October 2024

 
October 1 - Sandra brought dinner over and we had a great time catching up with everything that has been going on all summer since I haven't been able to go walking.  I have missed out walk/talks.  Avian got to take the business class bear home and add to the accessories.  Of course the bear needed Batman print pants.  Avian even gave them a tail hole for ultimate comfort.  The are having a great time a college but really miss their bed, Charlotte water (Savannah water has a very different taste), Sipco and their car. 

October 3rd was a regularly scheduled remote day.  I got to drive down to South Carolina with Cindy to pick up chairs for the media center.  Afterwards we went to lunch at Cracker Barrel.  It was a fun day.  

I also got a lot of calls and texts from family out west is calling to check in on us.  They are hearing all sorts of crazy stories on the news and social media about Helene aftermath. There are people reporting that nothing is being done to help anyone and that the government has not responded with any aid.  It is sad that people are taking a terrible situation and spreading disinformation.  At one point, there was a group of self-appointment militia going around in the mountains and threatening FEMA workers who were trying to help the survivors because the militia heard that FEMA was not helping.  It completely hindered people getting the help they needed.  So sad!!!  People were also really mad at a police deputy in a small town that was turning people away who came to help - - - because it was too dangerous to let anyone in the town!!!! They were getting people out as quickly as possible, but didn't want to have to rescue anyone else who just went running in to "help".  

October 4th I got to help collect donations for Western North Carolina at the LNC football game.  Knight Watch was playing at the tailgate and I got to see Rose and Leah.  Rose looked great in her drum major outfit.  They wanted me to send a pic to Avian.  Avian sent back a picture of their view from SCAD Jazz practice.  At the end of the night we needed a bigger trailer to transport everything we had collected.  LNC is the best.

The weather cleared up just in time for the tailgate to start.  

Rose (in their drum major outfit) and Leah!

Liz and Jill are the best band moms.  They are making the year so much fun for Knight Watch.  

Rose leading the band.   I love the silver-lined cape.  

Avian's view of SCAD Jazz practice.  

October 5th, Steve and I thatched the lawn and trimmed the azaleas.  The HOA has been sending out nasty grams about overgrown plants and we didn't want to give them a reason to send anything to us.  We made two trips to the dump to get rid of all the grass and branches.  During the second time loading up the truck, I backed the truck up to the side of the house to make it easier to load the branches, but miscalculated the distance from the truck to the sidewalk and came down a little harder than I had anticipate.  I heard a loud "POP" and thought it was my knee, but my knee seemed to be fine.  In fact, it felt a lot better and I thought maybe it was some scar tissue moving.  I didn't think much about it until I tried to stand up after sitting and watching a session of conference.  My foot was really tender and it was hard to walk.  So much fun.   

October 6th I went for a walk with Sandra in the morning.  My foot felt better so I thought a walk was a good idea.  My foot hurt a little bit after the walk, but it wasn't terrible.  I helped Steve clean the mold off the side of the house.  The azaleas had blocked the sun and mold had formed.  Once again, trying to avoid an HOA nasty gram.  I got myself cleaned up and went to the a pre-conference brunch with the Hilliard Ward.  The meal was very nice.  The conversation was amazing, as usual and the first session of Sunday General Conference was inspiring.  Back at home, Steve mowed/vacuumed the lawn (to get rid of any thatched grass we hadn't gotten with the rake) and watched conference.  

October 7th Steve and I took Sandra to dinner at Mi Pueblo for her birthday.  She is always so much fun to hang out with.  Never a dull moment.  

October 9th, Steve and I got our COVID booster and flu shots.  We capped off the day talking to Avian. The sent us the pictures below while we were talking.   

A picture of the sunset from their window.  

Some ideas inspired by Epic-the Musical

Avian's is the one in the middle.  

October 10th both Steve and I felt like crud because of the shots, but we muscled through.  It will be worth not getting so sick this flu season.  

October 11th, Steve and I went to dinner at Freddy's and then walked around mall.  For some reason my foot waited until we were halfway around the mall from the truck to really start hurting.  Steve left me on a bench and went to get the truck.  My foot felt like there was half a golf ball on the bottom of my foot.   

October 12th, Steve went to South Carolina (Lauren and Clinton) with the church group to help with clean up.  Instead of going for a walk with Sandra I went to OrthoCarolina urgent care for foot.  The doctor found a small break at the base of my 2nd phalange.  Jeremy worked all day.  

Avian got Batman tattoo at a flash sale in the artist's house.  Their roommate got a bunny cherry tattoo as well.  Good times in college.  

Steve cutting down trees and using his chainsaw.  He is a happy man!

I just can't catch a break - oh wait!  I can!!!

October 13th - Steve was back in South Carolina helping clean up trees and debris.  I went back to the YSA ward to play the piano for them again.  Seth, Nick's roommate, called me on the way to church and I freaked out a little bit.  Seth has never called me before but he has my number in case there is an emergency with Nick.  He was just calling to tell me he was leading the music and would be a little late.   Phew!

Later that night, the sister missionaries showed up at our house to talk to Nick.  We have left our address in there for him so he can still attend the YSA ward.  Technically he doesn't even live in our stake, but he doesn't want to go to the singles ward where he lives.  It hasn't been a problem until today.  We called Nick and arranged to have him come for dinner the following Sunday and then I fed the sisters some of the butternut squash soup I had made  It was a fun night.  

October 15th, as I was coming out of PT, a cute little lady asked if she could use my phone to call AAA to come and unlock her car for her.  She explained that her caregiver had the car keys and was off on a walk while she was in PT.  She was supposed to call the caregiver when she was done, but her phone was locked in the car.  I offered to drive her around the area and find her caregiver since AAA would take a long time and cost at least a couple hundred dollars.  We found her caregiver and got the keys to the car.  Crisis averted and money saved.    

Avian's silver medal arrived in the mail and Laura Arias brought us eggs from her chickens.  It was a good day.  

October 18th I got to attend a Relief Society activity called Campfire and Conference talks.  There were several firepits set up in the church parking lot and we were each handed a number when we arrived which corresponded to a firepit.   This way we were sure to get to sit with people we didn't know very well.  We were then given some prompts from the recent conference talks and we discussed them in the group.  It was a really fun night!  To add to the fun, I got to ride with Holly and we picked up Nancy on the way.  

October 19, Steve cleaned our garden and did some home projects while I went to the Concord/Kannapolis was Souper Crafty Saturday with Nancy.  I learned about how to put Christ back into Christmas and how to create stunning tablescapes.  We enjoyed some yummy, homemade soups and great conversation.  Back at home I went grocery shopping.  It is only notable because it was the first real shopping trip in months.  Back at home I decorated for Haloween.  

October 20th, Nick came up to join us for dinner with the sister missionaries.  Sister Grey and Sister Gregson are so much fun to talk to.  They really wanted to make cookies, so we did that as well.  It was a fun night.  

October 26th Steve and I got up bright and early and went to the temple for the 8 am session.  We came home and took a little nap before heading out that evening to a Hornet's game with the O'Briens.  We had VIP tickets and got to eat in the VIP restaurant.  It was a great night cheering on our Hornets.  Jeremy spent all day at UNCC helping run an event for the gaming club.  

We were right down in the action.  

October 27 -  We drove to Savannah to deliver a list of needed items to Avian.  One of the items was a hug!!  We also brought Anthony with us so he could see where Avian was hanging out.  Avian took us all over Savannah, showing Anthony all the sights.  We we to lunch at the Flying Monk which has been our favorite the last several trips.  The Savannah Pride festival was going on at Forsythe Park and we wandered around there for a little bit.  As always, we did a quick run to Target to pick up some needed items and then said goodbye to Avian and headed home.  I always hate leaving them.  

October 30th - Steve and I voted early at a new location I picked since it was halfway between us and Nick.  He wanted to go with us.  The people were very friendly and there was no wait.  The volunteers happily told us that their motto was "There is no line at the Shrine!"  We have found our new place to vote during early voting.  Afterwards, Nick headed back to his place to get things done and Steve and I found a new place to try out.  We randomly picked the Harrisburg Family House and it did not disappoint. We will have to go there again.  

October 31 we had very few trick or treaters.  I don't think more than a handful were from our neighborhood.  This is definitely an older neighborhood now.  We used to be crawling with kids and have to buy two big bags of candy and then hope they lasted all night.  Hmmmm.  

More of Avian's art assignments.  They are LOVING it at SCAD and their projects are getting rave reviews from their professors.  

This is a water color and is my favorite art project so far. 

This was a perspective project.  While most people did the road going off into the sunset, Avian decided to do just the opposite.  So cool!