The Weekend approacheth...

And so do my Mom and Dad! Yippee!

Nothing like retirement to make folks who live in Tampa feel like a trip to Savannah makes a reasonable prospect of an add-on trip to DC! I'm SO happy they are coming and so are the girls. And Rob!

I think we'll take them out for a fancy-shmancy dinner downtown for a fun outing and also for display of gratitude for all their kindnesses and care while Rob was sick this winter.

Also on the agenda are a trip to the pumpkin orchard, jack-o-lantern carving and selection of Halloween costumes. It will be fun to do with the parental units. Halloween is SUCH a major event in my neighborhood. We must have about 200 little ghouls each year and its a many hour event. I wish the folks would get to see that part. We actually have one group of Dads who escort the kids as they gather treats...the Dads roll a cooler full of beer along and have a great night of it as well! Its a great community night. Lots of neighborly chatting. Nice.

I think all the Mullen girls want to be pirates. argh.

Rob
is doing OK, pain being managed well with the elephantine doses of narcotics. He's scheduled for the epidural cortisone tomorrow. We're all looking forward to the immediate relief they've promised. He may, however, have some trouble saying bye-bye to the happy pills. He's been delightful company!

Home-making
Me and Rob spent a couple of hours last weekend on duelling laptops downstairs browsing furniture online. We've finally finished putting together the major furniture elements for our living and dining rooms. I'll post pictures soon but I'll go ahead and tell you that I love it, love it, love it. The rooms are going to be just Rob-Kathy beautiful. Exactly what we wanted which explains why it took us 8 years to get it all done. Not that having three children or brushes with death have slowed us any...nah.

And did I mention that no sooner had I posted my desire for a new knitting chair for the family room than our current one broke? Creepy, isn't it? So it was that I also purchased a new lovely brown leather recliner from Storehouse (did you hear they're out of business? I got such a deal!). Its kind of shaped like a club chair, not real recliner-y looking. I'm sure you know EXACTLY what I mean. Anyway---all these lovely new things are making us happy little campers looking at months of indoor recreation.

Other sick people
Haley has been out of school four days this week with the nastiest cough I've ever heard. Guess what? I woke up very ill this morning.

Big week next
Next week is the annual conference that I've been helping to plan all year. I get to moderate sessions, which is less of a burden than presenting papers. The paper that I presented in this forum last year came out with the highest marks for relevance and importance in the evaluations. Try not letting THAT go to your head...

Anyway, I'll be away all the week doing that gig. Its my major professional development and I always enjoy it.