I did have to work since it fell on a Tuesday, but that's alright...I like work. My awesome coworker Jenna made me peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, so that certainly brightened the day! Brad was at school that evening, so we delayed our celebrations until the weekend (he also had exams every day that week, soo...it was a celebration for both of us). He did get me the complete 8-disc collection of the Harry Potter movies, waiting for me when I got home. Now he has to watch them all with me though...
I got a lot of lovely cards from family members, which is special when we're so far away from everyone. I'm really looking forward to our TX visit in December.
That Saturday, we went to Indian Ladder Farms. I had been bugging Brad about going to a farm for awhile...not something I usually feel strongly about, but up here apple cider donuts are a "thing" and I hoped to find somewhere with a corn maze/hayride, as well as find lots of pretty fall foliage to take pictures of. You know, all the general fall-ish stuff. And there are a lot of farms up here, so it became my birthday wish.
Indian Ladder didn't have a corn maze, or a hayride going on at the time, but they had fresh delicious apple cider donuts. Yum! Also, they had a petting zoo. Bonus. I got to pet and feed the goats, including the little baby goat with its tiny little bleat (my favorite!)
Indian Ladder also had a "nature trail" up a hillside through some trees, and we walked it so I could take some leaf pictures (and to work off the cider donuts). We got a little lost...there were several opportunities for taking one path or the other...but eventually we made it out. Then we ate at the little cafe they have in the store. A lovely lunch, and I had some yummy apple cider, but our waitress seemed to forget about us when it was time for the check (and Brad was trying to get to a study group). There were only five tables in the cafe, so I think it took some effort on her part to avoid looking our way, but all the same, we had a good time at the farm.
The legendary apple cider donut (we took home a dozen)
This goat was really into the trash being picked up in a nearby pavilion
Babyyyyy (favorite)
Bonding
Bonding (I could only pet it after Brad did successfully)
The feeding experience was kind of weird. And slimy.
Babyyyyy
Crazy goat
Crazy eyes
If I were a goat, I would like to be up high too
Pretty hillside
Their horizontal pupils fascinated me
Forlorn
Starting on the nature trail
Heading out of the nature trail
After Brad's study group that night, we went to Century House restaurant here in Latham. They were participating in Restaurant week (three-course meal for $20.12) and we had a gift card (thanks, Frederick family!) so we tried it out. The meal was yummy; I had a spring roll, butternut squash and ricotta stuffed shells, and pumpkin cheesecake. Brad had a burger (he preferred to go with that instead of the two options for the restaurant week entrees). Again, we were forgotten when it was time for the check, and it took 2.5 hours from when we sat down (early - 5:30) till we left, but the company was great :) and still, a nice birthday dinner!
On Sunday the birthday fun continued - I checked the mailbox and found cookies from Marybeth! They were delicious and it's hard to top getting baked goods in the mail (certainly better than the political ads I've been getting every. day. from a certain assembly candidate. I'm not going to vote for him, just as a punishment for sending me something every single day.) Anyway, Marybeth's cookies did not last long in our household :) but they were a perfect way to wrap up birthday week.
This weekend has been rather uneventful (seems like every time I have a three day weekend, which is every other week, we don't really do anything epic with it!). Brad had schoolwork, we watched the Baylor game yesterday (another sad game) and we've been getting ready for FRANKENSTORM. Apparently in this area with trees and power lines a loss of power is possible/likely, so that's what we mostly wanted to get ready for. I got some bottled water and flashlights (Walmart was already selling out of these things when I went on Saturday), and I asked Brad what non-microwave, non-oven, non-refridgerator meals he would want to eat if we lose power for 3-5 days. He responded with this:
I'll leave you with a few more bonus fall foliage pictures - the tree right outside our door! This greets me every morning when I leave for the day (although, at that time...it's dark. I leave before sunrise. Sigh.)
