Pumpkin Carving Party

Last night we had a pumpkin carving party at our house. It was a fun event, with a potluck dinner, a wide variety of Octoberfest beer, and a pumpkin carving. The pumpkins shown below were carved by (from top left), Ken, Kate Maisel, Maranda, Liz Fretz, then starting on the bottom left, Mike Croghan, Matt Maisel, Tina Driskell, and Elizabeth Fretz.


The crowd favorite was the witch carved by Liz Fretz.
The most unique pumpkin was voted Matt's Goblin.
And Maranda's pumpkin was voted the scariest (carved freehand without a template)

Little Face at the Window

I love your little face at the window in the morning. When I sneak out of the house, only to hear padded feet coming down the hallway behind. A sleepy eyed face turned up to mine, "you going to work daddy?" Yes my son, Daddy is going to work. I love you so much and I will miss you today. My heart melts at the sincere response, "Daddy, I love you at work..." My little boy, give me a big hug and a kiss, then stand on the chair and watch out the window while Daddy drives away. A little face at the window silently watches me as I back out of the drive. My heart tugs me back toward the house, but my mind intervenes and I inevitably turn the wheels down the road...

I think so...

Kieran has picked up Maranda's habit of answering his questions with a non-commital "I think so..." For example, Kieran: "Mommy, can we go play with Shreya after breakfast," Maranda: "Mmmm, I think so..."

The result of this has been that Kieran now answers all questions with a similar non-commital answer. For instance, Daddy: "Kieran, do you want noodles for dinner?" Kieran: "I think so..." It is very cute, although a little maddening when you are trying to get a "straight" answer!

Archery Success

I am happy to report that I have had my first success archery hunting for deer! This is great news as the Tennyson household will greatly benefit from some super healthy and tasty venison!

Where have all the blog posts gone!

Folks, I am getting serious about keeping up with my other blog, Transforming Society. My apologies for the slow start, but I hope to be more consistent going forward. If you are interested in my thoughts on social justice, sustainable living, human nature, and other related topics, be sure to check it out.

Ken

Five Cords Later

So it is wood splitting season at the Tennysonian. Maranda and Ken spent most of the weekend using a rented wood splitter to reduce a bunch of hardwood rounds into fireplace sized pieces. We split the labor as we believe in equal opportunity when it comes to back pain! ;) We split about 2.5 cords each for a total of five cords, with Maranda doing the work with infinitely more grace than Ken's huffing, puffing, and cursing.

The end result is a nice pile of hardwood that should last us through winter. We look forward to reducing our dependence on oil for heat, something that both dents the pocketbook and the environment. Of course we are aware that wood smoke is also bad for the atmosphere, long term we will try and find a greener solution (wood pellet stove?), but for now, necessity leads us to utilize the readily available hardwood in Northern Virginia (thank God for Craigslist!).



Content by Ken

Caffeine Free!!

So based on earnest advice from my Doctor, Psychiatrist, Counselor, and wife, and encouragement from a friend, I have quite coffee cold turkey as of this past Monday. To say it has been hard would be an understatement (hence the lack of posts this week except for the delirious one yesterday!). Luckily, the main thing that has suffered this week has been work, something I am entirely okay with! ;)

I woke up this morning after a normal nights sleep feeling more refreshed than I have in a very long time! Indeed, I am slowly creeping back into cognition and am finding my energy levels are already far less volatile than before. My 6-8 cups of coffee and pepsi per day had clearly begun to really affect my body (who would have figured?!?). Aside from a bit of tea, I am completely off the wagon.

Not trying to start a movement or anything, my major motivation was health and anxiety, look for future updates on whether these areas significantly improve. I know there is no silver bullet, but it is exciting to make a deliberate change that is already making a difference. Next up - Food consumption and excercise (ouch!).

Content by Ken

Charging Ahead

Have you ever had the feeling that your half naked body is strapped to the front of a runaway train, and the only way you can slow it down is fashioning a make-shift wind drag out of your undergarments and hope for the best?


No? Me neither.

Kieran's B-Day

Kieran had a great Truck n Tractor themed Birthday! He had a lot of fun with all the friends that came over, and he is still enjoying their gifts of tractors, dump trucks, construction equipment, etc.

Kieran Enjoying a Company Fair

Here are some pics of the family enjoying a company sponsored fair. I love this first pic of Kieran riding a pony, very cute!