Life Begins After Birthday Week

I'm pleased to report that birthday week started off fantastic -- and ended on an awesome note. Thanks to all of you who participated -- and helped to make it such a stand-out success.

I'm really pleased to report that, not only did we make it out to Barthel Fruit Farm to pick apples and pumpkins, but we had a great time! The Ida Reds were prime for the picking. And the pumpkins weren't half bad either. We took loads of great pictures (which we'll share when I get a chance to sit down at the computer to download them)... so stay tuned!

We also had an amazing dinner on Saturday night with Steph (of which, I'm sad to report, there are no photos). We seared up some delicious scallops, composed another batch of delicious arugula corn salad, and made homemade butternut squash ravioli (with browned butter, sage, and marscapone cheese). Yum. After dinner, we managed to stay up WAY past bedtime playing Trivial Pursuit and drinking pumpkin martinis (made with awesome, locally distilled Pumpkin Spirits and a bit of Frangelica)... so, we were pretty tired all day on Sunday. But, it was totally worth it.

Now, it's back to the old grind again. Peef working. Me working and studying. It feels a bit dull. So, I thought I'd share some random thoughts about things that are going on in our lives.

1. THE GARAGE. Not quite as exciting as birthday week, but I'm pleased to report that we finally finished painting our garage ... and we also bought a new service door(!). As soon as we get the door hung (hopefully this next weekend) we'll have pictures to share. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised to see how great the "new" garage really looks!
2. THE PAPER. Some of you might know that Lo has been struggling with a research paper topic since the beginning of the term. But, she might be narrowing in on a possibility. For those of you who are curious, she's thinking about writing on women and the pressure to marry. She got a hold of some interesting information about an 18th century female "singleton"... and she might run with it.
3. THE GARDENS. Seems everything is wrapping up for the season. We still have a few peppers struggling to ripen. And the scallions are going strong. We might even get a few tomatillos before the season is through. But, I think we'll be taking everything down this weekend before the chill in the air gets too strong.
4. THE ELECTION. If you're reading this, consider yourself reminded to vote. This is probably the most important election we've voted in during our lifetimes. So, really. Don't let it slide.
5. THE BATHROOM. After we've done our part and voted in the election, we'll be hoping that interest rates fall just a bit. And that way we'll be able to take out a loan for our upstairs bathroom rennovation. Hurrah!
6. SUSHI. Oh -- did I mention that we had sushi for my birthday on Friday? It was awesome. But, I'm really looking forward to my next fix. So, who's going to come out for sushi with us??!!