just not so full of bloggy news. gearing up for Agatha’s birthday, Christmas here and away, and, of course, MilleyBirthdaySeason tm. am a little bummed, as usual, what with the relentlessly soggy dark weather, and anxiety around all those events i just mentioned. also, and there’s no easy way to write this without sounding attention-craving, or too blase, but my gramma died last week after suffering the indignity known as “Alzheimer’s” for far too long a time. oh, and i messed my back up. again, it’s difficult to write about such things whilst striking the ‘right’ tone: i am sad, but not too sad. i am down, but not too down.
on a lighter note, i am craftily planning for agatha’s fairy tea party birthday party. 9 pairs of wings, 9 wands, 18 metres of tulle, 5 m elastic, various bobbles and craft supplies have been purchased. we have designed invitations…okay, we have modified a template in Publisher, which we will print out, address, cover in fairy stickers and mail to 8 lucky invitees. there will be crown making, cookie decorating, pass the parcelling, and general merriment. am looking forward to it, and to taking pictures of it for your bemusement.
so…that’s really about it for now. i hope that the fall is finding you still chipper, or at least, cozy and not ill. Question o’ the day: what’s the best thing about November?

Greetings, all. It’s that time again. Fall is in the air. Or, at least, it should be. currently, i sit typing while the very non-November sun comes streaming through the windows, making photo editing challenging, if not impossible. But, in any case, (wow, do i love the commas today) what you will be served today is a scrumptious potpourri of harvesty loveliness.

Beginning with gourds.

These graced the table last night at the Koch’s.
And these, our own creations,
Edmund’s

(agatha carved this one completely by herself)
lastly, the piece de resistance:


(there’s a reason my nickname is Jennifer “A Bit Much” Milley.)

Next, we have the Annual “Crazy Hat and Hair Day” photo:

As mentioned previously, we spent All Hallow’s Eve avec les Kochs and their lovely children:

The Milley contingent went as a selection of characters from…see if you can guess:

a fantastic time was had by all, leaving everyone sugar-sated and tuckered out.

and, a last one, just b/c i can’t resist the cuteness, Cindy Lou Who poses for her close-up:

Question o’ the Trick or Treaty Day: What’s your favourite Hallowe’en treat?

I spend several hours making this:

and for a closeup:

hope aurora likes it, lisa.

Question o’ the day: What do you do with an unexpectedly unscheduled day? What would you like to do?

Collages. I am in love with them. How they distill a particular day/time/moment into happy juice. Obviously then, there are more to follow.

Behold our first day at the amazing San Diego Zoo. (Yes, we needed 2 days to see most of it. it’s 160 acres.) Say what you will about keeping animals in captivity–i agree with lots of the reasons against doing so–the kids getting to actually see endangered critters, and learn about them, is pretty great. also, the zoo is delightfully obsessive about social and environmental responsibility. par example, they water the rainforests every day with a total of only 5 gallons (!) of mist. likewise, the disposable cutlery at the food locales is composed of biodegradable sugar cane. crazy. i personally appreciated that all the critters have ‘people free’ zones available at all times, especially the poor goats at the petting zoo. but i digress. here’s collage numero uno:

The next collage is an assortment of pics from that night, on the beach in Coronado. It was perhaps my favourite night of the whole trip: the light was truly spectacular, fantastic for photos, and the sand, well, my children inadvertently brought cups of it home in their pockets and hoods, so delighted were they in its powdery white smoothness.

And, sadly, we come to the last of the collagy goodnes. One final pastiche of photos from our time in beautiful San Diego. sniff sniff. if only the water and highways were better, i really would like to winter there.

Okay, I lied. there’s one more. the last night we went out to dine, I got to try the famous “In and Out” burger. dude, i had to talk myself out of ordering a second. so tasty.

there you have it. some highlights, some lowlights, the works. hope you enjoyed the collages.
Question o’ the day, and a pretty narcissistic one at that (though, I have spent about 3 hours putting this stuff together for you, so…:)): what is your favourite photo from our trip, and why?

Sorry it’s taken this long to post photos; it’s been a crazy time, and we threw ourselves right back into work and school yesterday without even pausing to take a single solitary breath (kind of like this sentence). That being said, WE’RE HOME!! WE TOOK PHOTOS!! YOU’RE GOING TO SEE THEM!! well, not all of them. i am not a huge fan of the exhaustive vacationary index and slideshow-type experience. instead, i proffer to you some photos, some collages, and some brief vignettes in the life of the SoCalMilleys.
Shall we begin?
Day 1:

Our first day at Disney 09

Pretty typical day at the park.
New revelations: Edmund is terrified of anything remotely dark. Mom and Dad reel, since about 75% of Disney rides and shows take place in the dark, or in a theatre, or some other dimly-lit space.
Sightings: the lovely Gail, who scooted away before i could snap a pic. It was great to see you! What a fun place for a chance meeting.
Surprises: Hallowe’een Trick Or Treat Party

Agatha and Edmund had no idea we’d tucked away costumes. Mom and Dad had no idea that Agatha would get to do this:

It’s pretty special to meet a Disney character, let alone dance for 20 minutes with one in a parade/party.

Day 2:

this shows our day up until about lunchtime, when the whole thing took a turn. Agatha ordered salmon, buttered noodles, and grapes for lunch. Since we hadn’t had any issues with food up to that point, we hadn’t made any requests about her allergies. Unfortunately, she took one bite of salmon and had a pretty severe reaction–itchy throat not soothed by Benadryl, puffy face, rash all over her body–and ended up covered in sick in the First Aid station. Turns out there are pecans elsewhere on the menu, and apparently on the hands of the person prepping agatha’s food. Scary for all concerned, but made much less traumatic by a) the incredible and competent staff in the mini-hospital b) vouchers for an entirely new outfit, including these bad boys:

today is the first day since that she hasn’t donned them. and that’s only because it’s pouring rain, and they might get wrecked.

Day 3:
Dad makes a schedule that makes everyone, even the tentative Edmund, happy. We have a really good day, culminating in a from-the-hotel-suite viewing of the fireworks.

Okay, this is getting a little long. Will publish the San Diego segment of the trip later today, once the collages have been created.
Question o’ the Day: What’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to you on a vacation? What’s the best thing?

the kids don’t know, but tomorrow we’re winging to California. again. to disneyland. again. and to san diego, too! am so excited i have that Christmas-Eve-Sick-Stomach feeling of anticipation roiling around in my gut. we’ll be wired this time, so you’ll probably hear from us. jaegen’s even planning, perhaps, to do his own blog. i’ll keep you posted.
Question o’ the day: where would you go right now, if you could go anywhere?

Seriously. These are products I found in the dollar store today. I’m not sure if it’s a translation thing, or what, but these items can be yours for only a dollar…no, wait, $1.25 now. but still. Wouldn’t you love to take one of these babies out on the town?

What a conversation starter on a hot night of bingo! And they come in so many colours:

There now. don’t you feel amused? On a more uplifting note, I also captured this charming slogan on the back of the van ahead of me:
In case anyone was in any doubt about his awesomeness. or in need of a truly spectacular display of fonts.

Question o’ the day: what’s the most shocking/hilarious product you’ve ever encountered?

Agatha’s first book is finally (after 4 days) complete! All hers from conception to publication, I give you

Ellie the Pig’s First Day of School
by Agatha Milley

Question O’ the Day: What was your favourite self-started project as a kid?

We were practising this morning. Agatha prefers the “Cat-Who-Just-Swallowed-Canary” no-teeth smile. I’d like her to show those cute little ferret teeth. The result? Decide for yourself:

Question o’ the day: What was your best school photo ever? Was it the outfit? The expression? The hair? The cheezed out studio background?

What a glorious autumn! For all of you who wrote that the weather is your favourite thing about this season, for once, I have to agree. I don’t think I could ever tire of endlessly sunny, warm, breezy days, with crisp mornings, and harvesty goodness all around.

Yesterday I decreed it “Gardening Day” chez nous. I have needed to weed in the veggie patch for sometime, but I was not expecting the chore to transform into a treasure hunt, spying and unearthing all the goodies the garden has been producing, unbeknownst to me, for the duration of the summer.
First, I discovered that our onion had had babies:
ooh, arty onion shot….

Then, tiny mutant carrots revealed themselves under the broad branches of a tomato plant. We have three happy, squat little orange pumpkins, and three more japanese (green) ones still on the vine.

Thanks to climate change (I think) the warmer temperatures mean that my tomatoes and strawberries still think it’s go time, yielding blossoms,
and even berries!!!

Now, all of this may not float your boat. Before this summer, I loathed gardening blogs, all, “the strawberries aren’t getting enough boron, ” and “have you tried soap and water on the squash leaves?” now, i’m afraid, i’m a proselytizing gardening convert, over exuberant about dirt and sun and what to do with a bumper tomato crop. You’ll just have to forgive my naive enthusiasm. I’m sure next year everything will die, and I will quit gardening forever.

Speaking of tomatoes, however, I’ve harvested a few more this week, and was so charmed with their scarlet insides that I photographed a dinner in production. WARNING: FOOD PORN TO FOLLOW. If you don’t like close-up shots of food, you’ll have to look away now.

ta da. now, if only food always looked that appetizing during the prep stages.

What about you? Question o’ the day: What is your favourite fall food? I think i’ve asked this before, but, maybe you’ve changed your choice recently.

now, i leave you with a mostly unflattering shot of me holding the recently felled giant sunflower that towered over our garden plot until yesterday. the birds, ants, and squirrels picked it completely clean.