Week 47

Welcome back and happy Tuesday! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving with a lot of good family time. It was nice having the boys home and cooking some delicious food with them to enjoy together.  The hardest part was sending them back to school, but they'll be home again in 3 weeks and for a month-long stay instead of just a week.  We need to plan on getting out more then since we pretty much just chilled at home this time.

For now take a look at how last week went down-

Day 325- Monday, 11/21/22

I love seeing signs that the boys are home around the house here and there even if I don't see them as much as I'd like.  Both of them had some catching up on sleep to do plus friends to visit while here.

Day 326- Tuesday, 11/22/22

Today Justin and I embarked on the great chocolate turkey hunt.  We've never had problems finding these the week of Thanksgiving before but this year almost all the See's stores were out in our area except for one.  Thankfully it wasn't too far from us but it did have the most challenging parking of all the locations.  Regardless, Justin and I got our turkey treats secured for the big day.

Day 327- Wednesday, 11/23/22

After work this morning I got to enjoy some time outside on this beautiful fall day.  The weather has been so nice and sunny--cold starts but warm and bright until the sun sets.  Then Justin and I slaved in the kitchen trying to bang out as many things as possible to help lighten the load for tomorrow.  It's starting to smell and look a lot like Thanksgiving.

Day 328- Thursday, 11/24/22

Happy Thanksgiving!  John usually makes the turkey and ham while I do the sides but this year I made my first turkey with his supervision and it turned out great.  He was also able to help Justin make the gravy and cornbread stuffing. It's not easy for him to work in the kitchen right now but we were all grateful he wanted to try and help out where he could.  Tyler was with Lupe's family today so it was just the 4 of us but that's ok because we'll see them for brunch tomorrow.  We all enjoyed our yummy feast.

Day 329- Friday, 11/25/22

I had to head to campus to take care of feeding cultures this morning and was blessed to see this beautiful sunrise--the sky was on fire.  Once I returned we made a great waffle, egg, and bacon brunch to enjoy with the whole family.  It's nice to have all 3 boys here together again especially since the 2 college kids head back to school tomorrow.

Day 330- Saturday, 11/26/22

. . .And they're off!  Justin left at 9am on a train then bus heading north and Brandon left at 4:30pm on a plane heading south.  They both made it back to college within 10 min of each other.  Poor Justin's journey is so much longer but really he doesn't mind so it's all good.

Day 331- Sunday, 11/27/22

Time for kitty cuddles.  He cuddled with Justin most of last week and now that the boys are gone he's needing some extra attention from me. It was a nice slow start our day.  Out back the sun shines bright through the pretty fall leaves.  There is a storm brewing for end of next week though so we better enjoy the pleasant outside weather while we can.  

That wraps up another week.  Let the mad dash to Christmas begin!

Week 46

Welcome back and happy Wednesday!  We're busy prepping for the Thanksgiving holiday so I'm a bit behind but all is good because we have the college boys home.  They certainly help keep thing fun and interesting around here.

Take a look at last week's pictures:

Day 318- Monday, 11/14/22

It's a typical cold start to the week where I'm waiting for coffee at work but then I looked down and all those circles caught me eye which made for a fun shot.

Day 319- Tuesday, 11/15/22

I'm hanging on to the last bits of fall.  I put the creepy Halloween decorations away but kept the fall items and will leave them up until just after Thanksgiving.  No Christmas decorations here until then.

Day 320- Wednesday, 11/16/22

Wednesday at work I was reading through slides on 80+ Alaskan seals.  The set up on that many isn't bad but the reading is intensive and time consuming.  At least our scope room is warmer than the larger lab area this time of year.  Back at home Rusty was not feeling well and we quickly found out he was having a bladder inflammation flare up like he had last year.  Thankfully I still had the best medications that worked for him on hand and they did the trick to stop it quickly and set him right again.  I have a feeling the stress from losing the dog is what triggered this episode.

Day 321- Thursday, 11/17/22

One of our favorite fall treats are these pumpkin donuts so I stocked up for the boys' homecoming and even though I'm mostly non-Christmas right now I did at least secure my Advent calendar for the season.  It's a hot item at Costco so I had to grab one before they sold out.

Day 322- Friday, 11/18/22

Welcome home Brandon!  This was his first solo flight and he did great.  For dinner he requested orange chicken and gobbled it right up.  Next up will be a haircut and some booster shots.

Day 323- Saturday, 11/19/22

Today it's Justin's turn.  Brandon came home on a plane and Justin traveled by train.  It feels so good to have them both back and to catch up. School is going well for them and their next semester schedules are already set.  Registration for classes can be stressful trying to getting the classes you need but they both lucked out with early appointment times which helps a lot.

Day 324- Sunday, 11/20/22

As you can see they both have settled back in nicely and Rusty is happy to have them back as well.  Tyler and Lupe were also over later today so we could have a nice big family dinner--tacos requested by Justin.

That's it!  We have them home for a whole week so looking forward to some good times.

Week 45

Hello and happy Tuesday!  All is good here. We're just waiting for the college boys to come home soon so we can have a full house again for at least a week. I better stock the pantry and fridge. Thanksgiving is coming up soon and we'll be ready to feast.

Until then here are last week's pictures:

Day 311- Monday, 11/7/22

We started and ended the day with rain and it was cold out so time to light up the fireplace.

Day 312- Tuesday, 11/8/22

It's election day and I voted by mail.  Thankfully the results were not as bad as expected.  Later Rusty supervised as I tried to get some remote computer work done.  He likes to watch the arrow cursor move around.

Day 313- Wednesday, 11/9/22

After 2 days of rain and wind a lot of the colored leaves have fallen to the ground.  These trees will be winter bare before you know it.  It's so weird to go on neighborhood walks without the dog.

Day 314- Thursday, 11/10/22

With the recent time change we now get home from PT in the dark and it makes it feel so much later than it really is.  Tonight we decided to stop at In-N-Out to pick up dinner on our way home.

Day 315- Friday, 11/11/22

Happy Veteran's Day!  We're so grateful for all that serve and protect our country.  As a result I'm home today and got some kitty snuggles before heading out to run errands.  I stand in the pharmacy line weekly these days and always have messages on our machine to pick up more.

Day 316- Saturday, 11/12/22

Thankfully after a wet and wild week we had a nice and bright weekend. While the trees are going dormant and loosing leaves my roses seem to be thriving.  I'm surprised the delicate flowers survived the early morning frost this week but I guess after suffering through the heat of the summer drought they are just happy for the rain and cooler temps.  I'll continue to enjoy them as long as I can.

Day 317- Sunday, 11/13/22

Today was a lazy day with a slow start and Rusty much enjoyed that.  After lunch we did venture out for a nice Sunday drive through the vineyards of Clarksburg to collect wine club pick-ups. A glass of one of those wines paired nicely with the premier of Yellowstone's new season.  Cheers to the end of a good weekend.

That's it!  Have fun prepping for the up coming holiday.

Week 44

Welcome back!  Tuesday got away from me with too many things going on to balance so a Wednesday post will have to do.  We just started November but it sure feels like it will be over before we know it.  At least that means the college boys will be home soon and we'll have a full week with them--can't wait!  This house feels so empty even more so now that Bella is gone too.  The busy weeks help when we're out an about but it's hard when we're at home and can really feel the void.  I'm so ready for those boys to come liven the place up for us.

Until then here are last week's pictures:

Day 304- Monday, 10/31/22

Happy Halloween! These were the only lit pumpkins we had this year.  It's just not the same carving and lighting some without the boys.  Thankfully the college kids were good at sending me pictures and I was happy to see they were celebrating in their own way.  Brandon went out treating with his girlfriend and they dressed as a classic Halloween pair.  Justin had to work late in the library but still dressed as a creepy Halloween scarecrow for fun.

Day 305- Tuesday, 11/1/22

Happy November!  A co-worker of John's gifted us with some wine which was nice and at PT today John started using hand crutches to walk with.  The walker allows him to favor his injured leg too much and these crutches force him to put full weight on it so it can gain more strength faster.  He was pretty shaky on them at first but then got the hang of it.  Every little bit of progress helps.

Day 306- Wednesday, 11/2/22

Wednesday at work the Holiday cups are out in full force and a sweet co-worker of mine that was just on vacation in Africa brought me back this beautiful hand painted little bowl.  I love it!  The colors and design are amazing.  It will make a great addition to my cubicle that will help brighten it up a bit.

Day 307- Thursday, 11/3/22

November brings rain and lots of it!  Thanks goodness we are ending the year with some good rainfall and we just hope it continues through the winter like it's supposed to.  No I did not get a new dog, but I did get to watch this big guy for about 20 minutes today while at work.  He's super huge and well behaved.  The size of his big block head cracks me up.  He was here to help vert student practice exams and I thought they said his name was Brandon at first but turns out it's Grandon probably in honor of his grand head--lol!  Makes me miss my pup.

Day 308- Friday, 11/4/22

TGIF!  Time for some kitty cuddles and a Friday night movie.  We wanted to see this one on the big screen but the timing didn't work out.  It was still fun to see at home and I enjoyed having the old cast back to mix with the new.

Day 309- Saturday, 11/5/22

It's a gloomy fall day with scattered showers and I was able to get out for a quick walk to soak up the fall vibes.  We have so many trees in great fall color right now and the ground is littered with their falling leaves.

Day 310- Sunday, 11/6/22

Today as I checked the mail, that was actually delivered yesterday, I was happy to find the sweet memory cards from the vet service that helped us with Bella.  They took prints of her nose and paw and made cards for each of us.  Bittersweet for sure but super thoughtful and cherished.  

That's it!  See you next week.