Fall?

Contrary to what the locals here will tell you, they do not have fall in California. The leaves turn around Christmas and it rains. That's not fall. It is almost October (how did that happen?!) and the average temperatures are still in the 90s.

We have had a few cooler, cloudy days though. Small autumn like gifts. One of those days was this weekend. It even "rained" on Sunday. A few sprinkles that made things damp for about 10 minutes. Exciting! So to help us pretend that it's actually fall I bought some new Yankee Candles, I've had the air conditioner turned up and we've been watching football as much as humanly possible.

This weekend I made the second batch of Swedish meatballs this fall.

Little luxuries

Besides the obvious, college football, this Saturday saw a trip to the farmers market and a batch of homemade 5 chip cookies (J's favorites!)

"Friday" Fill In

I haven't done a  Friday Fill In for a while. Granted, this is Saturday, but hey! :)

1. Right now, our weather is sunny and 80s, but what I’d really like is sunny and 60s with leaves turning beautiful fall colors instead of palm trees.
2. I like to let my hair down and snuggle up on the couch in my PJs with a good book, or this time of year, football.
3. Mommy Rambles made a post about heroes… my hero is too many earthly people to name so I'm going with Jesus, because he loved me so much he died to save me.
4. It’s a weird combination, but I swear sprite and sour patch kids are a perfect pair!
5. Some may see the glass half empty and others may see it half full, but I don't care as long as it's clean.

TGIF

What a week!!

Last night's big spouses' event on base (that I helped to plan and run) was, well, big. We had over 10 extra people show up. I know it's a "good" thing, but seriously people, how hard is it to RSVP?????? I was there running around like a mad person from 4-9pm. I came home and fell into bed.

Thankfully the dentist appointment earlier in the afternoon went well. It was just a cleaning, but nothing warranted xrays to check for cavities. Yippie! Can't remember the last time that happened.

Gosh, what else happened this week. The new babysitting job. It's rough going, but I'm hoping with a less hectic week ahead it will get better. She is a sweet girl, but very high maintenance.

My book club kick off was a huge success on Tuesday night. We had a big group for us, about a dozen ladies. Our first book is The Wind in the Willows. I've never read it, but it sounds charming.

We also had a good time on Wednesday night hosting our growth group. It was the first meeting of the year and there are several new people. One of the ladies found out this week she goes in for a lumpectomy this coming Wednesday and her husband leaves for a deployment on Tuesday. They've got 5 year old twin boys, so keep them in your prayers!

Also keep J's dad in your prayers. He found out this week he has diverticulitis and was hospitalized yesterday for IV antibiotics. Hoping he keeps responding well to those so he can come home this weekend.

 

I started a new ladies Bible study at church this morning. It is Joanna Weaver's Having A Mary Spirit. I've not read her before, so I hope I like her.

 

Tonight I decided to forgo my last social activity of the week (squadron spouse social) and instead Jared and I are going out to dinner with another couple. He leaves on a trip next week and with one thing and another I've barely seen him this week. Also, I'm just plain exhausted. So I'm indulging in a quiet evening out with my husband. Yay! Bonus: No dishes.

Tomorrow we are having an assortment of single gents over for football. Since I don't exactly know who is coming I was agonizing about food earlier today, and then, inspiration. I shall make a massive pot roast and I've already peeled and cut the carrots, onion, scrubbed the potatoes, and measured and mixed the spices. I just have to drag myself from bed tomorrow and go early to buy a roast and browse the farmers market.

That's it from California... enjoying our fall-like 70 degrees while it lasts. It's supposed to be mid-90s again next week. Sigh.

 

 

Book Review: Crooked House

"Crooked House is an excellent story of a complex family. The patriarch is Aristide Leonides, a Greek who has come to England and made a fortune in the restaurant and catering business. His mansion is home to his two sons, two daughters-in-law, three grandchildren, his first wife's sister, and now to his young and beautiful second wife plus the grandchildren's tutor. When the wealthy old man is poisoned, the reader learns that everyone had not only a motive but also an alibi. The characterizations are wonderful and the characters stand out as some of Mrs. Christie's most memorable ones.

The usual detectives are absent in this one, but the detecting is in the capable hands of Charles Hayward, the son of a Scotland Yard detective and the fiance of Aristide's granddaughter Sophia Leonides. When the blood-chilling ending occurs, one is shocked and yet, on careful reexamination, must admit that all the clues were clearly there.

Curl up with a cup of cocoa (unpoisoned

The more I read her, the more I like her! I chose this book specifically due to the lack of her usual slooths. While not my favorite so far, it was excellent! Quite an ending. Highly reccomend.

Book Review: Midwives

"On a violent, stormy winter night, a home birth goes disastrously wrong. The phone lines are down, the roads slick with ice. The midwife, unable to get her patient to a hospital, works frantically to save both mother and child while her inexperienced assistant and the woman's terrified husband look on. The mother dies but the baby is saved thanks to an emergency C-section. And then the nightmare begins: the assistant suggests that maybe the woman wasn't really dead when the midwife operated:

Did she perform at least eight or nine cycles as my mother said, or four or five as Asa recalled? That is the sort of detail that was disputable. But at some point within minutes of what my mother believed had been a stroke, after my mother concluded the cardiopulmonary resuscitation had failed to generate a pulse or a breath, she screamed for Asa and Anne to find her the sharpest knife in the house.

In Midwives, Chris Bohjalian chronicles the events leading up to the trial of Sibyl Danforth, a respected midwife in the small Vermont town of Reddington, on charges of manslaughter. It quickly becomes evident, however, that Sibyl is not the only one on trial--the prosecuting attorney and the state's medical community are all anxious to use this tragedy as ammunition against midwifery in general; this particular midwife, after all, an ex-hippie who still evokes the best of the flower-power generation, is something of an anachronism in 1981. Through it all, Sibyl, her husband, Rand, and their teenage daughter, Connie, attempt to keep their family intact, but the stress of the trial--and Sibyl's growing closeness to her lawyer--puts pressure on both marriage and family. Bohjalian takes readers through the intricacies of childbirth and the law, and by the end of Sibyl Danforth's trial, it's difficult to decide which was more harrowing--the tragic delivery or its legal aftermath.

Narrated by a now adult Connie, Midwives moves back and forth in time, fitting vital pieces of information about what happened that night like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle into its complicated plot. As Connie looks back on her mother's trial, she is still trying to understand what happened--not on the night of the disaster--but in the months and years that followed."

Not something I would normally pick up, but it was reccomended by a friend. It was an interesting and easy read. Definitely drew me in and kept me turning pages.

Book Review: The Bread of Angels

"With a family history of untimely death and madness, Saldana easily took to a career of danger journalism, reporting from risky locales. In a deliberate attempt to stop courting danger, Saldana attempted a normal life at Harvard Divinity School. When the love affair that had provided her a sense of normalcy ended, she opted to take the Fulbright scholarship she had won to study the Muslim Jesus in Damascus, arriving in Syria in 2004 amid the post-9/11 war in Iraq. The tension of American foreign policy and Saldana's own vivid memories of death and destruction witnessed during her reporting life earlier in the Middle East haunted her, particularly when she embarked upon the Catholic rite of spiritual exercises at the Syrian desert monastery of Mar Musa. In lovely prose and with elements of foreshadowing, Saldana shares her struggles to become religious again and overcome feelings that God has abandoned her. Touches of melodrama weigh down an otherwise gorgeous and enlightening read, as Saldana's scholarly knowledge of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism subtly infuse her story. An Eat, Pray, Love for the intellectual set, Saldana's beautiful memoir should not be missed."

I have always been interested in learning about different religions. I believe that much of what causes Christians to be labeled as close-minded, ignorant, and intolerant stems not from the fact that they hold strong beliefs and wish to share them with others; but that they have failed to respectfully study others beliefs so that informed and intelligent conversation, even debate, is possible. I think the glimpses of Islam in the Middle East are what I most liked about this book.

Harry Potter

Our last day we went to Universal. The main reason was Harry Potter. But we stopped in other area along the way to see some sights and ride some rides.

Butterbeer mustache.

One of my favorite things from the weekend was our caricature.

All dressed up

We got dressed up and did Dinner and a Movie in Downtown Disney. We ate at what has become our favorite Orlando restaurant: Raglean Road Irish Pub.

Disney World!

My Momma, brother and I all flew to my sister's house in Orlando for Labor Day weekend. It was my Momma's birthday!! We knew we would go to Universal Studios to go back to Harry Potter World, but at the last minute, we decided to spend a day at Disney World as well. How awesome! We chose to go to Disney Hollywood Studios. The one time we'd gone before it was our favorite park. It also was great because it wasn't as crowded. It was a great day!

One of our favorites: The Muppets.

Lightning McQueen!

My sister got picked out of the audience to participate in the Indiana Jones show. She's an extra in the background.

We saw a live Beauty and the Beast

With the big man himself: Mickey!

Flora Springs

The last day of August J had post-mission leave (free time off after a mission) so we went to Napa. Big surprise I know. We hadn't been to Gott's Roadside in a while so we went for lunch. On the weekends this place is packed. The line stretches for waits over an hour. There isn't a place to sit. But during the week it's practically empty and quiet. We got burgers and my favorite sweet potato fries and J's favorite mint chocolate chip shake. YUM!

After lunch we headed to a new winery. Well technically new. They have a tasting room off of the main highway that we'd tasted at. We loved their wines! So we decided to go out to their estate and winery. It's pretty small so you have to make advanced reservations. The more we;re in Napa the more we like finding the little places.

Our tour consisted of just one other couple. And although they say it takes about 90 minutes, we were there for about 4 hours! We got to see everything. The grapes, which we ate off the vines, the bottling line, the giant tanks which are outside because they have preserved original buildings from the 1800's, their wine caves and even got to drink wine right out of the barrels. It was awesome!

Yes, we joined their wine club. But don't worry, we canceled one of our others. So we're still at 2 clubs. If you come visit, we are taking you here!  

Real time update

“Now, we have inscribed a new memory alongside those others. It’s a memory of tragedy and shock, of loss and mourning. But not only of loss and mourning. It’s also a memory of bravery and self-sacrifice, and the love that lays down its life for a friend–even a friend whose name it never knew. “ - President George W. Bush 2001

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I wanted to sneak a "real time" update in here amidst the fun vacation posts. So here's a copy of the family email that went out at the end of the week:

We are watching the first NFL game of the season and pretending its fall. I've got cinnamon stuff burning, hot tea, and thankfully it's always cold at night so our windows are open. Never mind that it is supposed to be 100 degrees again tomorrow... Sigh.

Jared is still fighting a cold. But he's going to brave that and the heat and play a golf tournament with the squadron commander tomorrow afternoon. (They got second place complete with a great trophy!)

We are having friends over tomorrow night for pizza. Yum :)

The squadron's annual garage and bake sale fundraiser is this Saturday. I baked two dozen blueberry muffins in my airplane pan today. I also have cut out cookie dough chilling that will get baked tomorrow. Jared and I are working the early shift (6-10am) on Saturday so we are home in time for football! (That was today. We stayed until 11am and then hot and hungry came home to college football.)

No big plans, other than more football after church, for Sunday. Jared's been plugging away at school, so I'm sure he will be working on that this weekend.

Next week is going to be crazy busy! I'm hosting book club Tuesday, our growth group starts again Wednesday (and meets at our house this year), and the big OSC social for the month is Thursday, with the squadron social Friday. Oh yeah... And I start nannying 15 hours a week (M-W, 8-1). Yikes!!