All my Halloween decorations are up and spooky (well, really more cute than spooky). Do you personally go all out, maybe carve a trio of pumpkins, buy your favorite candy believing (truly) you'll save it for the night of the 31st? Sorry, ain't no way that's going to happen and if you get right down to it, who cares? Halloween is all about fun, yours and the little ghosts and witches who knock on your door. (It doesn't hurt to scare the crap out of them too).

September 22nd is the 265th day of the Georgian calendar. It is also the autumnal equinox. You have my permission to be the first one to forget these facts after you've told one other person, proving what a trivia pain in the butt you are. (And just what does that make me?)

A smidgeon of an advert since my brain is fixated on it at this particular point in time – Reckoning, the 26th FBI thriller, is on the three big bestseller lists, thanks to all of you who bought a copy of the ebook or hardcover right out of the gate. Now it’s time to go chew on your neighbors and friends and co-workers -- if there’s overlap, you’ll be off the hook sooner

Middle of the summer. Already. Since we flew from one hub to another, we didn't have the merciless delays or the soul-crushing cancellations. We prayed we were improving our odds by booking a very early flight, better chance of taking off within two hours of purported departure time, which in turn meant we arrived to our hotel in Cape May, NJ, had time to order a pizza, figure out the TV, all before watching the WARRIORS BEAT THE CELTICS IN GAME 6 AND BECOME NBA CHAMPIONS OF THE UNIVERSE For THE -- count them -- FOURTH TIME.

It’s June already and hard to believe this wonderful year is half gone. But hey, it also means it’s summer which means leaving work behind for a couple of weeks and VACATIONING, which means doing something different from your daily routine, which means bringing your blood pressure way down as you contemplate the mini-umbrella in your mai tai. It also means unhooking your kids from their phones and tablets (you too!) and hiding them.

Planning for the HUGE family get-together at the Outer Banks in mid-June. By planning I mean wrapping a gazillion birthday presents which will mean, of course, paying Tullio's June overhead with the, what is it? Twenty? awesome cakes. Then, of course, there's figuring out all the logistics of who's sleeping where, who's cooking when, and who's turn it is to buy more toilet paper.

Everyone has leftover ham from Easter dinner to lay carefully between two slices of brioche toast slathered with mustard and maybe a couple of dill pickles? Yes, yes, nearly as good as a taco, well, I stress nearly, okay? I hope you stashed some of your chocolate Easter eggs, to give yourself a well-deserved sugar high, not just the munchkins.

We've already passed the 15th of March so it's too late for me to warn you about possible gnarly Ides tripping you up or pissing you off or making you crabby.

Happy February -- So many exciting happenings this month -- Valentine's Day, my birthday on Valentine's Day, the Super Bowl (congrats to the RAMS and Matthew Stafford), and the two very biggest excitements, other than my birthday??

Eli pondering where to start on his memoirs.

Vol.