Except for the fact that Anna is still off school, and my office has not reopened, things are mostly back to normal. The air is occasionally clear, depending on which way the wind is blowing. The girls have been mostly indoors all week, but visits from friends have given them some respite from going completely stir crazy.

While things for our family are looking good, so far five families I know have lost their homes. I’m sure I’ll find out more on Monday. Something likes 1200 houses were lost across San Diego, a number that is just absolutely ridiculous the more you think about it. We choose to live here with the fires and mudslides and earthquakes, though. Everyone has to pick their poison.

Every now and then we clear out our old toys and clothes to family, friends, or local people via craigslist. This weekend we’ll take this opportunity to really do a thorough job of paring things down so that we can free up items to donate. Normally we do this on the sly, because as soon as we tell the kids we’re giving away one of their toys, even if they haven’t played with it in years it suddenly become an indispensable favorite. This time, I made a point of telling Anna that we were going to sort through toys to give to kids who have lost their homes, and she was actually excited about it, because she felt genuine sympathy. It’s always refreshing to find out that your child is a good person, even if you knew it before.

Hopefully everything will be getting more back to normal in time for Halloween; a few weeks ago I picked up a smoke machine with the intent of taking some pictures of the kids in their costumes. Hopefully I’ll have the chance to do it this weekend. For now, my computer (which is no slouch) is processing some 1800 photos I took at a fitness event last weekend, and it will be finished in a mere 10 hours! RAW workflow be a harsh mistress.