Busy fall week

Whew, I had a busy week! September and October are such lovely months that it disappoints me I have so much going on, so I can't savor the wonder of it all.

Monday was my birthday, and I knew it was likely my one chance to go on a long run up my beloved North Canyon, where I hadn't been since August. Late September and early October are the absolute best times there. My run was slow, because I kept stopping to take pictures.

I've decided I don't really like getting presents, because I get overwhelmed with all the stuff I have already, and it's not worth the frustration for finding space if it's something I merely like and not something I love. But one present I got, which I specifically asked for, was small, orange plug-in lights. I have some battery-powered lights, but they run out of batteries by the time Halloween arrives, so changing the batteries is annoying and seems wasteful. So plug-in lights avoid that problem.

One surprise was that my friend sent me a Nancy comic book in the mail. And then when I went into the office on Tuesday, my state boss presented me with a signed birthday card that had a Nancy panel! That felt like people actually knew me, instead of generic gifts. 

My BYU boss, along with a former coworker from the Church History Department, recently published a book on the history of the Salt Lake Temple, so I went to Benchmark Books on Wednesday evening to hear them talk about it. But I don't know when I'll get a chance to read it, since my to-be-read pile is big.

Benchmark Books has an astonishing collection of LDS-adjacent books, and I had to buy a couple other books: Taylor G. Petrey's Tabernacles of Clay, which is about how the Church's teachings on marriage, sexuality, and gender have changed over the years (I already read it but wanted my own copy); and Matthew L. Harris's Second-Class Saints, about the end of the priesthood ban. (It was quite astonishing to hear Peter Johnson talk openly about learning about the ban in general conference today!) They are expensive, but it feels good to support small, local businesses.

Back in 2014, my grandparents moved to Centerville, and since that time, my mom bought them season tickets to local CenterPoint Theatre. There were always three tickets so they could take someone else. Then even as my grandpa became blind and then died, we still had three tickets. But Grandma doesn't always like the plays, so on Thursday, I went with my cousin April and my niece Allie to see their production of Little Shop of Horrors. (Unsurprisingly, I typically choose to attend the holiday-adjacent plays.) The production wasn't as good as some of the others I've seen there, but I really liked the puppets, the actor playing Seymour, and the voice of Audrey 2. I hadn't seen it before, and it was one of those where I was like, "That's the ending?!"

(For my birthday twenty years ago, I got a cheapo CD called Halloween TV Specials with music from Halloween-adjacent movies and TV shows, and it had the opening theme from Little Shop. But the recordings weren't original, so I gave the CD away during a white-elephant exchange in 2009.)

Then Saturday, my friend David (everyone has at least one friend named David) shared a ticket to general conference, so I rode the bus downtown and attended. I was glad it was super rainy, because that meant I wasn't missing out on a pleasant run. I was not happy to be there during Elder Rasband's talk. I have a number of reasons I have issues with the talk and the Family Proclamation. Among other things, I don't think it's sustainable to do the mental gymnastics that "Fathers preside, and mothers nurture, but they are equal," and why can't fathers nurture? And also, it is not realistic for fifteen old, white, cisgender, straight, American, happily married men from thirty years ago to dictate how everyone else should live. But at least Elder Gong's talk was good!

When I went to Restore last week, I got an idea: What if instead of using AI to illustrate my dreams, I drew them myself? But I'm not an artist at all, and I don't really want to take the time to do that. But during today's morning session of general conference, I drew my recent dream where I accidentally rode my bike into a truck full of large pigs.

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I didn't do pumpkinundation roundup last week, so I have two weeks to catch up on. These are in no real order, because Blogger makes it very difficult to add pictures in a reasonable manner.

I had Trader Joe's Pumpkin Flavored Joe-Joe's at a birthday party. Some people love them, but to me, they're just mediocre. 6/10.

Reed's Dairy Pumpkin Spice Milk does not have pumpkin puree, which seems like it would be an easy ingredient to add. It's almost as thick as eggnog. 7/10.

When you hear "Dr. Bombay," do you think of Bewitched or Snoop Dogg? Because I think of the witch doctor, but apparently this is a Snoop initiative. I don't know why he chose the name Dr. Bombay for this line of ice cream. Dr. Bombay Sticky Caramel Apple Ice Cream is fine, but it has a lot of peanut flavor, which is not what I expected. 6/10.

I think Cross E Ranch apple cider donuts are good donuts, but they're nothing like cider. This is typical of apple cider donuts generally, not Cross E Ranch specifically. 7/10.

My state job had a birthday lunch for Libras, and I had a Kneaders Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie. Theirs is no better or worse than a typical cookie of this kind. 7/10.

Kellogg's Pumpkin Pie Spice Frosted Mini Wheats just have a vague fall-esque flavor. As a pumpkin item, they're not great, but Frosted Mini Wheats are one of my go-to cereals, so I'm happy to buy them each year, then buy more when I run out. 7/10.

My mom loves to put sugar-free Torani syrup in water, so we have Torani Sugar Free Pumpkin Pie Syrup. It adds benign flavor to anything, but it's nothing like pumpkin pie. 6/10.

I also enjoy Kellogg's Pumpkin Spice Special K, which has Special K flakes with flavored clusters. Again, not really pumpkiny, but a pleasant cereal. 7/10.

I've had this Great Value Candy Corn Flavored Syrup in the fridge for at least four years, because I don't go through that much syrup. It's pretty generically sweet. 5/10.

Great Value Pumpkin Spice Flavored Syrup has slightly more flavor, but it's an artificial flavor. 5/10.

Great Value Pumpkin Spice & Ginger Trail Mix is Walmart's proprietary brand, and it's not as good as Target's trail mixes. I like the candy-coated almonds. It also has candied ginger coated in chocolate. I don't mind them per se, but they're a little strong in a trail mix. 6/10.

I haven't been impressed with many Lesser Evil flavors, but I enjoy Lesser Evil Pumpkin Spice Popcorn more than I expected. 7/10.

Kind Pumpkin Spice Thins are a pleasant bar that I sometimes like taking on a run. I hope I can find them again when I go through them. 7/10.

When I live with people with lots of pills and supplements, I sometimes encounter weird things like Bariatric Pal Caramel Apple Calcium Citrate Soft Chews. They taste more like caramel than apple. They're pretty good for a calcium supplement. 7/10.

I'm used to regular dish soap, so Dawn Pumpkin Spice Powerwash Dish Spray is new to me. You spray a foam on the dishes. It has the kind of scent I expect in a fall boutique, not something I would eat (which is probably a good thing for soap). 7/10.

I enjoyed my JCW's pumpkin spice shake, but I can't say it's different than a typical pumpkin shake. 7/10.

Maverik often has pumpkin things, and the Maverik Pumpkin Danish is new this year. It was fine but not too memorable. 7/10.

I've had Trader Joe's Pumpkin Body Butter in my cupboard for years. The texture is nicer than many lotions, but it smells like coconut—not like pumpkin or spice at all. 6/10.

As far as taffy goes, Taffy Town Pumpkin Taffy is a winner because it actually has pumpkin in it. 8/10.

I don't love dried apples, or pretzels in trail mix, so Great Value Caramel Apple Trail Mix is just OK. 6/10.

One thing about buying seasonal cleaning supplies is that it motivates me to clean, so I was happy to buy Mr. Clean Spiced Harvest Multi-Surface Cleaner. Like the Dawn soap above, it has a pleasant smell, but not really something edible. Since I dilute it, this will last for years and years, especially if I only use it in the fall. 7/10.

I've been getting Thomas' Pumpkin Spice Bagels for more than a decade, because they're wonderful and actually made with pumpkin! I'm generally not big on bagels, but I love eating these with a slice of cheddar cheese. 9/10.

Milk Barn is a new dairy shop in Centerville, and I wanted to try Milk Barn Apple Crisp Ice Cream. I was extremely disappointed they put a plastic spoon in it before I could tell them I brought my own. Single-use plastic legitimately fills me with intense guilt. The ice cream was fine. Can I let you in on a secret? People often talk about how "[Insert brand here] is the best brand of ice cream I've ever had!" But for me, ice cream is ice cream. I can't say that one brand is better than another. (Also, I generally prefer baked goods over ice cream.) 7/10.

One unusual item is Nut Pods Candy Corn Coffee Creamer. "But Mark," you say, "you don't drink coffee!" That is true. But what kind of Mormon foodie would I be if I didn't have a container of Postum on hand? I was amazed how much this drink tasted like candy corn! But I don't know if it was the Postum, or the creamer, or the combination. 7/10.

I had Kirkland Signature Pumpkin Pie at a ward activity, and it's reliably predictable. 8/10.

They also provided Panera Autumn Squash Soup, which is better than you expect. 7/10.

And finally, the JJ Donuts Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin was OK. Muffins are dense, and the cream cheese filling was a little tangy for my taste. 6/10.