I think that yesterday was the last nice Sunday of Fall. It was warm and sunny and perfect. It's hard to believe that it's supposed to snow on Wednesday! I can already feel it getting colder tonight. There are lots of leaves blowing around on the ground outside. Emily helped me put the electric blanket on her bed, and the electric mattress pad on our bed. Evie gets footie pajamas and quilts and afghans for the first half of the night, then she gets to snuggle with us until morning.
While Evie was napping on Sunday, Richard and I got the jalapeno peppers ready to can. Half of them were from our garden, and we bought half at the farmer's market. I put a tablecloth out on the picnic table, and took my cutting board and peppers out there. Richard brought out his satellite radio and sat with me while I sliced the peppers. We ended up with 7 half pint jars of jalapeno rings, and 2 half pint jars of habaneros. My fingers still tingle a little from slicing the peppers! I think I washed my hands a half dozen times, and I am still being careful not to rub my eyes. The jars of peppers look very pretty, with the green and red jalapenos, and the bright orange habaneros.
Yesterday we took the girls to the park near our house. We could see the new playground equipment every time we drove by, so we decided to stop and play. Well, it wasn't finished yet, and was still roped off. That was a little disappointing! Em and Evie played on the older equipment, though, so we still had fun. Some of the slides are tubes instead of open slides. Evie really liked those - she would wait for someone to help her up the first step (it was really tall), then she would climb the rest of the stairs to the slide, and Emily would help her sit down and slide! She would get stuck about halfway, and then one of us would stick our heads up in the tube and call her, and she would giggle and push herself the rest of the way. She also loves to swing in the baby swings.
After the park, we drove to Buffalo ~ there is a nice little park there by the Mississippi River. It has a sandy beach and picnic tables. We saw lots of RVs and boats there. I took lots of pictures of the girls. Evie had a blast playing with the leaves ~ she was fascinated by them. Richard took her and Emily by the river and they stood and let the water wash over their feet. Evie wasn't too happy about that. Then, I sat her down to play in the sand. That was a bad idea! She cried and cried until I sat down and put her on my lap. She would not touch the sand, but she would hold the rocks and shells that I gave her. If she dropped them, she wouldn't pick them up out of the sand herself ~ she wanted me to do it! I wonder what she will do when we take her there in the summer to do a little wading?
