Have you ever had an experience that makes you question reality? You know... like those those science fiction stories where aliens are creating a world just for one person. Or maybe that you're lying a tup somewhere with everything you see and feel is a simulation al la The Matrix? I remember seeing old Twilight Zone episodes where the central character looks out one window to see the sun and looks out the other to see a rainy day.

I had one of those today. I was driving on the freeway where several ramps were come together. I needed to merge right into fast, merging traffic so I was watching the van in front of me merge right and watching in the passenger side mirror a dirty, blue pickup coming up fast on the right. I decided to let him zoom by and I'd merge in behind him. I saw him in the mirror getting closer. The van ahead of me had merged over and there was room for him to go by. So I looked to the right to see the pickup to find my place to merge and he was gone!!!! I mean totally missing. In the 4 lanes of traffic around me, there was not a dirty, blue pickup anywhere. The only place I saw him was in my passenger side mirror but he was not there in real life.

Do, Do, Do, Do. (Imagine the Twilight Zone theme).

Well, maybe there was a glitch in the reality simulation program. I'm just not sure. We'll see how the rest of the day goes.

Our cat Moon (really Moonlight, but that's only for formal occasions) disappeared a few days ago. All of our cats are indoor/outdoor cats but Moon is the only one who spends most of her time outdoors. The other cats spend most of their time lounging around the house like proper, spoiled cats.

But, like I said, Moon disappeared. Gone for three or four days. We called. We looked. No Moon. A saddness began to grow in the house.

Then, yesterday, there was Moon sitting in the house. A little thinner and with a large wound on her side. We surmise is that she got wounded and she hid to get better. All of our cats hide under a bed when they are sick or hurt. The wound is bad enough that we're glad she didn't die under a bed somewhere.

She spent the night at the vet's and we're getting her back today. I have no idea what wounded her (coyote, racoon, nail on a fence, ...) but the vet has it stitched up and drained and we'll get our cat back today.

It was another year and another Halloween. The pictures show that we again carved pumpkins, gave out candy and had a good time. This year we had the family over (the kids and their families) to carve pumpkins so everyone had a hand in creating the Halloween spirit.

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This isn't a dead blog. I've just been off doing other things. But I have piles of pictures to get up and comments to make so this week I will be putting up a new entry every day. Most of them will be from the past but it's time to catch up.

Today I ran 15 miles to get ready for the Disneyworld Marathon that's in early January. I have a lot of training to do to get ready for that race. But, you can see from the pictures that it was a beautiful fall day here in the Willamette Valley. The rain even held off for the run.

One of many educational catalogs we receive included a very educational item:

Nothing gives kids (and adults) the giggles more than the subjects of farts and poops. This adorable plush bear and two fun books turn taboo subjects into natural, healthy converstaions... with loads of laughs. Li'l Stinker Bear has a wireless remote thta causes him to produce six different "gassy" sounds, and his cheeks light up as he "blushes" after each funny deed! 3 AA batteries included. 12" high. The Gas We Pass, the Story of Farts book playfully teaches kids about the simple science of flatulence (human and animal); Everyone Poops lightheartedly shows kids who are potty training that they're not alone -- because every living creature poops! Both are colorfullyillustrated 28-page hardcover books. Ages 3+.

We never had stuff like this when I was a kid.