chock-a-block, or Summertime Terror

chock-a-block: extremely full; crowded; jammed: a room chockablock with furniture and plants.

After nearly a month without posting I figure a slight overhaul is in order. Firstly, a name change. I do a lot of blog reading but not a lot of blog posting not for lack of content but rather lack of motivation. What might make it easier? What might motivate me to post? Could something as simple as a name change and shift of focus goose me enough to get me going? Probably not. But we'll see.

Secondly, a template change. Not dedicated enough to the previous design to feel any grief over losing it, figured out how to add a title field to my posts, discovered the new Customization tools. Could something as simple as a new look and possibly a new banner goose me enough to get me going? Probably not. But we'll see.

I think (hope?) my main motivation for posting more regularly might be my sudden planned change in schedule. For the first time in two decades I'm taking the summer off.

See, I'm not sure if that's a gleeful shout or a terrified scream. What I'm hoping to do now with chock-a-blog is document my summer with my son Jack, who won't be going to summer camp this year. We have an entire blissful summer of freedom ahead of us.

What on earth are we going to do?

I'll let you know.

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memory

monday melee

Photo credit goes to xeriscapeaz.org On Monday morning Jack woke early and had plenty of time to play with Cassie in the backyard before school. I was inside making Jack's lunch when I heard Cassie's Alert Bark, so I went outside to investigate. She was barking ferociously at the resident herd of javelina, passing through the wash behind the house, trotting on their ridiculously tiny hooves. "Jack! Come see the javelina!" I said. He ran over and leaned against the wall by the lemon tree, where the wall runs shortest. "Here pig pig!" he called. And what the hell? The big ones started coming over, and the little ones followed. "Oh-ho!" Jack was delighted when the entire herd of seven javelina---five adults and two babies---walked over to stand just on the other side of the wall, lifting their round wet snouts and sniffing our air. "Someone's been feeding them," I said, over Cassie's barking, and turned to go inside to get the camera...

doesn't take much

This afternoon I went to Starbucks. I don't go often because they're spendy and they've monopolized the coffee business and most of the time I just want black coffee. Part of our Thanksgiving tradition, though, is going to Mom's Target and Starbucks on Black Friday. This year we made it to Target but not to Starbucks, nor did we make it to Starbucks on Saturday, as we said we would on the way to the Deer Valley Goodwill. I have a gift card smoldering in my pocket so today, after buying spray paint and water marbles at JoAnn, I pulled up to the drive-thru at Starbucks. Usually I get some kind of blended iced vanilla chai thing. At the orderboard I was distracted by all the holiday drinks and opted for a white chocolate peppermint mocha, grande. One thing I will say for Starbucks: the employees are always uber-friendly. After ordering from the chirpy counterperson I pulled forward slightly, plugged in my ipod, and started a game of solitaire while listening to the White S...

chock-a-blog

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