Sunday, October 27 2019

Dear Journal,

Good morning everyone! Happy Sunday, especially to those who also decided to sleep in. I feel like I've been sleeping extra hours all weekend, waking up around 8:30 yesterday and pushing into the 9 range this morning. I must be subconsciously priming my body to deal with daylight savings time. By the way, our clocks go back one hour exactly one week from now, so look alive out there.

Yesterday was a pretty wonderful day. Marissa was at an agility trial all day with Ziggy, to the Rod, Ollie, and I held down the fort all day. We heated up some leftovers for lunch, walked to the grocery store, then cooked our first butternut squash soup. I was pretty blown away at how easy it was, especially considering how strange the squash is to work with. It was also very perilous to cut into, and I was grateful I had a sharp knife and things went smoothly. After the squash was halfed, it went into a roasting pan with some onions and carrots. It was fun to take out the roasting pan again - the last time I had seen it was while making a ham for easter. While the vegetables were roasting, I made bacon bits, and then just for kicks I also cooked some cashews in butter and rosemary. The smell of toasted nuts, herb butter, crispy bacon, and simmering soup filled the house when Marissa got home in the evening, and I was at peak fall-themed cooking snobbery. In fact, just for extra points I made sure the Fall EP by Jon Foreman was playing when we sat down to eat.

After dinner, Marissa put Rod to bed, then we finished watching Marissa's pick, the temple of doom. While it was a far better choice than our last movie, The Last Kiss, the Temple of Doom was really stressful to watch. It was like they fit three Indiana Jones movies into one, making it as dense with action as they could. "This movie is like a coked out version of Raiders of the Lost Ark," I complained. "That's very possible, this came out in the 80's. Everyone was probably doing coke," Marissa added. "Look at how much is happening on the screen!" I yelled. "How could you possibly even summarize what happened in this movie? It's non-stop problems & anxiety. This movie is basically the Polar Express"

After the movie, we took a short quesadilla break to let our heart rates drop back down to normal. Marissa and I chit chatted in the kitchen while we waited for the cast iron skillet to heat. I rifled through our cabinet, carefully selecting three or four hot sauces I wanted to sample with my quesadilla. "We don't have any good plates to sample hot sauce with," I griped. Marissa laughed, "What exactly are you looking for?" "I don't know," I whined. "I like to taste just a few drops from each, but I don't want them to mix together." Marissa flashed a smile and flew down the stairs into the basement. A few moments later she returned, holding a plastic paint pallet. "This would be perfect. I used to use these for water color, but I don't do that as much anymore. You can have this one." The idea was hilarious, but so perfect and practical. I added a few drops of hot sauce in each little dimple and stacked a few wedges of quesadilla in the middle. "This is genius," I declared. I was like the Bob Ross of hot sauces.

We settled in on the couch again and watched some of Paul Rudd's new show, Living with Yourself. We have one episode left, but as long as the stick the ending, it's already one of our favorite shows. I've said it before, and I'll say it again now - everything Paul Rudd touches is gold. If anything, this show has taught me that there was room for improvement in every Paul Rudd movie or tv show - he could have been playing two parts instead of only one.

This morning, Marissa is getting ready for another agility trial this morning. Rodney and I are hoping to shower, go grocery shopping, and return in time to watch the Bears game at noon. Between breaks and after the game, we're going to make some pizza. Rodney also wants to go to the park. His stuffed giraffe has a cough, and he thinks the fresh air would be good for him. If you think about it, having a kneck that big, there's probably a lot that can go wrong, and a giraffe sized soar throat must be pretty painful. If you are friends with Baby Giraffe on Facebook or LinkedIn, please send along your best wishes, this is a tough one.

Hope you all have a wonderful day today. Watch the Bears Game, eat pizza, and take care of the stuffed baby giraffe in your family.