A Piano and a Pumpkin

On October 8th Clint and I went on a Fall leaves drive through Guardsman Pass.  Unfortunately, the peak of the leaves had already passed that high up (even though they had hardly started in the valley).  We had a lot of fun anyway.  We drove through Midway which I'm not even sure I've driven through despite the fact that it's right next to Heber.  I tried to take some pictures of the cute Swiss houses, but two two I took before my camera died didn't turn out.  In Heber we had dinner at the Tarahumara Restaurant which was very busy, but delicious. I got the fish tacos which had a fabulous sauce.  To those who have never been here--understand that the restaurant is split into two different sections.  The right side is a more traditional sit down restaurant and bar--but it was full when we got there.  The left side is more of a Cafe Rio style--you order at the front desk then wind to the back to find seats, and they bring your food out to you.  There is a salsa bar with probably 30 different salsa which are fun to try. Unfortunately, the drink machine is really far away and after you've been trying all those salsas, you might run out of water!  Also connected to the restaurant is a little bakery with pan dulces.  I almost bought a little baggie of pinole, a dry corn meal mixture that the Tarahumara eat on runs.

While speaking of restaurants, I also went to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse for the first time as a part of the SLC dine o' round (in Sept).  It was tasty and fun to go somewhere lavish that I wouldn't ordinarily go.

Probably my most significant October happening was that I bought a piano!  I become possessed with the idea one day after reflecting on time spent playing piano/flute duets with my mom and my sister singing along.  I found one listed for cheap on Craigslist, and after much dithering on my part was the owner of a piano later that same day.  I ended up acquiring it extremely cheaply because I discovered mouse droppings in it.  So I spend a long sweaty day after work taking it apart and vacuuming it out.  I also used a judicious amount of Lysol sanitizing spray. Much to Clint's chagrin, I enlisted his help after he got home from work as well.

Halloween this year wasn't terribly exciting.  I had wanted to see Phantom of the Opera at the Organ Loft the Friday before, but ended up attending the SLC track club banquet instead (which was cool, but not festive).  However, I did get invited to a pumpkin carving party the next week, so I had some Halloween festiveness.  On actual Halloween Clint and I ate some soup at the ward party, then came home and watched a movie.  It's difficult to enjoy Halloween because it always falls right near the end of the quarter.  Fortunately, Ron's new wife Allison helped me grade essays that weekend.  Whew!