2 Things. Completely unrelated.

Thing 1. Here's a lovely image for you of the morning skies of late. As fall tumbles towards winter, the mornings carry with them a sense of impending drama.

Thing 2. We are heading to Seattle today, for a visit with Paul and Lisa where we'll have mondo fun, wear our stretch pants whenever we're not in public, and play epic rounds of cribbage. We'll also hit some of our favourite Seattle hotspots and we'll buy baking ingredients from the world- famous Trader Joe's for all the festive baking that's to be done!

Thing 3. (Okay, I know I said "2 Things", but then I realized that 2 things were not enough.)

I did it. I signed up for NaBloPoMo. What is that? (you might ask). Well, it's one of those challenges that tickles the heart of many a blogger. Essentially, in a nutshell, you post a blog entry every day for a month. That's all. And at the end of it, you are left with a fabulous sense of accomplishment (not to mention a shot at some lovely prizes). I know it's only day 6, but I'm feeling inspired: like I have a mission. So dagnabit - I'm gonna do it. I am going to post every day for a month. I even have a badge (and I don't know if you were a Brownie or a Girl Guide, but I can tell you that the promise of a badge is some pretty powerful motivation!)

Visit NaBloPoMo

Thing 4. (Seriously, I just can't help myself)

When we are IN Seattle, we are going to take a trip here.

To "Wing Dome". There is no actual dome at the "Wing Dome", but there are an AWFUL lot of wings. Delicious wings. In all kinds of flavours. And the wings are available on heat scale of 1-6 (with 1 being mild, and 6 being "burn the mouth right off your face").

And THEN there's a wing that's only sold in an individual serving. And on a scale of 1-6 in the heat department, this wing measures a tastebud shattering 7. Yes. 7. And IF you are so brave idiotic as to ORDER one of these face melting puppies, and if you don't actually DIE in the act of eating it, or if you aren't carted off on a stretcher as your lips melt into your nostrils, they come along and take your picture and post it on "The Wall of Flame".

Can you guess which Man who we all know and love ate one of these the last time we were in Seattle? Yup. Paul was like his life coach on this one and goaded him on, laying the rules out for him, speaking slowly and clearly: "You DON'T let it touch your lips. You ONLY pick it up with a napkin. You chase it with whatever you've got." In essence, you don't let it touch you, because you don't want to suffer from any kind of chemical burn. Now tell me, gentle reader. How cracked is that? And why do I think that when Mister Man lays his eyeballs on this post, he'll want to do it again for posterity, so that I can print the evidence right here for you to see?

Tell you what. Why don't I save their digestive tracts and print a not-so-hot photo of a really hot moment. Why look. Here are our two heroes now. Paul is doing the demo, and Mister Man is standing by to follow suit. Note the MONDO pitcher of beer in the background. That's the place where Mister Man dunked his noggin only moments after this photo was taken.