Fall - Falls Down

My Gosh!  I have seen some stunning Fall colors in some of the blogs I follow!  And thank God for those pictures that were shared, because in my area Fall has fallen on his face!

You be the judge!

A beautiful lake but low on the color scale. In past years
there were some stunning views - views that were also replicated in the reflection
on the lake.

My husband and I captured these lake pictures on one of our walks.

But the weekend before these lake pictures I had a chance to dog/house sit for my son and daughter-in-law.  I haven’t done this in almost 18 months.  My God - how I missed these dog sitting weekends.  These sweet mutts were all mine for about 4 days.  And while the colors at their house
were not particularly colorful either, they were bright with sun light.

Olivia - watching me, watching her.

The sun makes everything brighter.

The view from their porch!  I really enjoyed sitting out here
each morning enjoying a beverage.  It is quiet and private.  
Quite perfect! 

Ragnar,  laying in front of my son’s office one afternoon!  
I think someone missed his Papa!

This and That

Hi again! I know ... it has been a week since I posted. But things have been happening. This week has been an improvement over previous weeks.

First and foremost, my grand dog babies .... Meathead, my English Bull Dog grandson, is doing much better. He finally adjusted to the Phenobarbital. This has been a great relief to me. I have been very concerned about how this drug had affected his coordination, balance, and, most importantly, his personality. All issues seem to have resolved over the course of this week. We have also reduced his extremely high level of Potassium Bromide. Now we wait to see how all this plays out with the frequency of his seizures. So far no seizures. Welcome back to the world, my dear Meaty.

Milo completed his second week of training. He is such a smart little dog, and he has picked up the initial commands quickly. The "leave it" command has worked pretty well to control his obsession of chewing sticks outside and his jealousy reaction with Meathead. It is early still, but Meaty's improved mental state and Milo's training seems to be making life a bit calmer here.

Milo will share more about his training experiences in the blog he shares with Meaty and Grimace. It can be found at http://granddogdiaries.blospot.com.

Secondly, I have managed some balance with other stuff important to me.

I seem to be getting back to my walking routine (again!). I missed many weeks, but this week I have been taking a 30 minute walk. Thirty minutes is quite a bit less than I was doing in September, but it is more than I was doing in November. Since I lost walking endurance, I need to build back up again. Thirty minutes is enough for now.

Although it is still Fall, this picture of trees near my house definitely says Winter.

Sadly, I am down to exactly one group Tai Chi session and one knitting group session a week. But as my energies get pulled into other areas, some things have to shrink so that there is room. Shrink, yes. Disappear, no.

I was able to get out for lunch with a friend this week (thank you Happy One, it was a great lunch - we need to do that again sometime.) Having lunch with a friend is good for the soul. Friendships need cultivating.

I did set some of my knitting and weaving projects aside this month so that I can complete Milo's sweater. That project is nearing completion.

I've been absent from blogging. Not a long absence, but not where I want to be. I really want to blog 3 or 4 times a week. Daily was fun when I first stated, but in my unpredictable life, 3 to 4 times a week is do-able. Of course, this week was once. Today.

I am still reading, but I am not reporting on every book I read - only the one I think are worth recommending.

I can't seem to keep up with the house work - but I am learning to live with that. (Ok, it still does bother me, but I am working on it.) I am, however, focusing on decluttering. Every time a charity calls looking for a donation of household items - I say "yes" even if I don't have anything to donate. It gives me the incentive to sort through stuff and give it away. Slowly, very slowly, spaces in the house should start to open up. Less really is more. A trite saying but no less true.

Finding balance is probably the biggest lesson I am learning this year. Balance ... a hard lesson for a Type A personality like me to learn. Lots of false starts in the last few months, and I am sure I will have more. And learning to say "no" to things that eat up time that I don't have is something I am practicing.

So although I am "blog quiet" at times, I am not off track - just sorting, sorting, sorting all the elements of my life .... and sorting some more.

I am very thankful that I am learning to put perspective on my life.

I love a Marching Band!!

Today I was rewarded big time for walking around 9:30 am. A marching band was parading right along my walking route! How great is that!!

Hammond High School, the neighborhood high school for our area has a Home Coming Parade every year in mid-October. This year I figured I had missed it because it was already October 30 - and no parade! When I started out I could hear the drums in the distance. I was thrilled.

The football team participates as well. No marching in step for them.

And then there are the cheer leaders. Guess the little short skirts are too old fashion for them.

They take a route through the neighborhood every year. There are floats and cars with the Home Coming Courts for each class. They also get a police escort so that traffic can be held up for the passing of the parade. Since I was on foot, I could see some of the drivers who had to wait. Some were enjoying the parade. There were others who seemed annoyed that they had to wait - (the wait was probably only 15 minutes). But I couldn't help feeling annoyed with the drivers who weren't enjoying the view. Here we have a small positive demonstration of the effort and talent of our upcoming generation. The kids weren't being loud or disruptive. They weren't causing any damage. They were celebrating, and sharing their celebration with the neighborhood. There is just no pleasing some people. Thankfully there were far more people just like me who were enjoying the parade.

It brought back memories because my daughter was in Marching Band when she attended Hammond High School. I have tons of pictures of it and wonderful memories.

This is part of my fall as well. How many people are lucky enough to have a parade march through their neighborhood ... right by their house ... like I do every year for the last 25 years!

I so love a marching band!!