Mt. St. Leaf

After a tough weekend, we got back to the business of taking care of the house, which included the three metric tons of leaves in the front yard. I don't remember that many leaves actually on our trees in the front yard, and yet there they were, spread all across the yard like some sort of vaguely interesting carpet. Daddy approached the mass of brown and orange with his blower, holding the stance of a Ghostbuster ready for action. And yes, there was action! As Mommy was blowing, Madison dashed out to battle the leaf monster, rolling and throwing herself at the swirling vortex of fallen leaves. I wish we could have gotten photos of it - the stack of leaves was bigger than most pieces of furniture! It was that perfect pile of leaves to take a flying leap into, and Mommy was not going to stop Madison, who was sorely tempted to do just that.

Daddy finally finished painting the deck a bit today - the weather was actually pretty nice outside for working. Too bad we had an appointment in Forsyth at 2:00, or we'd be getting a whole lot more done today.

Our appointment was at Doc Williams' place for an adjustment. Madison had a great time as always, squealing loudly and giggling as the chiropractor did his work. Mommy and Daddy didn't exactly squeal. We more or less just got tired. That sort of relaxes you, and then you're ready for a snooze.

Only we didn't snooze. We made a quick trip to Goodwill to drop some items off - a few bags, actually. We also shopped a bit: Mommy got a new shirt, and Daddy picked up some books for Madison. Also, a record from a musical about Sherlock Holmes. I'll have to look that one up - I had no idea!

Madison had a good, long bath tonight, as the rolling in leaves sort of left her a little dirty. Tonight we'll probably all go to bed early, as each one of us is somewhat exhausted from the long weekend. Tomorrow, I imagine we'll start to catch up on sleep, work and Christmas season activities. It's amazing how much we do each Christmas: there are photos to pick up, cards to send, gifts to buy, wreaths to hang up, and a Nativity set to put in the front yard. It's a good thing we already got our tree up and decorated, or else I fear we'd be somewhat overwhelmed!

MADISON'S BOOK CLUB

We read this book tonight - and if you didn't notice already, we're fans of William Joyce in books and movies. Rolie Olie is a series of books that Madison likes reading, and it is also a series she likes to watch on television. There's a Christmas special, and a Christmas book as well called "Snowie Rolie." The artwork in this book is friendly and familiar, and quite colorful too. Rolie and Zowie have to take their snowman to Chillsville before he melts, and when they're there they meet a legend: Klanky Klaus! He's a robotic version of Santa, who welcomes everyone to Chillsville with open arms - along with his snowman army. This was a fun seasonal read - we're doing different Christmas stories each night this month, and each one after we take a link off of the advent chain. Right now it says just nineteen days to go!