Early October

Where have I been all October, you ask?  Outside.  That's where.  It has been just the most lovely of autumns around here, with foliage to beat the band and an inordinate number of shiny-sky, warm days falling most conveniently on weekends.  Combine this gift from nature with my regularly overscheduled life and you'll have the reason that nothing at all has gotten done around my house this month... including catching up on the blog. Here we are at the end of October and so I am typing like a madwoman (and sorting through thousands of photos) in an attempt to catch up before I look up and find myself in the middle of the holiday season...

Betty and I have been out 4 times in October.  Blessed both by this weather and by the ability to eek out enough free time to get onto the water... such bliss. Here's the Rocky River from the Metroparks marina to the lake. 

         

Got out with the family a bit too. Our teens would of course prefer to stay in their natural habitat of "bed" but its always worth the struggle to get them out in nature.   Pictured here: a whole family trip to the driving range (it's fun to join Jack in his interests/obsessions.  He was the sweetest coach to all of us) and to Viaduct Park, one of our favorite hidden gems in the area. 

We thought we knew this park quite well but then we found this giant tunnel.  That you can walk through!  It was so amazing.

Dinner al fresco at Van Aken District, which is one of my very favorite things these days.  I am sucker for carefully crafted fake cities, apparently.  And for Brassica and beer. 

(not a part of this post but we received this photo from my sweet cousin Lauren and her new hubby with our thank-you note.  Look how cute we were at their wedding,

A little return trip to Holden after work one day because, I mean, LOOK at it.  And we really should be taking advantage of our membership. I so wish this place was just a tiny bit closer to home.  Or that I had just a tiny bit more free time.  Because I would like to spend more time here, with a book, on any number of perfectly placed benches with curated, magical views...

This kitten.  We are apparently keeping her.  How could we not?  She is a purr machine who wants to be with us at all times and enjoys hanging out in the bathtub.  She fits right in to our household of weird mammals. 

Even in our nonstop life we find time for weekend shenanigans.  Like happy hour flights with my work bestie...

...and an attempted trip to the return of MIX at CMA. Which was sold out.  But we enjoyed the galleries by night and the house-beat ambiance from the balcony.  

And any excuse to wear my corset.  Talked into this by my daughter of course. 

Porch fire drinks were just as good as the cocktails at MIX, anyways. 

Our Broadway series this year started off with a bang, with the best production of Les Mis that I've every seen, in my long history of seeing Les Mis.  It was a joy to share this show with Ivy.  She was a bit nonplussed by the experience at first, but by the end she was hooked.  "you were right, mom, the second half IS so sad!" 

Home in time to join two of my very favorites on Zoom.  We are holding on to our Zoom happy hours as best we can as the pace of life continues to ramp up.  So many of the unexpected gifts of the pandemic have fallen to the wayside in favor of the frenetic pace of normal life.  But I don't want to lose the renewed connections we've made with our far-away friend family. 

October was a good month to rejoin my Sunday run group.  Fabulous running weather helps to offset the early wake-up, as do the conversations with friends.  In the craziness of this fall, something has had to give, and that something was running.  I'm only doing a 2-5 miles a week right now. Better than nothing I guess but I am looking forward to getting this old self in better shape just as soon as time allows...

Morning light with cats and tuba.  Sometimes this fall I feel like I am never at home.  But Sunday mornings Nat and I  always find time for coffee together in the dining room.  A moment to stop and notice how lovely this crazy life really is. 

 

Into October...

September, as it turns out, did not slow down.  All of a sudden here we are in October, holding on to the last vestiges of summer light even as we soak up the crisp air and ochre leaves of a fleeting autumn.  Liminal space, this time of year.  

I have been living in that liminality on the water, thanks to Betty (I think that's her name, my new kayak).  What a gift to be out on the waves, sky spread above, one with the air and the vastness of nature, even as the temperatures drop.  These past few weeks have been hectic to say the least but I've managed to carve out some moments of kayaking self-care every few days and that time alone outdoors (with music in my ears and a drink in my hand of course) has been a sanity-saving.  It's been a while since I have been this completely happy with a purchase.

A late-September beach day is always a gift.  This one ended up (I think, so far) being my last swim of the season.  Took Betty to Rocky River beach for a few hours of relaxation before choir rehearsal and it was amazing. 

I've always admired this decrepit dock just down the shore from the beach. 

In other news-  this girl is excited about her tuba!  We're now the proud borrowers of this baby, a baritone that takes up an entire corner in the dining room.  Worth it though to see her practicing, of her own accord!!

Apparently the one she uses at school is so big she can hardly get her arms around it. 

Another thing that I'm proud of about this girl:  She is sticking with tennis.  Even if she's not particularly great at it.  She shows up and tries and supports her friends and is improving.  As a perfectionist, I am envious of her ability to not give up the instant she's not great at something.  That same tenacity that was evident as an infant is there in the core of her still. 

No photos but it should go  on record that Jack also did a great job trying a new sport this fall.  Going to watch golf matches is apparently not really a thing, so I've not seen him fully in action.  But I've seen his swing, and his confidence, improve at the driving range.  And he's become obsessed with obtaining ALLL the equipment for this new hobby, a sure tell that he feels competent enough to enjoy himself.  And he went into the end of season tournament seeded first on the Heights team and came in 3rd overall, so I'd say a successful season.  It's a good thing he took to the sport or we most certainly would not have seen the end of the season.  Ivy got the lion's share of tenacity in this family for sure- and Jack the brunt of the perfectionism.  The problem with that boy is that he IS really great at so many things he tries, so it really only reinforces the perfectionistic behavior when he's not...

I never stop being amazed at how these children have been so completely themselves, since birth...

As we emerge from the pandemic, favorite events are coming back- including Ingenuity Fest.  Nat and I left the kids at home and had a ball at this year's fest.  In retrospect we wish we'd brought them along, but with friends, as there was so much great stuff to see and we could've just set them loose to explore. 

I described the Fest to a friend as "all the weird art you can imagine, plus fire and music."  We were not disappointed this year.  We got to hear several different bands AND a comedian, play at a flaming carnival, and watch a tesla coil symphony.  And we immersed ourselves in dozens of unique spaces.  More than I can describe here.  Favorites were the hot air baloon that moved when two other people used the nearby teeter-totter, the "rave room" with techno tracks and beanbags and a hynoptic light show, and the beautiful room of beads and flowers and the world's strangest harp music.  We've decided that Ingenuity should just stay year round, open for visits and music every weekend.  Once a year is not enough to really soak up this sensory experience. 

Got in some time with Gram over the weekend.  This is what it looks like when you take teens to visit relatives in 2022.  Hi there masks and phones... 

Gram is doing ok, but is still unsteady standing and walking after a fall and an ER visit on September 19th.  Nothing was broken and she's doing PT and and feeling ok overall, for which we are grateful, but we are hopeful she can get her walking back soon.

Ended the weekend with a gathering of friends...

And a night on my own at our Rexwood getaway.   Had this brainstorm that when it is empty SOMEONE ought to be using it and that someone should be me.  I love this little place so much.  Probably in large part because it is so CLEAN and not full of all sorts of stuff I have to deal with. Life is simpler here...

Betty and I hit the Cuyahoga River on a blessed day off (thank you Rosh Hashana) and just like every other place I have taken her so far, it was perfect. 

Then we caught up on laundry and petting the cats before launching into my first concert week of the season for COC.

Dahlia break!  These flowers have brought me much joy this fall.

We opened our COC season with Mahler 2 and it really was glorious. The week itself was... intense would be one word for it.  We were at Severance every night Tuesday -Saturday, and Wednesday was double booked with my Ski Patrol written final and a dress rehearsal.  I *almost* made it from Brandywine to severance in time to sing but ended up having to watch from the house... which turned out to be a real treat.  Hi there, free concert....

We also fit in a couple of tennis matches for Ivy, eating dinner most nights, and I think we fed the animals all week?   

Which is made more impressive when you add in going out for drinks with my chorus friends on 4 out of the 5 nights we were at Severance.  lol  I just can't resist these people.  It feels so great to have these fun-loving friends, who are always up for drinks and shenanigans.  On Thursday, after a tremendous opening night for the Mahler that included no less than 5 curtain calls during the standing ovation, we went over to the Jolly Scholar, the Case campus bar. These people actually got me up on stage with a microphone to sing an ABBA song at karaoke.  We even collected two fanboy students who had been at the concert and thought we were amazing.  

Saturday at Ski patrol I did not have the best morning.  Passing the written test was one thing, doing on-hill scenarios when you are a perfectionist with stage fright and no actual experience in first-responding is a whole other thing.  The struggle is real here, people.  After spending the first part of the day furious at myself for not being able to control my emotions, I found some solace on the water.  Betty and I can be on the water  at Euclid Creek in 20 minutes from home. It's amazing.

Too many waves to paddle around to the beach but I walked over and enjoyed the still summer-warm sand for a few minutes too.  I love this lake. 

Then- off to sing at the Gala!  It was such a delight to learn these relatively easy peices with this smaller group of singers.  We rehearsed them to perfection at 7:30-- then proceeded to wait until almost 9:30 for the patrons to get to dessert, when we filed in and suprised them with our songs. Turns out a group of fairly drunk gala attendees are not quite the same caliber of audience as we had for Mahler. There were cell phones binging during Sure on This Shining Night, and the entire audience decided to stand (extremely loudly) during the opening bars of America the Beautiful. But Severance looked amazing, I was in great voice, and it was a magical experience nonetheless.  

Of course I went out for drinks after- a different group of friends and a fancier venue and still delightful-  then treated myself to another night of quiet and calm at Rexwood.  This could be habit-forming...

Spent the entire day Sunday being a patient for the Ski Patrol refresher course.  Actually kind of fun, and met many nice people.  And by 3 pm I was as tired as I've been in a long long time.  Woke up to no voice on Monday and dragged myself through the first part of the week.

By Wednesday I was much improved and ready to enjoy another day off (thanks, Yom Kippur).

We brought the whole fam to Holden Arboretum, where we'd planned to just take a short walk and enjoy the warm temperatures, and see the Stickworks before it is taken down at the end of the month. Ended up getting treated to lots of fun fall decor too.

I just love this place.  We always have a great time here.  

The magic of the outdoors-- two smiling teens!!