Warm first week of November

What???  I might have two posts in one week?  

I ended my previous post with our meeting up with Alex to get Elizer on Sunday while Destiny was at work.

  When we got here he immediately wanted to go for a walk.  A lot of people had raked their leaved into piles for pickup, so I had to try to keep him from messing up those wonderful piles!  Oh they were so tempting!!

We went to the playground behind our house too and on the way back to our house we spied a neighbor's cat sitting under our tall grasses.  Of course it walked away when Elizer approached it.  Too bad.

Later I got some pictures of Dick and Elizer hiding under a "tent."

On Monday Elizer started having a runny nose and a cough.  Of course it was Halloween, and we had that adorable kangaroo outfit to wear on him.  He didn't seem to lack any energy, so we put enough clothes and a jacket under his outfit.  Besides, the weather was quite mild.  Dick took him around the neighborhood while I stayed here to hand out candy to the other trick-or-treaters.  Destiny was sad to miss it - her Monday schedule is 2:30 - 11:00 pm.  

Lori and Austin joined Dick and Elizer too.  Unfortunately, Hunter was sick and stayed home with Anthony.   Below are their costumes.  Lori's was a stick figure, hahaha!  Austin is on the right, Hunter on the bottom.  His picture was taken at an earlier event over the weekend. 

After they finished our neighborhood we all went to our church's Trunk or Treat event.   I took these pictures of our little kangaroo there.  

Destiny's boss told her that it would be fine for us to bring Elizer to Starbucks for some candy too.  So the library on campus was our last stop of the night.  And I didn't take any pictures!  It was so fun for Destiny to get to see him at work!

There was a thing going around on the internet where people could make fake Halloween costume packages.  When I saw them I got an idea for mine.  Dick took a picture of me, Lisa helped me to get it on the package, and I added the words, including the "HOLY" to cover up the scary-looking figure that was above the word "Spirit."  We got a good laugh out of it!

On Tuesday Elizer's nose was an ever-running fountain, and he started coughing more too.  But he was as happy and almost as energetic as usual.  He definitely wanted to go for a walk after his nap.  

Look what we saw!

Dick got home while we were still outside, and he took Elizer for a ride around the block.  The weather was pretty mild, but I had him dressed really warm because of his cold.

That evening he was doing something so cute.  Dick said, "We have our own personal Door Dash!"  I just had to take a video!

On Wednesday morning I had an appointment at Orthopedics with my hand surgeon.  My right hand has been waking me up several times a night with pain and extreme tingling and numbness.  I had had a cortisone shot in April before we went to Portland, and it made a world of difference for quite a few months.  I do wear a brace on both wrists every night ever since I had my left carpal tunnel surgery in August 2021.  

I was so hoping he would be willing to give me another injection, since my life seems to make the possibility of carpal tunnel surgery on my right hand unthinkable right now.  And thankfully, he was willing to do that.  He is such a nice man, always seems so understanding of my "real life" situations.  He called himself a "wholistic hand surgeon."

After my appointment I was planning to get Elizer, but Destiny said he had coughed a lot and tossed and turned all night.  She was allowed to take a sick day from work.  Getting anyone to see Elizer was another thing altogether!  No available appointment with his doctor until Friday!  And urgent care said they were filled up and she could put him on a wait list over the phone.  So she did, and they told her it would be 6:30 pm!!  

So we took him to urgent care at 6:30, and still it was after 7:00 till they saw him.  They tested him for RSV and other things.  The doctor there said we should take him outside since the indoor air is dry.  Of course, getting him to go outside is no problem!

Something unusual happened on Wednesday.  I was cooking a meal for Anthony and Lori's family here in my kitchen when there was a knock at my door.  That almost never happens, and my first thought was, "Oh dear, what happened?"  I somewhat gingerly opened my front door and there stood Dick's cousin Suzanne and her husband from Lancaster County!  They are big time hikers and were doing some hiking in our area and decided to look us up!  Suzanne's dad was a brother to Dick's mother.  In that Brubaker family Suzanne was the only girl cousin - all the rest were boys!  It was fun to catch up with them, but I never thought of taking a picture.  When they left here they went to Dick's shop to see him.  Later I saw that Suzanne had posted this cousin picture! 

Destiny's car was having issues this week, so on Thursday morning she dropped it off at Dick's workplace.  I met her there and took her home to get ready for work.  While we waited I took Elizer outside.  The weather was so beautiful!  And he was definitely feeling better. 

We had so much fun with his little tee ball set.

We're always excited when airplanes go overhead.  Destiny's house seems to be in the flight path for landing at University Park Airport. 

We went for a walk on the path behind her community.

Of course we had fun shuffling in the leaves.

And then he played at the playground for a while. 

Then we took Destiny to work.  Her Tuesday/Thursday schedule is 1:00 to 9:30 pm.  We pray for a better schedule!  She did get word that Elizer had tested positive for RSV.  But the worst was definitely past.  His nose was not running much, and he was coughing less.  

On our walk that afternoon I got this picture.  He was so fascinated by the little moon we could see up there. 

I gave him a bath and washed his hair that evening.  For whatever reason, he HATES bath time!  I reminded him how much he loved being in the pool this summer, but for some reason he is terrified of getting his hair washed.  After he was all dry he was ready to snuggle with Grandpa while they watched the Phillies. 

 

Then we picked Destiny up from work and took her to pick up her car at the shop.

On Friday we had a gorgeous sunrise!

My first mission of the morning was to meet Destiny at Elizer's doctor for a follow-up appointment.  However, Destiny could not stay for the appointment because she had another one at a daycare that has a spot for him.  So I took care of the doctor appointment and met her later at the daycare.  

It has been another tremendous answer to prayer for there to be an available spot.  So many places she called, since she found out she is eligible for daycare assistance, had long waiting lines.  And then this one at St. Paul's UMC in downtown State College, had room!  Hunter had actually gone there for a few months, so we are familiar with it.  I think Elizer can start this coming week, Tuesday through Thursday.  Don't worry, I'll still be seeing him since Destiny's work schedule goes way later than daycare hours.

After that appointment Destiny and Elizer left for Lancaster County.  It was her day off and she was going to be taking her mom out to eat as a belated birthday treat and then taking Elizer to Alex for the weekend.  

I got groceries and on my way home drove past this BRIGHT yellow tree!!

  

Our sunset was even more glorious than our sunrise on Friday!!

Dick had gone hunting at Anthony's after work and took this picture from his hunting shack.  The lights are in their house, the big light behind the trees was the moon!

My birthday is next Tuesday, but we decided we should probably eat my birthday meal at Texas Roadhouse while Elizer is away for the weekend.  I could go there just for the rolls.  Dick would go for the Cactus Blossom.  But of course, the steaks are amazing too!  We each got a side salad, I got a baked potato, he got a sweet potato.  And we each brought half our dinner home, and they tasted good today!  

Almost 71.

Look what I did this morning!  Oops, wrong microwave, hahahaha!

This was another warm day!  In fact, right now at almost 9:30 pm it is still 70 degrees!  I sat on the porch for a while and breathed in the sights and sounds.  Lawn mowers on November 5th! 

 

And tonight we get an extra hour.  But tomorrow evening it will get dark WAY too early.  I am trying to find ways to encourage myself.  I looked ahead and saw that by mid-December we start adding a minute of daylight every few days.  Small encouragement, I guess!  

Have a happy Sunday!  I'm looking forward to having my flute player at church tomorrow morning. And the choir will be singing "Taste and See" after Communion.