"Riding the Pine" is the expression that anyone called up to varsity, especially as a freshman, is only too familiar with. It means sitting on the bench while the regular soccer season players have all the fun. I haven't quite figured out what value they think they're offering the lads since watching the game from the sidelines, no matter how you slice it, is watching the game from the sidelines. Nothing more, nothing less. Well now, here's a twist for you. Evan happens not to mind sitting on the bench and takes great pride in wearing the uniform of the varsity player. He is on the roster as a player; wears the uniform; attends all the spaghetti dinners; and isn't all that bothered by the fact he hasn't played. It certainly helps that his fellow freshman, also called up, hasn't played either. I guess it's more of a status thing. This is a fact not lost on the girls who chase all the varsity boys and don't much care who rides the pine and who doesn't.

It's getting to be that time of year. It's time to start thinking about making christmas lists, ordering holiday turkeys, moving summer stuff from the garage to the shed, and god only knows what I may be forgetting. Today is a good day to rake leaves. It promises to be cool but not too cold. It will help to take my mind off of things I should be thinking about that are work related. Maybe there will be time for everything today. Did I mention that Ev has a soccer game? I also have a good mind to make some chili which will come in handy around dinner time since we haven't much in the fridge. Remind me not to buy frozen calamari again. I thawed out a package of same last week and cooked them up in some of Nan's home made tomato sauce. I ate it but I didn't enjoy it. Life is too short to be eating just for the sake of eating especially when I'm doing the food prep. And how about that avacado I had with my chili last night? How is it that some avacados don't ripen? The color was terrific but the damn thing was hard as a rock. I should have known when I struggled to cut the darn thing open and nearly jabbed myself two or three times in the process. Next time, if I can't leave an indent in it with my thumb, it will stay on the counter until I can.

Hey, Denise, thanks for leaving a note on my blog. I dropped you an e-mail at the hospital but not sure you got it. If you are as busy at work as I am, you may have overlooked it and perhaps meant to get back to it but never did. Nonetheless, appreciate the note. Becasue you asked, Snow Leopard is the new operating system for the Mac. Not so new anymore but it was when I made reference to it. As to your comment about living on a farm, I'm not so sure that I'm cut out for that lifestyle. I have far too many chores that make demands on my time as it is and I live on a very modest parcel of land. I think my rule of thumb these days is that if I can't mow the lawn without using a sit-down mower, then the property is too big for me. I would like to have a larger house but we like where we live so there you have it. Lastly, when winter rolls around, I like to be able to use a wood stove to heat the whole house and we can do that so I'm good.