October 18, 2025

As usual, time just gets away with life. I am still kicking, but was surprised that 3 weeks had passed so quickly. 

Here goes a catch up post.

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I have been stitching on 2 things. This first one I was enjoying, but I came across something that would make a wonderful Christmas gift if I can finish it. 

First up is the one I have been working on for fall.

The pattern is below and I think because of the pattern that AIDA will work quite well.

I ordered it from 123 Stitch and it may have to be finished for Fall 2026, since I did come across a pattern for the gift. It is a 12 Days of Christmas pattern and I immediately thought of a good friend who has helped me so much in the past few years. She has held my hand through so much of Jeff's diagnosis of Parkinson's so... if I can finish it that would be nice. I won't worry about it, just try.

Here is the pattern from Stoney Creek. My friend Anne loves the Christmas lights at Calloway Gardens. I specially remember the 12 Days of Christmas from last year when we went together. 

I am stitching them altogether in a grid and thinking a quilted type finish to hang on a door would be a nice finish. We will see what I come up with when I finish the stitching. I started from the bottom and plan to do 4 rows of 3. I have a little more to stitch on number 10.

Now, for some things going on here in the last 3 weeks...

I finally decorated for fall inside and now I feel like life is going by very rapidly. I always feel like fall is the fastest season. I am not sure why, but before you know it is Thanksgiving and people have already forgotten that and have decorated for Christmas. I am a huge Thanksgiving fan. 

I think the weather has been amazing here. It is not what people think of when they think of fall, but it is beautiful nonetheless. 

Blue skies. Perfect warm weather. Lights changing but still giving me plenty of it. Cotton fields a bloom still while some has been harvested and you get those big beautiful bales. All of it reeks of fall in northwest Florida.

I did plant my orange pansies yesterday. I love that they will take me through the winter.

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Little Valerie at church in one of the dresses Mama smocked for Lindsay all those years ago. She is a cutie in it.

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We have had another home improvement project this month. It was a quick one and only took a couple of hours. I mentioned earlier that after the removal of the pine trees the kitchen and living room got tons of sun and heated up pretty intensely.

We have thought about lots of options, but Jeff remembered at our previous home we had one of those half circle windows above the French doors in a vaulted great room. It let in a lot of sun and heat in the afternoons. We had gotten a window tinting on it and it had solved the issue. That was 35 years ago, so our thoughts were it would be much improved now.

We had them do the bay windows in the kitchen pictured above and the French doors in the living room right behind my stitching chair. That is all we did. I had really observed the situation for a while and think that will take care of it. We decided we can always add more windows if needed. 

The day we had them install was an overcast day, so we couldn't really tell what it would be like.

You can see that is it darker than the doors out to the deck by the table. We didn't want them all done because it will make the room a good bit darker. We have had several weeks to think it over and I must say we are good with the decision. At first it was liking looking through some lighter sunglasses, but the view is not obstructed with curtains or blinds. We are totally used to the new look now.

The outside does have a darker look, but we have dark screens so we got out on the boat the next day and it is not an issue at all. In fact, the next picture the doors do not have film on them....

and the ones below are the ones that we covered by my stitching chair in the living room. 

We just didn't notice much from the boat so I think we are all good. 

The plus side is if we ever sell, this is removable if future owners didn't like it.

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Jeff is pictured with Paul Allen's dog, Dansby below. They were at the vet. You may want to caption it and then I will tell you what was happening.

The day before Paul Allen arrived home to discover Dansby had eaten 2 boxes of raisins. If you don't know, raisins are highly toxic and can cause kidney failure. Paul Allen gets home after picking up Miles and I take Valerie to him about 5 minutes after he arrives home. I walk in and he is on the phone with the vet. They told him if he could get Dansby there in 20 minutes they could see him, otherwise it would be an emergency vet. I told him to go. I had the kiddos. 

They gave him a shot to cause him to throw up. He threw up 36 raisins and had to drink about a liter of charcoal water. He was fine the remainder of the day. They wanted to take his bloodwork the next morning to make sure he was all good, so Jeff took him in the next day. He was sitting on the floor, but decided he needed to be closer to Jeff while waiting. Fortunately, he is fine.

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Now, for a funny...

Miles and Palmer were talking and Palmer who takes after me and loves dogs. I mean as much as me.

So, he asked Miles if he liked Dansby. Miles said, "Not really, but my dad really does."

This is funny on many accounts. The conversation between a 3 year old and a 4 year old, but also truth. Miles has no interest in the dog. Palmer can't imagine that.

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We went as family to Auburn last weekend. We had bought tickets for the kids to go to the game and we kept the grandchildren. It also turned out that long time friends were there as well.

A little backstory...

Jeff and the other Jeff have been friends since junior high. They were roommates in Auburn. I met Jeff in our apartment complex and the other Jeff met his wife in that same complex too. They lived here in Fort Walton all of our kids' lives. We did a lot of life together. Lots of Auburn trips were made with our 2 (Lindsay and Paul Allen) and their 3 boys. It has been ages since all 9 of us have been together. And of course, now they are married with kids too. Jeff and his wife Nancy have a home on the same street as us in Auburn. Their permanent home is in Huntsville. 

We were altogether for the first time in ages. I thought the below picture was just precious.  Sam, the same age as Paul Allen and the father of twin boys and one on the way was making them all tell each other their names. I put stars on the ones that you could see their faces and are not mine. One of the twins is kind of hidden behind Palmer. There were 7 kids, 8 if you count Valerie.

They had lots of fun and there were some tired boys for Jeff and I to watch. Didn't have too much trouble getting them to bed.

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Tucker has turned 7. I can not even believe that. 7 years ago he made me a grandmother. One of my best titles.

He is now old enough for a big bike. I feel like it is a new era for him.

He can ride it and Palmer not to be outdone has taken his old bike and will have it down soon. 

My life is completely busy with the kiddos and my mom and just the regular things of life. Sometimes I long for it to be a little less chaotic, but I would not change a thing about living near family. The boys are playing fall ball and it seems like someone always has an issue like a dog eating raisins. We took Lindsay's dog to the vet for a UTI 2 weeks ago. I am just glad I can help them out. 

I am thinking about making a list of all the things I can do in my sewing room or around the house for the months of November, December, and January when the sun goes down too soon. I want to try and avoid going to sleep too early. It is already happening. I need a list of things that I am mostly sitting to do but will keep me awake during those months for at least until 9:00.

We will see how successful I am. Determined not to dread those days this year!!!

For now, enjoying fall in Florida,

Sandy

Catching Up

Catching Up can be seen in two different ways: one is that feeling I have of playing a game of "Catch UP" over the last 2.5 weeks or two, it could be just letting one know what is going on over here in Blog Land. 

I will go with what has been going on here in my little corner. I finished my third round of antibiotics. This time I am much better. Something just kept holding on to me keeping me coughing which is an exhausting thing in itself.

The Christmas tree was stood in its corner on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. I have bought one from the same place now for three years. They are the freshest and it smells so good. It didn't get decorated until the Saturday after Thanksgiving which meant Miles saw it on two occasions all bare, so that when he arrived the Monday after Thanksgiving he admired it much. He said, "I love your ornaments, Mimi," which made Mimi very happy. Palmer has been by also and admired it. 

These days there seems to be a lot of fretting over getting Christmas up early. I will admit the tree is a wonderful addition to the long dark evenings, but I hate being in a rush any more. In fact, I have just downright put my foot down about being rushed. It is not easy folks, but I am trying. Now, when I share all the catching up post you may not think I have succeeded but I am trying. 

I saw a book mentioned on Instagram called, Thanksgiving: A Time to Remember by Barbara Rainey. A quote from the first few pages...

"Our national observance of Thanksgiving is unique. It is both distinctly Christian and exclusively American, a holiday for celebrating faith, family, and freedom."

She goes on to say it is a holiday of rest. "We gather together to ask the Lord's blessings"  is a line from the famous hymn sung at Thanksgiving when I was a child. I think it sums up Thanksgiving well and why I try to make sure it has its place before Christmas. 

Then however, this girl is ready for all the Christmas including the songs, the trees, the lights, the wonder of it all through the eyes of my grandsons.

As for Thanksgiving week....

there were beach visits...

Okaloosa Island the first part of that week.

There were 2 family gatherings at my house. The first was pizza on Tuesday night with the whole family. Kristan, our niece was here from Texas with her family. I didn't take one single picture. I don't know what that says about me!

Then we met again for Thanksgiving and had a wonderful feast. Again, I didn't take pictures, well one. My Lindsay was not here for the second meeting. She had her in-laws in town so I was supposed to send a picture of the spread.

On that day, I think I was just tired but happy. Lindsay usually coordinates pictures. She was missed on that account.

Let's just say, Kristin's twins will be unrecognizable to even long time readers the next time I post a picture of them. They are now freshmen in high school and are growing up fast.

There were more beach visits...

Gulf Islands National Seashore between Navarre and Pensacola.

Looking towards Pensacola. The Gulf was like glass two days later. Perhaps the most beautiful place on Earth.

The kids did come over for other times and loved fishing off the dock.

Miles tried to hand Tucker a shrimp to put on his hook, but Tucker said, "No way."

Palmer showed him how it is done. 

In the past couple of weeks, there have been lots of flag football games for Tucker. My goodness, these are fun too watch. 

There has been decorating.

Working on a few home repairs along the way. Remember all that water damage. I have been trying to restain the window sills and baseboards during nap times which means it is slow progress, but still it is progress. Nothing much to show yet. In fact, when I thought I had done such a good job, Jeff had the nerve to tell me it needed a second coat. Bah Humbug!

Fall is full peak in Fort Walton Beach. It always arrives in December and it is quite pretty, but most have moved on past thoughts of fall. I have been enjoying the walks and views though. Every tree is on fire. I didn't expect such a pretty fall since it has been dry this year, but it is showing off this year.

Again, no pics. What kind of blogger have I turned into?

December flew in here, but I have all the decorations up and the presents bought. I have one more to wrap so I am feeling quite good about that.

I am off to sell Mother's car on Thursday in Pensacola. That is a big deal and honestly will be a burden off my shoulders. That is all I will say there.

I will try to be back next week with more than just the diary of my life. I didn't mean to take a blog break, but I think I needed it. I am going to break a few more days and hopefully catch up with everyone midweek next week and become a more sociable blogger.

The end of year roses are sometimes some of the prettiest. This one is "Oklahoma." She was out there all by herself so I went down and clipped her so I could enjoy her on the counter.

Until next time,

Sandy

A Lighthouse and More

Yesterday, the Farmer's Almanac had an Instagram post that said, "As November 21st, so the winter." Then it said, 

farmersalmanac

This old saying suggests that the weather on November 21 sets the pattern for the rest of winter.

Well, the weather here yesterday was a winter I can live with. The fall has been mild and I am sure to some, it hasn't not been like the fall they welcome, but for me it has been just right.

I saw snow happening in Ohio on Instagram, but here it was sunny and bright and yes, cool. Cool for Florida standards. I chuckled when I took Mama for an appointment and saw a lady wearing boots. We more native southerners and especially those as close to the coast as me think winter has arrived for sure and out comes the winter attire. I think what gets me the most in winter is the shorter days with clouds. I need my sunlight as I am sure I have droned on too much here on this blog.

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I finished my Pensacola Lighthouse stitch. 

I love how it turned out. I added the script at the bottom and the compass rose on the upper left as I felt it needed something in that area to balance the stitch.

The day after I finished I saw kids from here had gone on a field trip to the lighthouse. I loved seeing it right after I had finished stitching. The photos were great of the kids at the top and the building too.

My plan is to make a Florida wall. I am taking something down in my bedroom to accommodate this idea. My next stitch is some sandpipers on the beach. I actually have several patterns already bought to stitch for the wall. Stay tuned. 

One thing I have gone back to: is just stitching one thing at a time. It has made me more productive and fits my personality well. I can see how the stitching rotation works for many because we are so different, but I am better sticking to one thing. I do like to have something small to go to if I make a mistake or need a little mental break from the larger piece. 

I will be starting the baby name soon. I am kind of mentally getting my ideas together. I am revealing the name as I know it now. I think they are pretty confident. I am already calling her this....

Valerie Mae

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The room has been started and Katie is off this next week. She will probably pull it all together then.

Palmer won the contest for the best turkey disguise at his daycare. The first photo was taken right after Lindsay, Tucker and Palmer had completed him as a group. He was proud of it.

He was even more excited when he won the contest and got a gift card for ice cream.

I have a very busy week ahead with family, but I am looking forward to all of it. It is supposed to be nice fall weather all week.

Gus is tired just thinking of all the festivities. Just kidding! He will be up and following me around in all of it. He is my sidekick. I just couldn't resist showing you how cute he is.

Tyler had the boys on the golf course to just hit some balls, but they ended up seeing 2 eagles. I am just sharing the 2 in the tree and then the close up. He got some great video. 

Do you spy them in the tree?

Nature is just so amazing.

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I settled down after my last post. We did have the realtor visit. I think we have much to pray about and I know HE HAS THIS! 

After walking around the house, I realized I am not bragging, but very organized. I have spent the last 10 years going through things each year and slowly letting go of things. I think when the time comes I will know what to take and what to let go of. No more stressing until the next time:)

God will guide us on this journey.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving. I will see you after all of those festivities.

Sandy

P.S. I am still having trouble with comments. Many of you are showing up as no reply commenters...even ones who have not been. I don't know if it is from my end or blogger. I will work on it, but until then I am reading them.

Finishing Up October

I finished up October with strep. I have no idea where I got it and fortuately no one else had it but me in the family. It was not fun and I am looking forward to feeling better as we move along in to November. I sort of feel like my immune system has been down lately and as someone said my stress has most likely not helped. I think that is very true. I have let a few things get me the last few months. One of which is trying to keep Mama upbeat. That is not my easiest job and at this point I don't feel like that is going to magically get better. I do what I can, but I am one who frets over it all.

In other ending October things, we got a new fence down. It looks amazing. The neighbors agreed to help out with it. There was an old chain link fence on the other side and vines and underbrush had just overtaken the other side and were so hard to keep off ours. Our fence was 40 years old, so Jeff approached them about cleaning it all up and they agreed. It looks amazing.

The guys that did it covered the posts on the other side leaving the neighbor's side looking more finished.

It was kind of nice having it open, but Jeff wanted a fence and with dogs and kids I suppose he is correct in wanting one.

The neighbor's gained a good bit of land back from all the underbrush and just overall mess over there on that side. Now, they do have just dirt and will need some of those spring leaves from the live oaks to cover it up. They are coming back in a week to work on it some. They have even agreed to let Jeff get some quotes on getting those gigantic pines down that are more in the water now that on land. They have to be some of the biggest pines left on Choctawhatchee Bay, so that makes me sad. As I said though, they are going to fall at some point anyway and they are frightening in a hurricane. Since I didn't take a picture for reference these are the ones right on the property line that you see outside my kitchen table area. 

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I finished up the Advent calendar. It has a white border rather than red like the one I did back in 2020. That was mostly because I couldn't find a red I liked. 

That feels good to say, "This is done." While I love stitching, I don't love quilting. Nope ---not for me!

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In the words of Palmer, the cutest little Mickey Mouse roadster you have ever seen. "I like Happy Halloween, not Scary Halloween." Me too, baby.

Here are the three grandsons in their costumes ...

First up is Tucker and Palmer. Tucker is Donatello of the Ninja Turtles. They are back in vogue. Palmer chose Mickey Roadster and I can wholeheartedly say he could not have loved his costumer more.

Miles was a pumpkin. They mostly sent me videos so I don't have a good one with his little pumpkin bucket. He loved it all. Really understood it this year.

I thought this next picture was so cute. You can see the excitement in his eyes about Paul Allen carving the pumpkin.

All done and super excited about it.

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The room is completed at Paul Allen and Katie's house. They enclosed their one car garage. A portion of was already enclosed to make a laundry one at some point. The room is going to be a multipurpose room. All of these were from last week before I fell ill.

This first one shows the new room closed in. As you can see the stickers were still in the windows. Her dad it all and it looks great. Looks like it was always that way. They have a huge lot and could build out to the right and the back and have a huge yard still.

The inside which Paul Allen helped with some. Katie's dad had the tile in his storage so that was a help on the expenses. The room has door into the existing hallway that Katie had prettied up a while back, but it still looks great.

Paul Allen took this one so you can see it is going to be nice. Katie can now get to work on the baby room. They needed to move stuff out of the bedroom for that to happen.

This is the laundry room that was once a part of the garage. Katie's dad built her a closet in there where the door had been to come in from the garage. It is going to be a nice addition for storage.

Again all of these were taken in the height of the building. Katie's dad poured them a sidewalk out that door that you see above that goes our to the sideyard were they have a storage room.

It runs to the driveway. I know they are ready to get it all cleaned up and have done lots since I got sick.

I am super excited to see it all finished. 

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I know everyone goes straight to Christmas these days on November 1st, but I so love Thanksgiving and quite frankly it is not until November that it even remotely feels like fall. It appears there is something tropical trying to form late next week which is holding in the warm.  I don't mind the warm, but want no more tropical. I do remember a tropical storm in November 1985. We got out of school early one day. Those things are important to teachers! I am not interested in too much rain, just some as it hasn't rained at all in October. It is pretty dry, so just some rain will do. No torrential stuff nor wind, please!

Welcoming in November,

Sandy

Fall and being 6

Fall arrived yesterday.  I thought I was ready --- if nothing else to calm the tropical weather down, but when it arrived I was like Brrr. I know everyone else is loving it, so I am going to do my best to play along. The orange pansies and the violets have been planted, so yes, fall is here.

Jeff and I went to Auburn this past weekend. I ended up with a nasty cold which Jeff got after me, so I haven't felt like doing much other than the necessities, but today felt like I was back to almost normal. I am going to try and get my blog mojo back for a weekly Thursday post. We will see if that happens:)

I took absolutely no pictures in Auburn. I was already feeling bad but I did enjoy the trip. I probably was able to rest there more than I would have done here at home. Lindsay took the boys over to see Mom and eat lunch with her on the Saturday we were gone, so that was a big help. Mom loved having them in the dining room to show off and they played putt golf outside.

Jeff and I shopped downtown Auburn for the boys some Auburn apparel for Christmas, ate brunch and a mid lunch/supper at two of the really old places we love there and then took a long walk in a city park with Gus. No pictures to prove any of it. What kind of blogger am I?

On Monday we watched Tucker and Palmer since it was a teacher workday. We took them on our little hike and ate a snack at the end. I don't know if you can tell, but Gus is leading the way. By the way, the woods in Auburn are so different than the woods here. I love both though.

The boys enjoyed themselves. Miles went to school with his mommy that day.

Lindsay and her friend decided to dress up and take each other's family photos. I think they did an excellent job. This was one of my favorites.

Actually they were all good and a lot cheaper. The phones these days are amazing. 

Tucker turned 6 this week. I am seriously wondering how to slow down the days. I mean I just held him in my arms just a bit ago.

Being a grandmother is just amazing. Jeff, Miles and I went to eat lunch with him at school today. I couldn't get over how different things were than when I retired just 10 years ago. Lots more security which is a good thing.

Tucker is loving kindergarten and the social being that he is I was not surprised at how many kids said hello to him or that he said hello to. Tucker and Miles are more alike on that trait than Tucker and Palmer. Fun was had by us all and sweaters were worn to stay warm. I have no idea why but the first cold days always seem so much colder than they will in a week or so.

The moon on the water was brilliant last night.

The fall sunrises are the absolute best. I have shared a few in stories on Instagram. I get up and immediately look out to catch all the color each morning.

I really don't have all that much exciting to share, but I thought I would mark 6 years as a grandma. Tucker named me "Mimi." 

Happy fall y'all,

Sandy

Watching the Change of Season

Two weeks plus have passed once again like a flash, and I am wondering how it can possibly be midway of September already. September has been very busy and a little busier than I would like. I haven't as much time for some of the things I have wanted to do but some very important things have been accomplished.

In the way of stitching, I have been slowly working on the lighthouse. I wish I could say I were further along with it, but I forget sometimes I am not in a competition for finishing things quickly. I know I am going to love this one when it is completed.

I read an oldie book and just fell in love with it. Walking into our public library is a bookcase in the foyer for freebies. Some of these are library books they are parting with and some are things people drop off. I usually will take books that are nice and I think will be picked up quickly rather than donating to Goodwill sometimes. I always peruse the shelf. One day I picked up this oldie but goodie and honestly the forward to the book is what me intrigued me to take a new and deeper look. It did not disappoint.

Here is the version I picked up.

The forward said we are often too young to read this in high school. Its wisdom is missed by the youthful. The author of the forward said the following about reading it later in life..."In other words, I had lived enough of a life to finally understand what was so great about Our Town."

The copy I picked up was all marked up by a student and I truly loved seeing what she chose to highlight and star, but I had my own things to star and underline. If you recall from your younger high school days, it is only 3 Acts and follows the same characters through 3 days in different stages of life. 

Here are a couple of quotes I marked ---

When asked about the town of Grover's Corner, NH one of the main characters says of its people...

"I guess we're all hunting like everybody else for a way the diligent and sensible can rise to the top and the lazy and quarrelsome can sink to the bottom. But, it ain't easy to find."

And then this...

"No ma'am, there isn't much culture; but maybe this is the place to tell you that we've got a lot of pleasures of a kind here: we like the sun comin' up over the mountain in the morning, and we all notice a good deal about the birds. We pay a lot of attention to them. And we watch the change of season; yes, everybody knows about them." ----Oh that is me to a T and I suppose it takes some age to appreciate those things.

I enjoyed the book a lot and saw many life lessons. It ended on page 112, so very short. The remainder of the book was about the play and its history. I didn't read all that.

After that, I haven't read anything new. Waiting for something to call me in from my stack.

Family Life

~Miles started a Mother's Day Out program at a local church after Labor Day. He is so smart and I really felt he could use something, but he has cried a lot. That has not been fun to watch. I do think he likes it but he knows how to make Mimi and Mommy feel bad too. It is only for a half day. He has rebelled by not napping. Whew! Major sleep regression. He will sit in there and relive what he has done that morning. I guess we will have to play it by ear and time with what to do.

~I turned 64 yesterday. My how time flies! I always celebrate birthdays. When you lose a parent young in life you are part of a club you didn't ask to join, but you view birthdays differently than most all the way through life. I feel them deeper and am very grateful for them. I also can very easily see there are less of them ahead than behind. 

I didn't expect anything because with Lindsay's birthday in September as well, we have chosen to celebrate together for the past few years. Paul Allen, Katie and Miles went to eat breakfast with us yesterday at a new place out on the beach. Then we went to Lindsay and Tyler's for supper last night and watched the first half of the game. Tyler and Lindsay had my favorite foods and the meal was so good, and Tucker and Palmer could not hardly wait for me to blow the candles out on the delicious brownies they had helped make with Lindsay.

In other happenings...

The important stuff mentioned in the beginning was getting the places that had leaked inside the house over the past couple of years all repaired. I hate having workmen in the house because for some reason it disrupts me so much. It makes me so nervous. BUT...I am so glad that it is behind me. They did a great job. I have some wood to restain, but that will make good winter projects for the days when it is too cold to do much else.

This was the scene in three places; the worst being the bathroom. Fortunately, they did that one first so we could get back to showers upstairs.

I have a new car. My truck was 9.5 years old. I can't believe that, but another reminder of how quickly time flies. I loved my truck, but Jeff had told me I needed to think about trading it before it hit the 10 year mark. I had done my research. I knew I would miss my truck, but with lifting kids up so high for car seats and trying to lift Mama up in the truck for appointments I knew I needed a different style. I landed on a Kia Telluride.

It is very nice and I can still drive Jeff's truck for my truck driving needs. It has way more bells and whistles than one needs, but they all do these days. I have located the ones I like and that is that.

I am grateful that the latest storm didn't decide to veer east. I can never wish one on anyone, but Francine decided to hit Louisiana. If she had chosen us she wouldn't have been a Cat 1 or 2 as she would have way too much time in the hot waters of the Gulf, so for now we dodged another bullet. September is the month of a changing season but it can hold onto summer. The light has shifted and we have had some milder weather but nonetheless still hot. I have pulled out some fall decor in the house, but it all feels so out of place still yet. I drove by the lawn and garden department at Lowe's today, but it is honestly still too early for those too. 

I watching for fall though. We went on a hike earlier and there are some wildflowers or vines with the colors of fall, just no fall temperatures. 

September is also the height of hurricane season, so that is always in the back of our minds. I can't tell you how many times in my 64 years there has at least been one sitting somewhere in the Gulf on my birthday. I have enjoyed summer this year so it will be easier to welcome it when it arrives this year.

Thanks Robin and Arlene for my cards. They made me happy.

Grateful and blessed,

Sandy