and, I'm off....

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I've landed in Denver, driven to Colorado Springs and had a lovely nap since that photo was taken this morning.

I could have slept all evening, but made myself get up so I wouldn't be wide awake at 3:00 AM. I worked both at Second Helpings and the Red Key yesterday and only had three hours of sleep before leaving for the airport.

I'm in Colorado for a conference until Wednesday and am looking forward to seeing my Weight Watchers friends this weekend. I hope to visit college friends in between but haven't gotten organized enough to confirm plans. Sleeping though the the decent hours to call anyone didn't help.

Good night, sleep tight.

sheesh

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Guess what? The phone restore didn't fix the camera - only the front lens works, which makes it incredibly awkward to take photographs.

And the apps went away. Does that mean that I don't need to track my Weight Watchers points?

But the reason I look so dang tired and my brow is furrowed is that my 1960s General Electric refrigerator is giving up the ghost. I couldn't sleep thinking about it - I actually camped out on the sofa like last night. Like that would help.

Sheesh!

boo

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I'm rough on my phone. I readily admit it.

My precious iPhone has been dropped and generally tossed around.

One morning this summer I put it on the kitchen counter like I do every morning while I fix my breakfast (Greek yogurt, a few slices of banana, a handful of raspberries, and a spoonful of Uncle Sam's cereal) and take my vitamin.

Only on this morning the phone was sitting in a puddle and the damn thing soaked in the water. Lots of water. The results were that the phone lost power quickly (60% to zero in seconds) and barely worked as a phone (randomly calling other people during an active phone call and/or switching to mute while talking). None of that bothered me too much - I don't really like to talk on the phone anyway and I bought an external battery pack to solve the losing power problem.

My contract isn't up until December and I had every intention of waiting it out. I mostly use the iPhone for taking photographs, reading e-mail, watching Netflix, playing Words with Friends, and goofing around on facebook.

Then the damn thing broke my heart yesterday.

The camera quit working - the front "selfie" lens worked - that is how I awkwardly took the picture of the calendar yesterday. And today nothing. Nothing at all.

The image above is a screen shot I took of phone in camera mode. Ugggh.

I'll "wipe" the phone and re-install the software tomorrow. Fingers crossed that it works. And that I don't lose all of my contacts....if you don't hear from me you'll know why. That and the fact that I really don't like to talk on the telephone.

knock knock....anyone home?

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So. Here we are again.

It has been months since I posted.

There is something about October that makes me itchy to write. A few Octobers I managed to post all 31 days. Last year, I only made it six. If you care at all about my October Experiments you can click here. 

The particularly crappy photo above is of my home calendar. I'm going to be gone twice this month, Colorado for a work conference followed by some fun and Florida for a wedding. And for all of you shaking your heads that I'm announcing my vacation plans to the world, someone will be staying at my house. A big burly someone. Other than the trips, it looks like the most exciting thing I'm doing is feeding the neighbor's cat, Lamont.

I'm going to try to write more this month, without holding myself to the impossible standard of posting each day.

That would just be silly. 

www dot weight watchers dot wheeee!

Chicago Camp '61

You might remember that I lost weight five years ago. And I gained most of it back. I gained it so slowly that I barely noticed. Unless I was bare - then it was obvious. 

Since April I have lost over 20 pounds. I'm even lighter than I was five years ago, mostly in thanks to the women pictured above.

Weight Watchers is a great program - as it turns out healthy eating, portion control, and increased activity are the key to losing weight! Who knew? 

Actually I did know, but I needed to be held accountable.

But the thought of attending another meeting makes my head explode. I have seven standing meetings each week, and several other monthly meetings - board meetings, church meetings, neighborhood meetings, committee meetings - you get the picture. 

One day I dipped my chubby toes into the Weight Watchers online community and stumbled across a wonderful group of women all born in the same year. And what a diverse group we are: nannies, nurses, FBI personnel, college administrators, teachers, payroll specialists, homemakers, cable industry execs, and all sorts of fun and inspiring women. I made instant friends!

It is fascinating, but we don't talk about food or our weight as much as you think we would. Since we all have a common point of reference - being 52 - we talk about everything under the sun. 

Several of us got together over the weekend. People flew in from all over the country and spent the weekend together in Chicago. I was lucky enough to drive up on Sunday to soak in their goodness. 

It was great to meet so many of them in person - and I think we're all just fabulous!

weddings and raindrops

Celebrating with the father of the bride - Cousin Jeff

Dad and I headed to Cass County (where he grew up) to attend the wedding of his great-niece Courtney. The ceremony and reception were held in the middle of a beautiful field on Cousin Jeff's property. 

The weather did not cooperate. At all. Buckets of rain fell hard and quick. 

That didn't stop the celebrating- and the Spitznogle's know how to party, no matter what the weather.

The guests were all instructed to wear boots, even before they knew the forecast. I was glad there was straw readily available to sprinkle on the puddles.

I cleverly also brought my rain boots with me. I not so cleverly left them in the bed of the truck. They turned into a giant rain gauge before I could retrieve them.

i like everybody...

....I really do.

I bought this fabulous pin in Colorado earlier this summer. Luckily I saw it about two seconds before my sister Ann. Otherwise it would be on her jacket, not mine.

A couple of weeks ago I left the jacket (purchased at a thrift store on the same trip) at a venue after a concert. Someone picked it up and knew who it belong to, because as she said, "it must belong to Nora, she likes everybody."

True enough.

happy feet

Like most people, I totally soak in the vibe of the folks around me and tonight I filled my positivity tank to the brim.

I got to spend the evening with one of the most positive and action-oriented and all-around cool folks that I am lucky enough to know - Robert Egger.  It was a lovely evening, spent with lovely folks in a lovely house - as you can tell, there was lots of lovely flying around!

Robert's brother, sister-in-law, and nephew live just a few blocks from me in this amazing home. It is  beautiful, cozy, and clearly home to a happy family.

Cheers to good vibes! 

no regrets

I come from a long line of ruminators. You’ve met the likes of us before. We’re the ‘if only’ people. If only I had said that /not said that/ turned left/turned right/stayed home/gone out/broken up with him/not broken up with him/had the perfect haircut/let my hair grow/worn that/not worn that/blah blah blah. I’m one of those woulda shoulda coulda kind of people.

I avoided one of those times last month. I learned just a few days before that Helen was putting her house (home of the Flower Man Jam) up for auction. I’d always pictured that someday I would live there.  Once the shock wore off I dismissed the idea thinking that there is no way that I could pull it all together to place a bid and I accepted it as fate, while mentally beating myself up for not having buckets of money in the bank.

Then I spent a few hours with Helen in her backyard that Sunday. I woke up Monday morning determined that I should figure out what my options were. I ran around my house like a nut and gathered up and scanned last year’s W2s and tax return, and my current pay stub.  I e-mailed them with a link to the auction and details to the mortgage officer at my bank.  I was in an off-site board retreat/planning session most of the day and didn’t realize that the e-mail to the loan officer had flipped back to me. I stopped at the bank on the way from the meeting to work and learned that the contact I had was long gone, someone had replaced him, that guy quit, and the “new” loan officer hadn’t started yet. I stopped at another branch of my bank and learned that the loan officer for that branch was on vacation. Again I decided that it must be fate and I mentally gave up on the idea (while wondering why the heck they didn’t forward bank e-mails to the new people).

Then I remembered that I had a mortgage broker from when I purchased my house. I shot her a quick e-mail and she responded immediately. In 36 hours she had me pre-approved for a mortgage, a heroic feat, really.

 It forced me to examine my current living situation and whether I wanted to let the double go to make the move to house Helen's. After crunching numbers I decided that untimely I wanted to keep the rental property. After almost six years I’ve got things manageable enough that renting out both sides would cover the cost of my mortgage loan, property taxes, and insurance – but not much cushion for emergency repairs or vacancies. Armed with the numbers, I decided that if push came to shove I wouldn’t sell the double in order to buy Helen’s house.

I was a Nervous Nelly, arriving two hours before the auction and was the first to register and get my bidding number. I let Helen know that I would be bidding and she gave me free rein to poke in the attic and cellar. The house is quirky and old – the ‘new’ part was added 123 years ago to an existing log cabin. It was really interesting to see the different foundations in the basement. Schaun was with me and he used his plumbing and electrical expertise to look at the mechanicals of the place. The plumbing is new, but the electrical “system” would need to be updated. The roof and decking looked great. I was smitten with the attic – as wide as the house with tall roofline and several windows. It almost doubled the size of the living space and I could picture myself with a chair tucked in the corner and the computer on my lap. I mentally upped my maximum bidding amount.

There was lots of ‘tire-kicking’ on the house and the auction company thought there would be some heavy bidding and I was hoping so for Helen’s sake. I was going in to the auction wanting the house, but hoping that Helen would get tons more money than I could afford.

As it turned out there were only two bidders, me and another guy. As I farm kid I am pretty comfortable with the auction process, but I’ve never been a participant in anything bigger than bidding on a potato fork or box of wrapping paper.

I took my seat on the lawn chair with the dozen or so folks – including Schaun and Dad – gathered in Helen’s back yard.

The auctioneer started out high and I was afraid to breathe. The auctioneer asked for an opening bid. The other bidder opened at $100,000, a mere $10,000 more than the in-in-head maximum.  Yikkes. I was pre-approved for more, so I bid $105,000. Gulp. He countered at $110,000. I bid $115,000. He bid $120,000. My dad was looking green in the lawn chair next to me. I went to $125,000. Dad was shaking his head vigorously back and forth. The other bidder offered $130,000. I started shaking my head no.

The auctioneer took Helen into the house for a conference and they came out and re-opened the bidding. I bid $1,000 more, he bid another $1,000, I upped it by $1,000, he upped it a thousand  to $134,000. I was out. Another in the house conference between Helen and the auctioneer and they came out and announced the house was sold to the other bidder.

I could have gone higher, but I would have had to sell the double and I wasn’t ready to do that yet. It was emotional and heart-breaking, but I gave it my best shot.

Dad, and Schaun, and I took Helen out to lunch and swapped stories and laughter.

I’m glad I tried, and you can bet that I’ll be first in line if the house ever comes up for sale again.

mum's is [not] the word

... at least for October. Remember when once upon a time, five years ago, when I posted all 31 days of October. I'm going to try that again.

I miss writing or at least thinking about writing daily and quite frankly need the distraction.

These beautiful mums belong to my dear mum - I need to get them to her, but I'm enjoying having them on my front porch. I'm sure a squirrel will be enjoying that pumpkin for a snack soon. Probably tonight.

See you tomorrow.

october experiment wrap-up

The October Experiment sucked. I really hated it. As Ralph pointed out, I posted in batches. All written in a panic in an effort to cross something off my list.

Some were easy to write, some emotional and others just plain goofy. I felt committed to finishing the project and not skipping a day, but I feel like I missed some good stuff along the way. And wrote some crap to fulfil the obligation.

I am glad that I finally wrote about the CPR incident. Of course writing about the twins was fun and I love the picture of my feet in the booties and the severed finger cookies. Still, I'm glad its over.

I put a lot of pressure on myself in October. Work has been nuts, which I typically thrive on. I worked on finding entertainment for a marathon and beat myself up way too much when bands weren't falling out of the trees to volunteer. I took it very personally when bands didn't want to play at 8:00 on a potentially cold morning - as it turned out it was sunny and warm. Thanks for your offer to help, Teresa.

I started a home organizing project that emptied the stuff out of my two closets. And the planned yard sale never happened. So I've added other people's crap to my crap. I've been dodging junk on my porch, living room, dining room and bedroom for a month. I literally have a path open to get to the other side of the house. I'm slowly chipping away at it. I might even be able to invite company in to the house soon.

All of this caused me to turn down paying writing gigs [*gasp], miss exploring a career opportunity that I wanted to pursue and burst in to tears at extremely inappropriate times.

Here's to a new month and back to our regularly scheduled program.

all hallows eve

I had a lovely day. I gave a talk this afternoon and worked from home for the last hour. It's amazing how much you can get done with your laptop in the back yard on a sunny and warm October afternoon. 

I hung around home hoping for some trick-or-treaters. Not a one! And I had PEZ dispensers to give out. 

I strapped on my bee wings and antennae and went to my niece and nephew's neighborhood. There were tons of kids and parents and food and creepy looking treats. It was a hauntingly good time. 

From there I went to visit the twins. I took Tammy a severed finger [cookie] and may or may not have delivered a jello shot to her. I got to hold Katy for an hour. Evan was sleeping and even I know enough not to wake sleeping babies even if they are wearing a ghost hat that just begs to be photographed. 

Tammy and I went to see a band whose name I can't bring myself to type --I can't imagine the Google hits that would show up here. You can read my review here (after 11/6)- I'm sure you can figure out which band I'm talking about. Anyway, the band was fun and I alway enjoy seeing my friend Scott B. play. 

I ran in to an old friend-- he was dressed as Elvis, so I'm not sure I'd recognize him again - we figured out we'd been at the same punk-rock Halloween party at the Purdue Armory in 1980, headlined by Dow Jones and the Industrials. Hows that for a blast from the past? 

My two doors down neighbor was having a party that was still going strong when I got home. I ended the evening with a bunch of ghouls, goblins, witches and another bee. 

You can see photos of the evening here. 

And that folks, ends the October Experiment. 

i'm not tired, really. swear.

I almost didn't go out to hear music tonight. I was still tired from the day before -- fashion show followed by going to see music followed by the PHILLIES WINNING THE WORLD SERIES followed by a celebratory glass of champagne. The champagne would have been okay on its own, but paired with skipping breakfast, lunch and dinner, a day of nervous excitement and three beers before that- it was not the best decision I've ever made. 

I was dragging all day. It took me until noon to realize that I had a hangover. I honestly can't remember the last time I've had a hangover (some of those early coffeehouse mornings don't count). I muddled through the day and gave a torchbearer talk on the way home. 

And then I had to drive back downtown for a meeting. I agreed to help with a project that I feel like I'm failing miserably at, which makes me feel guilty and bad and useless. Anyone want to play along the marathon route this Saturday at 8:00 am? 

After the meeting I went home to feed the cat and sit for a minute. I had to talk myself in to going back downtown (for the third trip of the day). One of my very favorite musicians, Tad Armstrong was playing a CD release party for his first solo album. 

I'm glad I made myself go. I ran in to friends that I have not seen for ages and the music was terrific. Sam's Saloon is housed in a building that is 125 years old and has been a bar for over a 100 years (I'm not sure what happened during the whole Prohibition era). It still has gaslight fixtures and a potbelly stove in the lobby. 

I can sleep when I'm dead, right? 

To see photographs of the show click here. To read the review I wrote for NUVO click here. 

model citizen

I was in a fashion show tonight (Kristi and Liz were not, but they should have been). Yep, that's what I look like all fancied up. It was a blast.

All of my worlds collided in a very good-way at the Night of Fortune…Fun, Fashion and Finds for the Home.

It was hosted by Marigold (work there), The Rivera Club (enthusiastic member) and Style Salon (new fan). And – the icing on the cake (ohh, I’m also a big fan of cake - the band and the pastry) – and benefitted Second Helpings (work there too).

I was sure I’d trip or step on the edge of my skirt or something but it turned out okay. The women from Style made me hair all smooth and flat and did something not Nora-like with my makeup.

I got to pick out two Marigold outfits to wear. For the third trip down the runway we all were sporting G.Thrapp Jewelers goodies. Carol Golden (what a great name for a jewelry store person!) put the necklace, earrings and bracelet on me and I ran up to the stage with out seeing what I was wearing. When I heard the description of the necklace and earrings I stopped in my tracks and looked down. I was wearing more diamonds than I ever have. Wheeee!

The evening drew a standing room only crowd – over 225 people, collected 400 pounds of rice and a healthy monetary donation to Second Helpings. Several Broad Ripple merchants showed off their lovely goods and there was a wine tasting. Thanks to all of my friends that were there to support me (I even got a hoot and a holler or two) and special thanks to Marigold, Rivi, and Style for making me feel so glamorous.

politickin'

I like to consider myself an informed voter. I know the name of all of the elected folks that control my immediate world and most of them know me. And not in the quick-hide-crazy-Nora-is-heading-over-here-way. These people are from both sides of the aisle. And more importantly I know what there job is and what they control. For instance, you can be mad at the mayor for high property taxes but they don't control a very big slice of that pie.

I was thrilled to be invited to a 'meet the Republican candidates' tea in my neighborhood. I was armed with my V3 "How are you going to partner with nonprofits?" questions and my new coat - it's really cute and I was dying to show it off to a group of women.

I'm already a fan of Teresa Lubbers and plan on voting for her. I'll admit that I didn't know much about the county treasurer or coroner. Luckily I have not had the occasion to meet either one of them.

I was thrilled to hear John Pless speak, candidate for coroner speak. He's compassionate, smart as can be and has a plan for cleaning up the current mess in that office.

I'm a ticket splitter from way back- so for it's looking about half and half between parties on my ballot.

shhhh...don't tell anyone

No one is more surprised by the fact that I have a byline than me.

It all happened accidentally. The editor/publisher/chief paperboy of the Broad Ripple Gazette asked if he could write about me - it was shortly after the coffeehouse closed. I told him I'd rather write and....viola! It was that easy. I've been on page 6 ever since.

I love writing the Gazette column, even though it is a volunteer project and spend at least six hours a week writing, researching and going to shows. And I attend most shows on my own dime. But I get total freedom on what I write - I get to infuse a good dose of my personality and cheerfulness in the piece. I'm not given a minimum or maximum word count or told what I can and cannot cover. I write with the "if you can't say something nice talk about the weather" credo.

The column has morphed (and hopefully matured) in the last three years. I've had good advice along the way. One thing that I took to heart was a comment that I was writing too much about how I was older than everyone else and attending the shows alone. I've toned that down, an occasional "I'm old enough be their mother" comment slips out and I do want people to know that it is okay to go to event by themselves. But I've dropped the whole woe-is-me thing. I save that for this blog :).

I've had two writers from the Indianapolis Star tell me recently how much they like my column. One said it's the "most honest writing in town." I'm not sure about all of that, but I'm grateful for the opportunity. I post all of the Gazette columns here.

That lead to me being in the panel of the Top 10 Live list in this paper each week. I'm one of a handful of people that votes. It is published in Indy.com, a division of the Indianapolis Star each week.

I waited on the editor-in-chief of NUVO at the Red Key one night. He made an off-handed comment, "send me something some time." I was totally innocent in the ways of submissions and such. I interviewed Susan Cowsill, had my dear brother-in-law Ron edit it. Ron not only corrected the grammar, but pointed out that I hadn't mentioned what her music was like. I Whoops - thanks Ron. I sent the completed unsolicited article in. NUVO was kind enough to find room in the next issue and actually pay me for it. I was so excited that I hung the check on my bulletin board) and forgot to cash it for months)!

Everyone loves the Gazette, but the other two papers might have a bit of a rivalry. I try to fly under the radar with them.

I'm not quite sure how it all came together, but I know I get geeked-out when I walk by the rack at the Northside News Cafe that has all three papers available. I have to stop myself from jumping up and down and grabbing innocent bystanders and making them look at my name in all three.

You should have seen me when I drove by paper boxes with my cover story. I'm surprised I didn't cause any accidents.

cinderella sunday

Besides my dear sweet mother and several aunts and my grandmothers there are only two women that I've said "I want to be her when I grow up." One is Doris, the other is Joan.

I met Joan at the coffeehouse. She came almost every afternoon with her own mug and stuff to read. She was one of the main reasons we brewed a pot of decaffeinated flavored coffee each day. She is very stylish- and not in the way that most 80-something women are. She wears cool glasses and I love her silver jewelry. 

I always invite her to my annual Saint Valentine's Day party and we've talked about getting together for brunch for years. Joan finally rounded up Novella, Marcella and I for brunch today. 

Her home is beautiful- on the property of a former Catholic all-girls high school that I attended my freshman year (the school closed, nothing to do with me- swear). Her house is full of wonderful art work, books, photographs and memorabilia. 

Joan is up on current events and has a real-life experience and history to back up her opinions.

 She and her husband ran a Kentucky Fried Chicken for years - she's familiar with hard work and long hours. Even though she and her husband have been separated for decades she visits him everyday in the assisted living facility for Alzheimer's patients. Their only child, a son was killed in a car accident years ago. 

She prepared an amazing brunch- sausage frittada, spinach and stuffed tomatoes. And two desserts- pumpkin pie and cranberry puddingy something - both with freshly whipped cream. I could have stayed there talking all day. And Novella and Marcella stayed until the afternoon. 

You guessed it- Cinderella Nora had to go to work at Marigold. 

I know that people don't have amazing brunches with wonderful people in beautiful settings every Sunday, and I hated to race out of this one. 

I've been feeling super bogged down lately. My poor house is a mess, all I seem to do is race in for a few minutes, drop a bunch of junk on the floor, and race out. Or like last night (or rather this morning)- get home from work at 3:00, shower, dry my hair and sleep for four and a half hours and do it all over again. 

I'm declaring 2009 the Year of Nora Slowing Down on Volunteer Stuff. I know that sounds a little selfish, but its someone else's turn. 

The hard part will be saying no. 

cinderella saturday

I want to start out by saying that I love working at the Red Key. Not only is it a fun, social, three-blocks from my home job but the money allows me to do things like travel to Ireland, heat the house and pay the mortgage. I've never once apologized or felt embarrassed about waitressing or working in a bar.

That said, working most Saturdays I've missed my fair share of stuff. This Saturday I felt extra Cinderella-like. I've had the last two weeks off - I really needed to work tonight and I've exhausted my options for getting my shift covered.

Today is the Broad Ripple Music Fest. And I am the music columnist for the Broad Ripple Gazette - hummmm, maybe I should be there. The festival matches venues with nonprofits and two places picked Second Helpings adding another layer of guilt.

I raced around the village seeing as much music as possible before 5:00 and stopping in to the two venues to talk about Second Helpings and to thank the volunteers running those stages. The night turned in to one of those excruciating ones that happen every year or so. Not only did the cool kids and lots of musicians come in, which I typically love, but every yea-hoo in town darkened our door.

The Red Key is a family owned bar - wonderful. I'm not a member of the family - not that I wouldn't be honored to be related to Russel, but I'm not his daughter. A customer tonight argued that point for quite a while tonight. Ugggh, seriously - would I choose Spitznogle as an alias?

I am the waitress and the cook and a lot of times I'm making the drinks too. I've worked at the Key for five years and I've got a bit of a routine. Except no one else was playing with my rules tonight. Gette posted this nice little insight in to the world of waitressing. In my crabbiness tonight I thought I'd expound on her list a little bit.

1. We have a business relationship. I am the employee and you are the customer. I can't give you free drinks or food, it is not mine to give away.

2. Just because I'm waiting on you does not mean that I'm stupid. Waitressing is hard work -not only is it physical but it stretches your brain. I've got all of the drink and food prices stored in there, the location of thirty beers and hundreds of liquor bottles and the recipes of thousands of drink combinations and what glass they are served in, I can do math in my head (two beers + a cheeseburger deluxe+ chips + cashews = $12.25), I remember who is sitting where and most likely I remember what you drank that last time you came in and whether or not you like onions.

3. I'm happy to tell you my name and usually throw it in when I'm delivering your first round of drinks. If you're going to ask me my name it is good manners to offer yours at the same time. Tonight a guy made a huge deal of asking my name and then proceed to call my Lora the whole whole evening, even after his friends corrected him. That same guy whipped a bottle cozy out and wrapped his beer in it. I couldn't tell whether his beer was low without picking it up. I asked him every single time I passed by if he needed another drink. He waited until I'd walked away from his table to shout LORA I NEED ANOTHER BEER as I was waiting on other tables. I never did learn his name, but he was wearing the moniker Asshat while he was there.

4. I'm not standing over your cubicle telling you how to do your job. I'm just saying.

5. If you don't see me for a few minutes chances are I'm cooking your food or taking out the trash. I'm not smoking by the dumpster or eating the last order of potato salad, swear.

I'm out of steam and ready for bed- you're spared any more ranting.

Phew.

gifts

My cat (at least I hope it was my cat) left me this gift on the door mat this morning. I did not feel the need to try to revive it. I learned that not only is my dustpan a good for scooping it was a surprisingly effective way to launch a critter to his final resting place. 

Sometimes I feel like I'm too callus in my attitude about some of God's creatures. I know that all animals have their place in this world. I also grew up with the Catholic belief that animals don't have souls. That said, I treat all animals humanly - except for the ones I feel the need to step on or squash or call a professional to remove...or um, eat. 

I think my cat, Felix lives the life of Riley. He gets to eat and sleep indoors if he so desires. He also gets to play outdoors and be the king of the backyard and enjoys the attention of several neighbors. He was rescued from the streets and has had all of the proper shots and snipping. 

I have friends who don't think I should let him outside, that he won't live as long. I think it's a quality of life issue - for him and me. He needs tree climbing time and I need time to do stuff without tripping over a cat. 

I think the scale of cat people goes like this (from bottom to top)

Cliff

Jerry

Nora 

the rest of the world

Annie

Rachel 

Click on their names for cat posts. 

crayon

Sometimes all you need is a pumpkin beer at your local brew pub and a five year-old with a crayon in his nose to end the day on a high note.