Welcome back, Fall!

I added this picture to the top of the post because Facebook automatically uses the first picture for the preview, and I don't want the next one to be the preview. I think you will see why.

I had to go to the dentist this week. It does amaze me that we only have to see a doctor for your whole body every few years, but for just one part of your body, you have to see a dentist twice a year. When I was in junior high, I wanted to be a dentist, but that would not be a good fit for me. I am intensely squeamish, and I have a hard time telling people they have to do things better.

The hygienist told me I needed to floss better. I floss every day, but apparently I'm not aggressive enough.

When I was younger, I didn't have great dental hygiene, and I had some metal fillings. Apparently those metal fillings can expand and contract, as metal is wont to do, and they can crack your teeth. Eek! So they had to replace one of them, and I go in to get the other one fixed tomorrow. It made my tooth and cheek sore (from that nasty needle), but oh well. I'm glad that the new fillings are less obvious. Last Christmastime, I tried to take a selfie with my cat, but, among other reasons, I couldn't use it because my ugly filling was visible.

Aww, I miss Jenny. :(

I made another grape crisp this week, using a different kind of grape than the last one. Grapes aren't the best fruit for crisps, but it was fine. Grape bread is better than grape crisp.

I went back to weekly tutoring this week, and some of the kids seemed happy I was back. I might not be one of the cool kids of my age group, but I can still help the students.

Blogger can be very frustrating to get the pictures where you want them.

I am so happy that the weather cooled down and feels like fall, my favorite season. I have noticed that people tend to love the time of year when they were born, and that's certainly true for me. 

Yesterday, it was even cool enough for me to go running on a route without shade, so I ran to Ensign Peak from my house, which I've wanted to do for a while. (I've run there from Tunnel Springs Park, but not all the way from my house.) It was 9.3 miles round trip, and it was surprisingly not difficult. I didn't feel exhausted, even though it's been months since I've run that long. There were lots and lots of grasshoppers along the trail. Inexplicably, one of them ended up in my shoe and died, and I didn't know it until I got home and took my shoes off. I'd understand if it were near my ankle, but I don't understand how it got to my toe.

I'm still looking for a new car. My qualifications are good fuel economy (because Earth) and all-wheel drive (because winter). The contenders currently are Toyota Rav4 hybrid, Nissan Rogue hybrid, and Honda HRV (not hybrid).

Here's hoping the cool weather keeps up! :)

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Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the return of pumpkinundation roundup! We left off at Christmas nine months ago, and pumpkin, caramel apple, and candy corn items are all back again. I'm going to try to do ratings out of 10 this year, rather than out of 5. Only three people voted on how I should continue it, and you all wanted me to keep it here, so here it is. (It's not worth doing it two places, such as Instagram, if there's not much interest.)

 I reviewed these Brach's Chocolate Mint Cookie Candy Corn. It's candy corn with a fake mint, fake chocolate flavor. 6/10.

 I also reviewed these Werther's Original Pumpkin Spice Soft Caramels. They're good caramel, but the pumpkin flavor is very faint. 6/10.

Cinnamon Life is my favorite cereal of all time, but Pumpkin Spice Life is the worst of all Life flavors. We actually got this box from Costco a month ago. Even though it's a Costco-sized box, it should tell you something that we haven't gone through it. It's just a spicy, less sweet version of Life. 6/10.

 I went to the state fair again, and there are lots of caramel apple vendors. I got an apple pie caramel apple but forgot to take a picture until I had finished. It had caramel, some kind of white confection, and spices and sugar on it. It was the biggest, most decadent caramel apple I have ever had, and it was a little hard to chew with all that caramel. 8/10.

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I also sampled my friend's almond something-or-other caramel apple, which had almonds and chocolate but a little less caramel. The experience was similar. 8/10.

 This is the third year I've had Kellogg's Pumpkin Spice Frosted Mini Wheats. It still tastes like a candle. 6/10.

 All of Kneaders's cupcakes have way too much frosting, and the perennial Kneaders spice cupcake is no exception. The pumpkin cake is wonderful, and the cream filling is delightful. But they don't need all the cinnamon frosting. And since they put chocolate on top of the cupcake, underneath the frosting, they probably could get away with no frosting. 7/10, with points deducted for excessive frosting.

 I came home to find this Franz Innkeeper's Pumpkin Spice Bread. Yummy. Like raisin bread but without the raisins, and much better. 9/10.

 White Pumpkin Pie M&Ms are a new item. In 2013 and 2014, they did pumpkin spice M&Ms, which were just milk chocolate with spices. In 2015, they did pumpkin spice latte, which I did not try. I like these, though I didn't know what to think at first. The vague spiciness goes well with the white chocolate. But the lovely colors are the best part. 7/10.

 Pumpkin Pie Kit Kats are also new. They taste like the smell of an autumn boutique. It's hard to go wrong with Kit Kat. 7/10.

 I saw Pumpkin Spice Twinkies in 2015 and 2016 but didn't get my hands on them until this year. I like these better than regular Twinkies. The spicy filling works wonderfully with the sponge cake. 9/10.

 The Werther's Original Caramel Apple Soft Caramels are better than their pumpkin sibling, and they actually taste like apple. 7/10.

 These Archer Farms (Target) Caramel Apple Snack Bites consist of dried apples, nuts, and a caramel coating. They have the distinct flavor of dried apple, which isn't my favorite, but they're still good. 7/10.

 I've had Archer Farms Pumpkin Spice Trail Mix before, but I don't remember it having pumpkin seeds. It also has pumpkin spice peanuts and candy-coated pretzels. It's pretty good, though I don't know what to think of the pumpkin seeds. 7/10.

 These belVita Pumpkin Spice are the only BelVitas I've ever had. I like them, especially the texture. They have real pumpkin and sweet potato. I usually eat them with milk. 8/10.

 Pumpkin Spice Cheerios are the best of all pumpkin cereals, and they're one of the few that uses real pumpkin. There's a real correlation there: real pumpkin almost always makes something better than just spice or an imitation pumpkin flavor. 9/10.

 Maybe I'm a Pop-Tart heretic, but I don't like strawberry Pop-Tarts. The Caramel Apple Pop-Tarts are better than all of the berry flavors, but not as good as the baked-good flavors. 7/10.

 This is the first time I've had Pumpkin Pie Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurt, and I think it's the best pumpkin yogurt I've ever had, even though I don't really like Greek yogurt (or Greek food in general). (In fairness, though, it's been a year since I had any others.) 7/10.

 These Kind Caramel Almond Pumpkin Spice bars are the first I've had of this Kind of bar (see what I did there?). They're tasty, but not overwhelmingly pumpkin. 7/10.

 Cinnamon Apple Hot Tamales are just Hot Tamales with apple Mikes and Ikes. They're fairly good. 7/10.

The Candy Corn Hershey's bar is better than I remembered. It's white chocolate with candy corn flavor (?) and little candy pieces. 7/10.