A New Year

I like to look at a new year as a new beginning.  I'm always wanting to make resolutions and be a better person or do better things.  

Resolutions seem to be made to be broken.  I don't like making resolutions in January anyway.  In January you're still trying to figure out what happened to the last year and to remember to write the new year's date on your checks. It makes more sense to make them in February.  

I made no resolutions this year, but I thought about a few goals I would like to achieve.  

Like these: playing the piano; less knitting and more work; writing more letters and emails; and more blogging.  

I want to blog to record my life, It's a necessary thing to me, but the perfectionist in me seems to hold me back and I get anxious and then I don't want to blog at all and then I get anxious because I'm not blogging.  

I need to find a balance here. 

That would be a good goal, too.

That being said, let us start the blog.

 A new year with new things and loved traditions.

New

 I took a photo of the first sunrise of the year.

One of the things I love about our place is the east facing kitchen windows.  Every morning I look out to see the day and watch the sunrise.  It is different every morning, if not where the clouds are, then where the sun is. 

Tradition

My folks came to visit soon after the new year.  They always come to celebrate Lorene and Zane's birthdays which happen at this time.  

I didn't do any goal fulfilling things at this time, I was on vacation, and a very good one it was I enjoyed the whole time. 

We played games, we put puzzles together, We sat around visiting and reading.  We ate lemon meringue pie and chocolate frosted cookies.  It was too cold to want to go outside that week so we stayed in.  

New

 Lynette got her passport that week.  She is going to Vancouver over spring break because she worked really hard writing an essay on why she wants to study overseas and won a place for the trip.  

New

 Spaghetti squash needs to become a staple for our meals.  Not for me, but for Jim.  

New

A daughter made lemon meringue pie with no help (except advice) from mom. 

New

A photo of me for a change with a Barry-boy that will never be this age again. 

So, here is my first blog post of the new year.  Will anyone really care that Jim's loves spaghetti squash and we put together a puzzle?

Maybe they won't, but I think I will.

The Year Ends

This was a very good year.  

I am looking back on it and remembering all the things I did, some of the things I didn't do , some things I wish I had done.  

I'm glad I did my day by day posts, I'm glad I had a good garden.  I'm glad I had vacations and visits and company.  

I'm glad that I had everyday days.

I want more of them.

It has been so cold this fall heading into winter Jim hasn't done much work.  They don't work Fridays in the winter which meant long weekends at home for projects and enjoying family visits.  

We started that vacation with our daughter coming back home from college.  Even if she didn't come from very far, there is a familiar coat hanging on the hooks.

Jim's sister came to visit and she has been longing to paint the living room so that was in the plan, but first we had all three boys during mom's volunteer time. 

Those lower shelves have two baskets that hold my cookie cutters and various other small tools and trinkets, and make a lovely noise when dumped and great play toys as well.

  

 I was glad for the chance to take everything off the walls and make a fresh start.  I have wanted to paint that mirror forever, and finally got around to it with the painting fever going on.

Lynette's choice for a holiday treat were these cinnamon roll pancakes that are making their way around pinterest.  They were pretty easy to make, but we had a hard time with the melted butter and cinnamon in the bag.  At first it was too hot to hold, and then after cooling was too stiff to squeeze nicely onto the pancakes.  And the taste?  Only ok.  

Jim's sister brought us Spam for a treat.  I know people make fun of it.  We ate a lot of it when I was a kid.  I know I liked it then.  She says buy the real thing or else,

(you will regret it)

I made cut-out cookies to take to Lorene's for supper on Christmas day.  I haven't made any for a few years.  They were a family tradition when I was a kid, and when my kids were little. They were raised with soft cookies and some of these must have been thinner than others.  Who wouldn't want to find this note among the cookies? 

Christmas day was a nice day.  A beautiful day for the time of year and since we've had more below freezing days than not since the middle of November.  The temperature was in the 40s so Zane got his birthday present early and had one good days of jumping before the temps plunged again.  

December 29th.  A lovely fall of snow, but after my folks got here the next day, the wind blew all that snow around.  I'm glad I have a built in snow removal system.  

Mother/Daughter lunch date with our favorite.  Lo Mein.

Day by Day--November

I love this reminder of my days.

I'm not sure I want to do it another year.  I need another idea.  

And some self-discipline.

Some of these photos are rather lame.

The photos of people this month aren't very good. The main reason it that I don't have a very good camera, another is that I could remember to put the setting on 'active', the last reason, is those boys are active.  

November

2. Lynette's first pumpkin pie, using prepared pie crust (mine), all by herself.

3. 'Family' garland that came with a crafty weekend invitation with a special friend.

4. Pretty much self-explanatory.

5. This doctor's appointment marks the start of a battle on a decade's old plantar's wart.

6. Sunrise, I know, again.  The sunrise every morning is one of my favorite things about this place.

7. This is what happens when you try to get a 3-year old and a 1-year old in the same place at the same time to look the same way to get a photo,

8. I love my big wooden spoon.  I love how water and big spoons entertain toddlers for a long time.

9. My daughter's dorm.  We pick her up there every Sunday morning.

10. A box is one of the best toys ever for pre-schoolers.

11. Snow!! It's only November!!

12. The camera is in the hands of a one-year old!

13. Painting fabric paint on the bottom of my felted slippers is supposed to keep them from wearing out.

14. 8 degrees seems so cold for November.

15. This lovely card and candy from a dear friend on our crafty weekend.  (and where are the photos from the crafty weekend?, who knows? I think I was too busy playing not clicking.)

16. Now it's -3 degrees!!!  I am not ready for January weather in November.

17. Our favorite card game. 

18. This photo really belong to the crafty weekend, but I'm scrambling for photos in a few spots. This house is as cute inside as out. And I even got to stay there and look all around.

19. Sunrise through the apple tree.  I just love to see the sky on fire.

20. I forgot to take a photo of my actual sewing machine that was deemed unfixable in the hands of the repairman.  The tension knob was broken, and the stitch length adjuster (which had never worked properly) was frozen and broke. So, it is no longer with us. It was about 50 years old.  I am saddened, this is the kind of machine I learned to sew on, mom remembers sewing my baby clothes on it.  My machine was my sister-in-laws graduation present.  It was used then.  

21. Barry is in one of those cloth bins.  

22. I love the mindless watching of these bubble thingys.  I remember when I was a kid I would watch the bubble rise in a bottle of Cornhusker Lotion. It was thick and glutinous and worked just like these things.  I wonder if either are ever around anymore.

23. What I've been reading.  This is a good synopsis of the events running up to and through D-Day.  It also is a stark reminder of just how close we came to losing everything.

24. Love this scarf.  No pattern, just a picture and some measurements. One daughter's request.

25. I seriously love little boys in little mittens drinking from little mugs.

26. The boys decorated cupcakes at home for Thanksgiving while we were in Indiana.

27. Turkey, my favorite for thanksgiving. Except for the stuffing.

28. Covered bridge in Indiana.

29. Mississippi River Bridge.

30. I was getting desperate for filler.  It is too had to get state signs when you are going over rivers.  

December

1. Finished fancy knit baby afghan.  I love to work the patterns on these.

2. Me, by Barry. Ugh.

3. Scarf for my other daughter. Griffyndor. 

4. I closed out my safety deposit box, after months of wondering where on earth I put the second key.  I was resigned to pay for the missing key, but I found it by chance.  

5. Look very, very closely and you can see the fluttering hands over the keys.

6. 'Aren't you glad we're here to help you eat all these cookies you baked, Gramma?' Somewhere there is supposed to be a photo of the cookies we baked.  hmmm

Sigh, this didn't get downloaded on to the computer the first time around.  So, here it is.  Decorated by the illustrious company of Zane and Barry. 

Giving Thanks

I have just discovered it is past time for another day by day post.   '

I really wanted to tell my story about Thanksgiving first.  

Tell, not show, you'll find out why later.  

We went to Indiana to be with the Troyers for the holiday.  I like to take trips with my husband, we enjoy the visiting time and seeing new places.  

Seeing new places isn't nearly as exciting in late fall when everything is dull colored under cloudy skies.  And trips aren't nearly as exciting when driving through a state and a half with snowy wet roads at 31 degrees and visibility less than a mile.  

We got there unscathed, because we are old and cautious, not wanting to end up like some of those zipping past us that end up in the median later on in the day.  

It is lovely to be with new friends and to see new houses, new ideas for decorating, new traditions for the day, and eat lots of good food.

We had turkey there, just like we do at home.

It was stuffed--I haven't had that before.

We had mashed potatoes and gravy--check

Green beans with onions--we usually do that casserole with the fried onions on top.

Cheezy noodles--that was a new one but a keeper recipe anyhow.

Bread and buns with jelly and butter--check. 

What we didn't have:

black olives

sweet potatoes

corn.

We still stuffed ourselves beyond capacity, visited long around the table, washed the dishes (by hand, mind you, the dishwasher was broken), staggered into the living room and waited to be empty enough for pie.  

Now pie, that's tradition.  

We had pumpkin--I brought that.

And apple--brought that, too.

Cherry--yep, used to that.

Pecan pie--I've seen it, and only one bite ever has made it into my mouth.

Raisin--not sure about that one.  

I forgot to mention the table.  It was beautiful.  The lady of the house set it beautifully with a lovely set of dishes.  We had cheese cake in goblets, date pudding in pink depression glass bowls, sparkling grape juice in another goblet and a water glass.  

I had a lovely photograph of my table setting, but here is the only sadness of the whole trip.  When we were out driving around to see the country, on our way back, I got flustered and deleted all the pictures off my camera. 

 EVERY LAST ONE.  

(and I had no other battery for my other camera, it was at home)

There are no perfect pictures of one table setting with the turkey behind.  There is no photo of the longest covered bridge in the world.  There is no picture of the sunset that day.  

What I do have is not perfect, I took a few after the deletion, had a few on another camera and got a few off Jim's phone, but I was rather demoralized after all that.  

We really had a lovely time, we felt at home, these people fit in our lives just like...

well, I was going to say an old shoe, but that sounds kind of bad, or family, but you just take what you get there.  

Really, they are just our kind of folks.  

That's the best kind. 

This. Is. All, I. Have.

Dinner time

Beautiful dishes.

Madison, Indiana--tree city.  

The first tree grew out of the root itself, Now, they plant one.

We saw the cutest ever soap shop!

 Covered bridge, one of four in their county.

Over the Mississippi

We really did go out of state!

October Day by Day

I did a little better this month taking a photo every day with just one spot with "how long has it been since I took one?"

 This is life today.

September 

28. Menomonie, Wisconsin

29. My mailbox mum.  It is gorgeous. But you can see that.

30. Barry doesn't like bugs, but who should be afraid of a dragonfly?  It wasn't long before he was chasing them with me.

October

1. Wild hair on the trampoline.

2. Calm hair after the haircut.

3. Christian got a haircut, too.  These boys don't look so much like babies anymore, but little boys sure steal my heart.

4. The blue with pink clouds is rather a unique sunrise.

5. These are my mainstays.  I love tea from my kettle and wheat cereal for breakfast.

6. Here are two years worth of hair.

7. I've been doing some deep cleaning.  It was bedroom day today. It always gets worse before it gets better.

8. I love my sunrises.

9. Sorting Lego pieces, I find I have a lot of heads without bodies.

10. Portrait of me, by Zane.

11. The ubiquitous water bottle plus my second, and better water bottle holder.

12. These are old and beautiful pillow slips with tatting insertion.  They've gone to a new and more appreciative owner.

13. Me and the Giant Peach, with compliments to Roald Dahl. (Too bad I didn't think to have Jim hold it.

14. The "Betsy books" by Maud Hart Lovelace are some of my favorites.

15. I've discovered that these magic pops, sold in our new HyVee store and the only snacky type food I can eat comfortably.  They just melt away into nothing, because they are nothing. 

16. October's bright blue weather.  The blue and gold of October make it a favorite month.  We were on our way to Ogallala with a load of equipment for a job. Jim had to make an extra trip since they needed more loads than they had drivers and I went along for the ride.  Actually I think this was done on a Saturday, like the next one.

17. These glasses came from my Grandma Appleman.  I am very careful with them since I don't want the dishwasher to wash the pattern off.  I wonder how old they are.  I don't think they were used much, they are in pristine condition.

18. Woolly bear caterpillers.  About the only ones I can tolerate, However, my aversion to caterpillers does not extend to the furry ones.  Unless they are on me. 

19.  This day we spent several hours in Cottonmill park.  It was a perfect fall day.  We wandered around looking at the leaves and the geese and the caterpillers.  We drove around the park and just generally enjoyed the day!

20. Volunteer day with some of my favorite people.

21. It was foggy this morning.

22. I love the colors of harvest.  I am a grandchild of the soil. I love to watch the round of the seasons.

23. I planted a very small 1" tall morning glory plant that grew up that corn plant by my deck stairs. (See past day by day posts.)

24. Zane was home on a "mom goes to school today and gramma comes to watch us" day. This was a boy firefighter, the purple balloon was the lady.

25. This photo was posted on facebook by some interested parties.  This was a long time ago, like 20 years ago.  It is hard to believe that the little girl pictured is all grown up and a mama, and that my mama, is just a little older in that photo than I am now.  My hair is older than hers was, though.

26. More fog, and those fog photos ought to be shown bigger than this because they are really neat.

27. Violets blooming in the fall.

28. I love this little statue of the girl with the frog. It has moved from place to place among my flowers. Evening shadows are lengthening across the board Lynette painted.  The petunias were a volunteer surprise by the front door.

29. Lynette and I seem to be the only ones that enjoy this game, and she beats me every time.

30. Harvest is winding down for many farmers.  The shorn fields are as beautiful as the standing corn.

31. My hands.  When a three year old takes a photo, he's not really looking to see what he is getting.  This isn't a very good one of my hands.  I was thinking of those hands.  For 50 years they have served me well.  I hope I will use them to serve others.  

November

1. Our first (of several I hope) pumpkin pie.  We had two made by my daughter's hands. (And my head.)

Boys, Boys

As anyone knows who reads this blog, I look after my grandsons for a few hours on Fridays.  I try to remember to bring my camera along so I can take pictures if anyone does anything cute.  

Since looking after three boys is usually not a hands free activity I don't always get any.  

However, this is what we were doing while Christian was down for his nap. 

(In case anyone is worried about neglect, since we were outside and he was in, the monitor turned up all the way worked very well.)

Barry knows just how to run a motorcycle. 

Now, a camera in the hands of little boys...

 Selfie

(Sigh, I am old school, they know too much)

And, back in my hands.

These two can play fairly well together as long as Barry is following big brother.  You can see here, he wants to do things his way.

Look closely.

This a boy balloon fireman, the girl one was purple. 

Imagination and an energetic spirit fires this boy,

I am Cancer Free!

Ten days ago, I posted what I figured would be my last "cancer/recovery" post, but I was wrong.  

THIS will be the last post.

I had an appointment with my oncologist today.  I had previously done the x-ray he asks for. I had blood drawn, my blood pressure, oxygen levels and temperature taken.  Then we sit down for the routine, any new symptoms, pain, weakness, change? Are there any questions?  Are you eating well?  

I get my lungs checked, my lymph nodes checked.  This is all standard procedure. 

Then she goes out to bring back the doctor who comes in all smiles, "this a a milestone, this is the place we've been working for".  "You're two years past treatment, we don't need to check you so closely"

If I was to have a recurrence it would have happened by now.  

He didn't ask me the 40 million questions about how I am living my life like he usually does.  He just gently reminded me that I fought through a horrible time and now it's over.  

It's over.  

I feel weird.

  It's like somebody just gave me the keys to the rest of my life.  I feel like someone is letting go of a string and I'm flying away.  

There's a little piece in there that is frightened with the letting go.  

I guess it's just hard to believe it's real. 

I AM CANCER FREE!!!

I still have 6 month check ups for the next year or so.

Perquisite

Perks--That's what the title means.

That's was I get when I look after my two youngest grandsons while my daughter goes to class and volunteers.  The class time I spend at their house, the volunteering at mine. 

What I also get is tired.  But that is not what this post is about.  

It's about playdough, pickups and trailers, and Barry's smirk.

It's about a beautiful blue-eyed boy, tongue or no tongue.

It's about an outfit, three times around.

It's about the third boy in the Little Tykes car.

It's about photos taken mid-jump.

And photos of wild hair.

It's getting a smile everytime you ask, "say, cheese!"

And last, but not least, it's about a three year old boy, who is very afraid of any kind of bugs right now, getting brave enough to point out a dragon fly. 

October 6, 2014

Two years ago, to the day, I finished my treatments for a cancerous tumor in my sinuses.  

Two years ago I started the recovery process.
July 16th of that year I started the longest 2 1/2 months of my life.
6 weeks ago I was released from regular MRIs.  I am cancer free.

I am having a hard time writing this post.  I am hoping it is the last cancer related-to-me post I will ever make.
I want to write this as a reminder of those things that are not the same as they used to be.  I don't want to come off as whiny, since some things have changed for the worse, but I would like this to be an "I know where she's coming from" moment to someone out there who goes through something like this.
No one goes through any sort of cancer and treatment without forever feeling a little haunting fear.  

Thankfully, that fear isn't always there.  Life is busy enough to crowd it out most of the time.

However....
There are changes in my body that make it so I never will forget I had cancer.  There are things I have to push out of my mind and not think about because it makes me think about what I don't have instead of what I do.

My sinus tumor was spread throughout the sinus cavity in my forehead and down into one beside my nose and under one eye. In that space behind the forehead is the olfactory nerve, the nerve that tells the brain what things smell like.  The tumor was there so the nerve that does the smelling is gone. I can't smell anymore, nothing, and it isn't going to come back.  Many people don't realize that with the sense of smell gone, much of the sense of taste is gone, too.  I was told that I would have just the basic tastes, sour, salt, sweet, bitter, and umami.

 -----
Umami /uːˈmɑːmi/, a savory taste,is one of the five basic tastes,
(together with sweet, sour, bitter and salty). 
A loan word from the Japanese, umami can be translated as "pleasant, savory taste." This particular writing
was chosen by Professor Kikunae Ikeda from umai "delicious" and mi "taste."

People taste umami through receptors for glutamate, commonly found in its salt form as the food additive '

monosodium glutamate (MSG). For that reason, scientists consider umami to be distinct from saltiness.

-----

However, I don't have any sweet taste, except a little something in honey and fruit., that isn't really sweet, just different.

Because my tumor was large and very aggressive, I was given very aggressive treatment, two kinds of chemotherapy and radiation, all at the same time.  Both radiation and chemo make enough changes in the body that the side effects last a very long time.  They told me a year to 18 months.  Then they told me two years.  Some of the side effects are permanent. Some I didn't expect.  Some the doctors didn't expect.
I received the maximum dosages of radiation to the front part of my brain, my sinus area and my neck, to make sure that no rogue cancer cells escaped into my lymph system.  Radiation to the mouth kills the salivary glands and once they are dead, they don't come back so I drink water all the time to compensate for the resulting dry mouth and to facilitate swallowing. I have water handy at home and carry a water bottle out of the house.  The radiation produced scar tissue in my throat, essentially making it smaller and making swallowing more difficult.
Food management is a major issue in my life today, and will probably always be.  Chewing is harder because of loss of muscle strength and lack of the saliva that breaks down food as I chew, Scar tissue affects how wide I can open my mouth.  My tongue isn't as effective for the same reasons as above for controlling the food in my mouth.
I can eat many things, but they need to be wet, or able to get wet.  Some things I can use water to help get things out of my mouth and into the esophagus.  Some things I would rather avoid.
Spicy foods, citrus, and vinegar still burn my mouth which is rather like starting over two years ago with brand new skin in there.  I am hoping my mouth will toughen up yet over time.
Food isn't nearly as enjoyable as it was.  For years I wanted my life to live by the rule,
"eat to live, not live to eat".  I have achieved that goal.  I don't eat because I enjoy the taste, I eat because I want to live.
That used to be a problem, and when my metabolism went down, my weight went up.  I am thinner now, not because of any great will power or decisions on my part, but because eating is hard for me.
Some days it would be easier not to eat at all, but thankfully I get hungry, and I am also coming to realize that without food, I have no energy and get depressed.

Another side effect that I am having a hard time coming to terms with is my lack of energy.  I can't do as much as I used to and after two years of waiting, this may be all I get.  Thankfully, I can do most of my own work and some extra, but I can't get everything done I used to do.  Somethings just have to wait.  It's like I aged 20 years in that 2 1/2 months.  Most people get 20 years to do that.

One totally unexpected side effect was the affect that radiation had on my hearing.  My Eustachian tubes do not work properly since I had radiation and caused fluid buildup behind my ear drums resulting in hearing loss.  To counteract that I had tubes put in my eardrums, which eventually fell out leaving holes in the ear drums which also cause hearing loss.  So, I hear about half as well as I used to.  When I first went to the ear doctor about the hearing loss, he says very casually, "oh, that can happen after radiation."
I don't know whether it is better to know these things before treatment or after.
Most of me thinks after since I had enough to face just getting through treatment and it is easier to be thankful afterwards for what is left.

Yes, I've lost of a lot of things.  My smell, most of my taste, and a good share of my hearing.
My voice has changed and I can't sing decently anymore.  

I've lost my previous energy, and some of my brain power.

I've lost weight.  

But...

I have not lost my life, my sight, my cheerfulness and my enjoyment of life.  

I have gained a greater appreciation for my family, my friends, and my life.  

My life is different from what it was.  

It will always be different.  

In some ways, I look ahead with trepidation.  What will old age be like for someone like me?

That, and knowing that few people really understand what life is like for me are the hardest things for me to face.  

You know, everyone has something to face, and I don't know what they are facing either.  It is hard to understand just what someone else is going through unless you have walked in their shoes.  

Yes, life could be better, but it could also be so much worse.  

And I am thankful for everything I have.

Here are a few links that mark the changes.
During treatment.

One year.

Today.

August/September--Day by Day

I really lost the ball on this "take a photo every day" during this cycle.  At one point I woke up and thought, "I haven't taken any photos lately!"  That spell was over a week.  

So, what I have done is used 35 photos taken over the course of what should have been the 5 weeks of consecutive days in the August/September cycle and used those.  

They were not take one a day, but they were all taken for a reason, some with this post in mind, some not.  They are numbered in numerical order, not calendar order. 

1. Our pullets are laying eggs, so now we get a double yolk-er now and again.

2. Every morning I notice the sunrise.  It is new every morning.

3. This was taken August 26th.  The day I went for what turned out to be my final MRI, barring exceptional circumstances.  These are my MRI socks.  

4. This mug from my dad, "What cancer cannot take from you It cannot take away your faith, shatter your hope or lesson your love.  It cannot destroy true friendship, invade the soul, or take away eternal life.  It cannot conquer your spirit"

5. A Friday babysitting day, Lorene is in class, I am watching the two little boys.  

6. August 27th, Barry turned three.

7. We celebrated Barry's birthday on the 29th, with a construction birthday cake.

8. I remember these dishes from when I was a kid.  They were the "special" ones, but they weren't favorite's of my mom's so she gave them to Lorene, who loves them.

9. Barry helped Papa build a sandbox for his birthday present.

10. Zane spent Barry's birthday hidden in a cave of blankets, downstairs, away from the party lest he infect everyone with a stomach virus.

11. Callaway Kite Fly, August 30th.  It was a pretty neat day, watching all sorts of colorful flags flying.  The best was one with 5 fish attached to one line, Each fish was over 10 feet long.

12. One rooster in amongst the hens.  He made good broth, but tough eating.

13. I love this little vase that usually hangs on my window.  Those little pink roses I also love.  There is just something about pink roses.  Besides, I carried them when I was married.

14. My brother gave us a tie-dye pair of pajamas when Lorene was little.  She wore them from age 2-5 and then Lynette wore them until they were too small.  When Zane was born Tim sent him a little onesie suit of the same stuff.  Now, all three of those boys have worn the little one, and boy2 is on the large one.

15. When you want chocolate chip cookies and all you have is mini m&m's....

16. The "three cuspideers" together at York after many years not together at York. 

17. Irrigation has ended.  The corn is drying.

18.  Pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting.

19. Another Friday babysitting.  Barry likes my homemade playdough best.

20. Scrapbooking again.  Lynette's graduation book, her photos until the end of 2014 and most of my stuff is going OUT!! Sorted and thrown.

21. Yay! Grapes from a friend.  I will sort them and put them in the freezer to be made into juice and jam in the middle of winter.

22. I have the two little boys on Monday afternoons while mama is volunteering with the Activity Director at the nursing home.  This Little Tykes car is now on multi-generational use.

23. This is a third boy wearer of this cute little outfit, too.

24. Anyone remember Ticonderoga pencils?

25. I love the sunsets, too, but I don't know how well the pink shows up in-between the leaves.

26. John Deere shirts.

27. At the zoo with great-grandpa, gramma and papa, grammy and auntie, mom, dad, and three little boys. I was worn out with all that walking. 

28. Our ash tree is rushing the season.
29. Harvest has started.
30. It is embarrassing to think how long this sign has been in the cupboard without being on the wall for Jim to see.  I deep cleaned the cupboard, found it and with the help of 'command strips'...viola.
31. I've got my things ready to grab and go tomorrow.  My purse, my knitting and my ever present water bottle.
32. Leaves are falling in pretty colors in Wisconsin.
33. Barns and dairy farms are a big feature of the area we were in.
34. Our weekend was more special than colored trees.
35. Sunday go-to-meeting shoes.