October happenings

We had a pretty long stretch of warm dry days.  The garden just kept going, and going.  I finally pulled the tomato plants because I was tired of getting one or two ripe tomatoes at a time... Bob keeps bringing me peppers....and we picked a whole bunch of squash.  Guess how many of us actually enjoy eating peppers and squash.... 😜

Busy playing house and making stew. :) 

Kids in pj's... mostly.... 

I'm sure the neighbors wonder about us.  This was supposed to be a slingshot, they said.  Except they used a non stretchy piece of fabric.  And then it stayed in the front yard for a few days.  Every time I looked out the window and saw it it startled me.  😜

Perrin thinks the vacuum is so cool. 

So, after Emmy made her vest, Cecily also got to pick an article of clothing to learn to sew and she picked joggers.  (basically a skinnier, thinner version of sweatpants) I already knew that I am not a patient person... ha.  She did pretty well for a first garment.

These shelves are pretty full this year, and we used up all of my jars.  (I was not sad to put away the canner, but this is rather satisfying.)

Mr. helpful bringing me an apple in his overalls.  😊

The Beutels got together one evening and Miri and Perrin found the sandbox.

 

Perrin really wanted to sit in Uncle Dean's skid steer.  Haha... he immediately started pushing buttons too. 😂

I think I had about the best week of second-hand finds ever.  It started with asking for dress-up storage suggestions.  Someone suggested an antique trunk, so I was browsing marketplace and varagesale for the lift-the-lid kind.  And then this popped up.  A steamer trunk with hangers and drawers!   

 So stinking cool.  It's in great shape, so hopefully we won't completely destroy it.  

It has labels and stickers on it from actual travel, along with names and an address so I went down an internet rabbit hole and found a real estate listing for the house they lived in (gorgeous old craftsman), census records of the trunk owners, and even the passenger list from a cruise they took the trunk on!   

 

He likes everyone else's shoes.

I took Miri and Perrin to the town wide garage sales, and I found a pair of cowboy boots in Emmy's size that she really, really wanted.

And then probably the find of the century...  I've been looking online and at antique stores for light fixtures, and I was really hoping to find one similar to the fixture I remember hanging in my Grandparent's house in Gridley.  I think I mostly remember it because I'd do cartwheels and things through the room and everyone was worried I'd hit the light. 😂 

I'm not sure when they replaced it, but it's been at least 25-30 years.  My Uncle Steve (and Aunt Renee) are living in the house now and they remodeled ages ago.  I think I mentioned wanting a similar light to Mom, and she agreed that the original was probably long gone so we never asked Steve and Renee about it.  I mean, who keeps old light fixtures around, right?  😋 (I think we've thrown out all the ones we've replaced in this house... 😬)  
So.  I didn't put Perrin in a stroller, we were just going to quick wander through this sale... and it just so happened to be run by Aunt Renee's nephew Joshua, who I haven't seen in a while.  We were chatting and Perrin was trying to get down and grab things and get the matchbox cars for sale and I noticed a box with some light fixture shades under one of the tables. (And I need to replace a bunch of broken shades.) So I asked Joshua about it because Perrin wasn't letting me get a good look in the box.  

He pulled it out and said, 'oh, this is Steve's box from Gridley. He's cleaning out the attic.'  And I looked a little closer.  And my heart about stopped.  It was the light. An hour away from Gridley, at a random garage sale, in a box under a table.   

I had to bring it home of course.   
Poor Bob, I came bursting into the house- 'you will never believe what I just found!'  I might have gotten a bit weepy too. haha.  He asked if I was going to go to anymore sales and I said I didn't have the emotional fortitude for more garage sales.  😂

Aaaahhh.  I'm so excited.   I haven't even found antique light catalog pictures that are similar to this light, with the big center bowl and hanging bulbs without shades around the outside, so I have no idea how old it might be. 

 

 Oh, Miri-grillo. "Take a picture of me I'm a flower princess ballerina!"

The girls and I went to the homecoming parade and brought home far too much candy. 

 

 

 On Saturday we went to the farm to get pumpkins and grapes and 'help' Grandma put up her fall decor.

 

And play with her fairy garden. 

 

 

Mom dug out some old pictures with the light fixtures (there were two!) in them.  Apparently Grandma gave the twin fixture to her brother and it's hanging in her childhood home in Carlock now.  :)  Little Ed, Steve, and Kathy circa 1966.   

 

And Grandma and Grandpa.  😊

 

 

Mom and Steve share a birthday 3 years apart.  

 

Grapes!  It was warm and buggy and mosquitos love me so it wasn't the most pleasant task.  

 

Emmy's friend invited her to her church's fall festival/carnival so she went there for a few hours after we got home from the farm.  

 

Griffin came home from church with us for a little bit.

 

 

Hopefully he wasn't too full of leaves when he left.... 😆

 

When the cat's away...  these little mice will get out big sister's stuff.  

 

Such a big helper.  Too bad I was trying to pull the plants out because I didn't want any more tomatoes! 

 

 And then they got completely soaked.  Miriel kept 'giving Perrin a shower.'  He didn't seem to mind though. 

Cecily turned 12!  Initially she said she just wanted a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting- no decorations.  I was slightly sad that she's so grown up she doesn't want a fun cake anymore, but then she said that maybe I could put a book on it or something... 

...that maybe also said 'happy birthday Cecily' on it.  So we went from super simple cake to a little bit more complicated, but I thought it turned out ok.  :) 

Bookworm with the extra fondant.  😎

I can't quite believe that she's this old.

Then presents of course. 

We finished her joggers!  I told her every good sewing project involves a little blood, sweat, and tears.  Cecily: I don't think I sweated.... (there may have been some pricked fingers and tears from a pretty large accidentally cut hole in a pant leg.)  

Look at me!

I had to wait for the keyed sockets to come in the mail, but then I cleaned and rewired it and here she is in all of her refurbished glory!  (it's hanging crooked, it's not actually wonky)     I don't think finding this light was a coincidence. 😍

We went to Nathan and Michelle's for late September/October birthdays.

Jake and Rachel were in town for the weekend so there was a passel of small children.

Cake and candles for the birthday kids!

And a pig cake for Dad to celebrate the last hogs leaving the farm.  The kids thought it was hilarious that we were singing "Happy no hogs day to you!" 

He's not retiring... I mean, he just got a combine with a refrigerator in it... just getting out of the hog business.  Still not sure how I feel about that.  And I have to find a new source for pork since I haven't the foggiest idea of how to shop for meat in a grocery store.  #farmkidproblems #spoiled

 The weather went from it's too hot to want to paint, to it's going to be too cold to paint really soon and I still had some outside things that needed painted this year.  Our bilco doors needed a fresh coat of red, and I thought spray paint might be a fast option.  It was, but the over spray + painting in flip flops made it look like I'd sunburned my feet.  And when you drip red paint on yourself it looks like you cut your toe. I wore shoes and socks to Messiah practice that night.

Watch this!  😵

The flowers are still blooming in the garden, which I love.

There's a tree frog hanging around the side of our house!  Twice now the kids have found it on the patio table.  They can't just look though, they have to bother it.  *sigh*

Oooh!  I finished re-glazing my cold frame window!  It isn't very pretty.  The putty lines are all very wonky, but the glass is all back in securely, the frame is primed and painted, and it's ready for it's next 85 years.  Watch, now one of the kids will break it. 

Blessings.