Of Roofs, Batman, and Pumpkins.

So what was it that we were doing instead of posting the pictures over the last few days? Well, I wish I could say there was one big exciting thing that was going on, but alas that is not the case. Instead, we spent the weekend doing little odds and ends, most of which are not even remotely blog-worthy. A few of the highlights:

• We may have gotten rid of the beast of a window-unit air-conditioner left by the previous owners a few weekends back, but there was still the little matter of the DirecTV dish that was making the front of the house oh-so-ugly. So on the gorgeous autumnal day on Saturday I crawled out of our bedroom window onto the roof above the patio with our electric screwdriver and tackled it, the whole time singing that little song about the girl asking for proof. Woohoohoo woohoohoo indeed.
  
  The end result: some stripped shingles which may need to be fixed, a much prettier front view of the house, and a leftover mini satellite dish which goes for $25 on ebay and will likely end up in the dumpster:
  
  
  
  
  
  
• I spent some time struggling with my grandfather's grandfather clock and trying to get it put back together. My parents say that the clock stopped working at some point before they so generously transported it to us, but I can't even figure out how to reassemble it to see what is wrong. I went online to find the instruction manual, but the only ones available are for more...shall we say 'contemporary' clocks. I think I'm going to have to call (and, worse yet, pay) someone to come fix it. Ugh.
  
  
• I unpacked and alphabetized the cd's and put them in the racks in the living room. Yes, even the Everclear cd.
  
  
  
  
• While I didn't get around to putting together the new bookshelves -- that project has to wait until after I paint the library a deep blue (we're thinking of painting it either Braves Blue or Rice Owls Blue but certainly it will be something far more manly than the pink it currently is) which will hopefully happen this weekend -- but in the meantime I did read the plans and fantasize about building a secret passage that could be triggered by a book on the bookshelf, Batman style.
  
  OK, not really, but how awesome would that be? Seriously, go look at those pictures.
  
  
• Autumn means one thing and one thing only here in the Revivalized house: autumn squashes. We may have a ridiculous amount of summer squashes growing in our yard, but my heart belongs to butternut and acorn squashes and pumpkins. And while I love pumpkin ravioli and similar dishes, when it comes to cooking these squashes for ourselves I tend to stick with the soups. And it is with this in mind that I present to you the first squash soup of the season.
  
  It turned out a bit fruitier than I normally make it -- possibly because I roasted the squash in apple cider rather than water, and possibly because the squash was more of a pumpkin than a butternut -- but it still had enough garlic and ginger to be quite tasty. Which is good, because I made about seven gallons of it. If you want to come over and try some, just let us know. Next up: The First Mole of the Season!