Happy Mischief Night, my little ghouls and goblins!  How were your Hallo-weekends?  Ours was – as usual – packed full of activity.  On Friday afternoon/evening, Steve and I took the kids trick-or-treating at Mount Vernon.  If you follow me on Instagram, or we’re friends on Facebook, you already know their Halloween costumes – but for the blog, I’m going to keep them under my hat for a few more days.  (Sorry… I promise they’re amazing.)  But I will say that their costumes made quite the splash at Mount Vernon.  And that’s all I’ll say.  On Saturday, I squeezed in a Barre3 class in the morning and then was home in time to shove the kids back into their costumes for a children’s pumpkin hunt and Halloween party at the Lee-Fendall House, one of the historic homes that is now a museum; our neighborhood is lousy with historic house-museums.  We met up with Peanut’s BFF from school and her mom, and none of the kids seemed to be that into the festivities this year.  Nugget just wanted to run away; Peanut spent half the party “camouflaged” in the bushes, and her BFF was very upset that she didn’t win the costume contest.  BFF’s mom and I agreed that we like doing a Halloween activity together, but next year we might look for a different option.  Lee-Fendall House throws a great party, but our kids were all attitude.  Anyway, after the party we had a quick lunch and then headed out to Loudoun County to pick pumpkins at Wegmeyer Farms.  We came home with a trunkload ranging in size from small decorative gourds to big jack-o-lanterns-to-be.  We had to get all the outdoor fun in on Saturday, because the weather on Sunday was gross – chilly and rainy.  A good day for football, chili, and baking – which is exactly what we did.  Our dear friends the Dumanskys came over, and the guys watched their beloved Buffalo Bills while the ladies chatted and cooked up a storm in the kitchen.  Zan brought red lentil chili and I provided toppings and pumpkin cornbread, and then together we made Thai-inspired vegetable soup (my lunches for the week!) and delicious pumpkin muffins with Peanut.  The only thing we didn’t get around to doing was carving our pumpkins and roasting the seeds, so that’ll be this evening’s activity.

Reading.  It’s been a good week.  On Monday, I finished up the latest Lady Georgianna mystery, On Her Majesty’s Frightfully Secret Service.  It was a blast, as usual, and I have the same complaint as I always do – it went too fast!  These books keep getting better and better and I would like to spend much more time with Georgie.  Still wanting fun, I read the (unpictured) Collected Plays 2010-2015 by Portland Preschoolers, which I have decided is the greatest book ever written.  I bought it to fulfill a Book Riot Challenge task – read a book that is published by a micropress – and it was the best thing EVER.  (I can’t decide what play was my favorite.  I’m torn between “The Hamster’s Adventure With the Baby Show” and “Paris When it Sizzles,” honorable mention to “The 3 Little Deer, the 3 Little Ponies, and the Big Bad Volcano.”)  Clearly, I was having too much fun, so next I picked up Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right, on the recommendation of a co-worker.  It’s very interesting, but I’m reading slowly; I want to pay attention.  I also finished Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe on Friday, and really enjoyed it – helpful that Lin-Manuel Miranda read the audiobook.  Finally, for the Book Riot Challenge – and also Halloween! – I started reading Poems Bewitched and Haunted, which I’m hoping to finish my tomorrow.

Watching.  We’ve been sprinkling episodes of Parks and Recreation – my favorite show – into our evenings here and there, and it’s been so much fun.  I forgot what a delight the first season is.  (Mouserat playing “The Pit” for the first time!  Police Officer Dave describing Leslie as belligerent!  April entering the Miss Pawnee beauty pageant!  Wendy Haverford!)  No movie night this week, but next week, hopefully – it will be my turn to pick.

Listening.  I did a lot of listening this week, because I was getting tantalizingly close to Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe and I wanted to get through it.  It took pretty much the whole book, but I was invested – and misty – by the end.  Dammit, Lin, stop making me cry.

Moving.  Y’all, I am DEVASTATED.  My favorite yoga instructor joined the Peace Corps!  I finally find a studio I like and she’s leeeeeeeeeaving!  (And clearly, it’s all about ME.  /sarcasm).  Anyway, I have another month until she leaves, so I am going to try to squeeze in as many of her awesome flow classes as I can.  Only one last week, because I found out this terrible news on Friday.  But I also fit in two Barre3 classes on Wednesday and Saturday.  I like the instructor a lot, and the class is very challenging – in a great way – but the music and atmosphere are a bit overwhelming for this introverted HSP.  Challenging myself to go, because it’s good to get outside of my comfort zone, and Barre3 definitely does that on multiple levels.

Blogging.  Fun week coming up!  I have my October reads for you on Wednesday, and on Friday I’ll be recapping Halloween.  As always, we have been doing a lot – and the holiday itself hasn’t even happened yet, so I’m sure I will have even more fun to share with you.  Check in with me then!

Loving.  There are certain fall treats that I look forward to all year, and cider donuts are one of them.  (Others include apple cider, both hot and cold, and roasted pumpkin seeds.)  Over the weekend, while the kids were running wild at the pumpkin patch, Steve bought a dozen cider donuts and – yummmmm.  Totally worth waiting 51 weeks for them.  Do you have a favorite fall food?

Asking.  What are you reading this week?