Fall 2021

          Jonathan and I visited Maine last month. It was the best trip I've ever been on. The first half of the time, I was on my own. I spent the days visiting apple orchards, picking apples, and driving through the countryside imagining myself living there. I bought 1/2 pecks of apples at every orchard I visited. I think I went a little overboard on my purchases, but it has been a lifelong dream of mine to pick apples in Maine. When I was 16, I was inspired by a book about traveling the world for free. It had hundreds of entries with working opportunities across the world. This was before the internet was in everyone's homes. I wrote letters to an organization in Ireland and was able to set up a job for myself the summer after I graduated from high school. Thinking about it now, I wonder why my parents weren't freaking out. Anyway, one of the entries was about being a seasonal worker in Maine picking apples. At the time I wanted something a bit more exotic, so I chose Europe, but Maine has always sat patiently in the back of my mind until now. I ate three or four apples every day of my trip so my carry-on wouldn't be too heavy on the way home. Despite my efforts, I still returned with about 20 apples in my baggage. 

          I just ate my last Maine apple today. It made me a little sad.

          Utah is a beautiful place. Fall is here. The colors are really stunning this year. I can't lie and say it's way better in the east. It's pretty here too. Today I can't even see the mountains. The clouds are rolling in and rain is gonna fall.  I just got the tarp over the chicken run this morning. I'm going to prep for class tomorrow, vacuum, and then pick up the kids. They are going to the Haunted Library event at Orem Library this afternoon.