Week 46

Hello, welcome back and happy Wednesday!  Only one more week until Thanksgiving and we get Brandon home for the holiday week starting Saturday.  Can't wait!  Now time to start planning the meal and picking up the various items we need to make that happen.

 Here's a peek at last week's pictures:

Day 316- Monday, 11/11/24

Happy Veteran's Day and thank you to all that serve and protect this country.  It's a university holiday so I'm home today and we're enjoy a good bit of rain with more to come later in the week.  Our neighborhood streets and sidewalks are also littered with all kinds of leaves--some big and some small.  There are a bunch of these huge ones around that crunch when you walk through them.  I picked up this beauty on our evening walk while we made our way through a pile.

Day 317- Tuesday, 11/12/24

The temperatures have really dropped and the pets are seeking humans and blankets for warmth.  Rusty is Justin's side kick for sure.  He even gets mad and meows at Justin when he spends time with Bailey.  Speaking of Bailey, it looks as though she is now a couch dog.  She's gotten too big for us to sit on the floor with her and she really wants to be with us so John caved and started letting her on the couch. So far she's done really well and settles better this way.

Day 318- Wednesday, 11/13/24

Time for the citrus to start ripening.  We'll have all kinds of lemons in no time.  Both neighbors on each side of us have lemon trees on the fence-line so we get a good amount for picking that hang over into our yard.  The neighbors don't mind either because they usually have more than they know what to do with. Loving our walks with all the fall feels and you can see we had some more rain today because the streets are wet.  The air smell so fresh and clean right now thanks to the rain.

Day 319- Thursday, 11/14/24

I got my free Starbucks reusable cup this year.  I tried to get one last year but didn't make it in time before they were all gone.  This year I had a plan and made sure to try first thing on my way to work right around 6am.  It was a perfect day for a nice hot drink too because the rain was insane especially in the afternoon. It really dumped and was so loud but still Bailey wondered why she couldn't go out to play Frisbee.  Sorry--not today pup.  We were still able to get a nice walk in later when the rain stopped though.

 

Day 320- Friday, 11/15/24

I spied some low lying Tule fog this morning in the park as I left for work.  The fog here wasn't bad but the closer I got to Davis the worse it got and became thick with low viability all over.  That's a typical fall and winter thing for us around here.  Later, instead of a Friday night movie, we watched the Friday night fight while sipping on drinks that John made for us.  Cheers to the weekend!  And by the way the women's boxing match before this hyped up one was so much better.

Day 321- Saturday, 11/16/24

Looks to be a perfect day for a catnap especially since it's very gloomy out.  In other news, the rechargeable battery for our robo-vac no longer charges so I'm currently waiting for a replacement and it's taking forever.  Tonight we watched this movie on Prime with the actress that was Rey in a few Star Wars movies.  It was a good, intense watch that we just stumbled upon.

Day 322- Sunday, 11/17/24

We've been working on teaching Bailey the command "crate" since she may need it if we board her for an up coming trip.  Thankfully she's a quick learner.  Now we need to try crates that are not hers and thankfully can practice with one in puppy class and another where she may get boarded.  She sleeps in her crate all the time but is free to come and go so we never had a need to teach her the command until now. Our other critter, Rusty, is so cute and has taken a liking to Justin's comfy winter blanket.  This is Justin's picture and he's taken so many more just like this. Rusty will nest here often especially when he's not in his blanket fort downstairs.  As for one of our other boys, Brandon sent me a couple pictures too this week of things he's been making that he's been craving.  It's good to see him making instead of just buying his favorite foods.  Can't wait to have him home end of next week.

All done for another week.  Hope to see you back next week.

 

Week 45

Hello and welcome back!  The Tuesday after a holiday Monday always throws me off a bit.  Last week was a roller coaster of emotions that had a lot of us feeling unsure about the future of this country, but we've been here before and can hopefully power through it again.  Otherwise, it was also very windy and much colder.  That is to be expected though as we inch closer to winter.  Time to bundle up and enjoy the cooler weather.

Here's a look at last week's pictures:

Day 309- Monday, 11/4/24

It was a good start to the week that ended with a pretty fall sky.  Bailey is enjoying the cooler temps out on our walks and as always is ready to play even after being tired from good long walk.

Day 310- Tuesday, 11/5/24

This was a strange day.  I pretty much kept myself away from the excessive election coverage that just seemed to make everyone anxious and was happy we had  puppy class tonight as a distraction. Unfortunately as we tried to leave for class in Woodland all routes getting out of West Sacramento were clogged due others trying to find alternate ways to head west because a turned over truck on the main highway shut it down.  After 20 min of trying to leave just my own city I gave up because my ETA was still saying I had over another hr to go and that would be too late.  As for the election it was not called until overnight but after checking the polls just before bed I had a sinking feeling it was headed in the wrong direction. How? Why? Ugh!!  I'm not ready for round two of this circus.

Day 311- Wednesday, 11/6/24

The mood was pretty depressing at work today and mostly everyone was just numb and in disbelief.  It was a good day for some comfort food and we are happy it's soup and sandwich weather again.  At least that warms the soul.  Later on our walk I noticed the red leaves are dominating now and they have such a nice rich color that's almost shocking but also beautiful to see in our surroundings.

Day 312- Thursday, 11/7/24

John took the boys out to sushi today which is something they haven't done in awhile so I'm glad they made it happen and got to spend some time together.  Can't wait to have Brandon back at the end of the month for Thanksgiving week.  Out on our dog walk once again the fall sky and foliage are on point and pretty amazing.  I also love all the different shapes of leaves on our neighborhood trees that seem to be most noticeable in the fall.

Day 313- Friday, 11/8/24

TGIF!  It was a cold and gusty day that made it perfect for napping and the pets were all about that.  Justin did take his car to work this morning but because of the afternoon winds the tree he parked near lost a lot of leaves in a very short amount of time making it look like his car hasn't moved in days. That leaf collection is impressive.

Day 314- Saturday, 11/9/24

Justin and I went out running errands today and decided it was best to pick up our traditional chocolate turkeys now before they are all gone.  One year we were almost too late and had to seriously hunt near and far at the last minute to find any.  Tonight for dinner we made orange chicken and pot stickers--another great warm meal to enjoy on a cold fall day.

Day 315- Sunday, 11/10/24

Today was a chore day so we could get them done and enjoy the time off on the holiday tomorrow.  In between chores we had these cute distractions to play with.  See Justin's face peeking out behind Rusty.  I think he was being used as a human heater.  Later we watched the premiere of the new Yellowstone final season.  Everyone has been waiting so long for this to finally drop.

That wraps up another full week.  Catch you in the next one.

 

Week 44

Hello and welcome back as we start a new month.  I like this time of year with clam and cool temps plus all the changes happening in nature before everything goes dormant for winter.  Fall is very pleasant here and peaceful as long as the fires from high winds stay at bay.

Take a look at last week's pictures:

Day 302- Monday, 10/28/24

Starting the week with all the fall feels. The changing leaves provide a great contrast to the blue skies.  We also have some pretty clouds as a small storm system moves in bringing rain mostly for overnight.  This kitchen window gives a nice peek of fall in our side yard, and I like the shadows on the counter created by the filtered afternoon sun shining in.

Day 303- Tuesday, 10/29/24

We have a fun Halloween themed puppy class tonight and all the pups are supposed to dress up.  It took some practice to get Bailey used to her costume and some good distractions to get her to leave it be but she did great along with all the other puppies at the party.  What a cute group with my little witch and her dressed up friends!

Day 304- Wednesday, 10/30/24

Loving how the fall look is shaping up in the neighborhood.  We see different changes daily on our walks.  End of this week with the time change we'll be walking in the dark.  I'm also all prepped and ready to pass out candy tomorrow.

Day 305- Thursday, 10/31/24

Happy Halloween!  It was great having Justin here with us to get through it Bailey.  He hasn't been home for Halloween in over 4 years and he loves to dress up and pass out candy. This helped us keep our cute witch calm and quiet.  He set up a chair out front to pass out candy before the kids could reach the door so no doorbell or knocks tonight.  Those 2 things make Bailey react and bark excessively so instead of a stressful night for her and us it was cool and relaxing.  Cheers to Justin!  He had a lot of fun too frightening the odder kids.

Day 306- Friday, 11/1/24

Happy November!  Time to put away the scary stuff and bring out the turkeys.  No Christmas stuff until after Thanksgiving for us though. For our Friday night movie we saw this serial killer thriller which sounded like it was all about him being trapped in a concert while police were looking for him and it did start that way but there was a lot more to the story that happened outside the concert as the chase continued.

Day 307- Saturday, 11/2/24

After such a full week this weekend was all about decompressing so we did get some chores done but also did a whole lot of nothing which felt nice for a change.  John spent a lot of time watching college ball and Bailey joined him--can you see her feet peeking up?  She fell to the side of him and just stayed that way--silly girl!  Tonight we watched this new Michael Keaton movie and it was good but also sad since he was dealing dementia.

Day 308- Sunday, 11/3/24

The "fall-back" time change happened today and Bailey spent her extra hour of "sleep" this morning collecting leaves from her yard and brining them in through the dog door creating a pile near her crate.  Better that than rocks which she has also been known to collect and move inside. Sunday evenings we usually watch The Penguin series with Justin.  It's so hard to believe that is Colin Farrell as the main character.

All done!  Time to start prepping for Thanksgiving.  The holiday season frenzy has officially started and as usual will fly by fast.

Week 43

Hello, welcome back, and happy Tuesday!  It's crazy to think this week is the last week in October but we'll enjoy the calm of it before the holiday mad dash sets in. I've already seen the stores put out Christmas stuff but I'm not bringing any of that out for us until after Thanksgiving--one holiday at a time.  What I am looking forward to is having Brandon home over the holidays.  We haven't seen him since end of July which is way too long.

 

Until then here are last week's pictures:

Day 295- Monday, 10/21/24

Everyone in this house has voted early with mail-in ballots.  Someone in a another state had a sticker that came with her ballot saying, "I Voted Early." Maybe next year California will update their stickers too.  In other news we are working through a new Netflix series which is fun and should wrap up quickly since episodes are only 30 minutes.  I expect we'll finish before the end of this week.

Day 296- Tuesday, 10/22/24

See my morning shadow back there on the rug?  Rusty likes to keep me company as I get ready for the day and in return I feed him breakfast.  Later in the evening it's time to head to puppy training class with Bailey. She and pretty much all the labs in class have to wear this "Gentle Lead" to help with pulling on the leash. You can tell she's not a fan but it really does help. Class also now goes into dark hours so we have the dogs wear collar lights.

Day 297- Wednesday, 10/23/24

Here's a spooky spider shot for the season.  It made this web from a bush to a tree and was just floating midair in between and caught my eye.  Back inside we had a nice warm penne pasta dinner which was perfect for these cooler days.

Day 298- Thursday, 10/24/24

My roses are also loving the cooler weather and blooming again after being dormant during the excessive heat for the past 2-3 months.

Day 299- Friday, 10/25/24

TGIF!  We went out to dinner with dinner with friends at a Thai place right near our house that I didn't even know about until they suggested it.  It was pretty packed too and all good.

Day 300- Saturday, 10/26/24

Today was a perfect day for some yard play with Bailey.  She loves playing in the grass and is getting really good at catching frisbees.  Not too long after John and I both got our flu and undated COVID shots--love the heart band-aids. We didn't have time last night for a movie so tonight this was a new horror movie on Hulu we watched--werewolf in the house!

Day 301- Sunday, 10/27/24

It's a lazy Sunday with catnaps, cloudy skies and more fall color popping up.

That's all for now.  Hope to see you on the flip side and have a safe and fun Halloween.