At-home album

In between our various weekly outings, we are at home, home, home. Here's a home life album of the White Things at the White House, for the first half of October:

Sunset walk with my best friend.

On October 5th at 4am, I randomly woke up and couldn't get back to sleep, so I went on a run on the paved path behind our house. Back and forth, back and forth on the half mile strip of pavement. The stars were out, and so was a hissy skunk! I took a detour and finished my run after the skunk sighting.

The first half of October, we had cold mornings and hot afternoons. Rose and I both dressed for the weather--me in long wool and flannel, Rose in shorts and t-shirt.

Our landlords had a tree crew come trim a bunch of trees in and around our yard. We were worried all day that they were going to completely cut down that gorgeous walnut tree, but they merely trimmed the scraggly overgrown branches.

A tired mom, trying to turn a personal-bubble-invasion into a positive memory.

More tree trimming--the massive pines on the north side of our house.

The sun can actually shine through the walnut tree now, after all of that trimming!

I love this sight: vacuum lines made by a diligent Jay doing his chores.

A canal picture on a sunny fall day. The corn across the canal is slowly drying out in preparation for harvest.

Amber found a place to sit while eating her dessert one night. I personally wouldn't want to eat a treat perched atop a smelly trash bin, but she was happy up there.

The girls helped me plant 90 bulbs last week: 30 tulips and 60 crocus. I have wanted bulbs for a decade but never remembered to plant them in time. Now to wait out the 6 month delayed gratification for all of that digging and burying!

Online school activity. I thought it was PE class, but Rose informed me that this was for something else. She hopped around in a square, tethered to her computer by the headphone cord for nearly ten minutes!

Rose harvested all of our carrots in two seconds flat, haha.

New bike helmets for the girls.

I always have the girls paint their fingernails outside, because the smell is overwhelming in our little house. This week they dutifully went outside to paint their nails, but it was a windy day! The wind blew both Amber's and Rose's hair into the wet nail polish! Google said it could be removed from hair with oil, so I rubbed coconut oil into the clumps of hair-nail-polish and eventually got it out.

On Tuesday, October 13th, Jeff and I went on a date to Greenies Bike Shop in Richland, where we found and purchased matching mountain bikes. It's my first new bike in 25 years! While the bike shop was putting thorn resistant tubes onto all four tires, Jeff and I enjoyed a long walk along the Columbia River together. Then we drove home. Jay did a lovely job of babysitting while we were gone.

Jeff's dad gave us a box of some massive apples--this one got stuck in my apple slicer! I made a large batch of apple butter and a huge pan of apple crisp, and still had five apples left over. Our house smelled amazing that day!

Apple crisp!

Amber, taking a bow. She has started randomly taking a dramatic bow after finishing something--an art project, a meal, etc.

Amber, while making herself a peanut butter Nutella sandwich for lunch: "This is a war between the king and queen. Nutella is the Queen."

When I got home from hiking in Cowiche Canyon with the kids on Wednesday, October 14th, Jeff invited me on an inaugural bike ride on our new bikes. We rode 7 miles all over bumpy canal roads and the shocks in our new bikes made it feel like floating!

Bike date--we went on another one the next afternoon. Once I distracted myself sufficiently from the razor hard bike seat, I was able to pedal along chatting with my husband for a lovely 50 minute ride.

Matching bikes! Next up: matching jerseys? HAH.

Reading paper books is hard to do while lying in bed, especially without a bedside lamp (Amber destroyed mine months ago). My mom and I were talking about this difficulty one day, and she sent me this hilarious, awesome reading light. It's a U-shaped flexible thingy with two lights. It lit up my book beautifully! 

On the first really cold morning this week, mist rose from the canal.

Mt. Adams faintly on the horizon, newly blanketed in white snow. Mint in the foreground.

Online middle school orchestra class! We rearranged Jay's bedroom around his bass. That thing takes up space!

Amber, hunting me down in the bathroom. THE GIRL IS DRIVEN.

I love playing librarian for my kids. Every time one of their library holds takes too long, Jay and Rose ask me for book recommendations, which I am happy to provide from our shelf of quality literature. I generally pull out a variety of choices, summarize each one, and let the kid choose what to read. This week Rose ended up choosing to read The Island of the Blue Dolphins, and I couldn't be happier.

IT IS TIME. 

Heaven help us.