Welcome To Fall!

Welcome to FALL!

Sprout's has beautiful and interesting pumpkins displayed.

I love this time of year!
 

It's still hot here (104 for a high today, I think), but I decided that I'll be celebrating all the holidays as early as I want to this year.  I don't do a LOT of decorating, but I shift some things.  I have a fall door hanging.  I have a bunch of little pumpkins that I sprinkle around.  This year, Target has BLUE ceramic pumpkins, and I bought three because they're perfect for me.  Orange works, too, but I wanted some blue also.  One of the small ones is on our coffee table near our very cool chunky vase.

The big pumpkin is front and center on the dining room table.  There's another small on there now.

We've had a very cute visitor: a sweet SQUIRREL!

We do have a nice yard for hanging out!  We have shade, seeds (bird seed in the feeder!), water (in the fountain), trees . . . what else could a squirrel need or want?!  

The cats had lots of fun watching Ms. Squirrel bounce around.

Fall is also a time when I typically get interested in making sure our home is especially cozy and tidy and clean.  Lately I have reorganized the laundry room shelves, cleaned the inside of the oven, and cleaned the kitchen cabinets.  Aren't they pretty and shiny?

Greg has cleaned stuff, too.  He tidied up in his office and he helped me by cleaning the crazy dust and cat fur out from under the couch!  How did so much get under there?

My dear friend Cindy brought over this lovely little succulent in a BLUE OWL pot!  I love his angry little face.  He makes me happy whenever I see him!

Fall here is not cool, but the sky starts to turn a clear bright blue instead of the dusty brown it is in the hottest part of the year.  I love the blue sky of the desert in winter.

The plants are happy to get some relief from the heat.

Here are some bougainvilleas along my walking path.

In the mornings it is in the low 70s.  I've been out for a few walks as I'm working to build up the muscles in my legs and feet again.

Here's a cute little hummingbird!

Someone is advertising for the Minnesota Twins at our local baseball field!

My Dad left a pot with me when he and my Mom went back to Minnesota.  He thinks there's an avocado tree in there, a wisteria, and perhaps a baby oak tree.  It was the hottest summer on record for us in the Phoenix metro area, and none of them did well.  I thought I allowed them all to die.  But now that it has started cooling off a bit, new things have been happening in this pot!

I'm going to physical therapy twice per week.  I get dry needling once a week and scraping once a week.  Both of these things are meant to help break up scar tissue and decrease inflammation.  Then I do lots of exercises to strengthen my hips, feet, and legs.  Most recently, I've been doing really hard things like leaping and jumping.  Running is kind of like a bunch of little jumps, so I guess the jumping will help prepare me for running again.

Needling:

At the end of each session, I get electrical stimulation, which I guess helps decrease swelling and pain that can happen after working things hard.

What have I been cooking and baking lately?

Here are some waffles I made that turned out great!

I made vegan sausages for Greg.

I've been making pizza on Fridays for our pizza and movie night.

I've been impressed with how this recipe has turned out tasty every time.

I have been making chickpea brownies on weekends, too.

Our sweet babies are as cuddly and sweet as ever, and they bring us lots of joy.

This little one demanded to be in my lap and he put his cute little feet on the desk and pushed.

Stephen, our silly DROOP monster:

Every time I lie on my side on the couch, Claude sneaks over and cuddles in, purring loudly.  

She also loves to sleep in Daddy's hoodie:

I went to Macy's the other day to return on online order.  It was nice to be in a shop again, but there's still a weird barrier because of the mask and the hand sanitizer and the concern.  Stupid COVID.

Greg and I even left the house together!

He needed socks and wanted to pick them out himself.

I hope you're well and having a wonderful week!

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BONUS!
I came across some old photos as I was sorting and organizing in my office.  

This was taken on my 18th birthday, when my parents and brother, Mark, came to my dorm to bring cupcakes.  From left to right: Greg (!!!), Mark, Shawn, me, Dave.  I still like that outfit.

This was taken in 1994, in Paris.  It's a slobby thing to do to sit on the ground in Europe, but I was really tired and there was no bench.  I had just finished a quarter of study in Graz, Austria, and I was exploring Paris with my friends Peter and Stephanie.  I still love that outfit, too.

This was taken at my high school graduation in 1992.  I remember most of these people's names because they were friends who were in many of my classes. 

Left to right: Matt, Buffy, Nicole, me, Scott, Jen, Karen.  (I don't know the tall guy in the back.)