Other Happenings In October and Early November

In a newspaper, I found a picture of a voting line in Berlin.  I sent it to my favorite German, because it kind of looks like her (but it isn't, she voted by mail.)

Emily bought me a lovely llama pin (that is quite heavy) for my birthday.  I went that afternoon to buy a sweater that had a heavy enough weave to support it.

I also got my repaired and cleaned wedding ring set back on my birthday!  The stone was loose, so I had taken it in a few weeks before, with no estimated date of completetion.

Our front tree dropped all of it's leaves over night.  I did a large section of the yard, with a rake, but there were still two trees full of leaves, so I knew it was a losing battle.

After we took down our Halloween decorations, I got to decorate my pumpkin with the turkey kit that I got from somewhere in the last year!  Isn't it cute?

After a long, long absence, the kids (and I) were so excited to have Avia back!  

Sadly, her plane from Detroit was delayed a couple of times, so we ended up grabbing some McDonald's while we waited.  Sadly, we missed indoor dining, so we had to bring it back to the airport.

At one of the rummage sales we went to, I scored Sarah a bag of maps!  Some of them were old, I think this one is from 1923?  She was actually excited by them, which made it totally worth my $1! = )

I read an article a couple of months ago, that interviewed people who were picking up food from a local food pantry.  One of the things they lamented was rarely having cake mix.  So, as a group, the kids and I discussed what we could do.  We decided that every birthday we celebrate in our family, we would make up a kit with cake mix, icing, oil, birthday candles, and egg money (hidden under the icing lid.) William was the first child's birthday we celebrated, so he got to be the first to give away a 'birthday cake'! (I did it for my birthday too, but did not take a selfie.)

Zoey's mom invited our whole crew, minus Billy, over for a Friday movie day!  Grace was delighted, and most of the kids, not so much Alice, had a fun time exploring and playing with her toys.  We had a fun time!

It's always a sad day for me when I winterize my sandals. = (

Grace scored a super fun toy at one of the rummage sales: a toy garden kit! Even Alice played with it, what a win!

Netflix had Saved by the Bell, 9 seasons worth of the original, college years, and several specials.  I narrated all of my thoughts to Erin Elise as I watched.  I'm sure she's super glad that's over. ; )

As incentive to come to my first MOPS meeting of the year, Alice got to pick out some goodies from out favorite international market.  I like to be *slightly* adventurous each time we go, and this time I picked a pomegranate drink with basil seeds.  It was a lot like drinking jello.  The flavor was not really strange, but you could chew the seeds, if you could catch them between your teeth.  I wouldn't seek it out again, but wouldn't add it to my never again list either.

Another rummage sale find for grace was a make your own marker kit.  The box was open, but all the packages inside were sealed and new.  She spent hours making her own colors.  She even made a set to give to Zoey.

I met up with some of the Dimondale Busy Moms at Horrock's.  They have a massive Bier Garten there that I didn't even know about!  Since then, I've even brought Billy by to see it!

The food truck on site:

Before the weather turned cold, we walked to Dime's, where we could eat outside, the kids could drink their root beer, catch some pokemon, and then let Emily and the twins, or William walk home once they were bored.

October was a nice warm one this year, I felt so happy all month!

later days