Another week, come and gone. This was a doozy with closing on the house. I think my husband and I are starting to get clarity on the scope of the projects we will be undertaking. The Tranquility by Tuesday project pilot phase is also up and running. The weather shifted from 70 degrees to 40 degrees, but I guess that was inevitable.
The last leaves are falling, which means it’s time to review how we did on my annual Fall Fun List. I posted this back in early September, and the general verdict is…not too bad. Here’s how it went.
Go apple picking. We went to an orchard about an hour away in mid/late September and came home with six big bags of apples. This took us the rest of fall to eat through. We also got donuts and cider for grown-ups, which made this a family activity that was actually fun for the whole family. Highly recommended.
Take a long bike ride. We went on two family bike rides this fall, with the 5-year-old on the tag-along behind me, and the baby in the Burley behind my husband. The leaves were gorgeous and the kids mostly enjoyed it too — at least the whining was minimal. I never wound up going for a solo bike ride, but oh well.
Run 10 miles. Twice! Once with Jane, and once on my own on the day the rescheduled Broad Street 10-miler would have happened. I have not run as much this fall as I have wanted to but doing two 10-mile long runs isn’t terrible.
Celebrate our two fall birthdays and our anniversary. We had special meals for the kids, and cake and presents, and no one really complained about not having parties, which is its own miracle. My husband and I had champagne on the back porch to celebrate our 16th anniversary.
Decorate the yard with mums. My husband bought mums, and also planted some dahlias, which have kept blooming into the fall, right alongside the roses. We’re taking notes for what we’d like to plant at the new house.
Take a weekend leaf-peeping trip somewhere. Armed with negative Covid tests, we went to Massachusetts for a weekend in mid-October. The leaves were just incredible, both there and on the drives up and down. My kids turn out to be champion travelers — we made the 5 hour and 45 minute drive home with only one stop somewhere in Connecticut!
Take a solo retreat. Nope.
Declutter. Well, some things. The giant donation pile I had in the bedroom for months did get picked up. I’m tackling one spot per weekend. This weekend’s job is to edit the mudroom to make sure coats, hats, gloves, and boots are readily available. I own a really cute baby coat somewhere but cannot find it, which is driving me crazy — I’d prefer not to buy a new one that will get just a few months of use.
If you made a fall fun list, I’d love to hear how it went!
In other news: There’s still time to sign up for the Parenting in Place virtual masterclass I’m participating in. Every Tuesday evening for two months, two experts will have a conversation on topics including parenting adolescents, social-emotional development and (in my case) time management. Tickets are $39 before November 17, and $49 afterwards. You can sign up here; that’s an affiliate link — I’m donating all affiliate income to food banks in the Philadelphia area.
That’s great! I made a small fall fun list and managed to accomplish most of it too. Highlights were watching Dan in Real Life (on my own) and watching the first Harry Potter movie (with the kids) complete with a fire in the fireplace and candles and snacks. I had been planning a solo retreat for a long time, and was able to escape to New Hampshire for just over 24 hours and thoroughly enjoyed it. (Dinner alone! Watch anything on TV! Read! Journal! Do anything!) We also went on a road trip to a Mythical Creatures exhibit at a botanical garden in Western MA, and I made apple cobbler. Overall I would say it was a pretty satisfying fall. I didn’t feel like we had to miss out on anything substantial.
@Lori C- woo hoo! And nice job on the personal retreat. I imagine I could have pulled it off, I just…didn’t.
Sounds like you did pretty well! We had apple picking on the list but never got around to it. I am now thinking of our Christmas season fun list, trying to come up with stuff we can do that won’t be cancelled/closed. It will likely be a lot of baking/outdoor stuff. Most of the Christmas concerts etc have already been cancelled where we are unfortunately.