October has felt like a magical month. The weather has been as close to fall perfect as I can remember in recent years, the colors of the trees eye-catching and gorgeous.
It’s been a busy month with a lot of ordinary days but not without its moments. Here are some of those moments in the form of What We Did, What We Ate, What We Watched and What We Read.
What We Did
I had the amazing opportunity to go away for a weekend with some friends from book club at the beginning of the month. We traveled about 3 hours away to the west and north into the mountains to a cabin on the creek. It was dark when we arrived, so it was morning before I set eyes on the beauty of the place.
I was in love at first sight. I kayaked (you can read more about that here), and we went to an overlook in the PA Grand Canyon.
Now I want to go back and hike some of the park. It was fun just to get away. It’s been a long time since I’ve gone somewhere without my family, and I didn’t realize how much I needed it.
Also that weekend, my friends encouraged me to bring some of my writing for them to read. I went overboard and printed three of my current works-in-progress.
The following weekend, my parents came to visit. We enjoyed the fall weather and the fall sports/activities the kids are in. They helped me with some yard work, too.
Band competitions, football games, and soccer games have been our lives this fall and October was no exception. During one of those soccer games, the boy got a mild concussion, which took him out of the physical activity world for a bit. He’s better now.
One of the marching band activities was a Halloween parade in a small community in the school district. I haven’t been to a parade in a long time, and I don’t think I’ve ever been to a night parade. It was fun to watch kids running for candy in costume.
And we spent a quiet night in for Halloween watching shows and eating our own candy.
Lastly, there were costumes on Halloween for the school day.
What We Ate
Chellas. Peruvian food cooked basically on our block. We took my parents here for lunch during their visit because I like food I don’t have to make.
We also ate at the Nifty Fifties diner in the Philadelphia suburbs before attending a band competition.
It was well worth the experience and the food was delicious.
To celebrate our girl and her band performance, we picked up some Crumbl cookies. We are newly obsessed with these cookies, so it’s good that we can’t get them super locally.
On the one Friday night we opted out of football, the three of us ordered from The Big Five African Cuisine … a smorgasbord of beef stew, chicken stew, rice, cabbage, chapati, beef samosas, and ugali.
And of course, we had some soups. Pot pie soup was a hit from the Cravings cookbook by Chrissy Teigen.
And winter vegetable stew was easy and yummy.
One night, we had Dino nuggets because if you’re going to have chicken nuggets, they might as well be dino-shaped, right?
While the kids were at a Halloween party at church, Phil and I went to brunch. I had shrimp and eggs.
He had biscuits and gravy and a virgin bloody Mary.
We’ve had so much time as a family lately but not enough couple time. It was nice to be reminded that we can still be a couple.
On Halloween night, I made this ultimate 7-layer dip from the Cook’s Country cookbook. It’s the second time we’ve had it this fall. It lives up to its name.
What We Watched
Shows that fill the time:
Richard Osman’s House of Games. Quiz show. British. Low-key. Fun.
Press Your Luck. The new one. I watch for nostalgia and because I’m personally risk-averse but like watching other people take risks.
Saturday Night Live clips. It’s the most wonderful time of the year when SNL returns.
Movies:
The Mighty Ducks. Hits different when you’re a parent/teacher of middle schoolers and our middle-schooler loved it.
Home Team, the story of Sean Payton’s one-year suspension from the NFL and his stint as a coach on his son’s football team. I had mixed feelings throughout but I think it turned out okay.
Shows in progress:
She-Hulk Attorney at Law. Six of nine episodes. Love it.
I Am Groot. We actually watched all of these shorts at once.
The Great British Baking Show. I read a book (fiction) about a baking show like this and since I’ve never seen one episode of it, I decided to start. It’s good company.
What We Read
Books I finished:
All That We Carried by Erin Bartels. I bought this book on our anniversary trip to Michigan this summer. I liked the memories it brought up of our time in nature.
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo. Out. Standing. I couldn’t put it down except when I had to.
The Traitor’s Wife by Alison Pataki. Historical fiction about Benedict Arnold’s wife. Pataki is a new favorite historical fiction author.
Last of Her Name by Jessica Khoury. This is YA sci-fi that reminded me of Veronica Roth, and since I love Veronica Roth, I loved this as well.
The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida. A memoir written by a 13-year-old Japanese boy with autism about what it’s like inside his brain. Fascinating.
Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake by Alexis Hall. This is the book that led to me watching The Great British Baking Show. Features a bisexual single mom on a baking competition and the love she finds along the way. So much fun.
Books in progress:
Here For It by R. Eric Thomas. Book club read. Has led to some interesting discussion.
Spy School At Sea by Stuart Gibbs. Reading with my son.
A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny. I started this then had to return it to the library, so Inspector Gamace is in limbo.
Portrait of a Thief by Grace Li. I’m only about a third of the way through. It’s like Ocean’s 11 meets Sneakers. I’m loving it.