Treat Or Trick

This week we sat down and watched one of our family favorites, It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. Julia saw it for the first time and really liked it. In fact, she asked to watch it again the next night. I think Snoopy was her favorite character...much like her Dad when he was younger.

I've watched this show over 20 times, but this year something new caught my attention. What's the deal with the phrase "trick or treat"? When Charlie Brown goes trick or treating, every other child gets candy but he always gets a rock. I've always assumed that it's just because he's Charlie Brown. This year, it dawned on me that maybe the phrase meant that we could "trick" a kid or two in addition to giving others candy. The film was written in the late 1960s, so maybe in our all-accepting, everyone wins culture, the practice had changed and everyone only ever gets treated.

I asked my Grandma about it, and her understanding is the same as what is listed in Wikipedia. Trick or treat normally means "give me a treat or I'll play a trick on you"...from the point of the requester. I realize the word "or" should make the order irrelevant, and that it probably means "trick unless treated". In today's common language, the order of words in a threat usually go in the opposite order though. The want is followed by the consequence. For example, "you'll be grounded unless you stop swearing" is awkward and unconvincing compared to "stop swearing or you're grounded". It's awkward to say it the other way around, like trick or treat. Maybe we've just changed over the years so that the reversed order seems more awkward then it was originally. So then, today the phrase should be "treat or (I'll) trick", right?

So there you have it. It's now "treat or trick". Or, we could just change to what's often heard in Canada, "Halloween Apples". Or, my personal favorite from Quebec, simply, "Halloween". It would be hilarious if a kid rang my doorbell and just said, "Halloween" (so give me my friggin' candy, pops).

So, from here forward, if I ever do start handing out candy as my kids get older, rest assured the basket will be filled with a few rocks and whatever else I was planning on throwing away anyway. "Trick or treat" will probably land you an old smelly sock. "Treat or trick" and I'll likely give you my entire stash of candy. I will be extorted by sugar-crazed whippersnappers no more. The tables have been turned, little Johnny...it goes both ways!

Tickle Fight

Posh Spice

Halloween Moon A Week Early

I got some really nice shots of the moonrise last night. There was only a short time the moon was visible in the east between the horizon and clouds. Trick or treat kids...your vampire movies will never be as cool as ours.

Weird Soccer Injuries

We had a soccer game today...in the game I picked up 2 pretty weird "knocks". Only once in my life prior have I ended up with a hexagonal bruise from the ball. Never have I bruised my tongue from the ball hitting me in the face. We won 3-1 though, so it was well worth it.

Zee Germans Are Coming

Does anybody have a stopwatch? Preferably something with a second hand.

Most of you who read this blog know that my parents are in Germany right now, in the town of Bogen. My Dad is there for a 4 level cervical spine artificial disk replacement. The surgery will begin at 8 a.m. Colorado time on Monday.

Here are some nice pictures of the town/area and the hospital building. The river in the first picture is the Danube. I hear the medical staff speaks better English then my parents! Our thoughts and prayers are with you Opa and Oma.

Crown Molding Ordered

I ordered the crown molding for the entire house today! The entire house is 868 linear feet, rounding up to the next foot on each wall. Considering there will be a fair amount of wasted material, I plan on placing a final order after I've installed it all. I'm painting it white so I won't have as much waste as natural wood though. It's coming from Texas, so it will be here in about a week. I'm not planning on starting it until probably after Thanksgiving or maybe even Christmas. Exciting times...

Yikes - Different Rules!

This entire time I've been thinking that the tie-breaker rules in the Champions League Group Stage are the same as the World Cup. Actually, they aren't. I had to look them up since in the standings at the bottom of Tottenham's group looked incorrect to me last night.

The long and the short of it is, the HEAD TO HEAD results count first, not the overall results in the group. So, since we beat Twente 4-1 in the first leg, we probably have the advantage over them. However, if Werder and us tie on points and they beat us at the end of November, no matter the score, they would advance over us head to head since we tied in the first match (a). But, if we happen to draw 1-1 at home against Werder we'd advance (b would be even, but c would apply). Any other higher scoring draw should mean we would advance (d, e, and f). Werder are the team to keep an eye on.

Here are the rules...glad I found this out:

7.06

If two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria are applied to determine the rankings (in descending order):

a) higher number of points obtained in the group matches played among the teams in question;
b) superior goal difference from the group matches played among the teams in question;
c) higher number of goals scored away from home in the group matches played among the teams in question;
d) superior goal difference from all group matches played;
e) higher number of goals scored;
f) higher number of coefficient points accumulated by the club in question, as well as its association, over the previous five seasons (see paragraph 9.02).

Inter Milan 4-3 Tottenham

I just watched one of the weirdest games. I anxiously drove home from Denver this afternoon after dropping my parents off at the airport, looking forward to watching one of the biggest games in Spurs recent history. I got home just in time, put Julia down for a nap, and plopped myself on the couch in the basement. I told Stacey that I would be happy with a draw or maybe even a close loss (for goal difference), but that I had a feeling we could lose 3 or 4 to 0 (yes, those were my exact words).

The whistle blew for kickoff, we looked good for 70 seconds, and then they scored. Not exactly how you want to start a game. About 7 minutes later, our keeper got a red card/ejected from the game/will miss the next game and they were awarded a penalty kick. The fact that we were going to be down a man the rest of the game and that they were probably going to be leading 2-0 easily sunk in as the play stopped for a few minutes while our backup keeper made his way onto the field. 2-0. Only 3 minutes after that they scored a third goal. Nothing like being down away from home to the defending European Champions by 3 goals after 14 minutes. Game over after 14 minutes! They scored a 4th goal later on in the half, adding insult to injury.

Being 4-0 down at halftime, I decided to take a quick nap. We had been embarrassed, it was probably only going to get worse being a man down, and our goal difference advantage over the Dutch and German teams in our group had been obliterated after only 14 minutes in Italy. I woke up after my nap and fast forwarded through the rest of the game. I was pleasantly surprised when at the end of the game I thought I saw the score say 4-3...so, I backed the recording up.

Gareth Bale is a stud. When I first saw him a few years ago I laughed because he looked a Hobbit - Frodo Baggins, actually. Now, he's the man who scored a hat trick...in Italy...a man down...against the best in the world. I told Stacey at the beginning of this season that he is my new favorite player. After seeing him in New York this summer the running joke is that I have a man crush on him. He single-handedly put the team on his back and scored almost 3 identical goals - 2 of them in injury time. His first goal was gorgeous...running past and around 3 players 50-60 yards with the ball before slotting it home across the face of the goal with his left foot. He scored his second in a similar way (although not as long of a run). Then, directly off of the kickoff from his second goal we stole the ball and Lennon assisted his hat trick.

Going from losing 4-0 to losing 4-3 playing a man down the entire game feels like we stole a point. Obviously we didn't get any points, but the swing in goal difference may prove to be worth a point as we lead that first tiebreaker against the Dutch and German sides in our group. My only concern today was that there was going to be a big winner in the other game in our group. A big winner in that game and a big loss in our game today could have dropped us to third place. Well, after Bale rescued us, at the end of the day things couldn't have finished any better for us. We only lost by 1 goal and the other game ended in a 1-1 draw. Yes! We're still in second place and control our own fate halfway through this group stage.

First Piece Of Gum

Mild Mannered Superhero

This afternoon we watched The Incredibles. Now, Julia is jumping off the couch and bouncing off the walls pretending to be a Superhero. Based on what she yells right before she starts running with the wooden spoon, she is the "Pumpkin Spice Latte Superhero"!!! Who knew? At least she runs with her fist in the air...

Easing Into Fall

The weather here this fall has been really nice. The temps during the day have been staying in the 70s for the most part, meaning we've had a really good season for color. The tree in our front yard is almost completely red, and the forecast looks good for the next week or so. We may get snow in 10 days, but by then all of the trees should be completely turned.

Considering our house/development is only 5 years old, the trees are just now beginning to make their presence known. For example, this tree is about as tall as the house now. I planted the same kind of maple along the side of the house exactly a year ago. It's doing very well and the leaves are huge compared to the tree in the front yard. The leaves are bigger and it hasn't changed color much yet since it gets a lot more water (it's in a drainage area between the properties). I'm predicting that in about 3 years, we should be completely surrounded by the 3 maple trees in our yard and the other trees (one is a cottonwood) in the neighbors' yards.

Palmer Park Overlook

Right now is a good time to visit the overlook. The weather is still nice but the trees are changing color. We took a little trip up there this afternoon since Stacey had never seen it. Julia went on a "hike" and while blazing her own trail, accidentally discovered some cactus.

Railed It

One of the things I've been meaning to upgrade are the handrails in our house. Normally I wouldn't care, but the lacquer was turning yellow and the railings needed to be refinished. The cheapest solution that best matches the rest of our house was to sand and paint the wood the trim color and upgrade the hardware. The white paint is thick and should actually wear well, can easily be wiped down, and easily touched up.

At first I didn't like the look...but it's grown on me. At the very least it's unique and is better then it was before. My hope is that really goes well/ties in with the crown molding.

DJ Jazzy Jules

Happy Apple Farm

What a day at the farm! Today we drove down to Ferrara's for our annual fall visit. This year was our fourth year in a row. We decided this year to wait until the weather was cooler and the trees were in color before making the drive. This meant all of the apples and berries were picked, so most people were there for the pumpkins and the experience.

We took a few pictures and walked around for a little bit. We took the hay ride tractor back to the general store and were about to leave...and then our morning got interesting. Rob, the tractor driver (as we later learned), took a liking to our family. He's been at the farm for awhile - I think he's one of the main groundskeepers. Either he was feeling generous or we looked like we could use some hospitality. At first he was curious why we didn't pick out a pumpkin or two, and since we were just there for some cider and maybe a $1 "pie pumpkin" for some bread he probably felt sorry for us. He told us to go and pick out the 2 biggest pumpkins "on the house". A few minutes later he came by with a piece of cream cheese icing pumpkin bread...and then he came by the table we were at and asked what we wanted to drink. A few minutes into our snack he brought me a BBQ brisket sandwich with potato chips. He kept giving us free food...back and back he came with something else. The lady cooking said "we must be the special ones". After picking out our pumpkins he sent us on our way with two full bags of apples. I was offered a turkey leg too but turned it down since I was stuffed. On the way home we added up that we had been given about $40 - $50 of free food. Considering we had gone there expecting to come back with only an item or two, this was a great surprise and made the outing very memorable.

Most importantly, Julia had a good time...the hay ride, because she picked out her own pumpkin (she keeps saying it's her first very own pumpkin), and because of all the treats she ate. She likes the apple cider we brought home from the farm and the "snicker noodle" cookies I made last night.

First Double Bath

4 Months Old

First Solid Food

A Simple Solution

It's good to see this French Cleat carrying its weight after this summer's showing at the World Cup. I'm a big fan. For anyone out there considering mounting a television on the wall, don't bother with anything else...well, unless you need something more fancy then a stationary $15 mount at Home Depot.

Long story short, we finally gave in and decided to move the extra television that has been sitting in the closet to our bedroom. We're only going with rabbit ears so that we don't end up using it very often. There will be days where we want the news on the morning while getting ready or a place to get cuddly and watch a show or two at night. We aren't television watchers - but the option will be nice.

Back to the installation. I mounted the cleat on the wall to the studs and the other cleat on the back of the television. Obviously, mounting it to the studs is a must. The cleat says it will hold 100 pounds, which I found very impressive. Maybe I should have Stacey hang from it sometime to test it. I added 2 felt "bumpers" to the back of the television to protect the wall and to keep the television parallel to it. I had cut the back of the case out previously for a different antenna. I included summer sausage in the photo since this type of manly project requires a snack such as this. The antenna was fixed to the wall with mounting tape in a location where the ears have free movement and where it looks like it's the base of a fancy mounting system.

After finding the wall stud for the cleat, I could tell which side of the stud the outlet box had been nailed to. After finding the location on the wall that was on the correct side of the stud yet still hidden by the television, and in an area where the cord wouldn't hit the back of the television when hanging, I cut a hole with my knife. I had to cut out part of the outlet box (plastic) in order to thread the plug through it. I drilled a hole in the outlet cover for the cord and assembled/hung everything.

The best part about this system is that I can take the television on and off the wall whenever I want. Only the small metal bracket is attached to the wall. Find me a television stand that's the perfect height and width for this space and that's only 15 Euros let alone $15. Oui oui, mon ami.

20% Down - 2,852 Feet

I've been using this map to track the 14ers I've climbed. After yesterday, I've completed 1/5 of them (by number, not difficulty). Or, if starting from sea level using a 14,000 foot scale, I'm currently at 2,852 feet. I started right in the middle of fixing up a house and having 2 children, so I'm not exactly off to a fast start. Still, it's nice to pass the 20% mark - it's a good milestone.

Mt Evans Mt Bierstadt

Saturday morning I woke up at 3 am and met up with a group of guys at Focus to climb Mt Evans and Mt Bierstadt. There were 4 of us in total - I knew Nathan from work and he brought 2 other friends with him, Eric and Jonathan.

These 2 14ers are right outside Denver, so it was an easy drive. In the summer, you can drive all the way to the top of Mt Evans. This time of year, the road is closed about a mile below the top at Summit Lake. On Monday they are closing the entire road for the winter. You can still hike it, but the route is much longer.

Our route was 8.25 miles and took us 9 hours to complete. We didn't walk slow at all, we just purposely took the more difficult route along the ridge which resulted in a lot of scrambling up and down rocks. Most of the day was spent on class 3 scrambles, and although that took time it made the trip a lot more fun versus just pounding out the mileage. We parked at Summit Lake, hiked up to a saddle below Mt Evans and then descended into the valley between the 2 peaks. We hiked up to the ridge and followed it all the way up to Mt Bierstadt. From Bierstadt we crossed the "sawtooth" and then followed the ridge all the way over to Mt Evans before returning to our car.

We had some good theological discussions along the way. We also quoted lines from the movies The Princess Bride and the Three Amigos and each gave our thoughts on Lost. We even got our own flyby from 2 F-16s. As we traversed the ridge approaching Mt Evans, 2 F-16s "buzzed the tower" and flew right over us. We could see one of the pilots in the cockpit - that's how close they were. Due to the time, we safely assumed they were part of the flyby for the Air Force - Navy game. It was pretty cool to be on top of the world and get buzzed by 2 F-16s.

Setting out - sunrise illuminating Mt Bierstadt, route we descended


Route taken off Mt Evans road down to valley


Scrambling up to the ridge that we followed to Mt Bierstadt


Photos from Mt Bierstadt summit, looking at the sawtooth route



The sawtooth (1-2), looking back at the sawtooth (3-6), misc pictures



I had a lot of fun on this trip. I didn't feel uncomfortable at any point due to the exposure or terrain. The pictures make it look a lot more difficult then it really is. I would recommend this route to anyone who wants to have some fun on otherwise easy and straightforward peaks.