I’m writing this from bed, sipping some Sleepytime tea and listening to the wind and rain from the tropical storm hitting the northeast.

Days and weeks have been going by so quickly. Is this turning into a biweekly post? I’m not sure.

My 7am-3pm schedule has its ups and downs. I’m going to bed earlier than I used to, but I also have more daylight time to be outside with Charlie in the afternoon. I’m thankful I can timeshift.

We landed on a way to limit Charlie’s time watching shows that has been working well: Pick one allowed time and stay consistent. Previously we were inconsistent and it led to a lot of frustration on both sides. Now he can watch some shows in the morning until we start our day and that is it. Three weeks in and it is totally fine! Listening to audio while playing is a decent substitute, and we also find ourselves reading with him and playing together more in the evenings after dinner.

Charlie switched classrooms at school and is having a better overall experience. He is coming home happier and we are all breathing a little easier than the past month. We are thankful the school took notice and adjusted to his current skill level.

Another week of swim class without me or Amanda in the pool went really well. So proud of this kid.

Amanda and I both noticed that something changed slightly this week and Charlie is more able to be reasoned and negotiated with. He is more willing to accept alternative suggestions without fuss.

It finally feels like autumn! I made my first soup of the season on Friday: Potato & Leek.

Amanda and Charlie made some Apple Pie Cookies.

Charlie and I spent some time in the woods. As I had hoped the last couple years, we’ve reached prime rock climbing and stick/leaf/bark/nut/rock collecting age.

I spent a day in the city helping out with a WordPress training. It has been a long time since I’ve looked at WP through the eyes of a beginner. It is surprisingly complicated to set up a WP site from scratch. How on earth would a beginner know to go to Settings > Reading and switch the homepage setting from posts to page if they wanted a website and not a blog?

I chatted with someone we know on the train to NYC and sat with someone else we know on the train home. A couple days later Charlie and I ran into two different people we know around town while running errands. After almost 6 years here (the first two years restricted by Covid and having a newborn), it finally feels like we are part of a community here.

Checking out the sign by the lake at FDR state park. Charlie can identify some of these fish!

I’ve tied flies two nights in the past two weeks. One more night, I think, and I’ll have the flies for my uncle and me to enter into the exchange. Feels good to be back at the vise.

I finished The Death and Life of the Great Lakes by Dan Egan.

• Despite growing up not far away, this book was my first time hearing about the Great Black Swamp that stretched from Fort Wayne to Toledo.
• I knew about Zebra mussels, but not Quagga mussels. To be fair, they look very similar.
• I didn’t know that the water turns over almost completely in the lakes every 3 years.
• It is encouraging to hear that native species are adapting to eat the invasive goby and mussels.
• Goby spread botulism, causing bird die-offs.
• The lack of lake ice formation in recent years has led to a larger than expected increase in water temperatures and evaporation in the lakes, dropping water levels and causing more algae blooms. Things because water not covered in snow and ice keeps absorbing the sun all winter instead of reflecting it.

Recommended!

That’s all for now.