October 2021
We took a lot of photos this month, which you can see here. October is peak autumn foliage and nice weather, so we got in a lot of nice walks and outdoor excursions that are in the photos. I've noted on the photo information where and what they are, but below is some elaboration.
Becky's Birthday, Softball, and Chili
We planned a church activity at a city park where people could play a game of softball or let their kids play on the playground. It was delayed in planning several times, but we made it happen on a weekend that also happened to be Becky's birthday. It turned out as well as we could have expected. We had enough people for a quick game of softball before a mass of black clouds swept over and dumped rain, at which point we gathered under the pavilion for some chili I made along with donuts and cider. For the kids, the rain was a feature rather than a bug in the program, and many of them ran around playing frisbee and getting wet. So it was good fun. Earlier in the day we went for a stroll around a place called Stonecrop Gardens that Becky chose. I took a lot of good photos of that place, which is one of several fancy gardens on properties in the area that were once owned by wealthy families. You get so much inspiration for landscaping ideas from places like this if you only had the means.
Rust Never Sleeps
Rust is not something we worried much about in Arizona. Certainly, it isn't what came to mind one day in 2018 when Becky was driving on the I-10 in Phoenix and a teenage driver merged directly into her Toyota Prius. This caused body damage on most of the drivers side, which was repaired by Gerber Auto Body Collision for an insurance cost high enough that they considered totaling the vehicle. Fast forward a few years later after we moved to New York, and what I thought was a greasy smudge below the door quickly became a rusty hole not unlike what is seen on most vehicles around here. I noticed that it was near a weld joint that seemed out of place, and it occurred to me that it was probably from the auto body repairs a few years ago back in Arizona. So I asked the insurance company if the repairs could be covered by the original claim. Instead, they found a Gerber Auto Body Collision shop over in Syracuse, and sent me there to have the repairs covered under their warranty. Gerber looked at it and agreed that the weld joint was not coated properly in the original job and they agreed to fix it under the warranty. This was great news because it meant we could repair the rust without having to pay for it (it ended up being a $3500 job). Gerber followed through, they even towed the Prius to their shop and covered a car rental for a couple weeks while they did the job. Now it looks like new and I have to give them props for standing behind their warranty and working across state lines to do it.
The Infirmary
One of the concerning issues with Alex's limited communication is that he doesn't have a way to tell us if he's not feeling well. Alex got a mosquito bite that really made his ear swell up as seen in one of the photos. Then, probably unrelated, after several days of being generally sad and grumpy, the staff at his school noted some fluid and swelling in his ear, so it turns out he had an ear infection and we had no idea. By the time we got him some antibiotics he seemed to be recovering from that and back to his usual self. But at about the same time, he came down with a bit of a fever and lethargy that eventually turned into a runny nose and cough. By the time he started recovering from whatever virus he had, it found its way over to me and Becky. So that's how we spent Halloween weekend - mostly inside with a lot of screen time for all three of us. But I did manage to at least get of photo of Alex in his pumpkin outfit.
Weekend in Binghamton
We haven't spent the weekend together at our house in the Binghamton area since Independence Day, so we made a trip there the weekend of Oct. 23. Nothing too special, just enjoying a welcome change of scenery and more space than we have in our apartment. It was mostly rainy but we did get out to enjoy the nice Fall weather, and took some great photos at the campus nature preserve. The AirBnB is still going strong when we aren't at the house, but it may be time to put it up for sell next year.
Other Outings and Tidbits
We visited Pierson's Farm, which boasts that it was established in 1790. It was full of family and kid-friendly Fall activities like corn mazes, a sunflower maze, sleds and slides, tractors, and so on. Alex went own the sled slide a few times with us, then we got him to do it by himself as shown in the video below. He found it to be quite a thrill and was eager to do it several more times.
Apple cider donuts and apple cider cider are the tradition around here this time of the year, so we've had our fill of those indulgences.
Becky and Alex have also made it out to visit a couple libraries that we haven't visited in a long time. In the pre-pandemic days, the local libraries were a big part of our weekly activities and places Alex enjoyed visiting to play with different toys and books. So he was excited to go back.
Alex has five foam books that have been his primary attachment items as of lately. He moves them from table to table around the apartment along with his 3 airplanes, bottle, iPad, and any other items he feels obligated to keep nearby. He is always adding to his stack of comfort items.
Alex really enjoyed this sled at Pierson's Farm.
Pumpkin Pie for Becky's Birthday.
Getting more fearless climbing the ropes.