Is it wrong for me to suddenly want to grow a giant pumpkin now that we’re homeowners?

I should say that it runs in my family. My paternal grandfather once grew a squash so big he got to be pictured next to it in the newspaper. It was almost immediately stolen. But, there’s a happy ending–he put a chastising ad in the classifieds about how much work the thing had taken to cultivate and how only an extremely low form of life would steal it and the squash reappeared on the back porch.

Let us all bid September a not-so-fond adieu. October feels better already. A word of caution to home improvement DIYers — while this is pretty, it is an utter, complete, total fabrication that it is in any way "easy" to install. Not easy. Particularly not in a hundred-year-old house, in which the original rooms are not actually "square" and have complicated woodwork around the doors. You may wonder why we chose said product? Because it was supposed to be easy, and we could do it ourselves, saving on installation. This according to the manufacturer and the LIARSPEOPLE OF THE INTERNET.

I hate to use the transitional adverb LUCKILY here, because LUCKY doesn’t even begin to cover it, but when it turns out that you have been lied to by a flooring product and everyone online, the only possible way to salvage the outcome is to be, LUCKILY, rescued by a ridiculously generous neighbor who used to do this stuff professionally and is willing to spend all weekend bailing you out. It looks lovely though, it does, and is done except for transitions and stuff. So, in this way, I am counting our first big house project a success. And those of you who come visit will be amazed at how different the kitchen feels.

(We still have a couple of rooms we want to replace the flooring on, but it’s seeming far less urgent, and way more likely we will hire it done.)

And that was the weekend… On a more bookish topic, the other day OGIC mentioned that she’d discovered The Hobbit for the first time and asked:

What children’s classics did you first discover as an adult (Harry Potter doesn’t count), and how did it make you feel–old? young again?

I’ll say Dodie Smith‘s I Capture the Castle and Michael de Larrabeiti‘s Borribles trilogy. Both of these made me feel incredibly sad that I hadn’t discovered them when I was a kid, and completely enchanted. But then, I feel closest to my childhood self when I’m reading anything that completely connects. There is a kind of joy there that is maybe more rare as I get older, but no less powerful when it comes.

Our house is not a manse, not close (though it does have that formal parlour), but we decided it needed a name. We decided this while at an art show — controversial though that may have been to red-shirt lady and dorky kid — featuring exquisite letterpress work from locally-based Press 817. (To see some work from another exceedingly awesome local letterpress outfit go to Cricket Press — I suggest buying some prints and posters and etc. See also: their Etsy store.) Anyway, henceforth when you’re coming to visit and someone asks where you’re going, tell them:

I think you’ll agree it’s perfect.

Now we just have to get a copy of the print that came from. Some background here for those unfamiliar with the moniker’s origin.

Okay, now back to novelizing for me.