Four Weeks in One

Wow, finally caught up on the Florida posts!  I understand it may have been a little excessive, but what can I say?  I took a lot of good pics and had a lot of stories to share.  Anyway, a lot has happened since the trip!

Mom and I spent one of our last summer days at The Castle pool, which was lovely as always.  She picked a few souvenirs from the luscious garden as well.

Dad and Taylor whipped up some marvelous meals on the barbecue.

We celebrated the last night before school started with some pumpkin ales that looked especially good in the early-evening light shining through the kitchen curtains.

Taylor and I spied a lone fox wandering around a construction site one night when we were walking.  It explains the really creepy screaming mating calls the rest of the family heard in the middle of the night earlier in the summer.  I didn't hear a thing all lonely and far away up in the loft.  This little guy was really cute though, and followed us along the sidewalk for a bit too.

The Pumpkin Spice Latte returned to Starbucks' everywhere.  They changed the recipe this year to include some actual pumpkin in it, and while still really sweet, I think it tastes a lot better this year than last.  I got to design and make the sign for in front of our store too!

The new McArthur's bakery opened in its new location downtown, and I have to say, it's giving Kaldi's a run for its money.  It's clean and bright, and I've already found my spot in the front by the door so I can do a little people watching in between working.  The mocha tasted great and as it is a bakery, their pastry items are pretty delicious as well.

Taylor was determined to go to a different pizza place than Dewey's before he left for England (England!), so he, Dad, and I went to Pi one night.  The pizza was of the deep dish variety, which was a nice change.  They had this cool secret bar where we waited for the table.  It lost its cool though when the bartender asked Taylor and I for our papers!  Not really, although instead of saying, 'Can I see your ID?' he asked 'Can I see your personal identification?'  'Twas a bit strange.

Last weekend we celebrated Dad's birthday.  He was playing in Springfield on Thursday night so Mom, Taylor, and I went and picked up his new tv!  We moved our old, really heavy box tv out to the car so Taylor could take it to an electronic drop off drive the next day and set up the new one in the exact same spot.  

The next morning Taylor and I put the bow on it and got everything else ready but then learned that Dad wasn't going to have time to stop by the house in between gigs.  Later that evening we went downtown to see him play.  And after that we moved over to Schlafly for gig #2, and then surprised him with the tv, at one in the morning!

The next night we ventured down to the Clayton Art Fair for Taylor's last night in town.  We talked with some very interesting artists and saw some really cool artwork.  It was a delightful last night and we figured out the rest of our Christmas in Europe accommodations!  I ran in to Mom and Dad the next morning at 5am after they had dropped him off at the airport and I was on my way to work.

(photos by e.hunt)