October began with a fabulous visit from Gramma Gail! She drove up from Florida for a Lutheran conference in Cleveland, but stopped for a visit over the weekend with us. She arrived Thursday night and stayed until Monday noon. We had fabulous visiting times at home, just catching up on news and conversation. Gramma brought up one of her old CPUs, as she knew that Mom's comp had died in July. What a fun present! It turned out to be newer and bigger than mine, so in the end, we played musical computers and I spent a lot of time over the weekend cleaning, swapping hardware, hooking up, and installing. ;o) Loads of fun! We upgraded Windows, so now all three of us run on Windows 7, which is taking a bit of getting-used-to, but a much smoother transition than I thought.
On the Saturday, Mom, Gramma, Sis and I drove up to Amish Country for a fun outing. Quite an experience, as we never go up there on a weekend, and now we all remember why! The crowds! Oh, my . . . But, it was very fun and Gramma loved it. We went to Lehman's (the big non-electric/gift store hardware) and then to the two cheese factories - Heini's and Guggisberg. The crowds at Heini's to taste cheese was over twenty minutes and stretched across the entire store! It was raining buckets the entire time, which just added to the adventure. Surprisingly mild weather the entire time! I was still wearing shorts! Gramma must have brought up some of that Florida weather with her. *grin*
One fun thing that we discovered at Lehman's was 'Hobbit Tea'! Made by Mint Brook Meadows, a local tea company in Holmes County, they obtained the rights to sell a line of teas based on Tolkien's classic tale. Mom has loved the company's mint and spearmint tea for years, but 'Hobbit Tea' was news to us! Turns out that they even have a website just for the three kinds of tea - www.hobbittea.com. These are a must for any Tolkien fan and Sis and I can't believe that we didn't know about these sooner! There are three different kinds:
- Bilbo Baggins Breakfast Blend - Black tea with orange
- Hobbiton Meadow Mint - Peppermint and Spearmint
- Gandalf the Gray Tea - Chamomile and Roobios (red) tea
A fun thing - we got to see the International Space Station go by. A couple of weeks ago, Dad came home and said that it was going to pass overhead for about five minutes around 7:30pm. So, we decided it would be fun to take a look. Pitch black, a bit chilly, but who cares? We trundled outside and tried to locate it. Dad had us a bit confused when he pointed out a bright light which we watched for a full minute before we all decided that it wasn't moving! Then we did locate a very fast moving light and got to watch it go across the sky! Very fun! We took the camera out and tried to get a photo, but it didn't work very well. Sis did get a photo of Mom, Dad and Me out in the yard, though!
Sarah has been following the birth of England's newest heir - Prince George of Cambridge. She has been keeping a scrapbook since his birth and we are constantly waiting for new photos to be released! Well, this month, he was christened and his official photos were released last week. What a photogenic little baby! I have an old paper scrapbook from Queen Elizabeth's 1951 Canadian tour (Princess Elizabeth then), which I am making with all the big royal events that happen like the Royal Wedding, QEII's Diamond Jubilee, Prince George, etc. This past Sunday, Sis and I had a wonderful day. It started off with gorgeous fall weather, a lovely Church service and fellowship time afterwards, then we came home and Sis and I sat upstairs cutting photos and articles while we enjoyed our Sunday coffee! Really one of those lovely days!
I have been working on reading some Elizabeth Gaskell novels this month. I finished 'North and South' and am now working my way through the three stories used to make the mini-series of 'Cranford'. Very nice. I have really been enjoying them! 'North and South' is one of my new favorites and has practically usurped 'Pride & Prejudice' as my favorite romance! We just discovered the mini-series this Summer, and the entire family really enjoyed it! Actually, even Dad voted it excellent!
We have spent a lot of time this month working on finding sources for food that don't use pesticides, growth hormones, GMO ingredients, etc. Been a big change, but so worth it! Mom has even learned how to make her own paneer cheese out of whole milk or half & half! It is fabulous and best if made from 'Snowville Creamery' half & half. Sis and I have become addicted, especially on waffles or biscuits, with maple syrup drizzled over the top! Mmmmmm . . . We went to Whole foods on Monday, and got several different kinds of milk to try making cheese out of and we also got five pounds of Icelandic butter, made from grass-fed cows' milk! It is so cool!
'For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God? - Psalm 18: 31