Great trip, back home, work to be done!

It was a hectic visit to Maryland. The first night there we had dinner at Big Bats, always a favorite for us. When I stepped out of the car I found this perfect little fall leaf and had to grab it for a pic. Oh, and it came home with me. We were spending the week in Stevensville with family and I just had to grab this fun video of their pup, Messi. He had been snoring but by the time I got the phone ready, he had stopped. And he does take over the sofa – it’s all his!

 

Next up was the Anne Arundel County Fire Department Bull Roast (benefit event). The food was good, the drinks were flowing, and the company was great.

The following week saw Stu getting his teeth cleaned, his crown glued back on, his knees & hips checked by his orthopedic surgeon (all is good), and his hearing tested (no changes). We also got to see two of our great-grandbabies, Hunter and Joey, when they came to visit.

A quick visit to Heather, Bernie, and the grandgirls, Olivia and Jesse, meant seeing Sadie. She’s still surprising spry at at 16 but is pretty much deaf.

Saturday was Melissa and Gabriel’s reception for their LAST October wedding performed in Salem, Mass. It was a great event and we really enjoyed ourselves. Anyone wanting to see ALL the photos we took, CLICK HERE. Otherwise, here are a few highlights including the requisite marshmallow fight.

We vegged in our hotel room on Sunday and had a pleasant two day drive home. I spent all day Wednesday doing laundry and catching up on emails, snail mail, and bills. Stu spent his time installing our new thermostat. When we bought the house, we had a new HVAC system installed. Twice the thermostat had to be replaced (warranty) and just before we left for Maryland, we discovered it had been discontinued AND the app we used to access it was no longer functional. We talked to our HVAC folks and they recommended an ecobee thermostat. They could install it for just under $700 installed. Gulp! After much research, we ordered this one, ecobee3 Lite, from Amazon for $150 and Stu installed it. Works fine! Their app isn’t the easiest, but I’m getting used to it.

Stu will keep working on the deck as weather permits, will prep all lawn equipment for winter, and (hopefully) get up a snow/rain barrier behind my chair on the deck. Me? Um, writing…I’ve got to finish the first draft of Caroling Chaos in a week, then get it edited and published before Thanksgiving. Eeep!