Another Spoonful of Gritty Kibble Pudding

**So far, everything I have put up on the freecycling bulletin board has been taken. It's proving to be a really good way to clear out the garage and get things to people who will actually use them. Except for yesterday, where I missed a connection with someone who was supposed to be picking some stuff up.

**Sheri had a birthday this past week. Exactly which one, I am not allowed to specify. As a means of recognizing this non-specific event, we decided to head down to the 3rd Sunday Market in Bloomington. This is a antique/flea market that we had been meaning to check out for a while. But since it's down in Bloomington, and since we don't care for the idea of getting up at 5AM to get there, we had been putting off going. But this weekend provided us with the chance to go down the night before, stay in a hotel, get up and go to the show, and then drive home. Two hours on the road each day is far more manageable as far as we are concerned. So we wandered down on Saturday afternoon, stopping at the antique mall in El Paso along the way. After we got our room and found where the show was going to be, we meandered into Bloomington in search of dinner. By sheer random chance, we ended up at a nice Japanese steak house. Neither one of us were on the mood for the table show, so we sat by the sushi bar and enjoyed a quiet dinner. after feeding ourselves, we went over to Eastland mall to walk around a bit and let dinner settle. I was quite surprised at how few empty stores there were. Many of the malls in out area are teetering on the verge of becoming extinct, but Eastland only had a few empty stores and seemed pretty busy for a Saturday night. While we were there, I chatted on the phone with Cromag while Sheri took the opportunity to look for shoes. Once we had exhausted the potential of the mall (not a single toy or game store!!), we decided to see a movie, since there was a theater a couple of blocks from our hotel. After that, we tumbled into bed, wondering what the next day would bring.

We got up to a cool grey morning, checked out of the hotel, and headed over to the show. Since it was colder than we had expected it to be, we started with the inside booths, hoping that the temp would go up a bit while we were doing that. The only thing of interest I found inside was the same grossly overpriced tiki I had seen at the last Kane County show. $400, my ass. I'm betting I'll get to see that same piece again at the next Kane County show. By the time we had seen what there was to see inside, it had warmed up a bit outside, and we moved on to the outside part of the show. Saw some neat things, but only ended up walking away with a couple of board games and a vary nice chisel. Doesn't seem like much to show for 4+ hours of tromping around, but it was a nice show. After we left there, we went over to a antique mall that we had spotted the day before. We had been inside for maybe 15 minutes when the skies opened up and it started pouring rain. I have to admit to a certain degree of amusement when I thought about all the people who were no doubt scrambling to get under cover while we were nice and dry. After we were done there, it was off to lunch, and then we hid the road to head back home. And even after going to 2 different antique malls and a show that we had never been to before, I got skunked on tiki items. I mean, I did see 2 Treasure Craft ashtrays, but they're not tiki specific items, and there was that really overpriced one, but I hadn't intended on buying it the first time I saw it. So, I got skunked. Not that we had a bad time, but I was really hoping for more. Oh, well. Maybe next time.

**I have no idea why M2 would have given us a listing for a house that's for sale.

**The basement is really starting to come together. I managed to hide the unused heater behind an old shower curtain I had that looks like a grass skirt. Took me quite a while to get it to lay right, but it looks most excellent now that it's up. I have also moved some of the pictures around. I just picked up the stuff I need to turn the candle lanterns into swag lamps, and may get all that assembled tomorrow. I managed to get the hula girl lamp rewired, although I had to cut a hole in the bottom 'felt' to accomplish that. Of course, not that I've got the whole thing all back together, the pull-chain switch is acting up, so I may have to replace it with a push-through switch. Roger got a fresh coat of lemon oil, and so did his little brother. I have managed to find something to mostly remove the various carpet stains that have occurred over the years, and the tapestry is at the cleaners. I still have some holes in the wall to patch from the old shelves, and then there are a few other spots that need to be touched up with paint. I have completed two of the four lanterns and just need to figure out where to hang them. It's a work in progress.

**I experienced one of the first true scents of fall today: wet leaves. I really like that smell.

**I have had zero luck in getting a game group going thus far. Through two offered game nights I have had exactly 0 attendees. I am just a tiny bit irked and disappointed by that. I may need to step beyond the bounds of BGG in order to get things moving more quickly. Or not. But then I really can't justify all the money I've spent for cabinets if I don't start playing some games. We'll see what happens with this Friday night. Hopefully I can get more people than just me to come out. So far, the total confirmed number of attendees is 2. Counting me. Crap.

**Many, many thanks to Cromag for the most excellently fantastic dice rolling board. And I also must concede that for the first time in a very long time, he has managed to get one ahead of me in the gift giving department.

**"Extract" Was the movie we saw while we were down in Bloomington. Mostly, we were interested because we both like the work Jason Bateman has done of late. The whole thing proved to be very funny, while mirroring life just a tad to accurately in some respects. As far as I'm concerned, it's probably a good thing for me that Cromag isn't like Ben Affleck's character.

**"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" has found it's way into the DVD player while I walk on the treadmill. I'd forgotten how much I like that movie. The whole notion of the plasticity of memory and the usage of imagery to convey the loss of memory is both fascinating and somewhat spooky. I also wonder what the ethical arguments for being able to 'erase' memories would be. Anyway, it's a neat film. Check it out if you haven't already.

**Haven't been feeling right lately. Energy level has been way off, and there are thoughts running through my head that really shouldn't be. I can only conclude that since I haven't been eating right and I haven't been exercising and I haven't been leaving the house except when I need to that the seasonal change is catching up with me early this year. So I'm making sure I take my meds as directed, watching what I eat, and have been spending time back on the treadmill. Hopefully I can avoid a full blown collapse this winter if I keep this pattern going.

**Another freckled Canadian?? No freakin way!

**Added a copy of Tri-Ominoes to my collection, along with another copy of Waterworks that I intend to use for parts.

**My current video game addiction: Plants Vs. Zombies. Yes, you read that right. Head on over to popcapgames.com and download a free 1 hour trial of this game. It's a hoot! BRRRAAAAAAIIIIINNNSSSS!!!

**Along similar lines, I think my next video game addiction will be Zuma's Revenge. Even though I haven't finished the original Zuma, I have a very strong urge to add this to my collection. Again, you can head over to popcapgames.com to download a 1 hour trial of this game. And while you're there, check out Peggle and Peggle Nights.

**Katherine is coming down for a few days for no apparent reason.

**It is a sad statement when Halloween and Christmas items are out for sale in the same freakin aisle at the store. War on Christmas, my ass. More like a war on Halloween. Jackass retailers....

**As much as I like it, I am now pretty sure that the opals in the ring I recently bought are created stones. I guess that's good, since I really like them and the created ones are far cheaper and of a higher clarity than the natural ones. That doesn't mean that I don't want to go out to the Peacock Mines, though.

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