Keeping Myself Busy

     It's fall!!! And for the last 17 years of my life fall has meant school and school means homework and stress. Now, I am getting used to working 40 hours a week and not having homework. Seriously, the many times I had piles of homework and thought to myself "I can't wait until I don't have homework so I can....x, y, z." and now I have time to do things and I can't decide what to do! Although everyone in my house is usually tired come the weekends we are making the best of the weather and opportunity to get to know Syracuse better. Here are a few things we have done thus far:

1. We went to the New York State Fair to see a free Florida-Georgia Line concert, which we mostly did...but it was pouring!!!! We still enjoyed it and it has become one of my favorite memories of the year so far.

Corn dog and wine slushy!

You will often find us blasting this song from the car or the kitchen!

2. We have been to some local bars: Colemans, Kitty Hoynes, J. Ryans and Nibzy's (where we won a free round of shots for our master trivia skills)

At Kitty Hoyes.

3. Some of us volunteered at a Bubble Run which was a fundraising event for Paige's work place. Basically we spent one rather chilly Saturday morning getting wet and playing with foam machines and inflatable slides. (I am glad no pictures of this are digital!)

4. Some of us went to the Irish festival which was fun to walk around at after work. We had planned on going back on a Saturday night for a free Gaelic Storm concert but then it was pouring rain for that concert too so instead of reliving our already recent wet-concert-experience we opted to stay dry and go to a bar. Good choice on our part!

 

5. We have been to a great winery, Three Brother's Wineries, which is basically three wineries in one place with a brewery also. We had free tastings at each one and enjoyed a picnic lunch before that at a state park which was beautiful. I have often said I love all sorts of wine, which is still mostly true but if you ask for my favorites I definitely love deep, dry reds the most!

 

6. This past weekend we went to the Tippary Hill Music Festival which was a slight bust since it was once again raining. We have learned to make the best of rainy days here! It was fun and we ran into some friends we have met and got to pet puppies which is always a hit! Although we have lots of musical tastes in our house, we often agree on the folksy, accoustic "autumnal" (courtesy of Katrina) genre. We were able to listen to a local guitar group at the festival which made the mad dash in the rain worth it.

 

7. Although we do this every weekend, we LOVE the farmer's market! The Syracuse Reginal Market is lots of fun and we find great bargains and delicious foods. This week we bought three huge butternut squash and a bucket full of pears to snack on. We pick up our CSA bucket each week and often discover new foods and ways to prepare them....one thing we tried...kale chips...not my favorite!

 

     As for future plans...this weekend the girls are going to New York City!!!

 

    And in Syracuse, we will be taking advantage of the Autumn season by going apple picking, cheering on Syracuse University football, eating lots of pumpkin things (and of course decorating them), and welcoming our Progam Director Kelli for a week in November to stay with us and share a day of reflection.