Watching Leaves Fall

Now that Garrett's back at work, my days have seemed really long. I'm trying to savor these last two weeks before I, too, have to report somewhere every day. 

The weather has been so nice since we got to town. The nights are really chilly - down in the 30's - but the days are sunny and warm. The birch trees surrounding the house are losing their leaves slowly but surely and this morning there was frost on the grass alongside the dirt road. Remy and I hung out all day alone because Bill took Mammaw to the airport in Anchorage. I found Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood on Mammaw's bookshelf so I've been cranking through that. It's so good that I have to stop myself from reading chapter after chapter because I don't want it to end. I also found a fall edition of the Taste of Home magazine that has a bunch of awesome recipes and have been copying some down for dinner ideas so Garrett and I can take turns cooking. Usually he just whips something awesome up because he is a naturally good cook, but I want to hone my skills, too!

I've also adopted Mammaw & Bills' routine of watching Judge Judy at 2:30 while enjoying a cup of vanilla "latté" in the afternoons. I know, I know. But I feel like I make a fantastic stay-at-home-dog-mom at this point. I'd spend more time outside doing things but a) the neighbors are slightly creepy, b) I have no method of transportation, c) the nearest "town" is a half hour away, and d) I have no money to throw around. So instead I sit in the comfy living room and, amongst other things, watch all the pretty yellow leaves fall from the tall trees.

This year has been weird. I haven't had a job since last December when I interned at Anderson ZurMuehlen. I guess I was a Graduate Teaching Assistant this past spring, but it wasn't much of a job - more of an extra-curricular that paid a little. I started working when I was 14 1/2 as a dishwasher and haven't really taken a break since, so not being employed for almost a year is not something I anticipated. Not that I'm complaining! It'd be nice to have a sense of purpose again, though. I'd like to make some money and use the skills I've spent so long acquiring. Thank goodness for Garrett who has carried our financial burden for the better part of the year. Not a single complaint, either.