Just a couple more weeks until my visit to Iowa (boy, using "visit" sounds strange...). Looking online for motels in Ogallala for an overnight stay the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

Talked to Dad tonight. He told me that our poor old puppy Checkers is blind. Probably related to that cat attack on Christmas Eve so many years ago. Dad recounted a couple sad yet hilarious anecdotes where Checkers has run head-on into trees and the van bumper.

I keep getting asked by coworkers when I will having a housewarming party at the apartment. Once I get it presentable for guests, that's when. That's when I'll take pictures, too.

I did have Patrick over last Monday. Then we went out for dinner. We really wanted pizza and beer, but Village Pizza was closed. Instead we tried out the Grumpy Gringo, which was quite possibly the worst Mexican I've ever had to pay for. At least the margaritas had alcohol in them. But dinner was so bad that we had to chase it with ice cream from McDonald's.

Monday was also Halloween, and Estes does it differently than I'd ever experienced. Trick-or-treating is centralized downtown, where costumed kids (and plenty of adults) go from business to business collecting candy. This makes sense since most of the homes here are scattered around the valley with little or no sidewalks and streetlights.

Kinda sorry that I didn't get dressed up.