Good Monday morning! I hope you had a nice weekend. It was a lovely one around here. Fall, for sure and for certain, has settled in and we have been trying our best to enjoy all these autumn days. Here are three things about the weekend (and one thing I would change):
ONE – we went to another fall festival on Saturday. It was not our original destination (and the one I mentioned on Friday as “our favorite”). We were heading out the door when I remembered there was an entrance fee. I thought I should check to not only see the cost of the fee but to also find out if we needed cash. Glad I checked. I could not believe they were charging almost $25 per person. Just to get in. You might think I am cheap but I just could not make wrap my brain around paying fifty dollars for the two of us to walk around the fairgrounds for a craft show. Sure, it was a huge show and there were, no doubt, lots of pretty things to see and ideas to spark my creativity. But, folks. Really. Fifty dollars?? Before I even bought a single thing. (If I had a dollar left over for buying any of the pretty things.)
But we were all dressed up with nowhere to go. Sorta. Then I remembered the small town next to us (literally three miles away not the 47 miles of the aforementioned one) was having their fall day. It is a small town. We were expecting small. Or, at least, somewhat small. But, we were wrong. There were over 150 vendors and about 10 times that amount of people. Goodness but it was crowded. But it was a picture perfect day and we were happy just to walk the streets “window shopping” as it were. Actually, I bought two Christmas presents (and a little something for the house), so I was pretty pleased with myself.
WHAT I WOULD CHANGE – I usually save this for the end but might as well insert it here. The morning was cool. A bit brisk. And what I thought was perfect sweatshirt weather. I put on one of those “cute pumpkin bedecked sweatshirts” that I found in the back of my closet. I thought it was “just perfect” for a fall festival. I was wrong. The day quickly warmed up nicely. Add a couple thousand people and the day quickly became hot. I was sweltering. And a bit miserable, if I am honest. I was so unhappy with that sweatshirt. And, just to seal my negative opinion with my wardrobe choice, I passed someone wearing the exact sweatshirt. She was about 20 years my senior. I quickly felt as old as I did hot. Good-bye pumpkin sweatshirt.
TWO – Back to the weekend highlights. We had a fall harvest day at church yesterday. There was a special speaker for the adults (I am downstairs with the children on Sunday mornings) and, afterwards, we had a chili cook-off. It was called a cook-off, although there never was any voting or choosing of a favorite chili. I dunno. With the chili, there was cornbread, hot dogs, veggie trays…and, of course, dessert. I made a pumpkin poke cake. If you like a sweet dessert, this one is for you. Very easy but incredibly sweet. Not sure I would make this again. Honestly, I did not eat a piece. I simply licked the fork after plating a few pieces to share with the neighbor. It was very pumpkin-y. And very sweet. It was, however, a great day for chili and cornbread!!
THREE – Back to Saturday. After the fall festival, we headed to another favorite outdoor shopping center/venue for dinner. The restaurant had an entire section of “fall favorites” on the menu. Lots of butternut squash dishes. I do love me some butternut squash and had trouble picking just one thing to order. I settled on a yummy fall salad and a bowl of butternut squash soup. Dinner was delish! Our son was also was with us. He spent the day with us. It is so nice having him home. Not sure how long he will be here but I am enjoying it for now.
And, just like that, we are back to Monday. A fresh new week full of possiblities. And, without sounding like a broken record, a week with a beautiful forecast. You can find me outside as often as possible. What does your week look like?? I’m glad you stopped by…and thanks to everyone who had encouraging comments about “Friday with Friends” coming later this week. I’m looking forward to it. Have a great Monday, friends!!
