Des violins l'automne

Les saglots longs
Des violons
De l'automne
Blessent mon couer
D'une langeur
Monotone.
--
Tout suffocant
Et blême, quand
Sonne l'heure,
Je me souviens
Des jours anciens
Et je pleure
--
Et je m'e vais
Au vent mauvais
Qui m'emporte
Deçà, delà,
Pareil à la
Feuille morte.
Verlaine
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And, no, the long sobs of the violins of autumn don't really wound my heart with a monotonous langour. I really enjoy the autumn, even here in the Northwest where it mans the beginning of the Rainy Season. I like the hint of cold in the morning, and the flat afternoon sky that means a chilly night. I enjoy the falling leaves, and the skein of geese - or better, cranes - across a louring horizon.
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I am wounded by the continuing incapability of my country to get its collective head out of its collective ass. Here we are, in the seventh year of this idiotic failed presidency...still handing the Bicycle Chief carte blance to peek and spy and torture...still mired in moronic futility in the backass parts of West Buttfuckistan to "slay Afridis where they run"...what the hell can I add to that? Here it is Friday, the day I'm supposed to blog some sort of "think piece" and all I want to do is think about my little family.
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And speaking of them - up top are the Progeny an hour before bedtime. I don't think the Peeper is actually using that teether, but tell me that Shaomei doesn't look like the tough gang-girl from a John Woo film? It's the t-shirt/onesie thing. That and actually being a tough girl from a port town...
But there's her happy face! This is from "giggle time", the several hours in the evening when she loosens up and toddles around the house playing with everything and cadging lap-sits. I think she has some sort of special treasure, either a tissue or a diaper. Good enough.

Another thing I enjoy about autumn is the harvest-and-halloween pumpkin stuff. Here's the gang out at Sauvie Island's Pumpkin Patch looking for punkins. Poor little Missy - I think she was so bundled up she couldn't move, like the little boy in The Christmas Story. She thought the farm animals were pretty wierd, too, but at least wasn't scared of the chickens like the Peep was when he was little.

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Hay rides - fun for the whole famdamily.

Here's a nice action shot of the Peep - look out, hay bales!!!
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I have to admit - these last weeks have been...difficult. I had no idea how easy we had it outnumbering the Peeper 2-1. Now it's 50-50, and the small ones have both the energy and the incapacity on their side. That makes for a loooong day. It's also hard to take a step back with Little Missy being so young. I'd forgotten how much work the Peep was at that age. They can't - literally can't - be left along for more than a moment or two. Your only break is when they're napping, and with the two little folks, when they're together there IS no break - he seldom naps anymore. So it's All Kid, All The Time. There's just no chance for any sort of adult moment, whether it's quietly reading, a peaceful sip of coffee, a grown-up movie...

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Don't take this the wrong way: I love both these little people. It's just that I never saw myself doing this at fifty. Woof.

--

One thing I am enjoying is learning things about Shaomei. Like...what she likes to eat. Here we are early Wednesday morning having some breakfast at the Beaterville Cafe, our local breakfast joint. Being the good American Dad I am, our first visit I ordered oatmeal for her. Being the cynical ex-sergeant who knows his little girl's tastes, I ordered a full order of Bill's delicious biscuits and cream gravy. You KNOW which one she dived into. Girl likes her some biscuits n' gravy.

After a good tuck in it's time to ride in the car and take a nap...

...so here she is all snuggly with Atomic Mama's lovely receiving blanket. 謝謝, Atomic Mama! We luuuurve us your toasty blanket - we often sleep under it at night, too...

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As Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh says in Bull Durham: Sometimes you win.

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Sometimes you lose.

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Sometimes...it rains.

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And when that happens - you go to the playpark!!

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So here we are at the indoor playpark at the little church on the old Portland Boulevard/new Rosa Parks Way (don't ask - the latest is renaming Interstate Avenue after Cesar Chavez....). It took a little while for Shaomei to get over her nerves...but pretty soon there was actual playing going on. Yay!

And for those semi-sunny days...how about that great sand pile in the back alley? Here the Peep, his girfriend from next door (one of the two "dirty girls" from this spring), Daddy and mei-mei playing in the sandpile. The cool thing was that little Missy actually played with the sand - this from the little girl who is STILL freaked out about grass - won't walk on it, won't touch it...she actually played in the dirt today.

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Cool. As a daddy you live for little things like that. Anyway, that's all for now...

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Damn! I forgot to include the picture of Shaomei's "coin slot" hair thing. I'll have to do that in the "family" post for Sunday. Remind, me, OK?