So, it's the end of the holiday weekend, and I seem to have survived mostly intact, and without eating too much. That's quite an achievement.

I am very thankful for my family, both here at home, and around town. I would also like to add a shout-out to my extended adopted "family", with their furry friends. Seeing them as often as we do can really help cheer a person up.

I managed to win a contest over the weekend, and won myself two Winterhawks tickets for an upcoming game. WOOHOO!!!

Cheers!

Hey hey hey!!  Thanksgiving is almost upon us, which means we're already almost a month into the Christmas season. Doesn't that just get you going??  Sure gets me going... away from the malls for the most part, anyway.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to three, yes THREE holiday get-togethers this year. Ahh, the joys of family and friends. Fortunately, they're not all within 36 hours of each other.

I wanted to let my readers know that because of the upcoming holidays, I likely won't be posting much for the next few days. Rest assured, I haven't forgotten my blogging responsibilities, I'm just enjoying my holidays as a parent and husband should. 

Don't eat too much, and I'll see you all on the other side!

Cheers!

We've started celebrating birthdays now. With one just past, and two more in our home, plus family and friends, we're going to be busy with cards and stuff between now and the end of the calendar year. It's going to be fun, that's for sure.

Speaking of fun, we've begun the final phase of preparation for the annual Teddy Bear Toss hockey game. If you're not familiar with this, it's possibly the best promotion I've ever seen. The fans bring new and almost new teddy bears and other stuffed animals to the game. When the home team scores their first goal, all of the critters get tossed onto the ice. Then, all the critters all get collected and donated to various charities in town. Here in Portland, they go to places like the kids hospitals',  the police and fire departments, and other places that help kids during the year. This year alone, my family and friends have collected about 800 critters. We start in the spring, hitting garage sales and such. When we tell people what we're doing, and why we're collecting them, they almost always give us a volume discount.

Happy Veteran's Day, and a salute to all our vets serving everywhere on this great earth, as well as to those who have served in the past. A personal thanks to both of my grandfathers, who served during WW2 and afterwards. Thanks!

Nothing like typing a blog while you've got two dogs playing at and/or ON your feet, literally. One is 16 weeks old, and the other is about 17 months old, so they've got tons of energy. I'd love to be able to can it and use it when I needed a quick boost... 

It's been cold here the last couple of nights, but now we're trading the near-freezing weather for slightly warmer but rainy weather. Not sure which I'd rather have...

My wife and I had lunch with my dad the other day in downtown Portland. We tried out a Lebanese-Syrian place. Excellent, wonderful... I can't use enough descriptive terms. It was amazing! She's somewhat adventurous when it comes to food, so I suggested a "sampler plate" if you will. Turns out it was just enough for the two of us to share. A pleasant time, and a good time to catch up on a few details of Dad's recent trip to Europe.

See y'all soon... Cheers!

So, the country has decided... we've decided on governors, mayors, a President, and more. Nice to see the process still works.

I was up early today, and saw the extended forecast. Coming up this weekend in Portland, the low temps are expected to get down around freezing. WOW! First time this season, if I remember correctly. Guess it's time to make sure the window is closed at night, now. Better get some wood for the fireplace as well...

I heard today that "Santa" is going to be appearing at several stores, to kick off the holiday shopping season. WHAT??? Back in my day, the Christmas season didn't truly kick off until Black Friday, but this year, I saw tons of holiday stuff before Halloween even arrived. The stores just can't stop themselves...  (sigh)

Stay warm!

Today is Election Day, the day that we all make our choice for the next leader of our country. It's quite a process to watch on the news. Again, I'm not going to get caught up in the chaos of which party to vote for, and I'm not turning this blog into a political rant.

However...

I urge all of you to go out there and vote; exercise your right to make your choice for all of your leaders, whether nationally, regionally, or just locally. Ballot measures great and small will be decided, and could affect your state for years to come.

(steps off soapbox)  There, I've said enough about the elections.

Cheers!

First, I'd like to state that I'm not planning to get involved with all the election hoopla. Everyone has their party, their candidates, and their side of the ballot measures. I have mine. There, that's said and done.

Now, to today's regularly scheduled statements... my older son came home yesterday and told me that he needed something new for work. OK, I can handle that. But, when he told me that the new stuff he needed was a Nerf gun and darts, I just shook my head. Apparently, that's new store policy, and comes straight from the store director. They're all allowed to shoot each other with Nerf darts. I wouldn't have believed it, but my wife is training inthe same store, and during a training session, someone knocked at the door, and when the door opened, the store director shot the trainer with two darts.

My son bought the Nerf gun himself, and the extra 50 darts and the additional shells. I think it's kinda crazy, knowing that he's going around the workplace with a Nerf shotgun and ready to blast other employees.
I was at the store with him getting dinner today, and I must admit to some looking over my shoulder waiting to get caught in the crossfire. We made it out of the store without being shot at, and I think my son was disappointed.

Cheers for now!

Heard from my dad a couple days ago, he's about ready to fly back from Zurich. Can't wait to hear all about his European Vacation!

Our Halloween was non-traditional; normally, we have spent it with our friends across town, handing out candy, and mostly laughing the evening away with games and stuff. This year, we were at the hockey game. Good game too, Portland won.  Woohoo!

Dog update: Sweetpea continues to get big, and quickly too. Azure has been going through a barking phase, but we're working on training that out of him. Cody just doesn't seem to mind about much of anything.

I've got almost 80 pages written in my D. B. Cooper novel. I hope to have it finished completely by the end of the year. At that point, I'll likely end up talking to Powell's bookstore, and the publishing center they've got.

Cheers for now!