I don’t know about any of you reading this, but I thought that little touch of snow was a welcome sight Wednesday morning. As I left work, I was faced with the task of cleaning off my car and scraping some of the ice that had frozen to my windshield. I’ve also had to scrape off the frost and bundle up with morning lows in the 20s and 30s. Warmer weather is coming next week but we know the 40s will eventually win out as November rolls on.
Without further ado, here is my recap for the month of October.
We celebrated Annabelle’s birthday and had our Gaffron family reunion the first weekend of the month. The cooler weather sure made it feel like fall after we began with summer-like weather. Held at Mammoth Park, Annabelle’s birthday party had a Harry Potter theme from the table setting down to the cupcakes and party favors. The amount of pizza ordered was enough to feed all the adults and children. I discovered the giant slide that Mammoth Park is famous for and slid down it a few times, pretending I was doing the luge in the Winter Olympics. When we got home, we got to watch Annabelle open her birthday presents. I got her art supplies from Michaels but I think the coolest gift was all the Harry Potter funko pops that she got from her aunt.
The next day we had our Gaffron family reunion at Laurel Hill State Park. We had the indoor pavilion reserved and it came in handy with the cool weather that was forecast. The pavilion had a fireplace and plenty of firewood to keep us warm, but we did a considerable amount of time outside. We ate plenty of good food, I supplied the coffee which I got from Dunkin’ Donuts, and there was even a charcuterie board. I spent a lot of time talking to my cousins and watching the younger Gaffron cousins chase each other around. Jonathan took group pictures during the afternoon (you see one of them up top). One is reminiscent of the old cousin photos that we took on Mother’s Day. The only ones missing were Jason and Nik , both of them doing their own thing. We remembered my mom’s cousin Greg who passed away the day before.
When the reunion wrapped up, I stopped in Ligonier and spent some time in the diamond writing a blog post covering the weekend’s events. I witnessed engagement photos being taken in the gazebo as I got ready to come home. On the way there and home, I saw plenty of color as the leaves began changing along PA 711 and US 30. It’s November 3 now, and most of the color is starting to fade or is already past peak. Remember, some of us saw snow to start November, be it a dusting or several inches.
I bought cheetah print tops from Old Navy and throughout October, I confidently wore them and got compliments from family and friends. At home, I overthink and worry about what will be said but that shouldn’t really be an issue. I wore my t-shirt to dinner with Mr. Clougherty, my sweater at the reunion, and my cardigan to the Fall Symposium. Maybe one day I’ll wear them all at home with joy and without feeling ashamed.
The Fall Symposium was a success. I was lucky to attend the event because of my schedule and was grateful for a free night on Friday so I could get up the next day and attend. Our speakers all did a fantastic job helping us take good information back to our clubs. We awarded our Toastmasters and District Leaders who came to play in the most recent Toastmaster year. Before we ended the event, all the Distinguished Toastmasters in the District got together to welcome those new to the DTM club.
The second half of October was marred by sickness and not really going anywhere. I spent whatever days off I had indoors fighting a cough and cold. I got better just in time to have dinner with Mr. Clougherty. It was our final meeting in the 2023 Dinner series and we met at Kings in Hempfield. Only a few cars in the parking lot at dinnertime made me think that they don’t have much time left. Kevin enjoyed his K-Boy because it might have been his last one.
Maybe that quiet second half of October is what I need to get me ready for the busy holiday rush ahead. I’m looking forward to posting that 500th blog at the end of the month and feeling accomplished.
Ten more blog posts to go!
Stylish 🍒 