October festivities in pictures

The latter part of October I invited my girlfriends over for a couple of crafty afternoons to get into the spirit of the season. Martina, Marla, and I read a horror novel (The September House) and did a craft (pouring candles with beeswax I ordered online). Here is one of the dishes I made for our little party:

Ghostie Hot Dogs!

I love these two women. We have so much fun together!

And here are some of the finished candles.

The weekend before, Marla brought Carsen over and the three of us worked on small canvas paint kits. Carsen did a great job on hers!

And speaking of a great job, check out her Halloween costume! Her daddy made the wings with a 3D printer. She looked fantastic!
 

We had our annual costume parade at school last Friday, and these were my favorite adult costumes. Behold....the Dumpster Fire that was our PTO president!

And here you have our PE teacher and library assistant. I loved these, too!

 

The candy selection I chose to hand out for Halloween:

I had a small cooler of juice boxes for any thirsty trick or treaters, and also a little fun treat for their parents:

I bagged up lots of the candy so I could just hand out a bunch at once. The pink present on the table was a book, The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh, which was a gift for our across-the-street neighbors' brand new baby girl. She was born last week, and her name is Caroline. Her big sister, three-year-old Georgia, got extra candy and juice.

Despite all the dental drama and other nonsense, October was a really fun month.

We have lots coming up in November: Gregg's birthday, a planned visit the week after that from my aunt Linda, and then on the 18th I'm hosting my large book club. We'll be reading My Life in France by Julia Child. I'm going to be busy!

Kindergarten Halloween

I always enjoy the chance to stroll down the kindergarten hall at work. There's usually really cute student work on display beside each classroom door, and sometimes it's pretty funny, too. 

Take a look at some of these Halloween gems I spotted this morning, and try not to smile. :)

This last one made me laugh. Check out the tiny halo!!

Hahaha! 

Oh, to be five or six years old at Halloween again!

Meteor shower tonight!

 If you happen to be awake between midnight and dawn tonight, and live in an area with reasonably dark skies, go outside and spend some time looking up, towards the Southeast. It's the peak night of the Orionid Meteor Shower 2026. You may get lucky and see up to 20 meteors per hour! Although with the almost-full moon and the light pollution in most places, half that is probably much more likely.

Are you a meteor shower aficionado? I buy an old-fashioned almanac each year and look up the peak dates of all the major meteor showers well in advance. Even if the "peaks" don't fall when it's feasible to be up and outside, for a few days on either side it's good to be on the lookout at night. In my experience the most memorable showers are the Perseids in August or the Geminids in December. This year the Geminids are predicted to be especially good, and the peak is the night of December 13th into the 14th.

As for tonight's shower, I get up for work well before dawn, so I may go outside and look up for a while and see if I catch any shooting stars. And you should, too! We can all use some free wishes, can't we? (Especially here in the US with the midterms two weeks away). 

Time in the kitchen

I've been itching to try new recipes lately, possibly because I've been limited in what I can serve to Gregg while he waits out all this dental work. He's at the point now that he can eat soft pasta and rice dishes along with soups and stews as long as the meats and vegetables are very tender. That's a step up from the mashed potatoes, yogurt, and applesauce he was subsisting on for a while there!

A fun recipe I decided to try was a traditional Polish dish called Golabki, or stuffed cabbage rolls. This was a nod to my Polish heritage. (The recipe I linked to is just a sample, not exactly the one I used). The meat stuffing mixture was 50/50 pork and beef combined with cooked rice, a beaten egg, sauteed onion, and herbs like marjoram and dill. All rolled into braised cabbage leaves and slow cooked in a covered pan in tomato sauce at 325 degrees. I also used leftover cabbage leaves to line the bottom of the pan and on top of the rolls while they baked. Here's a picture of my finished Golabki, right after I took them out of the oven and removed the top cabbage leaves. They're not very pretty, I'll admit.

And here are some of the leftovers that are now stashed in the freezer, ready for another meal. They're supposed to freeze well. We'll see.

Gregg wouldn't eat the cabbage leaves (he doesn't care for cabbage) but he liked the steamed meat mixture inside with the tomato sauce. It was soft enough that he had no trouble eating it, and served with mashed potatoes, he had a good meal. I enjoyed it, too, but after careful consideration, I only rate the Golabki a 6/10. They tasted good, but lost points for being time-consuming to make (which wasn't a very big deal) as well as the smell (which very much was). I've discovered that slow cooking cabbage and boiling cabbage leaves will make your whole house smell like ass body odor. * It took me two days to rid our home of the noxious smell! So that's definitely a downside to this otherwise lovely dish.

Another new recipe came to me from my friend Marla. We've been getting together most Sundays lately (for breakfast or thrift store browsing or crafting) and sometimes we make or bring snacks to share. She's recently discovered homemade hummus and has been making it a lot, and a couple of weeks ago she brought a bowl to my house to share. Wow, was it good! She was happy to give me the recipe. So on Sunday (when Marla was coming over again) I tried making it myself. And it was awesome, just like hers! It couldn't be simpler: just canned chickpeas (drained and rinsed), fresh lemon juice, tahini from a jar, olive oil, cumin, salt to taste, and a few spoonfuls of cold water all blended together. I used a blender for simplicity's sake. I dished some out into a pretty bowl, added more olive oil to the top and then a generous sprinkling of sesame seeds...and it was *chefs kiss*: fast, easy, cheap, and delicious. 10/10 would recommend! 

Another thing I cooked recently was a large pot of chili on Saturday afternoon. The weather has finally cooled way down and so chili can go back into the monthly meal rotation. I pack it full of veggies and beans and (occasionally) lean beef and cook it on low for anywhere between 12-24 hours in the crockpot. It's a good way to use up vegetable odds and ends, so it's both economical and healthy. I've been known to add things like shredded carrots, mashed sweet potato, or slightly wilted spinach to my chili, just to use them up. It's always delicious and gets better the more stuff I add. Or we think so, at least. A large pot of chili can stretch out for several days, turning into burritos or taco salad topping or chili cheese fries...there are loads of possibilities. 

A couple more cooking-adjacent photos for you:

I bought these beautiful fresh veggies and apples from a local farm stand. I roasted the brussels sprouts and carrots with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and topped them with parmesan cheese when they came out of the oven. So good! And as for the apples, I made homemade applesauce for Gregg. 

*Anybody have any tips for cooking cabbage so that the smell is contained, or better yet, neutralized?

Just a nice October day

It's a beautiful fall morning at my house, and a rare kind of day for me lately: I'm off work and have the house all to myself! Gregg was able to resume his Wednesday aquarium maintenance jobs last week, so he'll be working all day, and I'm off this week for fall intercession. I enjoy the occasional day at home alone, especially when the weather is this nice. I expect I'll spend a large part it on the back porch (and maybe the hammock) with a book. I'd also like to take the dogs on some short neighborhood walks. We can all use the exercise, and it's so nice out.

The dental issues Gregg and I have had are getting better. He's adjusting fairly well to the temporary dentures (even with their considerable shortcomings) and now the worst thing seems to be having patience with the healing process. They're now saying he might not get his final implants until March. It seems that the more time you give the bones in the jaw to heal, the better the fit and function of the permanent work. Even if that's disappointing, it's for the best to wait and do everything exactly right. At least he's not in pain, is able to eat a bigger variety of food now, and his smile looks perfectly presentable. My tooth pain has quieted down, thanks to the half-done root canal and an antibiotic. I go to the endodontist to have the root canal finished next week and that afternoon my dentist will place the permanent crown. It's been a lot of trouble over one tooth! Thank goodness it feels better now, though.

I finally pulled out some fall decorations last weekend. Or, rather, I had Gregg climb up into the attic and bring down the fall decorations! Haha. I'm keeping everything pretty simple this year, but I do plan to carve a couple of pumpkins. Here's the simple wreath I made for the front door, along with pumpkin #1:

Later this weekend I want to show you some fall crafts I've been working on, and also some new recipes I've tried. For now, though, I'm off to enjoy my solitary afternoon. 

Have a great day, everyone!

Woe is me!

I had a follow up appointment with the dentist yesterday and found out I needed a root canal. The filling in my molar was very deep and close to the nerve, and an infection had developed. 

They called in an antibiotic for me to begin taking last night, and this morning I was scheduled for the root canal at 8:00. 

The procedure went well as far as pain is concerned; I was comfortable throughout. That was the only thing that went right, though. It turned out to be such a complicated root canal that after two hours of trying the dentist decided he had to stop and refer me to an endodontist (with more specialized equipment) to finish. What luck, huh?That appointment isn't until the 20th of this month, but I have a temporary filling and crown on the tooth to protect it. I also have the antibiotic to finish. 

I'm in a lot of pain tonight which I hope is temporary. If it continues to hurt like this I'll be going BACK to the dentist and I'll be honest with you, I've had my fill for awhile! 

See ya, September

Fall, glorious early Fall, has finally arrived in this part of the world. We will, of course, still have the occasional hot early afternoon here and there, but summer is definitely done. These past couple of weeks temperatures dropped into the high 50s at night, and going to work in the slightly chilly pre-dawn has been heavenly, especially after the summer we just had. Afternoon highs have been in the 80s. Wonderful weather.

Gregg is doing much better. Today he went back to work (he does all his aquarium jobs on Wednesdays) after a two-week absence. He wasn't supposed to lift anything heavy until he got the dentist's approval, but now he's cleared for it. He still hates the temporary dentures, but the pain is mostly gone and he's adjusting to them. The first of the year can't get here soon enough, though. Once the healing is complete and he can get the implants, things will be so much better. (Or better be, considering how much money we've spent).

Speaking of the dentist, last week I had to have a filling and a crown prep on one of my back molars. The cavity ended up being much deeper than it looked on the x-ray, and it took two hours to finish the work. Since then, I've had some harsh nerve pain on that side of my jaw, bad enough that Dr. Thomas called in a very low dose of a steroid for me to tame the inflammation. It's a little better, thank goodness, because if it doesn't resolve soon they'll start talking about a root canal. The dental practice has been making bank on us this month! Oh, well. I remind myself regularly how fortunate we are that we can afford all this expensive care. 

In other news, George and Poppy were both having terrible skin allergy flares and nothing seemed to be helping. Then the other day, I finally figured out why. Fleas!!! I couldn't believe it! I was horrified. We've never had a flea issue before. Since the dogs live inside and don't go out in the yard all that much, it just never occurred to me to look for them. * Now that I think about it, I'll bet I know where the problem comes from:

Yes, we're still feeding two of the (almost grown up) wild kittens that the mama cat left behind.  And look up in the right-hand corner of that photo: they've started bringing a friend. The orange tabby wasn't in the original litter, but he knows a good thing when he sees it. Sigh.

We were dumb to ever start feeding stray cats. Sooner or later we're going to have to do something before they start to multiply. And now they're probably bringing in fleas, too! We knew better but couldn't stand to see them without food or fresh water, and now they show up twice a day like clockwork for their Meow Mix. Gregg and I are such suckers, I swear. 

I have to admit that I really like them, though. This little girl is my favorite. She's the bravest of the three and when I walk out with food she rolls around on the ground in front of me and tries to look as cute as possible.

  I wish I could find someone great to take her. **

My plans for a fall garden haven't come to anything. September has ended up being so busy with all the dental drama that I just haven't had any motivation. Here's one thing my garden did produce last week, though:

My David Austin roses have proven to be troopers, even in terribly hot, dry summers. I've been so pleased with them! And isn't this Eustacia Vye blossom a beauty? There are several more buds about to pop that I'll be cutting and bringing indoors over the next couple of weeks. I may not have gotten many tomatoes this summer, but I'm still cutting roses into the beginning of October and that's something, at least.

*I hightailed it straight to the vet and bought expensive flea medicine that killed all the wee bastards within twelve hours. I don't mess around when it comes to fleas. Nope, nope, nope.

** Between our dogs (who want to chase and eat cats), our bird, and my allergies, there's no way we can really adopt her or any of the others. I need to start actively looking for homes for them. At this point I'd even pay for the spaying/neutering if someone decent would adopt them and take them off our hands.

Tedium (and postcards)

The summer weather has finally begun to break a little, finally. While it's still seasonably hot midday, the mornings are definitely cooler now that the days are getting shorter. Over the next four days or so the temps are finally supposed to drop in a real way, and I'm so ready for it. What a long, hot, boring summer it's been. I'll be glad to see the back of it.

Gregg is continuing to heal, and while he despises the "immediate" dentures (just as he was warned he would), things are better by the day. Food is still something of an issue, but that's getting better too. He's moved on from mashed potatoes, applesauce, and yogurt to things like soft scrambled eggs and bites of grilled cheese sandwich dipped in soup. He's still taking an antibiotic but has almost quit taking pain medication entirely. (Thanks to everyone for all the encouragement and good wishes, by the way).

 I'm feeling a bit stir crazy at the moment. I hate to admit it but I'm sick of hanging around the house day after day, only leaving for work or necessary errands, and trying to help keep things cheerful for a man who's in pain and having a rough go of things. I'm used to periods like this in our marriage, and I know that he'd be right there for me if our situation was reversed, but I could still really use a break. I feel guilty about that, but it's the truth.

One way I've passed some of this boring time is helping my friend Karen write postcards to Texas voters. She's been hosting weekly postcard writing parties at her house this month and several of our book club friends attend. I haven't made it to any of her Sunday afternoon gatherings, but I did go over the night before Gregg's dental procedure (he was working late) and helped write some. I also brought home 50 names on the Texas Democratic voter rolls and some blank postcards to write. It always feels good to know that I'm helping get out the vote. It's my small way of contributing to the cause. During the 2024 election I personally hand wrote and mailed about 600 postcards to swing states. 

For those of you who may be wondering, Postcards to Swing States (and other political postcard writing campaigns) are not trying to change anyone's mind about who to vote for. They're meant to encourage folks who usually show up to vote for the Democratic primaries to vote, period. Preference is given to people who didn't vote in the last election. When and if you vote is public record; how you vote is not, of course. So we're not trying to sway MAGA, we're encouraging and reminding registered voters (that probably lean Democratic) to vote.

God, how I hope James Talarico wins in Texas. 

That's most of the news from my house. I'm sorry I haven't been more present on others' blogs lately! Things have been simultaneously boring and busy, if that makes any sense.