Tue., Oct. 23

The day dawned bright, beautiful, and ... COOL. Not kidding. I awoke a little after 9am to the most pleasant atmosphere. It was cool enough that Jeremy didn't have to close the windows when he got up, so (our bedroom boasts huge south windows) it was bright, cool, and there was a fresh air breeze blowing through the room!!!!! Wow. It felt like a June morning in MT. I think heaven might be like that. Bright and cool. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh..... This might have been the first day we had no need for the A/C. October 23. -huh-

Jeremy spent the morning in town getting 4 new-to-us tires for the Rodeo and getting it smogged and registered. We'd not driven it all last month because the tags were expired. It was some kind of record that he was able to do all of that in only an hour and a half! Then he paid the bills and gave me my spending money for November ... and then offered to stay home with the children while I took the money to town. Hooray!! Finally I got to buy the pants I've been waiting for months to buy. Our finances, like our schedule, seem mostly-recovered from those most difficult months we endured last spring/summer. So I shopped. I am thrilled that at Ross (where I dislike to shop and rarely do!) I found THREE pairs of pants that are going to work for me! Each pair could use a bit of tailoring, but they will also work just fine until that happens (sewing machine is 'down'), so. Three pairs of pants -- that will work for me! (skin issues, body style, height, etc.) for $39. That's amazing. And it left me with enough money to go ahead and order a pair of shoes I've been pining over for a while now! My black dress shoes are the same ones I bought when newly pregnant with Justus. They are that old, square-toe style from six years go ... a style I've recently learned is the least-flattering shoe style.... (sigh) So I'm super-happy to have some others on the way!!!!!!

It's been long enough since I had to drive to the far east side that I'd forgotten, again, how big this city is. WHEN WILL THEY PUT A MALL IN ON THE WEST SIDE????? Come on! (Actually, there are some rumblings about such a thing happening, but no ground is broken yet or anything....)

My trip to town took an hour longer than I expected, so I couldn't cook supper! GR! We ate Arby's. Hey, at least I was able to get fast food that had some vegetables in it! Arby's has pretty good salads, and it was right on the way home.... uggh

After supper we played Skip-Bo. Actually, three of us did; Justus has the cold bug Natasha had last week, so he wasn't up for it. He just watched and leaned against Jeremy.

A couple nights ago, late at night, I turned off all the lights and quietly called Jabba - hoping to take him outside for his last elimination of the day. He didn't respond. I wondered, "Did he go downstairs and I didn't hear him?" So I walked toward the stairs and stopped JUST IN TIME. (Since, there on the ledge by the stairway was my camera I immediately picked it up and was able to capture these pictures.

Jabba sleeping on top stair.

Jabba trying to wake, on top stair.

I think I've mentioned before that Natasha, every month or two, will ask us to save the toilet paper rolls to replenish her supply with which to be crafty. Here is what she made last week: a toilet paper roll Jabba.

Drum roll please...

Heeeeeeeeeere's Kiana!

This is a 'before' picture, when we had hoped to keep her tied in our yard until we could get a fence up to keep her out of the garden. She completely chewed her way through the tie-down we bought (nylon), so she earned herself a fence around the garden! I'll take more pictures and post them within a couple days. I think it's funny and creative that Jeremy thought of using bread pans as her food and water dishes until we could get to Wal-Mart for official ones she can't tip over!

Here's a picture (taken from the family room window upstairs) of Jeremy, N, and J putting up the fence around the garden.
Natasha played with Kiana a lot today. Actually, so did Justus. It is really interesting to watch that huge, 'scary-looking' dog play so sweetly with our children. Even when it's time to lock Kiana in her kennel so Jabba can come outside, Natasha just says, "Kiana, time to go into your kennel," and Kiana will sweetly turn toward Natasha and mosey into her kennel. She's so gentle! And, she seems to be less afraid of Jabba by the day. She no longer curls her lip at Jabba through the glass door, alternately whimpering. (SO STRANGE!) OH! But, Kiana has figured out how to open the sliding glass door!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Is that unique, I wonder? Justus informed us of this yesterday morning; he came running upstairs, "Dad!! I was downstairs and noticed the back door was a little open! Kiana was opening it!" So now we know to keep that door locked when no one is in the back yard (our habit anyway). However, this afternoon, I'm told, someone forgot to lock the door. Jeremy, N, and J were upstairs when Kiana sauntered into the family room!!!!!!!! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so funny...