Life Lately

So let's talk fall foliage.

I took this photo of the trees out in front of our house on October 4th last year.



And this one, of the same trees, is from October 14th, also last year.



Here's what those trees looked like last week.





So, a few things have contributed to this less than stellar leaf viewing this year.  We had an odd cold snap at the end of August where overnight temperatures dropped below average.  It basically felt like fall in August.  Shortly after, during the beginning of September, we noticed a significant number of fall leaves in our yard or against the curb.  (Ah, yes, why must we always live at the end of a wind tunnel. Our yard accumulates all the leaves in the fall and all the stray recycling on windy trash days.)  Then Jose came through and blew off whatever was loose.  It's been an incredibly warm and muggy fall here and that has delayed some leaves from turning.  I've also read about a fungus that's hitting maple trees in the area.  I don't have an answer but it's been an odd fall for sure.

I don't know about you, but this time of year makes me want to nest and organize and clean everything.  I started with the upstairs linen closet and now I want to clean everything but I'm sitting here nursing a cold so nothing is getting checked off that to-do list.

This time of year also has me craving warm weather vacations, which is a bit odd considering the mild weather we've had.  I read through someone's Hawaii trip report over the weekend and that was a big mistake.  Perhaps it's not the warm weather I'm looking for but a release from the daily routine.

I'm still cooking dinners five nights a week, but I haven't been very good about photographing those meals.  Emily did a little IG video last night showing the roasted cauliflower for our tacos.  Last week, I made a chicken tortilla soup in the crock pot.  This was a new to us meal, and obviously very easy to prepare.  I have one kid who can be super picky.  I made her try a few bites and she said she liked it better than she thought she would but still insisted on eating something else for dinner.  This is not unusual and I can deal with one kid out of three not liking something.  I cannot deal with two kids not liking something and I have one who, for some unknown reason, does not like shredded chicken.  She ate the soup and said she liked it but she basically ate around the chicken.



I haven't been taking very many photos lately.  This seems to happen every year at summer's end.  I do try to get that evening sky when I can.  







Okay, that's it from me for now.  Coming up this week I hope to talk about the girls' new dance wear from Gap and Old Navy, and lay out a plan for touring Magic Kingdom with little princesses.