October: Halloween and First Communion
October 1
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On October 6, I flew out to Southern California to see my good friend Karen. We drove from the John Wayne airport to Carpinteria because we were going to meet a new friend, Cleta, for the Avocado Festival.
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October 7
In the morning on Saturday, I went for a run and wound up on this lovely path that ended overlooking the ocean. I don’t seem to have taken any photos at the festival, but we had a good time. Wandered around and ate some amazing guacamole.
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October 8
After the festival, we drove to Ojai to see where Cleta lives. After stumbling on a Shooter Jennings concert in the park, Karen and I spent the night in the guest room of the assisted living home where Cleta’s mom lives; the accommodations were excellent, and it was comparatively inexpensive. They have a beautiful rose garden. In the morning, we went to the farmer’s market, and Cleta drove us up to Meditation Mount, where there’s a peaceful retreat center with an amazing view. Then Karen and I drove to Santa Barbara.
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While I was away, the kids did their annual painting of a window on a downtown Lafayette business. We always paint with Phoebe’s friend Fritz and his family. This was the first year Benjamin was old enough for his own painting!
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October 9
Karen and I found the East Beach Grill for breakfast; I can’t imagine a better place to sit by the beach and eat!
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October 11
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October 12
I attended CALCON, the Colorado Association of Libraries conference, up in Loveland, for the second year in a row. I really enjoy spending time with librarians!
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October 14
My sister-in-law Erin had a conference in Broomfield, so she spent two nights with us. It was so fun to see her! I haven’t spent much time with her without my brother Matt around, so I enjoyed getting to do some “girl talk.” Dave was busy playing sax for the Longmont Theater Company production of Rocky Horror Show.
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October 15
A big day! After two weeks of instruction in Sunday School, Phoebe and four other Mount Calvary kids were ready to take their first communion. Dave and I are so proud of our big girl—getting more mature every day!
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We like to occasionally get together with some friends Phoebe made at Take-A-Break before they all went their separate ways for kindergarten. Sunflower Farm in Longmont turned out to be a lovely place to meet up for the afternoon.
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For dinner, I made a beef stew from the vegetables Phoebe brought home from a Take-A-Break field trip to Miller Farms.
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October 27
October is Halloween costume month, and Dave offered to buy me a new sewing machine to make this labor of love easier. Wow; even this fairly inexpensive machine is impressive! (It’s nowhere near as beautiful or classy as the lovely old Singer I’ve been using until now.)
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Weather has rolled in and out all month so far; just right for fall.
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October 31
Grammie and Pappy left after a really nice visit. Apparently, we were having so much fun, we didn’t take any photos!
My coworkers always come up with a theme for Halloween, and several of us dress up in order to win the company costume contest (we’re a shoo-in).
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Back row: Deadliest Catch, The Apprentice, Bob Ross
Middle row: The Amazing Race, Jon and Kate Plus Eight, Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives
Front row: Dancing with the Stars
The kids had Halloween parties at school; after school, we joined the Brinkmans for pizza, beer, and trick-or-treating, as has become a family tradition. We went up and down a new street this time, and there were so many kids and parents out to experience a street full of fabulous and scary decorations!
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