Catching up

I started this during nap time yesterday and didn't get very far....



I'm not quite sure what to write about. I'm pretty comfortable now with how I have things set up for computer use. We've been enjoying quiet, beautiful fall days, but haven't had anything too exciting going on. Julie is still here, and we're loving that. Jaan and Raia think she's a perpetual reading machine, and she doesn't seem to mind. Our things came from Russia, so we've been trying to organize and put away and not be too overwhelmed. (That last one is just me.)



We bought a pumpkin last week and enjoyed pumpkin pie, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin bread, pumpkin spice lattes, and more pumpkin frozen for later. Julie keeps telling people that this was her first experience with baked pumpkin. I started to ask her if she usually bakes or boils her pumpkins, and she thought that was pretty funny. She's always gotten them from cans! Another highlight was that we had to call a wonderful friend of ours, who we haven't talked to in ages, to get the cookie recipe. (Hi Debbie!) And then we called back later to talk to her daughter, and we also spent a while on Skype with another friend. (Hi Lara!)



This photos kind of randomly fit with the text. The tree at the top is glowing outside our window. It's beautiful! I keep wondering why the kitchen is so lit up and then realizing it's the reflection from the ash tree. Overall, fall hasn't been too spectacular here--at least, not yet--but the individual ash trees are lovely. And the weather is unbelievable. It's finally not hot, but it's certainly not cold either. . . . Where was I? Oh, yes: photos. The next is Julie, eating her pumpkin pie. By the way, I've gotten confused questions about her visa situation. No, she has not been waiting for this visa since I went to see her in Odessa. That was one visa. She got that one and went back to Russia with it. This is a different one. Once she gets this one, she should be able to stay in Russia for a year. Okay, third photo: I mentioned that our things are here, that includes the long-awaited tricycle! It's funny, but I don't have any photos of Jaan on it. He's really enjoying it, though. When he first saw it, he insisted that it wasn't his: "But my tricycle was big!" We finally convinced that he has grown, the tricycle hasn't shrunk.

I should stop here, so that I get something posted. Since I said that nothing exciting has been happening, we have had a very exciting visitor. And I've been reading a fascinating book. Anyone know anything about ancient Russian mythology? But, like I said, I'll stop here.