but no need to go to the market for a fat pig, because there are now three of them already in residence here.  Yep, my Man and I have returned from the US several sizes larger, thanks to humungus food portions - not easy for a woman to leave 80% of it on the plate after being brought up with the mantra 'You must eat up all your food - there are children starving in Africa, you know".    Even Dog has returned from her kennels looking rather rotund.

I'd like to be able to report that I have come back refreshed and rested.  Instead, I'm shattered and my feet, legs and back are killing me.  That's the trouble with city breaks.  In a desperate bid to visit all the main tourist attractions, and get a bit of history and cultural information, and shop, and eat, and sample the bars and nightlife - well, I feel shattered just writing it all down - it is more of an endurance test than a holiday. 

Still, it was a good one, and I can catch up on my sleep at home.  Preferably whilst at work, leaving me time to catch up on blogging.

But as always, it was nature that provided one of the best moments of my trip.  For New York is getting ready for Halloween, and there are  pumpkin displays around the city.   And the best, in my opinion, was the one that provided a free meal for some delighted sparrows and a wood pigeon, who enjoyed picking out the seed heads from the bales of straw supporting the display.

Halloween Display
 

New York Sparrows

So now I am going to catch up with what my friends have been up to.  And I know you've all been up to a lot, because I have poems, photos, gossip and Blog Action Day posts, plus plenty of Rusty Usky and the announcement as to whether or not wannabe King Kevin managed to invade the island to look forward to.

Ah! There's no place like home.