Happy Fall, Y’all!

Weekly Happenings: This past week, we pretty much just hung around the house. I think that’s the new norm for how life is, to be honest…we don’t really go anywhere unless we need to. I’m okay with that, though. I’ve found that as I get older, I’m getting to be more of a homebody. Plus, with the holidays coming up, I’d much rather cozy up at home instead of being out in the hustle and bustle (unless it’s fun hustle and bustle with memory-making opportunities for the kids…those are always fun).

The Weekly Weather: It’s been kind of in-between cool and hot. It’s been kind of muggy. Pretty typical November weather, actually.

What Paul’s Been Up To: He had some use-or-lose time to use, so he took Thursday and Friday off. He already had Wednesday off (for Veterans’ Day), so he’s had a lot of time to get stuff done. On Wednesday, he built a platform and ladder for the slide he picked up from someone in the neighborhood. It’s attached to the swing set and looks great! He did some maintenance work at the park (cutting tree limbs, spreading mulch) on Thursday. We have a company that’s supposed to take care of that stuff, but they’ve been dragging their feet, so Paul applied as many bandaids as he could and sent out emails to hopefully get them fixed soon. It’s kind of a tumultuous time because we’re in the middle of the HOA being turned over to homeowners from the developer, but we want the developer to take care of any already existing issues before the official turnover. We have a feeling that the developer wants to try to stick us with as much of it as they can. Hopefully we can come to an amicable agreement.

What Sarah’s Been Up To: I ordered a few more things from Pampered Chef that arrived this week (a pressure cooker and some accessories for it and some little odds and ends: some oven mitts, some oven rack protectors, another batter bowl, and a new little gadget that’s supposed to make it easier to cook ground meat more evenly). I love finding things that make cooking/baking easier!

What Joseph’s Been Up To: He had a good week at school, but he did make sure to tell me that he is looking forward to the week after next when he has the entire week off for Thanksgiving. 🙂

What Abigail’s Been Up To: She has enjoyed playing outside with the cooler weather, has enjoyed playing inside (it’s fun to overhear her imagination at work), and has enjoyed being my little constant companion.

This Week in Pictures:

We’re actually seeing some fall colors which is really nice!
She wanted to set up a picnic in the kitchen for lunch one day.
One of my favorite sights this time of year: so cozy!
My second attempt at making rolls from scratch, using my recipe that requires hand-kneading. I let the yeast sit in the water/sugar mixture for a bit longer and I increased the second proofing time to a full hour (as opposed to the 30 minutes they suggested) and they turned out a lot better!
Since Wednesday was Veterans’ Day, I felt like sharing one of my favorite pictures of Paul. This was in Iraq, back in 2005/2006, when he got to go see the ziggurat at Ur. It was really neat knowing that he was in Abraham’s birthplace.
It’s been warm enough for my rose bush to bloom!
These are my silicone oven rack covers. No more accidentally burning my arms when I go to pull something out from the lower rack!
Working on the slide. Someone in the neighborhood was looking to get rid of the slide part, so Paul nabbed it and then used his time off to get the wood required to build the platform and ladder.
The finished product.
I just love the autumn light in the trees.
Abigail and I tagged along when Paul went to the park to do those few things I mentioned before. We took a walk back into the trees and I wanted to take her picture.
I sure love this little ham!
Headed back down the path to the playground.
I’m really loving that the trees are changing this year. Some years, they aren’t as noticeable.
She loves the swings!
Sometimes you need to just make yourself comfy with a pillow and a cozy blanket.
She told me that she made the piano spooky again by adding her “spooky stuffies”. I think she misses Halloween, but she’ll be okay. We’re putting the Christmas tree up in a couple of weeks. 😉
When I put her jacket on, I said, “Oh! You’re so stinkin’ cute!” and she then said, “Yeah! You want to take my picture?” 😀
She wanted another picture later without her jacket on. That scrunchy nose gets me every time!
She was calling it a tree house. 🙂
While Abigail was playing, I noticed movement above me and looked up to see vultures circling. There were so many of them! I counted forty before I wasn’t sure if I’d counted some of them multiple times. They moved on pretty quickly, though, so I guess they didn’t find anything tasty. 😉
The full view of the swing set and slide.
Being a princess can be exhausting! 😉
 

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