Guus Bosman

This afternoon was the annual block party of Lynnbrook, the street that we live in. The party was a lot of fun.

We talked with many neighbors we hadn't met before, especially from a little further down the street. During the summer we've met many of the neighbors in our corner and it's a great feeling to live in a place where people know each other. There were quite a lot of kids at the party also.

Sasha brought two salads to the party and especially the mlechna salad was a big hit.

We learned that for Halloween there is a "pre-party" at Haynes Park that might be fun to attend.

I was preparing dinner when all of a sudden Nora came running towards me.

"Eng! Eng! Beessie!"

A big flying insect of some sort had come through the kitchen door and Nora was scared. I didn't want to kill the creature, so shooed it back outside with a piece of paper and it quickly disappeared.

Just then Sasha came home and Nora explained what happened.

"Beessie!" -- and with relief and admiration in her voice: "Pappa!"

Today we went to the open house of Heidelberg bakery, a German store on Lee Highway in Arlington.

The weather was beautiful so we walked. It's a nice route through Cherry Dale, about 40 minutes each way. We saw the first Halloween decorations.

The open house was nice. We met the owner, Wolfgang Büchler, who immigrated from Germany in the 1970's. There were several machines on display and we saw the big ovens they use. There were also several cookies and breads to try out and take home. A very nice gesture.

Yesterday we had a social event at work and we played broomball. This is a simplified version of ice hockey: you wear normal shoes, not skates, and the ice is prepared to provide more traction than usual.

We played in the Kettler Capitals Iceplex, an ice rink on top of the parking mall in Ballston, very close to our office. It's the place where the Washington Capitals do their training.

We played two 20 minute games; we won the first but lost the second.