fall is finally here

or, at least that's what the weather forecast is telling me:

rain, rain, and more rain.

so this weekend i plan on getting my baking groove back by trying out this and this for possible thanksgiving desserts - that is if i can find the necessary ingredients for both.  i might have missed the figs, but let's hope not because just looking at that galette is making my mouth water.  i'm also planning on making martha's mac & cheese with some irish cheddar i brought back from dublin (if it's good enough for jefferson, it's good enough for me).  i've not baked or cooked in such a long time, i really look forward to getting back to it as the weather turns cold.  nothing like some comfort food on a rainy weekend!

the past week has been such a tough one watching my sister & brother-in-law deal with an impossible situation: losing their home to superstorm sandy.  a big blessing has been all of the support and love they've received from friends & strangers alike.  thank you to all of you who donated to their site to help them start over again.  sometimes i really have to wonder if jenni isn't responsible in some way for the kindness we receive during our most difficult times.

yesterday i woke up to good news followed by great news:  obama was re-elected president, and sarah & jeff found an apartment!  this is the best possible scenario, as the items they did salvage need to dry properly and cannot do that in a storage unit.  they'd left them in a u-haul in front of their old place, and luckily on tuesday found a nice apartment in a large, modern building to move them to.  it felt like a weight had been lifted when i read that news.  ben took emre and i out to celebrate last night with a fish dinner - you've got to celebrate the successes!

after we got home from dinner, we were bathing emre when the power went out.  faced with a pitch-black apartment, we grabbed emre from the bath, put him in his pj's and brought him to our dark bedroom where i nursed him until he fell asleep.  well, in that quiet, dark apartment, ben and i quickly fell asleep too!  we slept nearly 11 hours all together.  woke up this morning feeling like a brand new person (but regretting not having taken my contacts out), surrounded by my family.  definitely a great end to a great day - and a wonderful start to a new one!