Friday Photos

It has been a few weeks since I have done a Friday Photos post- basically a photo dump of pictures during the week with some commentary because just showing pictures without any ramblings isn’t very exciting (or at a minimum isn't as enjoyable for me because I like to write!).

We have not seen Jacob as much recently- summer is ideal for him to have fun plans with friends on weekends and whatnot. It seems like we saw him more last winter which makes sense because that is the season when everyone tends to spend more time indoors. We would meet him at restaurants, and he'd even come home sometimes to watch a football game with us. Hopefully that continues with the cooler, hibernating type weather this winter. He asked me a couple of weeks ago if I could meet him for lunch and of course I said yes. We went to Panara Bread (his choice, not mine) and got caught up a little.

I thought I was ordering the 1/2 sandwich and soup combo but apparently not. This was way too much food (typing that makes me feel old- there was a time not too long ago when this wouldn't have been too much food but here we are). I ended up eating half the sandwich and maybe half of the chili. Jacob was happy to take my leftovers as a supplement for another meal for him :).

We have not seen Abby in a long time but that will change, Lord willing, this weekend. She is good about sending me pictures. She sent me this picture of her and the author John Green and another MTN (Miami Television News) student member.  The young women interviewed John Green for an MTN broadcast.

  This is a cute picture of Abby and T. They went to their school's (Miami, of Ohio) homecoming football game. Abby doesn't know a lick about football or care for it, but she said the game was fun. 

Speaking of football, Alyssa has been going to all of Ohio State's home football games- three so far I think. Students are able to purchase tickets for all the home games and Alyssa, though very similar to Abby in her knowledge and interest (/ lack of thereof) in football, wanted to get the football ticket package for home games so we bought her one and she's gone to the games. The games are big deals with tail gating, pre gaming, the consumption of spirits (hopefully not by Alyssa...), selecting the right outfit to wear (that is definitely done by Alyssa!), oh, yeah and then I guess attending the game. I need to ask Alyssa to send me a picture from inside the stadium at one of the games.

Speaking of football and stadiums, my brother said that Indiana University- his and my alma mater- is undefeated so far and even got ranked when they beat a ranked team. I think they're ranked 23rd in the nation while Ohio State is ranked 3rd. My brother remarked that it would be fun to go to Columbus to see the IU- OSU game when they play each other. Honestly, it sounds noisy and way too crowd-y for my liking though it can be neat to see live play, so I understand why he wants to go. If my brother could procure reasonably priced tickets (highly doubtful!) I would consider going for his sake and then I would get to see Alyssa. But I doubt that will happen and I will watch Indiana lose to OSU (I mean, that is what is highly likely, not just me being a super pessimist!) from the comfort of my own home.

Speaking of OSU, I took this picture when I was in Columbus in September. This is what a drought will do to grass…The contrast between the brown of the grass and the green of the turf is striking. Of course this was before last weekend. Our area and Columbus had rain non stop three days in a row on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Not sure what this grass looks like now, but the grass in our yard is lush and green once again. Prior to last weekend, it had been one of the driest Septembers on record.

Speaking of grass, well, we have a porta potty on our grass in our front yard! That was not on our bingo card when we decided to undertake a backyard project but it's there, nonetheless. It's a conversation starter with the neighbors, that is for sure! I don't think I have ever seen a porta potty in someone's yard in our neighborhood which is probably a sign that we are over improving the back yard. But then again, some of our neighbors have done something similar (for the most part, a covered patio) and no porta potty graced their yards. Our project is supposed to take around six weeks total. To date, workers have just removed our deck and some of the shrubbery around it. 

Speaking of workers, I worked three days this week. I was supposed to have worked an additional day, but it was canceled. I got so much work done at home the day my job was canceled; it was amazing, and I am grateful that the job was canceled. I enjoy reading, writing and exercising- three decent activities to do in and of themselves but ones that get in the way of getting things done on days that I am home. On Thursday, I swept thoroughly and mopped, cleaned the inside and outside of one of our tall windows, added Halloween lights to the outside, cleaned up some of the flower beds & weeded, moved the compost bin and its contents (necessary for the outdoor project), and ran an errand to complete getting items for Abby's birthday. I took a little time to myself to walk/run a couple of miles on the treadmill but other than that, I was industrious the entire day. 

Walking to the farmer market that's a stone's throw away from our house seems like win-win. I get some exercise, and I can pick up homegrown fruits and vegetables. Now, it is not a win healthy wise if I pick up fried chicken and some of the delectable bakery items also available for purchase at the market. I am going to try to be good this fall and only get apples from the market... Baby steps, one home grown honey crisp at a time 🍎