Changing seasons

Summer has come to an end in Corvallis--and not just on the calendar. The second to last official day of summer was our last glimpse of warmth and sunshine. Since then, we've had rain every single day. So much for easing us into the rainy season! I was ready for a change in temperature, but I wasn't quite ready to see our sunny skies disappear entirely. We enjoyed this past Saturday's Beaver game looking a little something like this:

We've also been enjoying dealing with all of the joys that come with living in an old home. I.e. poor insulation, leaks, flooding, AND spiders. Thanks to some quick garage rearranging, the employment of just about every bucket, tote, and trashcan we own, and a late night run by our neighbors to get sandbags, the flooding of our garage is more or less under control.

Saturday night's flood drama

post-storm carnage in our yard

The spiders, however, are not so much. Apparently, they are aware that summer has ended, too. Jake and I have lost count of the sheer volume of arachnids that have come creeping inside in recent weeks. It's easily in the double digits folks. And I'm not talking tiny spiders--the average size is a good 1-2 inches across. We've found them behind the toilet, in the shower, underneath cabinets, making a mad dash across the floor. Seriously, everywhere. We're pros at crushing them, but that doesn't make it any less gross each and every single time it happens.

Also, I've been a serious blog slacker. The end of summer was busy! Busier than we anticipated. Here's a quick recap of September:

Labor Day weekend was packed and we tried to tackle a home DIY project... that we are still tackling. Old house= old vanity= very unique hinges. We're still on the hunt for replacement hinges to match our hardware AND fit our cabinetry. I had no idea it would be this difficult. In the meantime, everything is primed, painted, and polyurethaned... so someday we'll have doors on our vanity again!

'Before' photo of the vanity

The following weekend, I spent a couple of days with my mom and siblings in Ashland to catch a couple of shows. While my mom and sister have been to many plays there, Riley and I had never seen any. It was after the peak season of the Shakespeare Festival, so most of the crowds had died down. For playgoers in the know, we saw The Unfortunates, which I know is a love it or hate it sort of a deal (most of us loved it!), and a hopelessly boring rendition of A Midsummer Night's Dream (a bummer, since it's one of my Shakespeare favorites). If you're ever in Southern Oregon, Ashland is definitely worth the stop and you might as well catch a show or two while you're there.

Elizabethan Theatre

Oh yeah, we also had an epic breakfast while we were there.
 That's a coconut almond waffle with lemon butter.
OMG.

Corvallis Beer Week was in full swing when I got back, and that Saturday we hung out at Septembeerfest with many of Jake's 2 Towns coworkers. I'm not gonna lie, Corvallis, I was a little disappointed in your Beerfest. The good taps ran out early, the selection was less than stellar, and the bathroom situation was not ideal. Don't get me wrong, it's not that we didn't have a good time, I've just seen better.

Of course, much of the recent weeks have included football, football, and more football: college, NFL, fantasy, and catching up on The League. After a good showing against Colorado this past Saturday, the Beavers are 4-1. Still not ranked, but the season's on the upswing. Go Beavs!