WORTH BEING AWAKE FOR

The picture above was a few days ago. It was about 6:45 am and the sunrise was awesome. The lake was completely flat and the reflection from the other side was fantastic. However it was short lived. By the time I went from the porch to the kitchen to the porch the intensity of the colors had already waned. I did take a few pictures though. My cough is still around and becoming very annoying not only for me but for the poor souls who have to listen to me. I am now well immersed in "Skills" classes for the upcoming tax season. I have 10 sessions at 3 hours each. I did test out of the city theory class so that gives me one free morning. Right now I am working in December but I only put down two days of availability. The office will only be open 3 days but I cannot do more especially in December. I cannot believe that Christmas is just a mere 5 weeks away. Yikes!!!

ITS TOO EARLY

I must be starting to feel better since I was up by 6:30am. I put a load of laundry in and looked out the window while passing through the bedroom. When lo to my wandering eyes should appear a deer breakfasting on our plants. The blinds obscured a good picture but she then moved to the family room window. It was still quite dark but I was able to take two passable pictures. I was surprised that they were out this late in the night/early morning and in the season. I would have thought that there was still plenty of food in their habitat. However, I do realize that the habitat is diminishing. We usually see them only in the winter. The really sad part is that JR and I watched her as she trimmed the rose plant for us and did not shoo her away. A young buck came over shortly after we saw her but by then it was lighter and they could sense us in the window and bolted. I am fascinated that they come this close to the house. In past winters they have bedded down for the night next to our bedroom window (apparently our collective snoring does not bother them). I am hoping today to actually accomplish something other than coughing all day. Oh well, time will tell.

TOUGH WEEK

This is one of those postings that has me somewhat whining. I got the bug last week and spent the better part of the week coughing and feeling miserable. I went to the doctor on Friday knowing that I had a big weekend coming up and just checking in to make sure I was on target and that my lungs were relatively clear. He said drink lots of fluids, "rest"! and prescribed an inhaler. Saturday we were gone from 9am to midnight (so much for rest) and Sunday we played golf. On Saturday my daughter-in-law took both her mother and me to lunch and to a Trans Siberian Orchestra concert for our birthdays. The first part of the performance was Christmas oriented and to be honest I was not able to follow the storyline and the music was ok but felt long. At the intermission (I thought the performance was over) they introduced the members and then said enjoy the second half of the show. Well! I was not looking forward to it but the second half was absolutely awesome. They combined classical pieces with incredible lasers and lights to create an almost heavy metal concert feeling. Granted, I never went to a heavy metal show but it must be similar. Two pieces that were fabulous were Canon in D and Carmina Burana. I was awe-struck. On Sunday we were supposed to play a scramble with three other couples with mixing up the couples (this is where the whining comes in). I had agreed to play only because it was going to be a scramble and I knew that I would not have to play every shot. Well unfortunately someone decided to do a 2 best ball with one score from the men and one from the women. I had a dilemma. We were playing with a couple that I did not know well. I felt that I could not just go home so I played. It was incredibly ugly golf (we did not use my score on any holes), very depressing and physically more that I could manage. I felt terrible that I was not able to be more cheerful and peppy. The good news is that all three teams tied!! So at least I did not cost my partners any money. We then met at one of the houses for chili (two kinds), cornbread and wine, I brought my own Pepsi One. It was JR's birthday and I know he enjoyed being out and not having to cook his own dinner. I am going to hang up the clubs for the year. The golf has ceased to be fun and if we get nice days I will find another way to get fresh air and exercise. My small camera is not very good but you can admire the colors, the red in the berries and the incredibly blue sky. Not bad for November.

FACES OF FALL PART V

This will be my last Faces of Fall. The weather is turning and the wind is causing those beautiful trees to lose their leaves. So I will put the last few interesting pictures on the blog. Changing topics, it has been a very calm and gentle week. There has not been much different going on. I did play 9 holes of golf on Thursday. It was supposed to be a bit sunnier than it was and so we only played the 9 holes. However, anytime I can play any golf in late October is a gift. Last night we went to an Okoberfest party. It was a lot of fun with a lot of people - 85 to be exact. The food was good. The sauerbraten with ginger gravy was excellent. Yesterday afternoon a very dear friend hosted a luncheon to thank all of us who helped after her hip replacement. It is very easy to help those who are gracious and kind to begin with. It was a pleasure to do so. I also went to the movies on Senior Day (ticket was $3.50) and saw Amelia. I know that the movie was panned by critics but as I said after watching Julie/Julia, I did not know much about Amelia Earhart other than snippets about her final flight. Therefore it was interesting to learn other facets of her life. I would recommend the movie to anyone. As I said, a very calm and gentle week. Next week I hope to do some good old fashioned fall cleaning. UGH!!! That is not a favorite pasttime of mine.

FACES OF FALL PART IV

As some point those of you who read this will be tired of my pictures but I enjoy sharing them. An example of alternative math: One 45 degree day with wind at 15-20 mph *plus* one scarf and hat *plus* one Lands End coat that can stand up to -10 degrees *plus* silk longjohns, a mock turtleneck and a cashmere sweater = one third grade final football game. It was very very cold and even JR said he was cold and he is never cold. The game was won in the last couple of minutes by a score of 6 - 0. Our granddaughter is being treated for H1N1. She has not tested postive (she has been tested for flu but not the other one). It is a bit scary for all of us. Seth has had walking pneumonia twice and Brent has asthma. Julie is the only one without too many health concerns but nonetheless the concern for her is not lessened at all. I just hope all goes well.