Well, that explains it

Newsflash: according to the next-door neighbour, the neighbour across the street was seen cleaning up a smashed pumpkin from the street at the end of his driveway at about 8:30 p.m. on Halloween night. I guess I know what happened to my jack o'lantern.

Now it's time to gear up and get things in order since I'm attending a conference in San Diego (!) starting next Wednesday. I'm very excited, since I've never been to California before, and this conference, which I attend almost every year, is more often in such exciting locales as Troy, NY; Tulsa, OK; Sudbury, ON, Shepherdstown, WV; and Whitefish, MT.*

An amazingly good friend and her 16-yr-old daughter are moving into my house for a few days to look after the girls so that I can attend and present a paper at the conference. Note to self: get going on writing presentation.

*No offence meant to people who live in any of the above places, I myself lived in Sudbury for 5 years and it's a lovely town, but, damn, San Diego! The Pacific Ocean, the beaches, the palm trees, the non-requirement for heavy sweaters, the people who've never heard of snow tires. You have to admit it's a cool destination (Way cool, my friend Norah would say), especially taking into account Ottawa weather in November. Now all I need is a leopard-print silk scarf and some wicked sunglasses and I'm all set.