The Halloween dispersal

Every year, my kids have always stuck together on Halloween. They'll pick a different section of the neighborhood to go through, or one year we were in a totally different neighborhood (my niece was born on Oct 31 and had a big party that year), but they always stuck together.

As they got older, I expected them to start doing other things. One would go off to a party instead, ext. But so far they always stuck together. Until this year. My oldest got invited to hang out with his friends in a different part of town. Didn't know if it was a party, but from watching him on the map it looks like he went candy hunting. My second born had a similar invite with friends in a different part of town, but left with them in the morning. Daytime party, evening candy run. My thirdborn had a friend come to our place, and they did a (very successful) candy run. I'm convinced they min/maxxed the neighborhood because they were out as long as my daughter and returned with a dragons horde of sugary treats. Then my daughter was invited to her friends house, which I walked her over and they went Trick-or-Treating in that part of the neighborhood.

My wife and I actually just stayed home and gave out candy.

So I expected the kids to gradually disperse over the years, but it happened all at once.

Meanwhile, my brother and his wife moved into my late grandfathers house next door. That house has, to my knowledge, never participated in Halloween festivities. So the pumpkins they set out on the front steps were far above any other decorations placed over the lifetime of the house. They had a handful of (very polite) kids hike down the very long driveway and it just made their day. Meanwhile my wife's physical presence in her light-up witch hat made it obvious that there was candy to be had on the street, so any kids that would otherwise pass by actually made their way up the road this year.

It's like everything changed all at once. 

You are in the house of Elrond.

 

Late season Adirondack hiking

The latest hike I did last year was early October. I was prepared for it to be cold, but it was - and it wasn't. 

Let me explain.

Yes it was cold, but whenever I start going uphill, I warm up fast. I was in a t-shirt hiking uphill in the ice. I got to the peak and it was still cold, but windy. I did need to add my extra layers for the descent. The fun part was in my odd clothing choice. I wore a desert camo pants, and a bright pink t-shirt. My legs blended in perfectly with the fallen leaves, and my shirt could be seen for miles. 

It's gonna take me forever to get all 46 high peaks. 

aPpLeS

Ah Columbus Day, when my entire family goes apple picking. The orchard switched up how they do things. Instead of handing out bags and paying by the pound on your way out, you buy the bag at a flat rate and you can fill it as much as you like.

Granted, the bag can only hold so much.

Skipping the weigh station was nice this year, especially since my wife and daughter always fill their bags to overflowing, and can't carry them afterward. I carry both of theirs. The old weigh station was much further away from the parking lot, so not only did I not have to hold them while waiting in line, I didn't have to go as far.

Yay, tons of apples. 

Internal bubble wrap

Sometimes I feel stiff, so I stretch out a bit. That's not the important part. The important part is that sometimes when I do this, I don't move as much as I think I should. Every so often I get a massage (I'm a very active person, you have no idea how bad it can get), and I got one today. 

Once I got home, I attempted the same stretch, and not only did my range of motion increase, but I popped like a kid with bubble wrap. My bodily movements went from slow and smooth straight into jackhammer and slipped gears.

But only the first time. I kept moving myself around to see if I had any left and was actually disappointed when I finally got the last of it out. It was kinda fun.

Not as kneedful

I stayed home this weekend. Since then, I spent the winter studying what happened to my knee, and how to avoid it. Different exercises that are supposed to help the joint, which muscles needed to be worked on, foods and supplements that can help. Though 90% of the help came with a knee brace. 

Looks like I failed to mention this on my birthday hike. Nor did I mention the following hike that happened in July.

(For as often as I try to stretch the topics here, you think I would yak about what I'm actually doing) 

I was a teenager when my right knee first gave me issues, and my doctor at the time (still my doctor, btw) pointed out that my kneecap moved a lot more than it should. He suggested I build up the muscle around it to keep it from doing that. I don't skip leg day, so maybe it's not that. I got the kind of brace that keeps my kneecap in place. Doing nothing else differently, my knee had absolutely zero problems. In fact, my left knee started to ache a little right at the end of the hike.

First thing I did when I got home was get another brace for my left knee. I only went on two hikes this summer (three if you count the one I had to stop - wait, I didn't blog about that, either?), but I have one planned in two weeks. It gets cold up there in this time of year, but I sweat every time on the way up, Maybe this will even it out. I'll let you know.

Big walk

I skipped work and did a ten mile hike through Highland Forest. Only took five hours, it had rained earlier so it was all wet, but the rain mostly tapered off to a fine mist. I left home at the same time I always do, and I got home right when I normally do. Nobody would have known if I hadn't said anything. 

I share my location with my wife, so if I hadn't said anything she could have found out anyway. I don't keep anything from her, so she knew (only the day before), but sometimes I wonder if she's even looking.

Or reading my blog. She knows it's here, so... I don't know.