October 1-15th, 2021

Finally one of my favorite times of the year! Actually, a favorite season for the whole family. It's the start of all things spooky! I can't get enough scary and horror movies, tv shows and stories. I even piggy backed on Scott's Netflix subscription and binge watched "Tiger King"-the buzz word from last year and waiting for the upcoming continuation. Just saying, lots of crazy people living here in the US. As a side note, a farm near DC has 45 zebras along with camels, not sure what else. But 4 of the zebras escaped and have been roaming the farmlands and woods in that area. 2 were killed in a snare trap(set for the zebra?). Then animal welfare busted the farm saying the animals there were not being cared for properly. More to come. Glad they weren't raising tigers! 

Things have been a bit strange in our area. A man was captured after killing an 80 year old woman(friend of his mother's) in Western MD. He then drove to Ellicott City in her car to kill his step -brother and his wife who he worried was killing people with the COVID vaccine since he was a pharmacist. Then he stole his brother's red convertible corvette and escaped to West Virginia where he was caught. Shocker. Hard to hide in a red convertible corvette in West Virginia.  The couple lived down the street from my boss. She said it was a very hectic day in her neighborhood. And Ellicott City was just named one of the Top Ten Cities in America to live in. Interestingly enough, we were also named "Korea Town" and a monument was erected along our main road, Route 40(National Road) at the end of our neighborhood. We have a very large Korean population in our city and lots of restaurants and businesses Korean owned. And just so happens our governor is married to a Korean woman. So they made a big fuss about the announcement. Don't know how it came to be-didn't get to vote on it. And our nearby city of Columbia, MD was recently named the safest city in America. Followed by a 2 person shooting. Can't keep up with all the crazy. 

I think life is trying to readjust to post lock down COVID. Prices are way up for everything(yes it is inflation) and items are difficult to find on the shelves. Both Tom and I have started doing more shopping(more for me than Tom) since I cannot find some basics like gel toothpaste or my Suave shampoo at the stores. At work, things continue to fluctuate. We recently had two staff employees test positive for COVID, and a positive COVID patient, so we had to go back on lockdown and unable to bring in more patients.  We were back to K-95 masks and face shields. We also could not go between our two buildings, so it really limits how many patients I can treat in a day. Fortunately, I was able to get my COVID booster shot at work after a few hiccups and paperwork. It was still early on for the release of the booster shots and it seemed to be causing some confusion.  I was also surprised at the side effects this go round. I woke up with a rash all over my face about a week after getting the shot! Our whole staff got the shots and complained of being itchy and very tired, along with a fever. Northrop is demanding their employees get vaccinated. Tom went to get his booster shot but got the runaround at the local drug store. He finally got his booster at the grocery store pharmacy. Allison is holding off until the end of October when she returns from her trip to Disney. Although we both had our flu shots already. 

We also kicked off our spooky month of October with a visit to Howl O Scream at Busch Gardens. Allison, Tom and I headed down on Thursday night after work. That gave us the whole day on Friday to enjoy the decorations and catch a few shows. Before heading in though we caught a morning movie-Venom 2. Tom decided he wanted to see the Sopranos back story movie but left about 30 mins into the film reporting it was terrible. He then joined us in Venom, but he did not especially like that movie either. Allison and I did though! We really enjoyed Venom 1. Meanwhile back at the park, we met up with our neighbors Dan and Gloria who joined us for the weekend. Unfortunately though Dan was not feeling well and called it an early night. We did enjoy all the haunted houses, and even our favorite jewelry booth was open at the park. Allison bought an amazing Dragon necklace and I got some adorable Baby Yoda earrings to go with my Yoda ears. The biggest disappointment in the day was the food choices. When Busch Gardens was actually owned by the Busch Distillery the food and drink choices were phenomenal. They had Halloween themed desserts-we adored their pumpkin cheesecake. And they had several special bars and eateries set up around the park, along with an Escape Room. So all of those things were left out, but we still had a great time. On Saturday we stopped into the outlet stores for Allison and I to do some shopping at Vera Bradley before heading home by way of the back roads.  The weekend certainly put us in the Halloween mood. And the mood for fall, although the weather has actually been quite mild. Warm actually on some days. 

Allison and I enjoyed an outing to the apple farm to pick a big bag of Winesap and  Empire  apples that we shared, along with picking up some farm cheese curds and fresh apple cider. I think this was the first year that I was sweating while walking through the orchard. I really enjoy picking apples from the smaller trees that are grown on a trellis though-no ladders! And I can get to all the really good apples myself!  We also had a great time at our church's Fall Festival. They did not hold the festival  last year with COVID, and Allison and I have not gone to the festival for awhile since we were camping the last time it was held. I especially enjoy their rummage sale. I spent the week before the event digging through some of the kids leftover games and toys for donation and then dropped off several big bags in the evening. They also have several arts and crafts booths, snack tables, a silent auction and raffle and plant sale. Allison and I picked up a few fun items at the rummage sale along with some jewelry at the craft tables and a plant for Allison. And they got the whole event done before a very rainy afternoon. Allison and I also spent the afternoon doing a little bit of shopping. 

Tom and I also have been spending a bit more time with our neighbors Dan and Gloria  before Gloria has her second shoulder replacement done. We enjoy going out to dinner and even caught the new James Bond movie, No Time to Die. Must say was not one of the best Bond movies, but it was definitely long-at least 2.5 hrs!  Tom, Allison and I also introduced them to a Hershey Hockey Game. We drove up to Hershey, PA early on a Saturday to have  a beer at a local brewery before stopping into Hershey's Candy Land to stock up on Halloween goodies. Looks like they both enjoyed the new experience, especially Gloria!

This is definitely Tom's favorite time of year for the sports! He has certainly been enjoying the football games and getting together with the neighbor guys each week to partake in snacks and critique the NFL while watching the games. And then there is Hockey! We have also been checking in on the college ball games. I was sorry we missed traveling to Michigan this year for Scott's Western Michigan Homecoming weekend. Honestly, Scott was so busy studying for his midterms he really would not have been able to visit with us. And the local high school Homecoming weekend was on the day of the church Fall Festival so we missed the parade. Too many activities! Turns out they had to reroute the yearly parade since the church parking lot is usually the starting point and it was filled with tables and activities for the fair. Maybe next year. 

I have also been getting the fall yard work done while the weather has been so mild. I was able to plant all my fall mums and pansies, pick up some pumpkins and my hay bale as well as a corn stalk for the front door decorations. On top of the fall decor, I was slowly putting out all the Halloween decorations as well. And this is the time of year to take advantage of some warm sunshine to plant grass seed or transplant bushes or trees.  I had quite a few spots in the front and back yard that needed some top soil and seed including areas where Tom killed off some pesky Bermuda grass. The neighbors caught me early on a Sunday morning up to my elbows in mud after church! I also finally transplanted a small birch tree that I should have moved last year, but Tom and I could not figure out where to put it. I finally made an executive order of where to place it in the front yard. But it did not go so easy! River Birch have long, shallow roots which were hard to dig up, especially since it was growing so close to our backyard fence. I really appreciated Cookies assistance when she came over and lay down under the shade of the tree while it was laying on its side! We'll see next year if it survived the move. And I have already started bagging up leaves and twigs in the yard and the street. Our leaves have not really started changing color just yet. Maybe closer to the end of the month. 

 While I was busy with work outside the house, Tom found a project in the house to keep him busy. He ended up basically rewriting his entire thesis since it is being reviewed and edited for format followed by a committee approval before he can move on to completing the research surveys. So since he is waiting around for feedback, he found something to keep himself occupied. He stripped the wallpaper from Allison's old room, repainted and hung crown molding as well as cleaning the carpet. He also had some patching to do since it had some old roof leaks in the ceiling by the chimney that were repaired many years ago. It was much easier to get the work done since the room is empty of Allison's furniture and Scott moved all his school and dorm room supplies out when he went back to Western. Now Tom is anxious to pick up a bed and furniture to make the room guest worthy. We did pick out a light lavender color for the walls and decided it needed more delicate furniture. We were introduced to a huge used furniture/lighting/appliance etc warehouse in downtown Baltimore from our friends Dan and Gloria. The warehouse takes used items from Maine to Florida and was absolutely huge and packed with everything from massive marble fireplaces to small glassware, statues, chandeliers, couches and chairs, desks, entire kitchens! Huge furniture sets that look like they came out of a castle! The prices drop every week on the items. We found a beautiful bedroom set, but decided it was a bit too heavy for the room. Also were hunting for a new dining room chandelier, but we just ran out of time to keep looking. We'll have to venture back again some time. 

I also finalized my hip surgery date at the end of the year on the 30th of December! Far enough past my COVID booster shot-they wanted me to wait a few months although they really don't know what a good time span is since no one has experienced this yet. I was able to schedule my preliminary PT appointment and get my walker! (I actually could have waited for the pediatric sized walker, but I figure I won't be using it too long anyway!)

We have especially enjoyed spending more time with Allison! She has also been busy though with plenty of her own activities including a backpacking camping trip with Gabe and another couple-friends of Allison-on the Appalachian Trail. They had a beautiful weekend, and even took a large labradoodle dog along. The dog is quite well prepared for camping and hiking and even has his own booties! I guess he was a bit too nosey though and wandered into another campers area early in the morning. I guess it upset the guy and he was giving their group a hard time. You never know who you are going to run into on the Appalachian Trail. Had me worried since officials were looking for a possible suspect of the Gabby Petito murder case. Her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie was thought to be hiding out along the AT. Turns out he was eventually found deceased in the local park, Carlton Reserve in Venice Fl. They were busy hunting him in the park when Tom and I were visiting Florida to attend Tom's mother's funeral. Did not realize there was such a large wildlife reserve so close to the area we have visited over the years, including time I spent there as a kid with my family. So sad that it became a crime scene. And seems that crazy crime is a bit too close lately. Don't get me started about the state of Baltimore!

As if we didn't have enough to worry about with COVID. Maybe scary October takes on a whole new meaning! Looking forward to the upcoming Holidays to lighten things up!