What I Learned in October 2022

These months that end around a weekend force me to do all my learning early in the month! I know it's not QUITE the end of October, but here are some things I've learned so far!

1. There are some unique methods for salvaging wet photos!

A little-known fact about me is that a few years ago, I took some classes online to become a photo organizer. I still think that is something I would enjoy doing, but right after I completed the classes, Ryan's mom was diagnosed with her brain tumor, and our lives took some unexpected turns. I follow several organizers online, though, and this month one of them shared ideas for preserving wet photos. (She lives in Florida and was, I believe, in Ian's path.) One thing I learned from her is that if your printed photos are wet from flooding, you should place them in plastic bags and freeze them to prevent mold growth! WHO KNEW? 

2. Driveway replacement is a whole process. 

When we purchased our home, it was a brand-new build - with a crumbling driveway. The story we were told was that when they poured the driveway originally, a surprise rain popped up before it had cured, and the top layer began to crumble. We actually didn't know that when we put in the offer, because our initial showing of the house took place when snow covered the driveway, and we didn't even see it. Once we discovered the issue, we pushed back on that, and the builders agreed to write in a redo of the driveway as part of our purchase agreement. Because it was still below freezing out when we closed on the house, the replacement would have to wait. Well...it waited a LONG TIME! But they finally replaced it this month. It was kind of fascinating to watch, actually. They tore it out and repoured it all in the same day, and then I spent a couple of days praying against visits from the local deer. Can you even imagine if they'd wandered through that wet cement? We had a lot of noise and dust, but the driveway looks SO MUCH BETTER!!!!

3. I love seeing Ryan on the worship team.

It has been almost ten years since Ryan served on a worship team at church. He was active at the church we attended when we first got married, but the churches we attended in the years that followed were all bigger churches with audition processes and multiple rehearsal commitments. Between the commuting years, the long work week years, and the WillowBridge years, the timing never worked out for him to be able to be on a team. But now we are at a church that has a place for him and the time commitment is completely manageable. So this month marked his first time to be part of a worship team in almost a decade. He has loved being part of that team, and I have loved watching him enjoy it. 

4. Pictures with a puppy = slight pandemonium.

We had our family pictures taken this month, and we took Lexi for part of them. She was SO EXCITED. It was her first non-parental photo shoot. We took a couple of friends with us to help us get her to look at the photographer and to hang onto her while we figured out our positions. They did a great job, but whew! We may have to work more at smiling on command. (The end result looks significantly better than how it felt when we were trying to get situated with her! 

5. A wattle is a flap of skin under the necks of some animals - like pigs.

I enjoy following some homesteaders on Instagram, and one of them wrote this week about her new piglets. She said they were all double wattle pigs. I asked Ryan (who grew up on a hog farm) what that meant, but he didn't know. So I looked it up and found out it had to do with the little thing our family has always called a gobbler. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to call it a wattle on myself or not, but it runs in the family, so one of these days, I'm bound to have one or two! 

6. Our refrigerator has a light in the water dispenser!

How have I not known this for the past six months? Ryan was wiping out the little insert where the water dispenser is in the door of our fridge, and he hit a little button - and poof! A light! WHAT?! There's a LIGHT in there? STOP IT!!! I really should learn the functions of the things I own, you know?

7. Cauliflower mashed potatoes aren't terrible.

We tried them just this week. I didn't get the mashing completely smooth, but the flavor wasn't bad. Ryan was even brave enough to try them with me. (He is not a fan of the cauliflower substitution game.) But I think we'll make them again!