in Checking In, Weather

Fall-like fun

After yet another few high-90s days earlier this week we’ve had two days of absolutely gorgeous weather. Hurricane Earl was rebuffed by a dry cold front that moved through. The temperature Friday was 98 degrees at one point but the relative humidity was a scandalously-low 19%! The weekend temperatures were about 8-10 degrees cooler with the same low humidity, which is a tantalizing taste of fall (though falls are cooler yet).

We spent most of Saturday just getting some yardwork done. Mowing, weeding, trimming, and leaf blowing were all carried out under sunny skies. Then there was music practice and other fun tasks until dinner. After dinner, we joined our neighbors on the driveway for beer and roasted marshmallows. One of our neighbors across the street got married yesterday and they held their reception in their backyard. We enjoyed people-watching and listening to the 80s-era wedding dance tunes.

Last night we slept with the windows open. It was fantastic!

Today we had breakfast on the porch. Then I roped the family into a greenway bike ride as we’d passed up a chance to go yesterday. The kids gamely came along as we left the house at 11 AM. We were bound for Crabtree Valley Mall but halfway there Travis declared he wanted to turn back. Kelly took Hallie on to the mall while Travis and I rode back to get lunch at Quiznos on Six Forks Road. Once we returned we watched a Mythbusters episode until the ladies returned from their ride.

Travis had become infatuated with an electrical switch I gave him and I had promised to get him some more electrical parts yesterday. I couldn’t let another day go by without fulfilling my promise, so we hopped in the car before dinner and drove over to our local Radio Shack.

I planned to buy a battery pack, a spool of wire, a light bulb socket, and a light bulb and let him build a small circuit with his switch. When we got there and I priced up all the individual parts, it turned out that my “kit” was as expensive as an FM radio electronics kit. So, I opted to skip the whole electrical training and go straight to teaching Travis about electronics! I swear I bought it for the kids, though.