So it's November...

Somehow the past six weeks got away from me.  It always seems that way in the fall, though.  The weather has been mostly delightful this fall, and cooled down much quicker than expected.  We've had a few muggy days here and there, but nothing sustained and the temps have mostly been moderate.  I'll take it! 

I pulled my cukes and watermelon vines after the nighttime temps dropped and the plants were withering away and found this monster of a cucumber hidden next to the wall of the house.  I peeled it before using, but it was perfectly fine!  I've been putting off everything else in the garden as one of my pepper plants is still fruiting (!!) and we've not had a hard freeze yet.  I've got spring bulbs to plant and compost to spread, however, so it needs to be done one of these days.

We visited friends in DC over the Columbus Day weekend and enjoyed truly delightful weather.  Our kids and their kids love to write and put on plays when they are together, and this year they decided to make a movie instead.  It was a mash up of Titus Andronicus and Romeo and Juliet (with a little bit of Star Wars thrown in for good measure) and it was hilarious.  

Piglet and Birdie very much enjoyed chasing their 16 month old around all weekend.  Piglet celebrated his namesday right after that.

Finished some knitting that has been on needles for some time.  I started the Beamer shawl in the summer of 2021 and let it languish, but decided to finish it this fall.  I omitted the last repeat since I wanted something slightly smaller than the original, but I'm wondering if that was a mistake.  I may frog the D chart repeat and go ahead and make it according to the pattern size.

I also finished Boo's scrappy sweater at the end of the summer, but finally got around to weaving in the ends and blocking the thing last month.  He wanted short sleeves since he says he gets hot all the time (although he spends most of the winter wrapped up in a blanket, so...kids are weird).  He picked the colors from my stash and specifically wanted that bright green stripe at the top.  It allowed me to use up a bunch of odds and ends that have been hanging in my bins for a while and I think he is happy with it.  I used the Doocot pattern and made it longer in the body and only a few rows of sleeve beyond the separation point.

A dear friend of mine went to get her curly hair done at a salon that specializes in curly hair and her hair looked so good after, I decided I wanted to try it.  It took me nearly a year to get over the cost, but I went at the end of September and had The Treatment.  The appointment took more than 2 hours (they tell you beforehand to expect that on the first time).  The stylist cut about 4" of thin wispy stuff off the ends and then did a bang up job shaping and moisturizing the rest of my hair.  I've been doing Curly Girl stuff for a few years, but I changed my routine slightly after the appointment and my hair seems to be more manageable now (if shorter!)

We have had a fair bit of sickness in the house, however.  Piglet's year has had a rocky start with much more homework than we ever anticipated (or has been historically the case) and we are struggling to adapt.  He basically comes home, works until dinner, bolts his dinner, works until bedtime (or well beyond, as happened last night), showers and goes to bed.  It is nuts and I find myself in a drill sergeant role with him a lot right now and I don't like it.   

After some years of mostly good health, Birdie has had a tough year physically, and we've got a lot of medical appointments in the next weeks to explore options.  We've tried a few things since August, when we saw her pulmonologist, but nothing has worked very well.  Not that it slows her down much.  She managed to sprain her wrist pretty badly at a roller skating party two weeks ago!

My parents were here for a week in October and Piglet got very little time with them because of his homework load and was super sad about it when they left.  But when he was still behind on homework later that week, he said with the saddest, smallest voice ever: "Maybe I shouldn't have spent so much time with Grandma and Papou."  It just kills me.  His stress affects me, as you would probably guess, and he has been getting sick most weekends.  

My dad is doing pretty well post-cancer, and his scan this week was completely clear!  He still has a chronic cough, and might always have it, but considering the alternative, and how sick he was a year ago, we'll take it.  

Just before my parents arrived, Birdie and I both got a horrendous cold and mine dropped into my lungs almost immediately, so I was a bit of a sad sack while my parents were here.  But so it goes.  I'm still struggling with massive fatigue and have been taking naps during the day and am still ready for bed at 9:00, which is extremely unusual for me.   

But!  I did finally replace the sad saggy couchlet that has occupied our living room for almost 11 years (and it was very used when we inherited it from Birdie's godmother).  While I was at it, I rearranged the living room to make the seating more productive to conversation and I'm very much enjoying the change (and a loveseat that doesn't make my back hurt!)