Another week of burning eyes, a scratchy throat, and constant worry that these could be symptoms of COVID-19 I'm feeling and not just the effects of the toxic air. By midweek, being trapped in our sealed up house had me feeling mentally and emotionally exhausted. Obviously that meant it was a great relief when a fall storm blew through late Friday evening and finally wiped out the lingering smoke. Over the two weeks we spent shrouded in smoke, summer gradually shifted towards fall, and Sunday afternoon, under blindingly blue skies we pulled pound after pound of perfectly ripened apples off the larger of the two trees in our backyard. Now that I don’t have to worry about the possibility of further contaminating the already stagnant air inside our house by baking, I’m now very much looking forward to experimenting with all things apple - pie, sauce, tart, muffin. If you have a favorite apple recipe you'd like to share, I'm open to suggestions for using up our bounty!
Read moreLife: Week 37
After two weeks in the perpetual summer of Hawaii, I was more than happy to come home to fall in Seattle. We've even had our first real rainstorm! Most of the week, I was busy catching up on work, but I really got to enjoy fall over the weekend. Saturday morning, Andy and I were up early to drive over the pass and meet a friend for some elderberry picking! It used to be an annual fall tradition with my family, but I hadn't been in several years. It turned out to be the perfect way to welcome fall. We lucked out and found brought home a great haul so we'll have enough elderberry juice for at least a few years. After we'd filled all the bags we brought, we stopped by a fruit stand outside Wenatchee to pick up some late summer produce. Before heading home, we also made a stop for lunch at our favorite barbeque place in the state. We ended the week with a lazy rainy Sunday at home - the perfect way to recover from a stressful week of catching up at work!
Read moreLife: Week 37
This week was rough. After our lovely, relaxing week off, this week started with a stressful trip to the emergency vet. Our cat is back to his usual cuddly self now, but the ordeal was exhausting for all of us and it took most of the week to recover. Thankfully we had a quiet weekend of relaxing at home. We went on a few short walks around the neighborhood, but for the most part we were total and unabashed homebodies.
Every time we did manage to step outside, I was happy to see signs of fall everywhere. Since moving to Washington as a child, I remember the sight of spiders perched on their webs decorating the woods around my parents house throughout September. Apples have started to spring up all over and bright yellow leaves have been tumbling from the trees outside my apartment all week. I always love seeing the piles of leaves littering the walkway at our apartment, and can't help but feel sad when the groundskeeping crew come to blow them away. For now, though, my favorite season is just beginning, and even when these early leaves are gone, there will be plenty more to turn vibrant colors and fall through November.
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