - something was going to hit.

In our immediate area it has mostly been freezy rain today, with snow and ice forecast for tonight and tomorrow. Others in the region are expecting either a foot of snow or lethal ice storms.

Nevertheless I managed to get out for coffee with a friend and to run a few errands before being notified that the kids would be coming home early. And later in the afternoon we were able to get to the library safely, where we admired the icicles forming on car bumpers in the parking lot.

Other news: needles on fire! I'm knitting like a woman possessed! I finished this today - intended for the Boy, but he didn't like it so the Girl has appropriated it instead.

Ho-ho hooray

I have to admit, we were expecting to spend Christmas Day being the original Norm No-Mates family. But we've been invited to a party! Our used-to-be-British friend (she of the annual Hallowe'en/panto parties) is hosting a get-together for the waifs and strays of her acquaintance - or at any rate, others who for whatever reason are not going to be spending the holidays with extended family.

With a bit of luck this year's Christmas will involve less heave and more ho ho ho. And there's a chance of some classier festive fayre than last year, too - although with talk of Marmite appearing on the menu (in our honour...) I may be wrong there.

Can we knit it?

Yes we can!

If this is anything to go by, anyway. Is there anything that cannot be knitted? Suggestions, please.

Here's my latest little effort (actual size!).

Back tracking

The Man writes...it's a little known fact that the gravitational slingshot - the technique by which a deep space probe accelerates as it swings round a planet on its journey into outer space - was invented by a NASA engineer who had been trying for a week to locate the car park below Empire State Plaza in central Albany.

An interstate takes you all the way in, but next moment you find yourself coming out on the opposite side of the road having missed the secret entrance and in the certain knowledge that you won't be able to turn around before you're halfway home again.

Down below the plaza is a vast subterranean mall - although naturally everything apart from McDonalds is closed at weekends - and a large exhibition hall. When I finally found the way in, it was a great pleasure to take the Boy there again yesterday for the annual "Great Train Extravaganza".

There were actually only four model railways on display - far fewer than you would find at Shelford village hall for example - but the layouts were large and fun, and there was plenty of interesting and modestly priced train stuff on sale. When one of his best friends appeared, the Boy was delighted to take him off on a bargain hunt, and found some items that were almost as 'cheap as (McDonalds) chips'.

Fir too big?

Maybe I'd got carried away with yesterday's festive knitting fun, but for some reason I caved in to the kids' request to go out and buy a Christmas tree today. We don't usually do that until much later in December.

Is there an expression along the lines of 'bitten off more than you can chew' pertaining to buying Christmas trees? I feared that's what we'd done as we wrangled the monster fir off the car roof and in through the front door. I guess that's just what happens when you tree-shop at an any-size-the-same-price outfit - it's so tempting to try and really get your money's worth.

Thankfully we'd invested in a proper tree stand last year, so we didn't have to spend two hours precariously balancing a nine foot tree in a too-small bucket stuffed with bricks. We did have to buy an extra string of lights, though, so that the illuminations didn't stop halfway up.

Anyway, here it is all decorated. What d'you think? You have to admit it does spruce up our living room - does it make you pine to be with us?

Stocking up

I'm on a re-skilling roll! Skating yesterday, and this morning I took a knitting class at the wool shop in Altamont. There were about eight of us sitting round for two and half hours with our needles. We were all very quiet - concentrating much too hard for chatting.

I've ended up with this little thing. Yes, it's a somewhat pointless object, but I learnt all sorts of useful code-cracking skills making it (I now understand what 'knit two together from the back' means, for example, and how to do elementary Fair Isle).

Any knitters out there who would like to make a very tiny stocking (as a subtle hint to loved ones not to expect too many presents this Christmas?), you can find the pattern for it (and other silly but nice things) here.

Skating round the issues?

I took my first skating lesson today. I know now what it's like to be the recipient of full-on US-style positivity - 'Good jaaab!' (for falling over correctly) and 'You're some of the best beginners I've ever taught!' (gawd bless you, lady, but I wouldn't want to meet the worst).

But, the upshot is I can now skate backwards (a little bit, and v-e-r-y slowly) and have slightly more sense of how skating works. Tune in over the next five weeks for progress updates.

And tonight I'm feeling pleasantly full and mildly sloshed (which nicely anaesthetises the aches and pains acquired earlier) after a book group meeting. After all, if you're discussing a book about famine you might as well appreciate the refreshments. Or something like that.

The Frogman cometh

The other day we opened the cover of the swimming pool in order to chuck in a winter chlorine boost, and were shocked to discover this:


No, not the frogman (he came along later). The surprise was the unexpectedly low water level. This was not good. Where had the rest of it gone?

It could only mean one thing - we needed an expensive visit from our maintenance guy. And we thought the pool was a hole in the ground you threw money into just in the summer.

So the guy duly turned up today, donned his extra-thick wetsuit and plunged into what remained of our icey-cold water (38-40 degF he reckoned). He found four leaks in the vinyl pool lining (small ones, but significant enough) and managed to get them sealed before his fingers froze off.

I think if I ever decide to be a pool guy I'll be one in Florida.

One fine day

The Man needed the car for work today, leaving me stranded at home. I wanted to get to a post office - what to do? I hung my head in gloom. And saw my feet. Which gave me an idea.

It was a lovely walk to the post office - cold air, bright sunshine. Not the nearest PO as the crow flies, but to get there would have involved either a round-the-houses, up-hill-and-down-dale detour or a hair-raising hike along a dual carriageway. Instead I stomped on beyond the library and into our nearest town, where there is also an excellent cafe, so that was all good. And on the way home I ran into a school-mom-friend and stopped for a chat, and that was good too. Simple pleasures.

The Girl is fit as a fiddle again and was glad to get back to school today to see her friends. Here she is in demure schoolGirl mode.

Ad Nauseam

Still not much to report regarding snow, but that other sure sign of winter has arrived chez nous: the Girl kicked off the chucking up season this morning and had to spend the day at home. She seems to be fine now, and I'm just hoping we're not in for a repeat of last year (refer to pretty much every other day last winter if you don't know what I'm talking about).

Meanwhile the Boy has brought home his school photos. Here he is all twinkly in his individual shot, looking rather suspiciously pleased about something. And surprise surprise, in his class photo he's right there on the front row, eyes closed and gurning. Lovely job.

Super-sized weekend

I mentioned back on Tuesday that it felt like Friday had come early. Well, that being so we've just had the longest weekend ever: the kids have even had today off, on top of the regular Thanksgiving holiday.

The highlight of the day was a visit to the ice-rink, together with one of the Girl's classmates. I was very impressed that the Girl had managed to remember most of the techniques she'd learnt during her skating lessons last season, despite the many months that have passed since then.

Other than that, I did a bit of caulking of minor cracks around the outside of the house. I'm hoping now that when the snow finally comes, then melts, it won't all run directly into our basement.

Souped up

We've just been making spinach soup from the Moosewood Cookbook, which is pretty much the bible of American vegetarian cookery. The soup was good, but required way too many pans. It was a bit like a Gary Rhodes recipe in that respect - did you ever watch his TV show? We once saw an episode in which he made baked beans, from scratch. It took three days and he used every single utensil in his kitchen. We had a good laugh watching that while we waited for our Sainsbury's ready-meal to cook, I can tell you.

Earlier today we took the Boy (the Girl was elsewhere on a playdate) to the Albany Institute of Art & History. 'This is the boringest place I've ever been to!' he declared, although he later conceded that the Egyptian mummies, kids' art activity and train items in the gift shop weren't so bad. The galleries actually contain many interesting exhibits, but overall the feel of the place is rather formal and stuffy so we could understand the Boy's initial reaction.

We've had snow today, the lightest of light coverings - but just enough for the Girl to have a snowball fight with her friend.Whahoo!

Gift oh dears

Our mailbox gets filled with unsolicited catalogues each day, now the countdown to Christmas has begun. So many tempting gift possibilities to choose from: a rechargeable electric wine opener (removes up to 80 corks with one full charge); a marshmallow-firing machine gun; a motion-activated liquid soap dispenser; the 'Mangroomer' do-it-yourself electric back hair shaver; a 40" 3D illuminated angel for the front yard - with animated wing motion.

I wonder if sales in these and many (many, many) other must-have items will suffer in these tougher economic times? You've gotta hope so, really, haven't you.

Little angels

We were at home again today, letting yesterday's enormous dinner settle. The kids overdosed on computer-time (Club Penguin and Build-a-Bear) all morning. In the afternoon the entire Exile family came over for Anglo-American refreshments - chocolate brownies washed down with Tetley tea.

The Man adds... Several neighbours have used the spare time afforded by the Thanksgiving holiday to install "snow poles" - 6 foot tall fluorescent sticks, intended to indicate their property boundaries even after the plows have created huge banks of snow alongside the road. A chilling reminder of what's to come.

Meanwhile, in the mail today we received school reports about two pupils, oddly enough with the same names as our kids, who sound positively angelic. It would be nice to meet them some time.

Stuffed!

'What do vegetarians eat at Thanksgiving?' everyone asks:

For the adults: Butternut squash filled with a nut, cheese, sage, bread and onion stuffing served with a side order of beetroot and carrot sauteed in butter, garlic and orange juice, plus asparagus bundles tied with leek.

For the Girl: baked beans and (NOT on) toast.

For the Boy: Shredded Wheat, without milk.

Oh, and ok, the kids also had some nuts and fruit and stuff.

In the afternoon we went on a 'candy trail' down at Five Rivers, a Thanksgiving tradition (as of today) which involved a 'candy fairy' keeping one step ahead of the rest of the party as we rounded the lake. The Girl quickly sussed what was going on, she's never been one for suspending her disbelief - if there are strings she'll always delight in pointing them out.

Now be thankful

With the Girl still sounding like she's been downing handfuls of gravel, we opted to spend the day at home. The kids have been playing, computering, drawing, reading, stitching, karate kicking, 'street performing' and, as I write, organising a fete (like mother, like children). I've been joining in with some of the above, plus doing some last-chance-before-it-snows yard work and planning a special Thanksgiving menu for tomorrow (just for the Man and me, as naturally the children won't want to deviate from their usual ultra-restricted diets).

Given the holiday that's upon us (over here, at least) maybe this is an opportunity to reflect on what we're thankful for. Not counting the goes-without-saying big items (family, friends, health, end of the Bush administration etc etc), what makes you grateful?

As for me? Well, your Comments, obviously...

That Friday feeling

I was up before dawn in order to take the car in for a major service. I wanted to be there first thing to be sure of getting the car back in time for events in the afternoon. The service place is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, so I sat out the three hours in the waiting room, which was no hardship really - coffee on tap, I'd brought a book to read and I've learnt by now to block out the common public-space sound of two TVs playing simultaneously but tuned to different channels.

The car was good to go in plenty of time, so I was about to head home to pick up our neighbour. We'd invited her to be the kids' special guest at the annual "Grandfriends' Day" at school, actual grandparents being inconveniently far away. But then I got a call from school - the Girl was feeling poorly, would I come and collect her?

She's really just got a bad cold, but with a throat so hoarse that singing for Grandfriends wouldn't have been much fun. We went home, the neighbour popped round for a cup of tea instead, and meanwhile the Boy got to write a story with the headteacher who was his stand-in Grandfriend for the afternoon.

The kids are now off school for a while for the Thanksgiving holiday, so it feels oddly like we've just fast-forwarded to Friday.

The long and the short of it

I was on school chauffeuring duty again this morning, accompanying the Girl's class to a stage production of Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, by Judy Blume. There was a short Q&A session after the performance, during which one of the actors revealed she comes originally from Cambridge, England. I nearly called out 'Oo! I come from there too!', but managed to resist.

I took my carload of kids back to school then drove over to do another veg chopping session. Lots of lettuce this week, much of it expensive organic stuff. Asparagus, too. And pre-prepared fruit salad items. Does this indicate that the recession is beginning to bite and people are foregoing the luxury end of the fresh food market?

Somehow the conversation round the chopping table turned to swimwear. American men are surprisingly prudish when it comes to trunks. The Speedo style is definitely out, and down-to-the-knees baggy shorts are the accepted norm, even for tiny boys. It amazes me that little boys here manage to learn to swim at all, actually. Dragging all that extra cloth around must be like swimming in a pleated skirt.

Here's a photo the Man took yesterday at Five Rivers - we may not have real snow just yet, but the ice looks nice.

Cannon and Mall

The Man writes..."enough of the 'cute kids' videos!" I hear you cry. What happened to the traditional "Little Englander" whingeing? Well, I aim to please...

Things have got(ten) real dear here lately. I used to think $3.49 was a lot for an unexceptional small white loaf when I mentally divided all the prices by 2. Now with the decline of the pound I have to divide by 1.5, so I reject bread as far too expensive. Petrol is cheap again though, and sitting in the car in the evening with the engine running is becoming an attractive alternative to heating the home.

Money is expensive as well! Even at one of the city's giant indoor Malls you are charged $2 for using an ATM. Supermarkets charge less for "cashback", but limit the withdrawal to only $50.

Somewhat surprised this morning to find next door's front garden covered in snow! Unless there was some really freaky weather overnight, I have to conclude that the rumbling sounds we heard yesterday evening was a snow cannon. Which is novel. It does look very pretty - maybe I'll ask to borrow it as it's rather disappointing that we've had less snow than England so far this season.

In from the cold

Lots of people have told us it's going to be a severe and snowy winter this year - though I'm not quite sure how they know. But at any rate, it has really been getting cold in the last few days - today we were into the low 20Fs, and with wind chill it felt even colder.

So a friend's birthday party at a cinema seemed like a pretty good idea, one way and another. I accompanied the kids and we saw Madagascar 2 - not destined to become a timeless classic, I suspect, but good fun for a Saturday afternoon movie.

The cinema is in one of the malls, and the shopping area and car parks were heaving. I can't imagine what the place must be like on a pre-'holidays' weekend when we're not all supposed to be in the grip of a global recession. Though maybe everyone else was just there to keep warm, too.

Try, try, trying again

No school today, but still we all found ourselves there this morning for 'Family Conferences' - a sort of verbal report session with class teachers. We heard positive things about both children, so that was reassuring.

I then spent much of the rest of the day having to listen to 'hilarious' jokes about bodily functions. Sigh. Paragons in the classrooom they may be...

The Girl discovered tonight what happens if you accidentally drop a tissue into your bath then lie back with your hair in the water. Not pretty, I can tell you.

Now please indulge us while we post a "look at our cute kids!" video.

Gee quiz

Given that my life recently has been so uneventful I've had to start making stuff up (see yesterday's moose), I was pleased today to be invited up to Saratoga Springs for lunch with my British (except that she's also American) friend there. She served a delicious aubergine (eggplant) soup, followed by an equally delicious slice of chocolate brownie disguised as cake. Then we did some crafty cutting and sticking, making cards, which was fun.

While in the area I took the opportunity to pop into Saratoga's excellently named and well-stocked toy shop G. Willikers.

Does anyone know the origins of the phrase Gee Willikers?

Natural selection

I've just got back from the annual Friends of Five Rivers gathering, held at the nature centre. There was a nominally formal meeting, followed by a talk from a local naturalist on Flora and Fauna of the Northeast. If I can manage to remember even a fraction of what he told us I'll consider myself quite well-informed. There were 200 slides for a start (out of the bloke's collection of 10,000 - we got off lightly), accompanied by a light-hearted commentary and running name-that-wildlife competition.

Five Rivers has just been awarded a certificate by an Albany alternative newsheet - "Metroland Best Park (Nature), 2008". This is rather more respectable than the award in 1997 - "Metroland Best Venue for Outdoor Fun" (actually a different three letter word at the end there, but I don't want this blog to get hit by random browsers in search of such diversions). Anyway, oo er, missus. Strangely that certificate never made it onto the wall...

Myself, I wouldn't risk doing that sort of thing outdoors round here. Just look what I ran into on my way back to the car tonight!

Many happy re-runs

I learnt today that it is the 25th anniversary of my favourite film, Local Hero, which critic Mark Kermode rightly describes here as being 'genuinely timeless'. I've seen it many times. If you haven't yet you really should.

Would anyone else like to make a movie recommendation?

Man alive

Well, I don't know. I'd expected more of a response than that to yesterday's video.

Here's a photo of us with Ri-chan in happier times, before the Man concussed himself and was unable to remember which country he was in or the names of his children.

(Nahh. He was fine. But he did have a headache for the rest of the day.)

This morning I took our guest out for a bit of Great Outdoors (Five Rivers) and a bit of History and Culture (NY State Museum). Then we met up with the Man for lunch before all going our separate ways. As ever, we've enjoyed having a visitor.

The temperature has dropped over the last couple of days, and we even had a few brief snow flurries at lunchtime. I've started looking at skiing brochures.

He's been framed

It's a knockout at the playpark! This clip was sent in by Ri-chan of Bristol. Ouch! What a plank!

Party 'til you drop

As often seems to happen at the weekend, we've been at the mercy of our kids' social diaries today. The Girl needed collecting from a sleepover in time to shovel down some lunch before we all headed off to drop the Boy and me at a swimming party. The Man then had a little time to spend with his daughter before he dropped her with other friends who would taxi her to a home-spa party some miles away, while he returned to pick us up from the pool. Phew! Good parties, both, though.

This evening, for a change, we have some grown-up company! Coming all the way from England no less, just to see us! (and to attend a conference in Albany, to be truthful). The Man told him to bring his thickest winter jackets, but it is 69F out this evening - disturbingly warm, really, for mid-November.

Cough up

So today I finally gave in and went to see a doctor. I haven't seen one here before on my own account, so of course I had to go through the whole 'Who's your insurance provider?' routine, with four pages of forms to fill out mostly making sure I'd pay up. As a child of the NHS I find that so off-putting, it almost feels as if they're frisking you for your wallet before they'll deign to ask what's wrong with you.

Anyway. Apparently I have strep throat, which my research tells me is not identical to tonsillitis (though the same research doesn't tell me how it's different). I'm now on antibiotics and should be feeling fine again very soon. Hooray.

This seems like a good opportunity to invite 'Doctor, doctor' jokes, should you wish to share them.

Fielding a suggestion

Another day feeling sorry for myself whenever I've tried to swallow. Ho hum.

I re-read Helen Fielding's Cause Celeb today. It's our next book group read - my suggestion. It was written before Bridget Jones' Diary and is thematically a bit more substantial, being about famine and celebrity fundraising, yet still pretty funny - somehow Fielding pulls that off, and I admire her for it (she fails completely to pull off terrorism-comedy in her Olivia Joules book, that one's awful). I don't know what American readers in the book group (ie everyone else) will make of it - it's riddled with British references which will be completely lost on them. We shall see...

Realty check

I spent most of today in bed with a throat infection. Darn it!

The Man snapped this recently somewhere in Massachussets. So there you go.

A walk in the woods

The Man writes...here is a view of Mount Greylock. I was part of an Anglo-American team that conquered this mighty 3491 foot peak on Sunday.

Note there are lots of trees.


Here is a typical view on the 2 hour ascent. Trees of course. At the risk of showing my ignorance, why is it that a 3000 foot peak here is covered in trees, right up to the very summit (where in this case the trees have been conveniently felled to make a large car park) whereas a similar peak in the UK would be almost completely bare? Is it because all the trees in Britain have been cleared? Is it the latitude? Soil? Wind?

The 2000 mile long Appalachian Trail passes over the summit, and the views are supposed to encompass five states. However, on this Veterans Day, or Remembrance Day in the UK, it is appropriate to highlight the summit's most prominent feature: the 90 foot Veterans War Memorial Tower.

Dumpster dining

Today I helped chop fruit and veg for 'Food Not Bombs', a loose affiliation of peaceful types who set out to feed people (rather than bombing them, I guess). I've been introduced to the Albany wing by Exile #2. The produce in question came from a supermarket, and it was all stuff that would otherwise have been thrown out. We chopped enough apples, bananas, lettuce, pepper, squash etc to feed at least thirty people. Some of it was a bit bruised, but otherwise perfectly good.

It certainly gave me pause. A single day's 'waste' from one supermarket turned into so many healthy meals.

I also thought it could make a great consciousness-raising cooking reality show - every week present different celebrity chefs with a large quantity of very ripe veggies and challenge them to prepare a gourmet dinner for homeless people. Anyone out there friends with Jamie Oliver?

Another thing that happened today - I was the victim of a drive-by salvationist. Well, a walk-by one, anyway. A plain-clothes minister somehow got me in conversation outside Target, and before I knew what was happening he had me politely reciting a Bible text. 'There you go!' he said, looking very pleased with himself, 'Now you're saved!'

I'm sure there are some of you reading this who can confirm my hunch that there should be a bit more to it than that. I got on with buying sewing machine needles in JoAnne's, feeling none the holier.

Location, location, location

Recently I've been doing a counted cross-stitch embroidery. This is more occupational therapy than creative expression - it's really just stitching-by-numbers - but at least it's the sort of undemanding thing you can get on with while playing Monopoly with the Boy. Which is what I was doing this morning.

It's been another one of those days when blogs intersect. The Man set off first thing with the Exile and other work-related friends to hike up Mount Greylock, the highest mountain in Massachusetts. Here's the view from the top.

That just left me and the Boy, since the Girl was away at her sleepover.

Our Monopoly set is actually 'Albany in a Box', which becomes more fun as I grow more familiar with the area. The Boy and I competed fiercely for my favourite landmark, Nipper (even though it's the equivalent of Whitechapel on the London board), but when the Boy decided to buy the much more prestigious Historic Cherry Hill (the equivalent of Piccadilly, amazingly) I told him he was welcome to it.

We eventually collected the Girl, and spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out with the Exile's abandoned family. A good time was had by all.

Playdates and Ping-pong

A busy day of playdates for both children, then this evening we took the Girl over to a friend's for a sleepover and were invited to stay for a party. The hosts and all the other guests were Indian, and we were lucky enough to share in a vast sub-continental vegetarian feast. The Man was then soundly beaten at table-tennis by someone significantly older than himself, who could also do headstands.

The Boy was reluctant to be taken home, but once here crawled eagerly into bed. I think I'll soon do the same.

The topic of conversation

I drove the kids into school and went to assembly, where we learnt some fun facts about bubblegum. Then, in our hippy way, we sang 'We Shall Overcome' in honour of the election result.

Had coffee (which rolled into lunch) with Exile #2 and we talked about all sorts of things including Jane Austen, vegetable gardening and the election. Later on I went and picked up the kids and took them for a playdate with the friends with the crazy dog. Dog still crazy. It tried to eat our shoes. Talked about the election.

And tonight I've been at my book group meeting discussing 'The Double Bind' by Chris Bohjalian (a cheery tale of homelessness and mental illness), and detouring off onto the achievements of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. And also the election.

I must have drunk a bit too much wine as when I came home I nearly went to the wrong house.

Bone of contention

Barack Obama is getting straight down to work, even though there's another couple of months to go before he is sworn in. Today he has started appointing officers, and of course there are a few pressing issues to be thinking about: how to shore up the failing economy, how to deal with America's ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, what to do about healthcare... And the biggest question of all, judging by the media interest here today: what sort of puppy to get for the kids. If you can be bothered, this is quite representative of the discussion.

An issue that rather slipped under the radar during all the post-election excitement was that of the votes against gay marriage in three states, most notably in California where same-sex marriage has been legal since May. I feel very sad that just as America is taking a giant step away from age-old prejudices by electing an African-American President, it is taking two steps in the other direction when it comes to recognising the rights of gay people.

Why on earth does anyone think that two gay people getting married is going to damage 'family values' or the institution of marriage? If it brings any couple happiness to get married and make that public commitment to one another because they love each other, then doesn't that simply add to the greater happiness of the world? How is that a bad thing?

The times they are a-changing

Many words have been written and spoken today about what last night's election result means for America and for the rest of the world, so I won't add too many of my own - except to say I hope Obama turns out to be a great President. Even just a fairly good one would be a nice change.

Meanwhile life goes on. It has been strangely warm all day. I took a walk at Five Rivers, and went and got my hair cut. I'd have talked elections with the hairdresser only it's a very cheap place I go to and conversation isn't part of the service. The Boy tells me my hair looks 'terrible', but he always says that.

Our clocks went back at the weekend (a week later than the UK). I haven't got round to changing most of ours though - intentionally, as it has made it easier to get the kids (well, the Boy at least) to bed at a decent time. But since everyone else is on Daylight Saving Time I guess I'll have to give in soon and admit the truth.

They think it's all over...

...it is now. America has elected Obama. Thank goodness - it has been an anxious day.

Not having a vote here has been very frustrating. But at least I managed to get into a polling station, and the kids got right into a polling booth - a friendly, civic-minded neighbour took them in with her and her own children (five pairs of legs visible beneath the curtain) to show them the voting machine and 'democracy in action'.

It has been a long, long journey to this moment. I'll leave it to the pundits to over-use the word 'historic' - though for once they are right.

The Final Countdown

The Man writes...a few days after we arrived in America I watched a televised debate between the Democratic presidential candidates. (In fact, the first such debate was in April 2007). Tomorrow the process finally ends. What shall we think and talk about instead?

It's been fascinating if occasionally rather baffling to the outsider. Back in February, Mitt Romney warned: "If the United States does not change course we could become the France of the 21st century." What did he mean? In his final debate McCain commented: "If you like that [Obama's health care plan], you'll love Canada and England."

At the start John McCain was seemingly better liked by independents and Democrats than by many in his own party, but he has put all his efforts into trying to please the core Republican vote. It could still turn out to be the right policy. According to the "RealClearPolitics" website, a quarter of the electoral college votes are still in the "Toss-Up" category.

The presidential election has essentially passed New York by - Obama is ahead here by an average of 30% so campaigning is pointless - but some Democrats I know are literally sleepless with tension.

American Girl

There was a party at the local town hall today to celebrate the birthday of Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts of America. The Girl attended with the rest of her little Brownie troop for games, songs, cake and bingo. And ceremonies. Honouring the flag. Pledging allegiance. Singing about the land of the free and the home of the brave.

This is all quite startling when you're not used to it - and we are not used to it at all because of the kids going to a progressive school where, as you know by now, assembly tends to be a light-hearted affair consisting of a chorus of Puff the Magic Dragon followed by some fun facts about giraffes. There's not a stars and stripes to be seen.


The Boy has come up with a little picture quiz for you to start the week. Name that plant...

Fairy Who?

Fairy Hugh! - star of the now annual Hallowe'en Panto at our formerly-British friend's house. The Americans still didn't really get it (oh no they didn't!) but give them a few more years and they'll surely come round to this unique cross-dressing cultural treasure-trove.

Or perhaps not.

For some reason this year's mini-panto had a bit of an election theme (spot 'Josie Sixpack', the Sarah Palin lookalike, lurking in the background of the photo). Hmm. Speaking of elections, I have to retract my fulsome praise for Arnie from a couple of days back - he's been on the stump supporting 'drill-baby-drill' McCain again. People are so contradictory and confusing sometimes.

Inexcessable?

So, Hallowe'en proper has finally come round, and we've been out trick or treating again. This time we joined up with friends who live some distance away and trawled their neighbourhood for candy. The friends' mom had explained in advance that we really didn't get American Hallowe'en at all if we didn't embrace the excess of it. The neighbourhood turned out to be bigger than I'd realised - we were out for about an hour, and the Boy in his trusty ghost outfit was virtually on his knees by the time we got back to base, both because of the distance and number of houses covered and the weight of sweeties in his swag bag.

The Girl and Boy were invited by other friends to move on to trick or treating on our own street, but they opted out because they felt they 'already had enough candy.' Bless 'em - everything in moderation, how English they still are. Just like last year, they had at least as much fun handing out lollies at the front door.

Bright and breezy

It was a bright sunny day so I went out to rake leaves in the backyard this morning. I soon gave it up as a bad job, though, because it was so windy, and the wind was so cold.

Raking season will be over pretty soon, anyway. Most of the trees round our house are practically bare already. For many months of the year this is such a leafy part of the world, and it all looks quite different (and much less attractive) once the leaves have gone.

Ah well, no doubt we'll be walking in a winter wonderland before we know it - with all that lovely snow shovelling to look forward to.

The Governator

I've been out this evening at the Five Rivers Fall Festival debriefing. As the event was such a resounding success we devoted some time to patting ourselves on the back, but also discussed ways to make the festival even better next year. Just the kind of meeting I enjoy!

On the theme of positive thinking, I was very impressed by Arnold Schwarzenegger (of all people) who was on the radio this afternoon talking about California's environmental policies. California is way ahead of the rest of the States in its efforts to reduce carbon emissions, promote Green energy etc. What so impressed me about Arnie was his grasp of the subject and his enthusiasm for tackling the challenges of global warming. He really seems to be bringing people along with him and making them want to be part of the solution - exactly what a person like him with political clout (he is Governor of California, as I'm sure you know) should be doing. If only the Presidential candidates were talking like him. If only more Republicans, and Democrats for that matter, were as right-on and liberal as he seems to be.

The Man can't understand me suddenly gushing over Arnie like this and suggests I go and have a little lie down.

Say it isn't snow...

The first winter storm of the season has been passing through all day. Wind and rain and even a bit of snow, and tonight freezing temperatures and the threat of more snow. Not much will fall round here, and it won't last, but it's a little taste of what's to come. But I gather parts of the UK have been having a winter preview today, too.

Due to the awful weather the kids didn't have any outdoor recess today, which became very apparent this evening as they couldn't stop leaping on the furniture. I'm coming down with a cold, so my tolerance threshold for bouncing, giggling children has been low - I've had a rather irritable time of it with them.

More positive aspects of the day: Exile #2 dropped by for coffee this morning, bringing the daily-more-delightful and fully toddling E5N1 with her. Then later I replaced the canvas on a director's chair which one of our summer guests had had a hand (well, not so much a hand) in destroying.

Knock knock

Anyone there?

A pot-luck supper up at school was the main event of the day. Other than that, just chores and such.

The children have been making up jokes. The Boy is particularly hopeless at it. Please send in your best jokes (knock knock or otherwise) asap.

Scaredy ghosts

We were visited in the night by the Candy Ghoul! Apparently this is a neighbourhood tradition. Someone, unknown, leaves a small bag of sweets on your doorstep after dark, with instructions for you to do the same for three other neighbours. The bag also contains a drawing of a ghost to tape by your front door to show that you have already been visited.

Needless to say, the kids were thrilled, and just as excited to be the Candy Ghoul themselves. But when it came down to it, one of the houses they chose to visit was just too spooky to get close to after dusk, so they ended up throwing the sweets onto the drive and running home as fast as they could.

Generally speaking these days, if the kids aren't at school they are at a Hallowe'en fancy-dress party. But when by chance they find themselves at home they like to devote time to the domestic arts. The Girl continues to cook with enthusiasm (though she's still not at all interested in food), and serves up cups of tea given the least bit of encouragement.

Meanwhile the Boy has taken up sewing in a big way and is proving very adept at cross-stitch embroidery. He has spent hours working on a sampler today - here's a sneak preview of his work-in-progress. Apart from needle-threading and knotting he gets on by himself, and we sit together with our sewing like a couple of nice old ladies - except that from time to time my companion breaks into songs about toilets, which most of the nice old ladies I know tend not to do.

'Twas a dark and stormy night...

...and still is, as I write. Just the night for a Hallowe'en party at a Victorian house on top of a hill in Troy, which is where we were earlier. Nice party, but a nasty drive home through the lashing rain.

Fortunately the Man had arrived home safely last night - it's good to have him back. While he was out on a shopping mission with the Boy this afternoon I suddenly came over all hippy and created this: Albaniana's Patented Peace Pumpkin! I took it as a gift to our hosts this evening.

Speaking of gifts, yesterday the bus driver awarded the Girl with the promised prize for brushing her hair. It's a packaway hairbrush, and a small cuddly squirrel. But if the hair doesn't stay brushed, the driver is going to take the squirrel back. So the Girl is going to keep brushing! I'm speechless. If only I'd known before how easily she could be bought.

Star turns

Today there was a special assembly to celebrate the man for whom the kids' school is named. For purposes of this blog I'll just call him Bob. He died rather young, but lived his short life well and is regarded as an inspiring figure in our little community.

Every child in the school, from Pre-K to (through) 8th Grade, appeared on stage at some point or another, in small groups or as part of whole-class extavaganzas. Music, artwork, poetry and drama all featured. Bob had a wide range of interests and everything got a mention: a couple of acts craftily managed to incorporate his love both of Shakespeare and soccer, which was pretty good going. There was a jazz homage, worthy of any I've listened to endlessly of a Saturday night on the local Public Radio station. There was a short interpretive dance by the three year-olds representing wind blowing leaves. There was even an acrostic rap - not heard one of those before.

Far and away the star of the show, though, was young Exile #4 - but I'll leave it to her proud Dad to describe her moments of glory.

Funny bunny

I've spent much too long on the computer today, getting buggle-eyed trying to design T-shirt order forms, researching other school fundraisers and the like. I had a happy break in the afternoon - a cup of tea with Exile #2. And when the kids got home from school we did a bit of crafty stuff. Otherwise I've just been staring at a screen.

So I'm going to stop now, and tomorrow I will try to do something more blogworthy.

The Man adds...

When we took off from Albany at dawn on Monday the Captain gave me a hint of what was ahead. "If you're going to Chicago it's 50 degrees," he said. "Las Vegas: 55 degrees, Burbank: 46 degrees. And if you're going to Oakland...get yourself a new travel agent."

Guess where I was going?

I was allowed to leave the plane for five minutes in Las Vegas - it's astonishing to see the Gates full of slot machines - but otherwise it was ten hours, one plane, three stops, no entertainment or proper food, until the flight assistant cheerfully announced: "To those of you who have made the journey all the way from Albany you've finally arrived!...Welcome to Lima, Peru."

In fact, only 2 of us made the full journey. After this I was looking forward to some good nights' sleep but as luck would have it, there was a fire in the hotel. We spent an hour standing in the car park at 2am while the fire fighters put it out, but my floor still smelt heavily of smoke the next morning.

However, it must be said that Berkeley is a very appealing town, with lots of bustle and unusual shops and restaurants. The weather - sunny and 80s - has been perfect and the view from my workplace - the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory - across the Bay to San Francisco, Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge, is beyond description - or the limited abilities of a camera phone.

Tufty strikes again

A sad farewell to Mum and Dad at midday as they set off towards Boston then back to England. It has been great having them to stay and we'll miss them.

Meanwhile the Girl and Boy were already at school, and having their photos taken. The Girl, hair groomed and glossy, was a self-styled 'vision in purple'. The Boy was dressed in his best shirt and least holey trousers, but later reported that he had pulled a face for the camera (his favourite, the 'ugly pug') so we'll look forward to seeing that when it's developed. Sigh.

A week or so ago I entered the seasonal spirit and decorated our front steps with mums (floral kind), carved pumpkins and assorted gourds. Quite pretty. But over the last few days the gourds have been going missing, in part or sometimes entirely. Something has been munching on them. I thought it might have been deer (they like to wander through people's yards in search of decorative shrubs etc), but then yesterday we saw a shifty looking cat hanging about round the steps - could he be the phantom nibbler?

But no, I spotted the real culprit this afternoon - a squirrel, hopping about in the backyard with half a mini-pumpkin in his thieving paws. Darn those pesky critters!

All part of the service?

The weather has been a bit bleak for Mum and Dad's last full day here, making a final walk in the woods or the hills a not very attractive prospect. We went into Albany and they did some last minute shopping instead.

The Girl tells me that the new bus driver has offered to give her a gift if she'll keep her hair brushed 'til the end of the week. I'm getting to like this lady! The Girl is somewhat disappointed with me that I'm prepared to hand over a parental responsibilty such as her hair care to the bus driver, but says she will give it a go until Friday in order to see what the gift is.

The bus driver has also promised a reward to the Boy if he'll stop sucking his thumb (he just can't kick the habit), but he reckons that it'll most likely be something to do with Power Rangers so he's not going to bother.

Rakish behaviour

A painfully early start this morning - up at 5am, because the Man had to catch a flight to California. I left him at Albany airport and some hours later heard that he'd got as far as Las Vegas. Whether he then flew on, or decided to stop and gamble away all our savings I shall no doubt find out eventually.

My Dad has spent the last few days labouring in the yard, raking up leaves. The weather has turned considerably colder recently, and the leaves keep falling almost as fast as he can clear them. Still, he has raked up an impressive pile by the side of the road and now we're waiting for the municipal Noo-noo to come along and scooch them up.

We all like sheep...

'...except me!' announced the Girl, which was a shame because we had just arrived at the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck.

There was more wool/yarn/fleece/felt than you could shake a stick at - barnloads of the stuff. And then more barns. It was all a bit overwhelming (or should that be 'overwoolming'?).

And there were barnloads of actual sheep, too, all nicely washed and groomed for show.

Luckily for those in our party not mad keen on sheep or wool, there were also a few other diversions. Frisbee-catching canines for example. And the children were particuarly tickled by this guy and his dummy act - awesomely funny, if toilet humour is your thing.

All in all it wasn't quite the event we'd hoped for - so often 'less is more', and there was just too much at this festival. Still, it was a day out, and it gave me the opportunity to resist buying a book called 'Knitting with Dog Hair' (can you imagine loving your dog so much that you'd want to wear it?). And Dad bought me a pair of alpaca double thickness mittens which should help my freezy fingers survive the winter - thank you Dad!

Can anyone identify the classical/Biblical misquote in today's title?

Can't say Fairer than that

As I was arranging the tombola table last night a small girl came up, pointed to a painting of a ballerina and said 'I've got that picture in my room!'. 'Not any more you don't, kiddo!' I nearly replied, but thought better of it.

I'll admit to having had some last minute qualms about how the whole tombola experience would go down in my host country. For a start, what, if anything, would be donated?

I needn't have worried. There was a plentiful supply of 'regifted' items, most of rather higher quality, frankly, than you'd find at your average British village hall event. But the milk-and-sugar servers shaped like Friesian cows were spot on.

Now, what makes a tombola so popular back home is, I think, that it so neatly encapsulates the experience of being British. By no means is everyone a winner. You take a chance, you get your hopes up, and more often than not you're disappointed. And even if you do win something, usually that's quite disappointing, too. How was I going to sell this set-yourself-up-to-fail concept to Americans?

After a slow start, I definitely won a receptive audience. In fact I fear I have sealed the fate of at least five kids who will now certainly go on to become hardened gamblers - they couldn't get enough of it! And towards the end, as the prizes dwindled, there was a rush of teenagers vying unaccountably to win a can of tomatoes. I was cleaned out by 2 o'clock, a good hour before the rest of the Fair ended. Result!

Though of course, it won't be until we run it again next year that I'll find out if the tombola has truly been embraced. When that Friesian milk-and-sugar combo makes a reappearance, then I'll be satisfied that my work here is done.