It’s hard to believe we’re at the end of October already. I’m pausing for a moment with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story to share blessings of the week.
1. Annual pumpkin decorating night. Mittu brought shepherd’s pie and salad. I made caramel corn and apple cider. Here are the results of our labors:
I shared more detail about them in my end-of-month post yesterday.
2. Beautiful trees. I’ve been saying our fall color has been late coming and not as spectacular as usual. Sunday we drove around quite a bit–Jesse had flown to the wedding of friends over the weekend and came home Sunday afternoon. So we left church and ate lunch, then drove to the airport, then took Jesse home and came home ourselves. We saw lots of pretty fall foliage. Oddly, there’s still not much in our immediate neighborhood. I’m not much for taking a drive just to take a drive, so I’m glad we had the opportunity to get out for a bit in areas that had more color.
3. A $28 microwave. I mentioned last week that our microwave stopped heating–we’re still waiting for the needed part–and Jim brought in the little one from his office that we had bought when his mom was in assisted living. Then that one died. He went to Wal-Mart to look for another little one to replace it; he likes having one in his office to warm up whatever he’s eating or drinking. Plus we use it sometimes when we need extra help for big family dinners. He stopped one of their workers to ask a question, and she pointed him to a couple of microwaves that had been marked down to $28 because the boxes were dented. She said the microwaves themselves were fine because they were encased in Styrofoam. They just had to mark them down because customers avoided the dented boxes. Just finding someone to help and answer questions is getting to be a minor miracle there. Then to have her point out the mark-down was a bonus. My deal-loving husband was happy. š
4. Soup. Though we have soups year round, they’re especially good when the weather turns cool. Last week we had hamburger vegetable soup (using ground turkey instead of beef) and corn muffins one night, then potato soup with open-faced English muffin sandwiches for lunch one day.
5. Rain. Overcast skies are not my favorite, but we really needed the rain. We had precipitation for parts of four days this week. I’m especially glad it was a pleasant rain rather than thunderstorms.
And that’s the end of another week–and another month! How was yours?
Stray Thoughts 
Those pumpkin carvings are impressive! š Have a blessed weekend!
Thank you! You, too!
I love the pumpkin with the heart and cross…my fave.
How fun to carve them as a family.
Our color is now at peak here in the Capital Region of NY but past peak in the mountains where I hike. Definitely more muted this year due to our drought (although yesterday we finally got some rain and today it’s a bit drizzly as well!) and the warmer night time temps. We still haven’t had a hard frost here in my town although Mt Marcy, our highest peak, has 7 inches of snow on top!
I love soups on a cold day. I haven’t made any since April! But I did make a nice Shepherds pie with ground bison I bought at a local bison farm.
Great deal on the microwave!
HAPPY WEEKEND!
Beautiful pumpkins!
I love this. I used to live in a part of the country where these fall things were normal. Now I live in the desert. There are no fall colors. Cooler temps for sure. A pumpkin might be here or there. But this is the time to grow tomatoes and peppers. It is such a different view of fall and winter here in the desert. It’s fun to be reminded. =)
Keep writing and pointing to Jesus.
Lisa
All of the pumpkins are adorable, but my favorite one is of the man and boy fishing. Could that be Timothy and Grandpa?
Shepherds Pie is one of our favorites here.
It sounds as if you had a lovely week, Barbara.
Yes, that’s Timothy and Granddad fishing. š On my October Reflections post Thursday, I shared the photo that carving came from.
Very impressed with your pumpkins! And yes who doesn’t love a bargain! Have a good weekend.
Hi Barbara, those pumpkins are really great! The food sounds delicious too! I love to make soups when the weather turns cool. We don’t have many all trees around here. Our street tree has leaves turning yellow and are falling now. Enjoy your weekend!
I drive each Friday to visit a friend and former coworker who’s in a nursing home. Sometimes I feel guilty about the 20-mile drive, but just this morning I was thinking how nice it is because it’s along a highway where I have lots of great views of the fall foliage. It was like God saying, “It’s okay” š What a great deal on the microwave!!
The pumpkin of the two fishing is impressive! I tried carving a pumpkin once. It was hard to do and I never did it again.
Good deal on the microwave. I hope you can get your bigger one fixed soon.
We have gotten a lot of rain this week. It’s perked up the leaves though, I think. They look prettier. And it’s definitely soup weather!
Ooh, you remind me it’s almost cool enough for a shepherd’s pie and soups. I always enjoy seeing what your family comes up with for your pumpkin carving.
Nice to have an opportunity to get out and see fall colors on your way rather than having to seek it out.
That is quite the deal and even a nice helpful worker.
Your pumpkins are amazing. It’s a fun tradition.
Yay for your hubby’s great find on that microwave.
I agree with you that soup is yummy any time, but especially during rainy days. And yes, rain can be a blessing, too, when you really need the rain.