Vet visit

Look who was so excited to go to the vet today that he jumped in the carrier all by himself. They both had good check-ups and Muffles' heart murmur, which was slightly detected last year, has disappeared. The vet said that can happen as they age. Interesting. This year Muffles weighed 9.64 pounds and August weighed 13.12 pounds. That's really close to what they weighed last year. B and L both went along to carry the cats into the office and while B sat in the waiting room during the exam since the exam room was small, L stayed in and didn't stop talking. At the end of the appointment she even showed the vet how she holds Muffles up by his arms and dangles him as her "cat beard." It's safe to say they won't forget us anytime soon.

Last mow

B jumped at the chance to earn a little cash doing the last lawn-mowing of the season, hopefully.

Beautiful night in Chicago

The temperature was about 70 degrees last night and we thought it was a perfect evening to enjoy dinner in Chicago. We went to our usual pizza destination. I was hoping to sit outside for a while and people-watch, but we were seated right away. L wore her new leggings and had to pose for a few pictures. She was stylin'.

Here's B and E walking ahead of us, deep in conversation, on the way back to the car.

Huskie Invite

E was up at 4:45 this morning to catch the bus at the high school at 5:30 to head to the Indian Boundary golf course for the annual Huskie Invite Tournament. E scored a 91 and wasn't happy about that, but the team managed to come in first place! And being a co-captain, she got to hold the first-place plaque in this photo her coach took.

August

A throne for her phone

E's latest project, still in the works, is making a "Game of Thrones" throne for her iPhone.

Togetherness

Puberty?

L bought this beard at the dollar store for a school project she's doing this week. She put it on to scare E. That didn't work so well, but we all had to laugh when L stroked her beard and said, "It looks like puberty has set in."

Morphsuit

Guess who couldn't wait until October to get her Halloween costume? Best part was that she bought it herself.

Napping

Celtic Swing

E was out golfing again today. This time she played with the team in the Celtic Swing Invite at Broken Arrow. Last year they got sixth place. It started raining today so they weren't able to finish, so no one placed. E recently received her senior sweatshirt and although the senior girls haven't debuted it at school yet, she decided to wear it to the match today. All the girls have their graduation year on the back and their nickname. E's nickname was given to her a few years ago by a teammate. It's a "Nemo" reference.

Let there be music

L is debating whether to try out for the school's Jazz Band. However, she plays flute and flutes aren't in jazz band. This afternoon she pulled out E's clarinet to see if she'd be able to audition with that. E gave her a few friendly pointers. Really.

E shoots a 40!

E's been having her ups and downs on the golf course lately. She did horribly Tuesday night and didn't want to talk about it. Last night, though, the team played at the South Shore Club and she scored a 40 - four strokes fewer than the next best scorer on her team. It's nice when the teen walks in the door happy. She said the difference was that the South Shore golf is not as slopey as the Oak Park Country Club course where they were Tuesday. Whatever the reason, it's pretty clear E needs to work on her putting if she's going to become more consistent in her scoring.

Sitting pretty

B's homework load has increased significantly this year and he's been spending more time in his room working on it. The only chair he had in his room was on old dining room chair and every time he moved it I could hear it in the kitchen. He needed an office chair with wheels so we went out looking yesterday. He knew he wanted arms and I had to talk him out of a few big, leather executive chairs. He settled on this mesh-backed chair and managed to put it together himself.

Golfer girl

A couple of pictures coach has of E on the team's website.

Fall decor

Apple Crisp Bars

While Andy was watching E's team play golf yesterday in Deerfield, I decided to make Apple Crisp Bars. I'm not sure the center was baked long enough when I put the caramel on - the squares in the middle turned out a little soggy. Overall though, these are fabulous. Apples, caramel, brown sugar, butter and some oats. What's not to like? I didn't want to end up eating them all myself so I took some to church this morning for Fellowship Hour. Oh, and E's team scored third place in the tournament. She had a good round and scored 89!

Cat nap

B and August

They call this work?

Poor Andy. He had to get up at 4 this morning to pick up his boss (playing photographer at left) to get to the airport and fly to Miami. Here they are working - at least that's what they call it - in sunny Miami Beach. I hope they're going to share that margarita, but with the week Andy has had, I doubt it. They're already trying to plan a trip to go back. Maybe next time the wives should go along?

Asian flair

A bouquet of Chinese lanterns from my garden placed in front of "dream" which E wrote in Japanese.

Train problems

For the first time in 24 years of riding the El to school or work every day, Andy experienced his first derailment today. He was headed to work when a wheel fell off the train. He had to be bused to another stop to get on another train. Fortunately, no one was injured. Here's part of the account from the Tribune:

Trains were stopped on the CTA Blue Line for two hours Tuesday morning (my note: It is Wednesday. Where have all the copy editors gone? Oh, that's right. Laid off.) after a minor derailment near the Pulaski station.

The wheel of a car on an 8-car (and again, according to AP Style, the 8 should have been spelled out. Ugh.) inbound train derailed around 7:15 a.m., according to CTA and fire officials. Trains were running again in both directions, with delays, by 9:15 a.m.

Ambulances were sent to the scene as a precaution.

Favorite spot

August likes to sit and sleep on top of the freezer in the basement.

Clean at last

Last weekend while I was gone, Andy and B washed the outside of the windows in the dining room. We've been in this house for 18 years and this was the first time (shameful, I know) that we've washed the outside of the windows. This weekend, Andy and B finished the windows by cleaning the ones in the living room. Some of them are so clean it's hard to tell the glass is there. B said he'll come back in 18 years to clean them again. Funny guy.

Visiting grandma

L went with Andy and me yesterday afternoon to visit grandma in her rehab facility. The weather was perfect so we went on a walk and let L "drive" grandma (and she was fast!) around by the pond where we sat and talked a while. L was a pretty good driver outside; inside, not so much. I think she bumped grandma's foot at least twice once we got back inside. I don't think grandma minded. She's doing well and hopefully will be home soon.

Clay projects

L took her summer wheel-throwing class from July 28-Aug. 7 and picked up the finished projects yesterday before heading to her friend R's house. She said using the wheel was pretty difficult so she mostly formed the clay in her hands. Perhaps more than the clay, I think she liked hanging out with her new friends and playing music for the class on her iPad. Oh, and of course, she really liked the daily snack runs to the 7-Eleven next door. She made the tardis for her friend, J, and gave R's family a small bowl she made (partially) on the pottery wheel. She wants to give the Pokemon to one of B's friends and the cat is, of course, August.

Let the games begin

After a quick downpour this afternoon I took L over to her friend R's house. His family went to a friend's house where they (children and adults) play 'The Hunger Games' with assorted Nerf guns. L went with them once before and she was thrilled to be able to return. She dressed in all black so could hide and not get hit by the opponents' Nerf bullets. She brought glowsticks and a bag of chocolate chip cookies to the party. When she got to R's house, she handed over the cookies and said, "Here are my homemade cookies." Then she admitted that she did make cookies (from a mix) last night but she burned every one of them. They all had a good laugh about that.

Curriculum night

Andy and I went to the high school tonight to attend the curriculum night. The parking was viturally non-existent. We usually park in the church lot for high school events, but it was full of teachers' cars as it is during the school days! We parked about three blocks away and were late for the presentation in B's history class. We went to most of B's classes since we already know some of E's teachers and what they expect from the students. I was not thrilled that B's English class is in the highest part of the school which is referred to as the penthouse. That's a lot of stairs. I know I would have loved B's graphic design class. He's taking it because it's a computer course, but the students are going to design a text-heavy band concert poster, a book jacket and a print of their original art. So much fun.

Team pic

Here's E with her golf team. She played a match tonight and scored 41 - tying the team's other top scorer. The Huskies easily won the match.

B and Muffles

When B walks in the door from school, Muffles runs to the door then follows him around the house. If he goes upstairs to change, Muffles follows. If he goes into the kitchen, Muffles follows. Who says cats aren't happy to see their owners?

Corn everywhere

Leaving the farm ... the beginning of the familiar ride back home.