October 3-2-1

3 things that made you happy in October

1. Going to the Twin Cities Corn Maze with Sophia, Olivia, and Paige. This is the largest maze in the area and has different points that you can find. It's pretty challenging, but fun.

Olivia and Sophia at the corn maze.

The corn was ripe and very tall.

Ripe field corn.

The theme this year was "St. Thomas" - a local university. The little lines are the pathways throughout the cornfield. 

Map of the Twin Cities Corn Maze.

2. Going to the apple orchard with Mary and Olivia. We went on a hayride to the pumpkin patch. This apple orchard is much larger than I thought and it was a beautiful ride around the farm. Since we already got our pumpkins on October 1st, we didn't get out at the pumpkin patch. We just continued on the ride.

Hayride through the apple orchard.

Olivia sat on the big hay wagon full of pumpkins.

Olivia with pumpkins surrounding her.

My sister and Olivia stood by an apple tree. The trees were loaded with apples.

My sister (Mary) and Olivia by an apple tree.

3. Having Sophia home a few days before Halloween to have a meal together. I made a 15-layer lasagna. Danny (the dog) has his own chair next to Sophia.

Eating a Halloween-theme meal.

The lasagna is a recipe that was from my Aunt Arlene that my mom asked for after having it for dinner one evening. I've modified it through the years and each time I make it, it changes a bit since I don't measure anything.

Homemade lasagna.

I made a new salad with pomegranate seeds, granny smith apple slices, pine nuts, gorgonzola cheese, and lettuce. There's a homemade vinaigrette too.

A new salad recipe.

I gave the girls a card, a $10 gift card to either Starbucks (Sophia) or Amazon (Olivia), and a window decoration. Danny is watching Olivia open her card.

Olivia opening a card and Danny sitting in his chair.

Sophia is reading her card. 

Sophia reading a Halloween card.

After dinner, Sophia sat in the new hammock chair in the family room. I had been wanting this chair after sitting in it each year at the Minnesota State Fair. Finally, this year, I bought it. My brother put a hook in the ceiling so we could enjoy the chair indoors year around.

Danny and Sophia on the hammock chair.

2 things you're looking forward to in November

1. Having Thanksgiving at the farm again. It will be nice to make a big meal for my family, my sister and her family, and my brother and his family. It sounds like there will be some guests, too, this year with my sister's sons bringing their girlfriends. I'm not sure if any of Sophia's roommates who are from out of town will be joining us like they did for Easter.

Thanksgiving dinner 2019.

2. Celebrating Sophia's and Olivia's adoption anniversary days. Ever since the girls were little we have celebrated the anniversary of their adoption days. We typically have a special meal or go out to eat to a restaurant of their choice.

Sophia's 16th anniversary of her adoption day.

In the evening, the girls receive gifts celebrating their special day. 

Olivia's 4th anniversary of her adoption day.

1 thing from October that you'd rather forget

1. Not completing a course at the Textile Center. I signed up to take a course where I would learn how to make an item of clothing that reflects my creativity and artistic vision. The class ended up being a lot of talking versus hands-on experimentation and learning which was frustrating. 

An exhibit at the Textile Center.

Then, we all had to make the same item - a folk coat. For one entire session, we had to trace the pattern. That was - to me - a waste of time that we could have been sewing the coat or creating the embellishments for it. 

Fabric collage that was at the Owatonna Arts Center.

At any rate, as the weeks went by, I realized that my original vision would not be possible because I didn't have the equipment or supplies to print images on fabric. I wanted to take the images and create a collage on the coat and then do free-motion quilting over it. 

Textile art that I saw at the Owatonna Arts Center that I really liked.

Without being able to do the printed images, I needed to start over with a new idea. Nothing came to me and it was causing more stress than enjoyment. It was best, in my opinion, just to walk away from a project that was not working out as I had envisioned. 

I like the Textile Center and the artwork in their galleries. I've also taken classes before there and have enjoyed them. 

Sophia doing textile printing at the Textile Center many years ago.

This, unfortunately, was not a positive experience like I hoped it would be.