On the bright side...

Rachel had her First Communion at the redoubtable Assumption Grotto in Detroit. This one kinda captures our daily chaos better than the nicer photos.

 
Tommy's a handsome lad already. I think he has a future in grifting.

We have about 80 percent of our books out of storage. The kids have no excuse, really.

Those of you inclined to play "Where's Waldo?" can try to guess at the volumes in question. And no, this isn't all of our shelves. Just a sampler.

Offline to deal with spammers for a while.

It's available again. Obviously.

FWIW. I know, I'm a bad blogger.

Smoke if you got 'em.

In addition to spammers, I've also been dealing with nuked credit, good and bad family stuff, along with occupational obligations.

Consider this your open thread, if you're so inclined. Michigan being a surprising battleground State, you can lecture me on how not voting for Romney is a vote for Obama.

Or some such.