jewels of my own: September was a great month --

and I don't want to forget it, so I'm backtracking the whole month.

Spent more time on the back deck, the weather is just perfect outside. Some of our trees have been cleared out to open a bit more of the view.

Trevor and I had lunch downtown at Wasabi's. Instead of sharing sashimi as an appetizer, I ordered it for my lunch. So, so DEE-LEE-SHUSH!!!!!

The Taubman Art Museum now has free admission, so Trevor and I spent a bit of time there. The balcony was open to the public (which really meant us, because I think we were the only patrons in the building!), and we took some fun photos.

Trev's been reffing games when he can. Fall season is less busy, and the schedule has worked out pretty well for him. We had quite a bit of rain, so some games were damp, some have been cancelled.

A local Salem business was the location of an amazing sculpture created from two Twin Towers beams that had melted together. The business fell into bankruptcy, and the city(?) was able to get the sculpture. On September 11, it was erected and dedicated at a local fire station a block from my work. I went by later in the afternoon.

Words can't express how moving it was. Being in Denver for 9/11 was different than what people experienced here. A friend's cousin was killed that day; it just hit people here closer to home. There were a handful of others taking photos, a family or two bringing their children by. A fireman was outside chatting with anyone about the memorial. There was also a large photo on display showing the original location of the beams.

Very emotional for me.

Soccer (playing) was pretty much a washout. HAHAHAHA! Three of five games this season have rained out. However, we are now solidly in first place, so there's some good!

Perfect night for visiting and catching up. I brought this little one along. She's been stuck at home too much, and she actually behaved really, really well.

Grabbed a shot of this cutie running by, post win.

Celebrating and wrapping up under the lights. Despite the awful grass conditions and challenging parking, it's always fun to play at this field, just because of the location.

Some fun hacking into Robert's iPad. It took Trevor all of about 3 seconds to get through the passcode. Then he changed Robert's wallpaper. :D Hahaha!!!

Pretty trails on one of the clear mornings.

Ongoing skirmishes with the ice maker, resulting in this battle. I'm not sure if I won or lost, but it was pretty entertaining at 6:30 a.m.

There were a couple of food runs up to Holly, including visits to Petsmart, Roti (my new favorite), an H-Mart shopping trip for Trevor (with Holly and him furiously texting to be sure we bought the right stuff), and stringing Holly's white lights around her bedroom.

Holly's Rice Plate with steak, couscous,

olives and feta, served with a pita on the side

Holly and I have been watching Parenthood most nights. Were not on a set time, but we will arrange to press PLAY together, and then we text comments back and forth about the show. In response to one of the storylines, I got this.

I took the plunge and decided to start getting gel manicures. I am going to a place right around the corner from work on my lunch hour. The gel sets instantly and lasts a good two weeks. I hate the expense, which is a very reasonable $17, but the convenience!! I used to love painting my nails but stopped sometime after Holly was born (or maybe after Trev was). This is a true luxury for me! Not the best picture, but the only one I have!

A couple of movie dates with Trevor, quite unusual in that I go to the movies once every two or three years. We did two in three days, seeing War Room and then Everest.

We (and I use that term very loosely) have been working on a 2000 piece puzzle for almost two months. I finally got the rest of the village in, the rocks, the walls. All that was left were about 200 pieces of solid blues and dark green pieces of sky and water. I gave up, boxed it up, and gave it away. I enjoy doing the puzzles, but I'm sticking to 1000 pieces, and not giving in to the pressure from other people here who abandon my project, lol.

This wet rat, after her shower. Robert calls it her Spa Day. She can sense when it's coming, and it's hilarious to watch her walk quickly after he calls her, then try to hang with me for safety. As if!!

Ladies Coffee and Crochet continues on. Such an amazing group of ladies, usually with 6-8 out of the group of about 18 showing up on Tuesday nights. They also meet every Thursday, but I don't go to that. Sometimes Tuesdays are at a local coffee shop, sometimes at someone's home. Incredible to see this come together, something Judy's wanted for eight years but couldn't get details to mesh, and then watch what happens under God's PERFECT timing! Love, love, love these ladies!