Fall Leaves and Pumpkins

Great day! Sunny, not too hot, a perfect fall day. My friend and I drove around for hours taking pictures of all the wonderful fall treats. The above pictures are not ours, have not downloaded them yet. We got some great shots, mostly in the country, trees, pumpkins, apples, the views, silos, old barns and of course we had to go to Harriet Tubman's house. My friend loves anything to do with Harriet Tubman, so she got some cool pictures of her house, the signs and all of that. We put many miles on the car, but it was worth it. Just to totally take in all the beauty of the day.

We had to go downtown, to pick up Hannah from her Media Group. We were early, so we got some great shots of the old building, now wasting away. Such great detail, interesting features. I think I could spend a whole day wandering around looking at the architecture done so long ago. My friend has a new camera, I told her she looked like an investigator for CSI. It is huge and clicks away like crazy.

Melanie had a nice Birthday. She ditched us and went with Charlie to see Spamalot. It was playing in town, and it was Charlie's present to her. They loved it. I was bummed because she wasn't home until late. So the rest of us went to this great 50's diner and ate way too much food and had awesome deserts. We sat at the booth and laughed and laughed and just had a great time. Melanie did not get home until 11:30 pm and could not understand why her sisters did not want to get out of bed to see her open her gifts. Her sisters were mad they missed it when they found out the next day. What we usually do is the night before, totally decorate the house with streamers, signs, balloons, etc. We have a nice party with family and a few close friends and do the whole cake and present thing. This year it was off a bit due to the play. Last year we took her and 2 friends to NYC for a night and to see 2 Broadway shows. It was tons of fun, but too expensive. This year she just wants to take a few friends out for dinner at Olive Garden, she loves that place. Sounds good to me.

I tried to make homemade chicken soup today. My stock was totally messed up. Totally, as in the whole thing evaporated. The kitchen smelled great, but there was only a little broth. Does anyone know how to make stock? Why does it call for so little water and how can you make a decent soup out of such a tiny bit of water? As you can see, I am trying a new theme in my life called Adventures in Cooking. I am determined to start fixing fresh, healthy meals. What kills me is I even followed the directions (sort of) in the Joy of Cooking cookbook. It flopped anyway. My mom use to make the best homemade soup, I loved her chicken soup and would give anything to know how she did it. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

I don't have to work on Monday, I LOVE 3 day weekends. I'm thrilled that we have that extra day off. It makes Sunday nights so much more fun. The girls want to see Gone With the Wind, so I'm going to rent it and have a family night. I haven't seen it in years and years, but I am really looking forward to it. I remember seeing it with my mom when I was a young girl, we went to this fancy movie theatre and it was a really special night. One for the memory bank.

Right now Hannah is sleeping. David is at the movies with the other two and it is just me and the dogs and cat hanging out. I love the silence, love the stillness, love the fall air coming in the window. I am going to go to bed in a bit, but gotta read my new People and Oprah that came. Love to read mindless, fun stuff right before bed. Some of the books I'm reading are a bit intense so I need some mind candy.

Have a great night!

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