Trenton is unimpressed.

A washing machine.

No power for it yet but the water lines are ready to go behind the big plastic curtain. 

Perhaps I will do some laundry tonight.

But I still lack a drier so I guess I will be scrounging around for some clothespins.

Sigh.

On this corner.

I swear.  This is as good as it is going to get.  I'm priming tomorrow and painting this weekend.  If anyone wants to kneel down next to my toilet and complain that I didn't do a good enough job on this corner, I'll flush their head for them.











Maxx has been perfecting his pirate fashion for weeks months now.  He can hardly wait for Friday when he gets to be a PIRATE at SCHOOL!

He had a blast helping design his spooky little pumpkin last night, too.  He generally likes creepy things.

Since we have been so busy all year and had no construction $$ to work on the house this weekend and because we all spent the first part of the weekend being miserable and sick and because we wanted to celebrate our Temple Anniversary, we took a trip up to the Adirondacks on Monday.  We drove up the Whiteface Veteran's Memorial Highway.  That drive is pretty much my limit for heights, switchbacks and drop-offs.  And then we played with my other borderline phobia and walked through the tunnel to the elevator that would take us the rest of the way through the mountain to the top.

Maxx had a blast jumping around on the rocks at the top of the mountain.  But not too close to the edge.

Then we took the kids to the covered bridge in Jay.  Molly Bryn didn't remember ever seeing it before.  Bry and I realized that we have been negligent about taking her around to our ancestral stomping grounds.

We also spent a little time wandering around in Downtown Lake Placid before heading home.  I was pretty disappointed with the shops this time around.  I remember there being several small, charming little shops with unique items but this time I there seemed to be only high end, pretentious outlets and small touristy shops.  Even "Where'd You Get That Hat?"  felt stale, trEndy and commercial.

Alas.

The mountain was great though - 80 mile visibility and not freezing at the top.














......

Has been at a standstill since the beginning of school.  We ran out of construction $$ at the end of August and it took me several weeks to put together a packet of receipts and estimates and project overviews for the bank and then the USPS changed its sorting route for Upstate NY and all of my early September bill payments were three weeks late.

THREE Weeks!  To get a piece of mail from Brasher to Potsdam.  And our mortgage payment got completely lost. 

That created multiple glitches with the the other Evil Empire (National Grid)  and with the bank that were finally all straightened out yesterday with a $25.00 stop check fee.  Aaargh.  So maybe we can have more construction $ next week?

My lovely new bathroom is still at the early skeleton construction stage.  That non-functioning bathtub taunts me every time I walk upstairs.

We got the two female Kittens fixed.   Emmeth can wait a little while.  He's not spraying and he still says "meeew?"  It will be a while yet before he becomes a full grown, sauntering Tom Cat.









The cows have moved away.   This makes us all very sad but we are growing some spectacularly large spiders in our side entry to make up for their absence.   I think they make a pretty good home security system.  By 8:00 every night, they have spun new, strong webs and hang at about head height to catch yummy flies - which we also have plenty of.

The cold is coming on strong.  Our first delivery of wood for the season comes today and the trees are beautiful.

















...

Grampa got out the tractor last Monday and we set out to pick apples for Family Home evening.











Molly Bryn was in a great mood.














Maxx was starting to get sick and was developing some snot and  'tude, too.  (But, boy!  That hat is a hit.  It is on every waking minute at home.)










Chrissy and Truman were downright excited but were being very mellow & cool about the whole thing. 















It was a beautiful evening in the meadow.












I took several shots of flora & foliage as references for a project I'm working on in the studio.















Molly Bryn took lots of beautiful sunset shots.









The moon was up as we rode home on the wagon.

Gramma made applesauce the next day and shared it around.  Molly and Maxx both missed the rest of the week at school because this first-of-the-year virus really knocked them out.  I understand now why they were so miserable - I'm coming down with it and it feels like someone injected cold liquid lead into my veins.


Hopefully, I will fight it off faster than the kids did.  It's the first time I have been sick since the swine flu and earache from Hell late last fall so I'm not bitter.  It has been wonderful to be well for so long.









. . . .

Yesterday was Molly & Maxx's first day back at school.  Everyone seemed happy to go back. 













I don't know why Maxx always has to make a monster face for the camera - but it is better than the fake exaggerated smile he does otherwise.  Sigh . . .
















That dresser in both photos?  That's where the piano will go when we move it.  Bry just installed a lovely light fixture that really makes that little corner at the bottom of the stairs glow.