I just used a moka pot for the very first time!  I'm not little miss refined pallet, but I think it takes pretty good for my first attempt.

The worst part about having a garden isn't planting.  It isn't tending to them and watering them.  It isn't even chasing the dog away so he doesn't steal the tomatoes.  It's the end of season -- and even then it isn't the activity of clearing things out, for me it's the emotions of it.

Every year I find myself thinking "if this plant only had another month!"  I feel guilty plucking every last tomato off of the plants, especially those that are continuing to offer me blossoms despite downright cold overnights.  Good job ladies.  You served us well and I am grateful for your bounty.

Two lipped plates of tomatoes, one cherry sized and the other larger tomatoes, have been brought inside.  Unfortunately, I cannot leave them on the counter - ahem, CHURCH - so I have to put them into the cabinet and monitor them for ripening.

When I take another 10 minute pass I'll pull the remaining peppers from those plants.

The hours aren't that much longer than they were in pre-k, but for some reason the time seems to be going faster and the amount of time to do things outside of work hours feels a lot shorter.  I'm feeling pretty wiped out.  I guess the seasonal allergy thing doesn't help either.  So grateful to have indulged and headed upstairs to ready for bed at 7:30 last night.  I was asleep by 9 and I needed it.

I need to find the time to clear out the remaining garden plants out back.  There are a few tomatoes that I was trying to give every opportunity to ripen on the vine.  The basil never tried to go to flower/seed on me, which is crazy - I'm going to try taking a snip to grow through the winter, we'll see how that goes.  I am also going to cut back a couple of the pepper plants and try to winter them over again.  At some point I'll get good at that if I keep trying it, right?  The last round of lettuce looks nice, so that has to come into the basement as is.  We're looking to hit 35 on Sunday, so time is short - I need to make it all happen.

For today, I have some running to do while I pick Avery up from after-school activities.  I'm also going to hit the newly opened (this morning at 9am) Ollie's in Washington.  I'm so excited to have one closer!

I caved and turned on the furnace this week, mostly for the sake of the cats overnight and the kid in the morning.  Church is still cuddled up against me overnight, which is nice.  Barnabas, our current foster, was out running about most of the day yesterday.  He's still not thrilled with the dogs and gives them hisses when they come near, but he has made great progress.  I am very proud of Zero, who has been very chill around Barnabas; it isn't often I get to tell him what a good boy he's being!

They say you don't smell things when you're asleep.  I have to disagree (light up the internet calling me a science denier).  Saffy had a banner day yesterday - she was hungry.  Saffy ate 4 times, which is insane for her.  Probably about 2x as much food total than she would normally eat on a good day months back.  What goes in must come out, and if you have a dog that isn't 100% in control of her pooper it isn't a surprise when it happens overnight.  My point, yes, at 12:30 I smelled it and got up to clean it up.

I would consider one ding in my sleep to be a good night because I've had a few in the past couple of years where I was awakened after an hour of sleep every time I went out and the going out was hard taking an hour or two itself.

Nope, that wasn't the last waking, but not Saffy, instead the exorbitant amount of water the kiddo drank did exactly what I warned her it would do, she peed a little.  At 4:30 I hear "moommy."  So now I'm up striping  a bed and starting a load of laundry.  She's cleaned up and back into a fresh set of warm pjs and into my bed because I am not making a bed at 4:45 in the morning.

Thank God for that one more hour.  I still curse you alarm.  Getting up earlier since school started (another 35 minutes) has been draining me.  Can I schedule a nap on my calendar?

I am having more fun than I'd like to admit using my little breaks during the day to step outside and swat all of the lantern flies around the house.  They seem to like the brick and the black fence.  I'm sure I look like the crazies a few years ago wandering about trying to "catch pokemon" to my neighbors.

On an unrelated note... I really thought I broke my toe today.  I don't even understand how I did it.  I often bounce off of door frames etc because I misjudge and slam myself into it.  Today I bumped off of the dog crate in the dining room and as my foot came down my second and third toes crunched under my foot.  I watched and waited for the swelling - it really hurt.  It didn't swell too bad, just a bruise, but one heck of one.  It didn't help that our resident doofy dog stomped my foot later in the day.

Another weekend sped by.  We did our grocery shopping Saturday morning and then headed out to see Avery's Nonni.  Fortunately we didn't have CCD on Sunday, allowing us to go to the 9am service we prefer.  After we went to Triple B Farms even though rains had rolled in during the prior 24 hours.  It was a bit muddy, but it could have been a lot worse.  Avery had a blast with her bestie and the temps were perfect.

I did take a few minutes of my lunch break to decorate the dining room side table for Halloween.  I'm getting close to done decorating for Halloween.  I cannot find the projector light that typically goes out front.  I am sure I hid it from myself when I was tidying and reorganizing in the garage - go figure.

With the cooler temps I am wanting the soupy and warmer meals.  Tonight we had an amazing roast with carrots and potatoes from the slow cooker.  I love that I don't need to run out to pick up Avery at the end of the day - it allows me to get meals a bit earlier.  Tonight we ate and had a few minutes outside, did some homework, and still had time to play a game.  I need my evenings to feel a bit longer to mitigate how fast each week seems to be going.

Halloween decorating remains a slow process this year.  Many of the outdoor items have been set up - minus lights etc.  The outdoor items all came upstairs last weekend and now they're out of the big boxes and cluttering the whole dining room, but not much is "in place".  I don't know why I am not feeling the enthusiasm this year.

Friday evening Avery and I headed to the Oktoberfest celebration in town where she got to ride and play with her bestie and another friend from PreK.  Saturday I slept in a bit but forced myself up to head to the consignment sale at the fair grounds.  It is the "lesser" of the two that come 2x a year (in my opinion).  We only found one item - but it is quite the score -- the Halloween costume that Avery has been indicating she wants (since the day after Halloween last year). Best part?  It was $3, on half off day, so $1.50.  Spirit and Party City haven't had it, so I feel like it is an extra big score.

Also on Friday our foster Cupcake left for her new family; well, foster to adopt if all goes well.  Part of my Saturday was spent cleaning the foster room up to move the newest baby, who we have named Barnabas Collins.  Then I cleaned the bathroom he was in so Avery could return there and most of my bathroom (not my sink - I should have done that today, but didn't get to it).  I was taking benedryl yesterday (which makes me want to fall asleep) to combat allergy issues.  So while I did get some stuff done I also sat more than I wanted.  At least I didn't give into the nap temptation.

This morning catechism class started.  This means my typical Sunday morning has changed.  We can no longer go to the 9am mass at the church Avery prefers.  Instead we have to get up early (ick) and go to 7:30 - which I can't see happening, or we go after to the 11am.  Today's 11am was long.  We got home at 12:30, so half of my day was gone.  We went out for a late lunch and to hit a few places as an excuse to head a bit north, where I had to snag dewormer for Barnabas.

Saffy seems to be doing pretty well given her age and overall condition.  She was eating like a champ there for a few days.  I am out of the one medication, but continuing to give her the other as they remain.  Today I spotted her being chipper outside and she was coming up the stairs pretty darn spry for her age.  It's going to ebb and flow, but I am so happy to see her looking and feeling a better than she was.

The kiddo is doing well with school.  She remains enthusiastic (save tonight's tears over not having someone to sit with on the bus) and is getting positive feedback each day.  She also hasn't been arguing much over doing a bit of homework each night, so that's a win.

Our foster Cupcake has an applicant, but it is incomplete.  In the meantime, the rescue trapped roughly 60 cats last week. I gave of some time on Saturday to transport a few to other rescuers north of the burgh that were willing to take a few in.  While there at the garage where they were managing the masses one little black kitten (abt 4 months old) started meewing at me - which is odd for cats that were outside.  Long story short, he came home with us.  While he cannot go in with Cupcake due to quarantine he is in a crate inside Avery's bathroom (so she's using mine).  The new guy is doing well - eating like a champ, cuddly as can be.  I got him to play a bit today - he seems to be getting rested up post his vetting and need to decompress.

I had a nice long weekend.  I didn't get the things done that I should have, but relaxing is good too.  I did do a bit of organizing in the basement (rotating dog food bags, breaking down some boxes and combining things/putting things away).  I did not get my Halloween goodies out yet - much to Avery's displeasure.

I was up in the middle of the night to the smell of poo - and a bit thinner than normal, so even more annoying to clean up... but still this is a good thing.  Her body is still doing it's job and producing.  Today I called the vet once I thought I could get through it without crying... I did not get  through it without crying.  Because we did bloodwork earlier this year the vet was willing to prescribe a few things without seeing her.

I snagged her three meds after work (an appetite stimulant, an anticonvulsant/neuropathic pain med, and a nsaid).Within a few hours of the appetite stimulant she was ready to eat when I presented a bowl of moist food.  I had put extra water in to try and get more fluids in there.  I did stop her midway and allowed her the rest about 2 hours later -- I didn't want her throwing it up or having other issues after not wanting to eat for a few days.  So far everything has stayed down. Hopefully we can make a productive trip out before bed tonight to avoid any other mess.

As for the pee pad - the cat likes to chew plastic, so that didn't work out so well.  Maybe I'll toss down some of the old dog towels in the most likely to be soiled path.

It isn't a cure, there isn't one, and I have to remind myself of that; but I was so happy to see her eat.

The first two days of Kindergarten are in the books.  She was confident boarding the bus and all went well there.  The good news for me is hat it gets me started with my work day a few minutes earlier than I previously started (without needing to go anywhere which is a bonus).  When she gets home she can sit at the TV or table to decompress while I get a last 20-30 minutes in.  Yes, I am able to end my day a bit earlier too if I am not swamped.

I am on an upswing with MacBids.  I may have reported getting a few deals and a few busted up things in the past. This week's scores included like new vacuums (I threw the my basement one away last week as it smells like it was starting to burn up and the upstairs one is kind of crappy) and a ride on toy for the kiddo.  The ride on came w/o a battery or charger, but we can snag that for 70-80$.  All told $100 for a $300 item seems pretty good to me.  She didn't get a ton for her birthday, so we'll call it a birthday gift.  I REALLY need to get the little kid stuff out of my newly arranged garage now to make room to park her little 4 wheeler.

The other thing to note here is that our Saffy is really not doing well the past few days.  By my count she is coming up on 16 and has been thin/frail with hip/back leg weakness for a while, so this isn't surprising but still far from desired.  She is refusing to eat even with a bowl of moist food, sleeping even more than normal (I had to make her get up around 9am this morning to go outside - but it could be the pain meds she got at bed time last night too), and needing the strap/assistance to make the stairs. I'm worried about her.  It's probably overdue, but I guess I will pull out a pee pad - not that she's been trained to use them, but a gal can hope that she might use it if the need/urge comes, right?

I am feeling productive, so I had to pop on and record the moment.  I started my day by throwing goodies into the slow cooker as we headed out to church.  After I folded laundry with the foster cat, Cupcake, in the room.  She was having a blast running around and being in my room I know she was getting lots of smells from the dogs and Church.  She and Church have had a few interactions that have gone well enough, but she is still not very thrilled about the dogs.

I finished my mowing (front and side - I did the back on Friday) and weed eated, vacuumed, and then we had a delish meal.  The roast was cooked with potatoes, carrots, and banana peppers all from my garden.  At this point I was already proud of my progress by 1ish in the day, so I had mixed up a margarita, but I cut it short so we could make a big lots run.  We also got some ice cream, so I had some extra calories to work off.  I am still trying to keep my calories down and get some weight off and I have knocked out about 7 lbs so far.

I don't know what clicked, but when we came home I got to work in the garage.  I've been here for almost 7 years.  I have swept (and even used the leaf blower) to clear out the dust and cobwebs a few times but it was definitely do for some attention.  Now that I have a rack hanging from the ceiling  I need to reorganize as I move the one set of shelves .A few things landed in the trash, other things got reorganized (or re-discovered), and I lots of tidying took place.  I have a nice healthy pile of things that Avery no longer needs, I just need to clean them up and find someone who wants to give me a few bucks for them.  At this point maybe I need to wait until next summer... but at least they're all piled together now and it is less crowded in on the sides of the car.

Don't ask me what all I did NOT achieve this weekend because the list is long.  My work computer had issues early this past week that were not repairable - I need to get the rest of my data moved and a few things installed on the new system they mailed me as to complete my transition.  It didn't happen.  Now that I spent quality time in the garage I need to do the same in the basement.  Wish me luck and motivation ya'll.  I also could use a bit of luck to manage the evolving schedule.  4 more days.

Feeling old... I know things happen to people of all ages, but it's been one of those weeks where I have heard of numerous friends and acquaintances going through stuff that tends to happen later.  One lost his son, I don't know the details, but my heart hurts about it.  I would guess the son was 30?  Another had a friggin heart attack, and she's only 2 years older than me.

I've been trying earnestly since returning from vacation to get my act together and get some of this extra weight off.  I want to take the news of my friend's heart issue, no pun intended, to heart - as to further encourage me to make the necessary changes in my life.

15 days until school starts!  I can't believe it's the middle of August.

Before our calendar becomes slaves to school, Avery and I headed out on one more vacation -- and we had a blast.  Once again I went several days early and I am finding this is key for me to relax and slow the world down a bit.  It results in me feeling like I was gone way longer than I was.

Towards the end of July we flew to Orlando and traveled down to Cocoa Beach.  We spent 3 nights at Beachside Suites.  I admit, I chose it because it had a lazy river and I knew Avery would enjoy it.  It was also very close to shopping, good food, and the beach, so it worked out perfectly.  For my own notes - Nolan's Irish Pub was so good, and Guinness with black currant syrup is next level delightful.  On our first night we walked to the beach hoping to see an 11pm SpaceX launch, but it was scrubbed.  By some miracle it actually launched on our final evening, we got to see it -- and it was amazing.  It was a falcon heavy launch, and the reusable side boosters returned to the ground - sonic booms and all.  It was so very cool.

I had initially planned to go to the Kennedy Space Center, but Avery wasn't feeling it, so I didn't spend the money for the tickets or transportation to and from.  We'll do that some other time down the road, I am sure we'll be through Port Canaveral again.

From there we headed to get onboard Mariner of the Seas.for a 6 night cruise.  Avery wasn't quite tall enough for the ship water slides, but with all of the other water activities on this trip she didn't even seem to care.  She spent some time in Adventure Ocean, but not a lot.  Mariner is in great condition for her age and it was a very nice trip.  The entertainment was good, we only saw the ice show 2x this trip.

Our trip took us to a new to me port in the Dominican Republic where we stayed in the port area (much like we did on our previous cruise).  It was really nicely done.  We spent some time at the free pool and lazy river, checking out the made beach areas, and snagging a few souvenirs.  Sure shopping inside the port area was a bit pricier, but we did come home with some DR chocolate and cocoa that is amazing.

Next we went to Labadee (private island in Haiti) which was remains a delightful destination.  We managed to snag a covered swing mat near one of the beaches that we used as our home base for a portion of the day.  We also spent some time at the splash pad.

Finally, we went to Cococay (private island in the Bahamas) which also remains amazing.  I miss the old Cococay too, but I do love what they've done with it.  They've built up a lot with the goal of pumping people to spend money, but you can easily do a free day there and have a blast.  We spent time at the giant pool and even more time at the free water play area (pirate ship, slides, and splash pad).

I'm so grateful for my time with my baby before she heads off to school.  I'm extra grateful that we managed to come back without being sick.  Everyone I know that has been on vacation lately is bringing home a bit of covey.  We front loaded vitamin c, d, and zinc (I also took n-ac) and continued our vitamins though the trip.  There were numerous ppl on the fb page for our sailing that reported coming home sick, so my prep was definitely warranted.

Now that we're home it's paperwork and appointments, gathering a bag of schools supplies, and all those things.  My favorite egg tended to the cat and the garden while I was gone.  He also hung up my birthday present (a ceiling hanging storage rack in the garage) and a few new lights that I've purchased to upgrade from the builder-basic fixtures in my dining room and kitchen area.

Tomatoes were delivered to three neighbors since my last garden report multiple times and I still have several bowls full rotating in the kitchen -- that is of sweet 100s.  I have one roma ready to come off and I've pulled a few small "beefsteaks" that were trying to rot before they even ripened.  I pulled another round of banana peppers and a few small bell-like peppers (these too were trying to rot before growing/changing colors).

I plucked the last two beets this afternoon and need to cook them to do one more batch of pickled eggs.  Maybe I should can more of them.  Still no pumpkins forming and the broccoli plants mock me (I'm so disappointed).  I had harvested one bucket full of potatoes before we left.