Busy + busy

Phew! So, since my last post I have:

• had my parents visit for a few days
• been to the Baseball Hall of Fame museum in Cooperstown, NY
• visited Thacher State Park
• watched mom "magically" fix my sewing machine
• played some fierce tennis with dad and the Mr. 
• accepted a job
• started making crafts for The Crafty Bees etsy store!! em has some really nice cards on there, and I'm getting close to having a few things posted too!

I don't have any pictures to post for now, since this is just a quick update! I'll get around to it eventually. I have an exam this Thursday, so maybe if I get enough studying done I can edit a few pictures for a break!! 

I hope everyone's enjoying the brisk autumn air this Monday morning! 

Weekend Hike: Part 2!

I looked up the names of the caterpillars from yesterday's pictures, and found that the striped brown/black one is called a Woolley Bear caterpillar, and the shiny black caterpillar turns into a giant leopard moth. I think it said they aren't poisonous (which seems to be unusual for fuzzy caterpillars), so that's good news.

cotton pod, burst open

roped off area for the bottom of the waterfall

top of the waterfall!

waterfall in action

 

stairs, so that we didn't have to scale the cliff

looking down on the edge to the trees below, JUST where the water spills over to go down down down.

we learned some history! apparently there were some good hideouts in this area, but he was found by the smoke in his cave's natural chimney. or something like that.

one last view before heading back home!

Camping out and Hiking at Thacher Park

Wow, I have so many pictures to catch up on! We had a really busy weekend, and the week has been ULTRA busy for both the Mr. and me so far. The weather has been stunning, and I'm pretty sure I cold tolerate this weather for a LOT longer. *that's a hint to the weatherman!!*

So, Friday night we dined on 'camping' food and got a nice roaring fire going. ...and, of course, we made sure to have a s'more or two!

marshmallow roasting

  

The next day we went hiking. And we saw a TON of gigantic caterpillars. You may or may not know how I feel about caterpillars.

...and this guy was the MONSTER of caterpillars. The picture makes him look small, but I swear he was like 3 inches. {My mind may have exaggerated this while Mr. snapped this shot.}

I like the texture and colors of these trees.

 

view from the top of the Helderberg escarpment - check out those golden yellows!

I see a few shades of red peeking through!

I hope everyone's having a lovely Wednesday. This week is rushing by, hopefully I can keep up!!

A slow day, other than studying

The leaves are changing around here! I didn't edit this picture much, other than brightening it, since it was initially fairly dark.  It almost seems too early for the leaves to be this red already, but I definitely like the cooler weather.

 

To end this quick post, you should enter em's giveaway here! She's got two awesome sets of cards up for grabs, and the deadline is this Sunday, so make sure you enter.  That means there'll be two winners, plenty to go around!

Also, if you're bored, head on over to 'the other stuff' here to take part in a poll about ice cream flavors. And leave a comment for us if you don't see your favorite flavor in the poll!

Autumn Wreath & Tidbits of Wisdom

It's been quite awhile since I've been on here! I leave for a bit, and it turns to autumn. sheesh, the seasons change while I'm gone!!

The past week has been pretty busy. Oh, also, I can pass on a few tidbits of wisdom that I've accumulated:

• When cutting a males hair with an electric razor, be fully awake. Make sure an appropriate length attachment is on the razor. Otherwise, it will result in buzzing all the hair off if attachments are forgotten. 
• If you break a wall clock and all the glass falls out, don't wait to vacuum it up. Also, smashing the glass out with a hammer results in a fully functional clock, however: *disclaimer*- I am not advocating it and don't get hurt and blame it on me!!
• Hot air balloons need practically clear skies to fly, like Z-E-R-O fog.  More details on this later. get excited, but not too excited.
• If doctors ask awkward questions, they get awkward answers. Not totally sure what else can be expected here. 

I also got my craft on this weekend by making my dad a present. It involved paper. and Michaels. {Not boy-Michaels, but Michaels 'the craft store' for anyone who is unsure.}While at Michaels, I also bought stuff to make a wreath since the door feels neglected.

 Pre-made wreaths were ~ $40, and way less cool than what I wanted. We even found this little guy. He needed a home.

The finished product!

And our friend can guard the door. Guess what he'll say????

Go on...guess!

He'll say....

Whooooooooooo's there???

Say 'Awesome Autumn Weather' 5x fast

The Mr. and I were super busy this weekend, and we were sad to see the weekend end. We took full advantage of the beautiful weather, some free time, and had a lot of fun.  Friday, we watched ISU beat U Conn to lead them to a 3-0 record for the season. I was really surprised, but it's nice to see them win some games!!

I tried to get a shot of my boots in the reflection of a window on campus.

Saturday, we went to a beer festival which was pretty fun. They even had accordion players and sauerkraut, but I somehow didn't see anyone wearing authentic lederhosen.  We also went grocery shopping, but that is not nearly as interesting. {Wait- I had to search the store for 20 million minutes looking for mascarpone, but - and here's the exciting part - I found it!!}

This little pink rose bush near our place still has blooms! I think they're so pretty.

Sunday, we spent a lot of time in the kitchen. We made slow-cooker lasagna, butternut squash and sweet potato soup, sunomono salad, chocolate and hazlenut coffee biscotti, and donut-misu.  SO, now there is food to be eaten for the week. We also went out for a few walks, sat outside to read at a nearby park, and played some card games.

A few of the trees are starting to change color. I edited it a little bit and liked seeing the hills in the far distance.