Photos From An October Week

This week was all about October around here. There were snuggles on the couch in the late afternoon, one pup in front of me and one behind my knees. Every time.

The early morning walks are what I wait all year for. I don't have the words to convey the feeling I get when I walk outside on these mid-October mornings. I have loved this specific time for as long as I can remember: As a teenager, practicing with the marching band in my little hometown, looking up and seeing the colorful trees that made up the mountains surrounding us, then walking to class around the autumn-colored trees that lined the small campus of my beautiful college, and the distinct smell of crunchy leaves mixed with the joy of second graders running onto the playground for an extra recess at the end of the day because it was simply too beautiful to keep them inside, the happiness of pushing a stroller so many times with each of my four precious babies, sometimes two at a time, pointing out leaves and trees and pumpkins, and now, as a middle aged mom, reflecting and enbracing the changes life brings to each of us...these few days that October shares with us each and every year are so very special to me, and I am thankful.

It wasn't all snuggling and walking around here, though. There was eating too! Funny story about us. We buy a cow every year from a local farmer and then have the butcher cut it into the types of meat we need. Well, every year without fail, we use up all the ground beef and chip steak first, and are left with steaks at the end. So this week, Steve had steaks to cook, and we invited his friend Brandon to dinner. Brandon is a local farmer, and Steve and Madison met him at the Farmer's Market. We had steak and potatoes from his farm for dinner. 

Madison brought one of our favorite cakes with some spooky additions for dessert. She also made these amazing, beautiful cookies and brought them over while we watched The Great British Bake Off because it was Biscuit Week!

And of course, there was homeschool. It is slightly sad how excited I get about Geometry. Flynn is liking it too, promise.

Lastly, Steve and I went out on the town last night with some of our good friends from back in Pennsylvania. They came down to spend a few days at the condo, and we went to dinner last night. It was so nice to see them and visit with them. We are thankful that they made the drive. 

Oh!!! The Twitter "discussion" with Duff Goldman! So, I did not remember the specifics, and I went to one of my memory banks, also known as Rhett, and of course he remembered the entire thing. This was years ago, maybe like ten years ago? The kids and I were watching one of the baking shows on Food Network where Duff was a judge, and that night the theme was Dessert Imposters. You were supposed to make a dessert that looked savory. For example, Rhett says, a pie that looks like a cheeseburger. So this one woman made cupcakes. And she put fondant pieces on the cupcakes. Duff and the judges were obsessing over her and praising her efforts, even though the other contestants had made incredible imposters. It was just weirdly blatant. Anyway, I had Twitter at the time and typed a comment; honestly, it wasn't rude or anything. I just pointed out that she really didn't complete the challenge. My goodness, Duff commented back, and he clearly did not appreciate my opinion! It was really funny! So we went back and forth a bit, and then I told him off realized that this was a good teaching moment for my children, and I agreed to disagree with him. I didn't even know he had Twitter! 

OK! I'm done! Happy Weekend, my friends!

Billie Jo