First things first: My sincere apologies to you lovely people who send me such nice e-mails, only to wait eons for me to respond. Really, I'm sorry. No elaborate excuses, just sorry and, well, you know.

Second, the Things are becoming ever murkier. Kind of like yarn or embroidery floss that gets all knotted up and you pull a strand thinking that you might be able to discern a way to detangle the mess but you only succeed in pulling it ever tighter and more relentlessly knotted. Yeah, just like that. And, just last night, I received an e-mail that while lovely and fun and really, really good news and from someone who I admire deeply, served only to murkify the already murky situation.

So I've decided to distract myself by jumping headlong into a lot of really domestic-y stuff. I'm braiding and beading hemp bookmarks for Christmas gifts, making count-down-the-day chains out of green and red construction paper with the Boy Wonder, sewing patchwork pillows out of old Laura Ashley fabric squares pilfered from the store where I worked back in 1997 when those patterns were discontinued (we were supposed to have thrown them out but I just couldn't - not only were they perfectly good 4 X 4 inch squares, they were so pretty and I've carrying them around with me ever since....that would be three moves ago for those of you keeping track), making bean bag stocking stuffers, planning a Thanksgiving menu, waiting for boxes to arrive from various online purveyors of toys, books, clothes, CDs, DVDs, tools and other sundry acquisitions that then end up being hidden where no one will ever look for them (with the cleaning supplies), wrapping presents in preparation for sending to parts far and wide and forgetting to order stamps from the Postal Service. It's a busy life.

Here is where I would love to post a Halloween pic of my handsome little pirate and adorable dalmation, all suited up and ready for trick-or-treating. Alas, I cannot because here is instead where I confess to having forgotten to take pictures, thereby neglecting to memorialize Entropy Girl's first door-to-door candy extortion. I can tell you, however, that she did beautifully rushing up to the door with the other kids in our party (three of the four of whom were pirates - I kind of wished I'd had her a parrot instead of a dog, but oh well). When she got to the door, though, she'd inevitably turn around and look at me as if to say, "Well then, now what?" and come back down empty handed. Didn't seem to bother her a bit to be walking up and down peoples' front steps for no apparent reason. In fact, I'd say she got kind of a chuckle out of it.