Heading into Fall, I thought it would be a good idea to recap recent events:

We bought a new car while visiting friends and relatives in Indiana.

While we were out, we had the downstairs floors refinished. Stripped, stained, and polyurethaned.

Found a strange little weevil-type bug who wouldn't sit still long enough to get its picture taken, until we turned it over on its back.

While cleaning the basement out of over four years of cruft, found a clock face that came from a Richmond jewelers. Along with the proto-linoleum floor covering, this makes two incredible finds that conveyed (intentionally or unintentionally) with the house.

I helped my neighbor David build a child-cage, er compost bin, and discovered a weird little caterpillar.

I gained a bit (that wasn't meant to be a double intendre).

For our third anniversary, Amber and I toured a few Virginia wineries, and came back with a large cache of the vino. Also, a ton of grapes isn't as big as you might think.

The dryer broke down and we repaired it ourselves, saving (we estimate) at least $200 in labor and countless months of therapy from looking at repair-man-crack.

Peppers were the only vibrant intended life form in the garden this year. Habañeros, especially. After trying (unsuccessfully) to dry some earlier, we strung some up with Jalapeños and Hot Bananas. We'll see how they perform in chili later this winter.

Saturday, while doing some outdoor chores, Amber pointed out a huge Praying Mantis, which was kind enough to pose. Over and over and over and over again. He (she?) also wanted to climb on the camera, and attempts to do so made me screech like a little girl.

Last, but not least, we're having an Oyster Roast next weekend. We'll have five bushels of oysters, fresh from the Bay, four kegs of beer, barbequed pork butts, live music, and good people. The more, the merrier, but let us know. More info can be found on our site.