Another midweek update

 Just like last week, I'm doing an extra blog post in the middle of the week, since I will have a busy weekend.

On Sunday, I picked grapes for the annual grape juice season. I love how it just tastes like fall whenever I have it. But I have found that I don't like juice as much as I used to. I have started to realize how much sugar I consume, and I can't handle it like I used to. If I have too much sugar, I will wake up at 4 a.m. and be awake for two hours. I have to limit my intake of grape juice.

On Monday evening, my ward went on a hike up the Deuel Creek Trail in Centerville. It was my third time there, and I remembered why I don't go there more often. The trail is rocky and hard to follow, and sometimes it is slippery and steep. And it's also where I had an awkward date back when I was still dating women. It is pretty though.

We hiked to these rope swings, and a condescending stranger pressured someone in our ward to get on them. It did not end well. 

And on the way down, I twisted my ankle again, right as I thought it was healed from last time. Luckily, it wasn't as bad as other times. I bought an ankle brace the next day, and it might have to be a regular part of my running apparel, since that ankle is more prone to twisting.

Tuesday was the presidential debate, but I had no desire to watch it, for the same reason I don't read comments on the internet—it would just make me mad. Plus, I already know who I'm voting for. Instead, I opted to bake tomato-zucchini cobbler and grape-peanut bread while listening to happy music by Hollow Coves, the National Parks, and Kacey Musgraves.

The next day, I did listen to the gubernatorial debate in the background while I was working. And I really don't know who to vote for. I am so disappointed that Spencer Cox has sold out to the far right. But I lost respect for Brian King when he teamed up with Phil Lyman, an absolute nut job, to make fun of Cox's "Disagree Better" initiative, which I think is his most important contribution. And libertarianism in general makes me uneasy, but Robert Latham seemed least combative. Oh well, I won't get my ballot for a month or so.

Yesterday, I also had to bring home three new Squishmallows. I'm getting better at not buying as many, but the fruitcake, swamp monster, and potion were unique enough for me to get.

And tonight I ran again. Some of the leaves are changing, but so far they're not very vibrant.

And here are this week's dreams so far:

Mark's pet pig chews on plastic Easter grass and won't stay out of Mark's room

Mark's mom's distant relative buys the most expensive house in Utah, and tourists are always visiting it

Mark goes to a burger restaurant that has entrees inspired by The Addams Family

Mark swims freestyle on the ground next to an apartment complex where Shane is hanging out

Bountiful holds three small St. Patrick's Day parades in March instead of one big one, and Mark tries to find a green Airheads candy

Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble break into a bank.

Mark eats his homemade pineapple salsa.

a foreign gift shop in a mall sells Latter-day Saint books and gifts

***

I have had a soft opening of pumpkin season. So you know what that means? The return of pumpkinundation roundup! This is my tenth year!

SoCupcake is a bakery in Millcreek, near my state offices. This is a SoCupcake Salted Caramel Pumpkin Cupcake. I think cupcakes are cumbersome to eat, so I'm glad the fad has faded, but I still really enjoyed this cupcake. The pumpkin cake was typical, but the salted caramel frosting tied it all together. 8/10.

Great Value Pumpkin Spice Flavored Syrup has been in my fridge for a few years, since I don't go through much syrup. It just has some vague spice flavor. 5/10.

And I think the Great Value Candy Corn Flavored Syrup has been in the fridge even longer. It's just generically sweet. 5/10.

I got these Kencko Pumpkin Spice Instant Smoothie packets last year, and I just finished the last one. You mix it with milk, and I think it's meant to go with vegan milk, but I use cow's milk. The mix tastes like someone spilled a container of pumpkin spice on the beach, then just gathered up the sand. 4/10.

And it seems appropriate to put this here. Two years ago, I bought this book, Pumpkin: The Curious History of an American Icon by Cindy Ott. It came out in 2012, but I didn't hear of it until more recently. (In 2012, I was still entertaining antihistory thoughts and was just dipping my toes into the field.) And I had a lot of things going on the last two falls. But I finally started it this week! And so far, I find it fascinating. I just love that there are cultural histories about these niche topics. If I had known cultural history was a branch of history, I might have actually enjoyed history when I was younger. Anyway, I can't give it a rating yet, because I just started it.