From the Unique Lemming…

I think I have the answer to my online photo gallery. I’ll stick with the Gallery2 package.  They’ve made great headway in the last year since I upgraded and things seem to be working quite well.
 
I’ve noticed that Drupal has a module for Gallery integration, so I’ll see if I can’t embedd my existing gallery instance into this app.  Hmmm….otherwise, I’ll just cross link to it for images.
 
I’m uploading a slew of photos of the kids (Colette’s bday and thanksgiving) and will notify the masses soon.
 
Moving on….
 
I went and got some nice (and cheap) boots for Colette today.  She is taking horse back riding lessons now and needs boots.  We have her in a program called Hunkapi.  It’s run by ASU, and teaches the kids how to ride bareback first.  It’s a great program and I’m really excited that Colette is interested in it.  I mean, come on…if we are going to be in AZ, we might as well get as much use out of what the state has to offer, eh?
 
I’ll post links to images soon.

From the Unique Lemming…

Tomorrow is the big Thanksgiving day.  This is a day that has significant family meaning and sentimentality for me.
 
When I was growing up my family got together up in Buffalo at the ‘matriarchs’ house, my Grandmother Mary Stiker. This was my mother’s mom.  My mother, father and I would drive up to Buffalo from NJ on the weekend before.  This was an 8 hour drive or more depending upon snow.  But prior to the big interstates, this was a lengthy trip through lots of different towns.  Now I imagine it is a straight shot and more likely 6 hours.  Anyway, we’d make this big treck up to the homestead.
 
We’d arrive and hang around for days visiting with cousins and aunts and uncles, etc…  It would usually snow.  Then on Thanksgiving, we’d all eat ourselves silly.  Typically, at least 9 to 15 people showed up for the event.
 
I have nothing but warm memories about this.  Playing with my cousins Michael and Andy.  Kanasta.  Fires in the fire place.  Running around in multiple feet of snow.
 
It was all warm and cozy and set the stage for the rest of my life.  I have a burning desire to spend this holiday with family and friends.  Some years it works, some years it does not.  We always have a big feast though.  That is NEVER missed.  EVER.
 
In San Francisco, we’ve had our friends Katie and Nick over for quite a few years.  For seven years we spent it with our housemate Robin and later on her partner Ladie.  Sometimes Robin would run off to the East coast to do the holiday with family.  Sometimes with us.
 
This year we are spending it with our friend Sarah Brown.
 
So anyway, tonight I baked in prepration for the big day.  2 pumpkin pies, 1 apple pie, and a 6 braid challah.  All of this is from scratch mind you, including the pie crust.  Mmmmm…
 
Tomorrow I cook a turkey.  Kim will be relegated to the side dishes.  This is quite odd since she is by far the better cook between the two of us.  It’s just that Thanksgiving is my day, so I like to make it happen.
 
🙂  Happy Thanksgiving all.

From the Unique Lemming…

For halloween this year I went as an arthritic old man.
 
I have this crazy virus that has all my joints in both arms aching like a s.o.b.
 
I truly have a glimpse at my future with arthritis. ugh.
 
Now…the kids did have fun tontight.  Julian came back from trick-or-treating covered in chocolate.  All over his hands and his face.  Too cute.