Weekend Update

We made our somewhat annual trip to the local Christmas Tree Farm last weekend.



Yeah, I know... Ghosts and jack-o-lanterns and Christmas trees don't quite seem to match up. But this place also run a big "pumpkin patch" every fall, and we've tried to visit a decent pumpkin patch every year or so ever since Cat was little.


There's just something about kids and big orange pumpkins that makes for really fun photos. Here is a taste of our most recent visit:


(Click any image to enlarge)

Cat and Cowboy spent their time picking just the right specimens to decorate our front porch. Here they are, proudly displaying their choices.


Cowboy, of course, had to show off his Herculean strength by carrying the biggest gourd all by himself. (Until just after the picture was taken, at which time Dad got to take over.)

Unfortunately, we may have to find a new pumpkin patch to haunt next year. This one has gotten so popular with the locals and their kids that the owners have started charging entry fees (in addition to the numerous train rides, hayrides, inflatables, food and beverages and other moneymaking ventures they have always had). We have always tried to spend some money while there in appreciation of their letting us take pictures every year. This year, it cost us almost $30 just to enter and purchase two medium-sized pumpkins.

Next year, we may just photograph the kids sitting in the fresh produce department at Krogers.


Severe Weather Warning:


Extreme Weather Alert: Meteorologists Predict Intensely Brisk Autumn

Remember, safety is most important! Things are going to be dangerously crunchy out there.


Mom Update:

I spent a good bit of Saturday afternoon and evening with Mom. As always, she has good days when she seems pretty lucid, and bad days when everything either runs together or just doesn't come at all. The last couple of weeks, I've noticed more extreme ups and downs than usual. We have had another change in her regular caregiver since the hurricane, and in the process a couple of temporary changes in schedules as well. This certainly isn't any big problem in the overall scheme of things, but changes in the routine do seem to scramble things even more than usual in Mom's head, at least for the short term.

I called her last Friday night after we got the kids to bed, just to check on things and to let her know what time I would be coming on Saturday. When she answered, the first thing she said was, "Oh, that was good timing. I just got home!" What? It was two hours after dark, her caregiver should have been gone for five hours or more. Where had she been?!?

It took a while to get the whole story put together, but it turns out there had been a dinner and program honoring former faculty members at the university. Apparently two of the ladies she used to be friends with were on the committee that organized the event, and they had made arrangements with Mom to come pick her up and take her to the school. They all sat together and evidently took very good care of Mom through the evening, and she had a wonderful time.

Luckily (I suppose), I was an hour and a half later than usual calling her that evening, or I would have been frantic that she wasn't answering her phone. Mom had never put anything on her calendar about the event or remembered to mention it to me, so it was a total surprise. It wasn't the only surprise or unexpected discovery of the weekend (we always find a few of those when I visit), but it was definitely the biggest.