the slaughter began quietly and painlessly. the first cut was quick and deep. stab after ruthless, thoughtless stab led to another and another. there was no crying, no sound to speak of. soon the tops were off and the scraping began. the insides became outsides and the stringy guts clung to our fingers. juices dripped off our fingers and we laughed like giddy children.

sprite wanted a look of jack skellington whereas monkey wanted a happy face. the beginnings of facial features appeared on the hollowed out "skulls" that rin and i had been callously scraping the brains out of. after about an hour of cutting, pulling and shaping, the faces were complete and candles were placed...

yesterday was the day we went to greenbluff, washington. it is the yearly harvest of goods from the farmers and such. we were originally going to go, but during the middle of last week, we decided against it due to how cold it was supposed to be and there was a threat of rain. our minds were changed and we headed on out for the day.

our first assignment was to find 500 apples for our annual harvest party that we have on october 31st. those 500 will be used for caramel apples. the apples we chose from were in many barrels with different varieties with descriptions of tastes written on each bin. rin bought some to make homemade applesauce.

after that task was complete, we headed on down to the next "house of wares" and searched around for pumpkins with the kids. the temperature seemed to be dropping and we had more places to go, so we decided to leave that location for another. the next farm that we visited had grape cider and a pergola covered with concord grapes that seemed to melt in your mouth.

after i bought the bottle of cider, we went to look around the farm for the "faces" that were hidden around in the trees and patches. it was 45°f and seemed to be getting colder, so we packed everyone up and decided to start heading home.

it was a good, but cold, day...

chicken tasting like chicken.

this morning at breakfast, rin and i were wondering if we both taste the same food the same way. do my taste buds sample the same flavor as her taste buds? when we eat steak (mmmm, steak), are we tasting the same thing, but sensing it differently? why wouldn't we like the same things and not like other things? why can i eat tabasco sauce on my eggs, but she doesn't like it?

and what does chicken really taste like?

the other night, my friend's wife gave birth. i had a feeling something was going to happen since j left early during the day. i didn't find out until the next morning and then i received a call from j whilst on the phone with rin. so i called rin back and told her about them having a baby girl and i shared the name.

"what else?" came rin's response.

"what do you mean, 'what else?' ?" i questioned her back.

"time of birth, size, weight, etc..." she said back to me.

"i don't know. i didn't ask."

"why not?"

"hey, you're lucky i even told you it was a girl, with her name to boot." i said with a snicker.

guys and girls are built differently. rin and i have been down this road many, many times and it's the same ole' song. maybe one of these days, one of us will learn. . .

oh, and rin...6lbs. 3 oz. i found that out for ya *wink*

the weather is changing quickly. the other day was warm and sunny but today there is a deeper chill in the air. now i'm back at my desk, enjoying my vanilla latte. i've also heard that from a few reports that we are supposed to be having a colder wetter winter this year than previous years. i'll let you know in the spring if that is actually true or not...

as you can see, my title has changed to honor the new 3-d version of tim burton's the nightmare before christmas. it's only coming to select cities and we aren't in one of those, so i'll have to sit back and watch it at home.

the last of a beautiful fall day is upon us. temperature sitting at about 65°f and sun is shining in a blue sky. gorgeous! i'm outside right now, swinging on my patio swing while the dog chews on his peanut butter filled bone. the green grass will soon be a dead color brown, but for now, it brings enjoyment of running and jumping, cartwheels and somersaults.

the maples have the last leaves on their skeleton branches but the poplars haven't changed color. the wisteria is a array of interwoven greens and golds. my japanese maple bonsai still need to change, but for now, the bloodgoods are a brilliant red. the roses and hibiscus still have buds and blooms.

the fall rains have been promised for tomorrow and cold temps to follow, but for now, shorts and flip flops are still on the menu. soon that will change to the typical fall and raking clothing.

and still my package hasn't arrived. it is still in spokane...

ok, this is stoopid. i ordered something online and opted for ground via ups cause it was free. i haven't been online all weekend, so today was the first time that i was able to track the package. it's been sitting in spokane since saturday morning and the delivery date is for wednesday. i told rin where it was and it should be here today, but she asked when the delivery date was and i told her "wednesday". her response:

"it probably won't get here until the scheduled delivery date because you didn't pay for it. it will sit in spokane for a couple days."

how does she know this? from previous experiences. doh!!! what can brown do for you?!?!

such a "dad" saying:

click image for bigger view

"it's a leper colony down there."
- seinfeld

my driver's license expired on friday. my plan was to head to the dmv and do a renew on monday, but that was colombus day, so i had to wait to do it today. as i drive into the parking lot, i could tell it was going to be a long wait due to there being no empty parking spaces. i circle around and see a couple getting into their car so i put the blinker on and begin my wait.

once parked, i grab the check book since the department only takes cash or check. what is that? open up the glass door and peer inside. people are lined against the walls like cattle waiting to be butchered. i take my number and sit myself down by the counter and window. the old lady next to me is complaining to the lady next to her about anything from politics to dust on the floor.

the clock on the wall seems to have stopped and so i check my watch. did my battery die? nope, time just stopped. we're stuck on number 44 and my number is 59. "too bad i didn't bring my ipod" i think to myself. maybe next time.

45. 46. 47. three people have been helped. 48 or 49. 50 or 51. c'mon lucky number 59! 52 or 53. 54. 55. 56. 57 or 58. 59?

"hi, i need to renew my license."

"ok, we'll call your name."

i go back to my place and wait. the guy that had his number in front of me has his named called but apparently his license has been suspended in some other states so they have take care of that. a phone call is placed. then another and one more.

my name is finally called. my vision gets tested and a check is scrawled out. fill out this form. take this over to the other side. wait in another line. the camera is in my sight. "please sit down." "look at the camera." "smile." "is your picture ok?" "please sign here."

an hour and fifteen minutes later, my face and electronic signature are on a plastic piece of, well, plastic. whew!

twinage fourth birthday

another year gone by. one more candle on the cake. maybe more freckles. a year older. yesh, today is my sister's birthday (and mine, by default). we are twins. i was born at 5:29 in the a.m. and she at 5:31 (2 minutes later). she's only been older than me a few times and had her birthday twice before me. once in israel and the other in austria.

anyway, one of our favorite birthday cakes was one made in the shape of a hamburger with the bun, pickles, tomato, lettuce, mustard and ketchup. it was awesome! lot's of colored frosting to send us into insulin shock. but i think that's what grandparents are for. nevermind that mom and dad have to drive home for a half hour with kids hopped up on caffine and sugar.

the best drive home was going through carbon canyon with all the swirves, curves, and corners. phoof in the middle between her two brothers in the back seat of the ram charger. with every corner or curve, we would shift our weight and squish her as hard as we could. now, with that ride home and all of us supremely high on sugar (the consumsion of candy on the way home also helped nurse our addiction), soon the right buttons would be pushed and a fight would ensue. then, 5 minutes before we get to the driveway, "zzzzzzzzzzz!" the whole back seat would be dead to the world. gone. completely.

so, phoof, here's to another year. happy birthday little sister...

ever wanted to make your own shoe? simple has the solution. all it takes is $65 and some time. not to mention pierced fingers to boot (no pun intended).

having problems with facebook? wiki is there to help.

yesterday was a good day. sundays always start early cause i have to get to church and get some things accomplished before the service actually starts. we had a good message. afterwards, went home and got the family rounded up and into the vehicle and drove up to a christmas tree farm to pick out a tree. christmas tree hunting on the last day of september! it was better than tromping around in the cold and snow battling others to get a tree. plus, we had our pick of literally thousands. no one else was there, except for of course the owners, so that made it nice too.

once we picked our tree and put our tags on it, we headed back down and drove home for some lunch. while getting lunch ready, turned on the seahawks vs. 49ers game and watched that. i think by the end of the game, the 49ers quarterback got sacked 6 or 8 times.

i did some photography work and got some good black and white shots that i'm really happy with. rin played on the laptop and i just puttered around. then dinner came and we watched rocketman with the kids. since it was a rainy sunday, it was more like a lazy day. after that, played some uno attack. it was a good day...