Dismal and dreary day. It was cloudy, misty, drizzly, and chilly. I got home from work and made a fire downstairs to take off the chill for the cats and the dog, who sleep down here. We haven't turned the heat on yet, because it is reportedly going to cost so much to heat the house with natural gas this year. It's fine at night, when we are under a hundred blankets. It's been cold during the day while we are up and about in the house, though. And one of the cats, Bud, the one with sleek fur, has looked sort of puffed up the last couple of days, like he's cold. So a fire it is, tonight.

Today was a holiday, and as is so often the case, I went in to work. Double time is nice, but being at home with your children is a lot nicer. Especially if you know that any day you could be sent away for two weeks...

Things I Want To Do Before I Die

I want to Visit Yellowstone and the Tetons.

I want to hear my favorite rock group of all time, U2, live in concert.

I want to dance naked in the moonlight with the sexiest man I know (well, shoes are OK ).

I want to watch a herd of wild horses running free.

I want to go to Chicago for a long weekend and do nothing except biological necessities like eating and sleeping -- and listen to as much live music as humanly possible over the course of that weekend -- jazz, the blues, classical, rock -- it matters not as long as it is good.

Finish reading the Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Donaldson and all of A Song of Ice and Fire by Martin.

Visit France, Ireland, and Scotland.

Hear Beethoven's Ninth Symphony live.

Yesterday we drove out to Tecumseh to watch Steven play soccer.  We drove via country roads on the Ridge Highway. The drive was gorgeous. Lots of the leaves were starting to turn lovely colors, and the fields were filled with bright orange pumpkins.  The day was crisp, but not downright cold, like it was on Friday night.

After dropping the kids off at home, Dan and I went out for dinner at a Thai restaurant in Ypsilanti which has a great reputation. Neither of us had ever had Thai food before. We both thought it was delicious.  It was an interesting blend of Indian (curry, potatos, cucumber) and Chinese (snow peas and other vegetables and spices) influences, yet remained completely its own. Even the hot tea had a unique and very good flavor. I would definately be willing to eat Thai food again.

Afterwards we went to Hill Auditorium and heard Pat Metheny and his trio and quartet. He is a very gifted guitar player, and he even played one number on a sitar. I have never heard a sitar used in jazz before, but it added a great sound.  It was a very good, and fun concert.

Today the guys let me sleep in late, which was good as I got no rest at all this weekend. Dan and Steven brought me breakfast in bed, which was very sweet. I was still somewhat tired at work tonight, but was able to hang in there.

We are in the middle of a frantically busy weekend.

Yesterday Dan took the day off from work to do billing and paperwork, so we went out to lunch and went grocery shopping. When we got home, the kids had also gotten home, so I made the kids a second lunch for when they got home from school. Then Bill had a soccer game, and since it is one of only two I can see this season because of my work schedule, I was more than happy to go, even though it was both windy and cold. It was very cool, though in terms of seeing the huge flocks of migrating geese flying overhead. The little flocks of 10-20 birds all came together and formed a huge flock of hundreds near the Saline River, and circled around the sky in a huge gyre.

After the soccer game, came the homecoming football game, which is the biggest social event of the year in our little town. It was especially well attended this year, as a victory would clinch a spot in the state playoffs for the team.

Both the soccer team and football team won.

Today Steven has a soccer game in Tecumseh, and tonight Dan and I will be going to a concert from the Pat Metheny group.

Well, because moms sometimes can't help but brag a bit from time to time...

This is from the Oct.3, 2005 Ann Arbor News (they hold the copywrite and all that good stuff):

At 7-4-1, Milan soccer has never been better Tuesday, October 4, 2005

Milan High School's 5-1 football team isn't the only Big Red athletic team flying high these days.

Just three seasons after it failed to win a game, Milan's soccer team debuted in an honorable mention spot in this week's Michigan High School Soccer Coaches Association Division 3 poll.The Big Reds (7-4-1) have gone 7-1-1 since starting the season by losing three straight games.

Their 1-0 victory over Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central last week marked the first win over the Falcons in the history of the program.

"They're feeling pretty good about themselves,'' first-year coach Russ Billau said.

The Big Reds have been successful on both ends of the field. Milan has given up just four goals in the last eight games, and senior goalkeeper Ben Wilson has four shutouts.

Offensively, Chris Billau, the sophomore son of the coach, has scored seven goals and has tallied six points in the last three games.

Milan has already matched its win total for the entire 2004 season.

But, with three more games this week against teams that his squad has already beaten, Billau said his players aren't satisfied with what they have already accomplished this season.

"The goal right now is to win every game,'' Milan's coach said.

 

Well, just as I had decided I could relax a bit about being deployed since they had not deployed anyone from my hospital since before hurricane Rita hit Texas -- they started deploying people again today. One guy got only a few hours' notice. I made the mistake of telling Dan about that, and he was less than pleased to say the least.  Well he has been less than pleased about the whole possibility of my possibly being deployed, and it also worries the kids. But what can you do? In the face of such suffering, how can you not be willing to act?

The high school soccer team is state ranked!!!!!  When Bill was a freshman they did not win a single game. Not one! So they have come a long, long way in four years!

  

Spent the day stripping the beds and changing everyone's bedding. I bought new bedding for the kids -- it was sort of blush inducing for them to still have their small children's bedding with 101 Dalmations and Whinnie the Pooh as teenaged males, so I went ahead and ordered them new warmer bedding more appropriate for their ages. Steven got a black and red dragon pattern (he loves dragons). Bill got plain solid navy (his choice). Besides sheets I also got warm solid colored blankets and heavy comforters. And Steven, who has east facing windows that let in a lot of light, also got curtains. We are now set for a long and cold winter, with the thermostat set very low because the cost of heating the house is supposed to go up so much.

Because I stripped all of the beds at once, I am also so far behind in the laundry now that I am nearly ready to run away from home.

I know what I will be very busy with for the next couple of weeks.