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Friday Thoughts

1. Baking. Yesterday I made oatmeal cookies from one of my favorite cookbooks and whipped up a batch of challot (challah knots) earlier this week. I’ve been having the hardest time finding yeast in stores. Has anyone else had that problem lately? I used up the last of my yeast supply on the challot but they were so worth it!

2. Fall Decorating. We’ve been having some rainy weather here in Pittsburgh the past couple of days and it’s making me feel like fall is slowly ushering its way in. Do you decorate for fall? I have in the past, but I don’t know if I will this year.

In a spurt of minimalism, I got rid of a lot of outdated fall decorations in 2018 and now I have just a wreath and one wall hanging. I enjoy decorating, but I don’t know if it’s worth the money end effort for fall. I like the idea of Sadie having warm memories of the house decorated for different seasons, though. Hmmm. What’s your opinion?!

3. Vlogging. I’ve been having so much fun vlogging lately. There’s just something about looking back on what our days looked like a week, month, or year ago that is so special. Our latest vlog is here and includes gardening, cooking, baking, cleaning, and a trip to Sam’s Club!

4. Reading. I think I’ll always want to talk about reading. I just finished up this book by Beverly Lewis and added it to my growing list of Amish-based books I’ve read and enjoyed.

5. Niva. Niva has been doing so well since being spayed! She somehow got her cone off all by herself so we decided to give her some freedom and see if she would bite at her stitches and she hasn’t so far. She goes for her followup appointment on Monday and I’m so thankful this has been a good experience and that her days of going into heat are behind us 🙂

Fall decorating: yay or nay?

What’s the last thing you baked?

Huskies and Cats + Back Patio Progress

One of my biggest worries before we brought Niva home was that she wouldn’t get along with Malcolm. I’ve heard that Siberian huskies and cats aren’t a good mix because huskies have a high prey drive for small animals. It was definitely a gamble to bring Niva home to a cat without knowing how she or Malcolm would react, but we had a few things going for us:

Niva is a very submissive dog
Niva is a puppy
Malcolm is a very friendly cat
Malcolm has been raised with dogs

It’s totally true that Siberian huskies have a high prey drive. They are also pack-oriented dogs. I think Niva saw Malcolm as part of her pack when we brought her home, so she doesn’t hunt him.

If you’re considering bringing a husky (or any breed of dog, really) home to a cat or vice versa, I would take into account each animal’s age and temperament before making any decisions. It’s definitely possible for cats and huskies to live together, and it’s amazing to watch them play and live in peace and harmony when they do!

Okay, onto our back patio renovation progress. I wish I had more before pictures, but I snuck into my archives and found this one below from a post I wrote in 2014(!). Our back patio area had wooden railing and a canopy with wooden beams and a ceiling made out of…. I don’t know?!

We eventually took the old canopy down and would put up the one below when we had gatherings at our house.

Jimmy took down the old railing and posts and put up steel beams.

He then painted the beams, made and painted new railing, and added some landscaping.

Then, it was onto the canopy! It looked like this on Saturday before the boys got to work.

It looked like this last night while we ate dinner outside for the first time in a long time!

Next, we will be working on a little outdoor kitchen area. Can’t wait!

Tell me about your latest project!