It’s still pretty damp from a week of pouring rain, but the sun actually came out this morning.  Among the flowers was this strange pale yellow fungus blob.

It’s erev, so my favorite time of week, when my son is here to work, eat, drink, and hopefully clear his head.  The rain has amazingly let up, for the time being.

We’re all a bit preoccupied with the SC hearing, waiting to see if Repubs will once again shove through their own agenda over justice.  The concepts of ethics and evidence seem to be a dying art.  It’s all about keeping that madman-in-chief in power, with women merely on call for sex and accessorizing.  But as with all crimes, these can’t be perpetrated in secret forever.

In the more natural world, things are starting their fall transitions.  This is always a fascinating time of year for photo challenges, even with tech handicaps.  If you just dig a little deeper, you find subtle gems amid the turning and fading.

And there’s always that adorable new house-squatter, insinuating herself into everything.  She’s proving to be an excellent mouser, as mentioned.  Each day I find a new gift corpse on the porch.  So thoughtful.

What do we do when the great outdoors is a great big puddle?  Bake things, of course.  E made her world-renowned challah and chocolate-chip cookies, and I tested and approved them.  The cat supervised from her throne room.  It’s a big job, I can tell you.

All I can say about current events right now is that “we” elected a rapist-in-chief, a perv who bragged about sexually harassing women, so it’s no wonder his cronies have no problem appointing an alleged  rapist to the Supreme Court, or discrediting women victims of abuse and assault.  How on earth would women not be terrified and ashamed to come forward after being traumatized in such a rape culture?  It’s sick that this hearing is what it may take to expose Repub true values.  That’s all on that.

Here are some very soggy flowers, plants, and kitty who shall remain nameless for now.

This monsoon has not let up for days!  Every view is as through a shower curtain of rain.  Even I, waterproof as I am, feel confined to the porches, themselves soaked.  I’m guessing this is not normal average late September weather for E. TN, but all bets seem to be off these days.  Not-our-kitty has the right idea–this is her permanent position on the bed.  I’m considering nicknames at this point.

It occurs to me I haven’t posted enough actual sukkah photos!  So here it is in all its humble glory, for posterity.  See, it’s bigger on the inside!

Happy second day of Sukkot.  Everything is still dripping from rain, including the sukkah.  The garden and field are rejuvenated, and it’s not over yet.  Driest month in TN, my @$$.

Meanwhile, not-our-kitty is still luxuriating in dry comfort on the bed.  Trained servants wait on her hand-and-foot.  She knows how to live.  We should all be so clever.  The little trickster.

And of course, it’s raining on the first day of Sukkot.  But that’s OK, this is not a desert wilderness, after all.  Also, for the supposed driest season in TN, it’s been pretty soggy, plus hotter than average, from what I hear.  One just goes with the flow.  The Tardis sukkah is getting washed, and the flowers are happy.  We’re high and dry; E was literally high up on the kitchen counters, installing this cool white light strip over the cabinets, creating a soft violet ambience.  And naturally the kitty-who-does-not-live-here is comfortably installed on her bed.

Here are some of the last fruits of summer, some flowers enjoying the first of Autumn, and one very chill cat being lazy while we mow the acre.  I can’t believe I finally grew an actual pepper.

One might say E had a world birthday.  Avdi and we tried out an Ethiopian restaurant near us, and it was excellent.  He very generously insisted on treating.  We had injera (flatbreads) with many types of lentils, meats, and spicy sauces.

Then we checked out a Middle Eastern grocery/deli next door, run by a very friendly, entrepreneurial NY/Palestinian and his wife, who plied us with many samples of homemade hummus, tabouleh, baba ganoush, yogurt, and lamb, all of which were fabulous.  It was a perfect example of how food, hospitality, and diplomacy trump hate and bridge cultural differences.

Then we returned home for homemade cake and ice cream, etc., and had a pleasant time talking.  E did a good impression of “acting surprised”, considering we’re always together.  She is now the proud owner of a squawky Star Wars “Porg”, among other things.

This morning, the female and male cats were conducting a very loud disagreement over territorial rights to our porches, apparently.  She won, and he sheepishly slunk off, as usual.  She and I checked out the sukkah at sunrise.