Autumn beauty has come to our area! I have taken so many pictures since I posted last week. I'm going to post some of them here without commentary for your scrolling pleasure. Then I'll tell a few stories.
I also took some pictures of flowers, here and at Destiny's. I'm glad I did, because some of them were hit with frost early Sunday morning. So sad how quickly they turn brown and lifeless. My marigolds did escape, probably because they are so close to the house.
We had rain and very cool temps at the beginning of last week. It seemed like we had had rain the whole week before that. Then finally Wednesday was warm and sunny. We've had warmer temps ever since, except for the overnight lows this past weekend. I think everyone in our whole community was mowing their lawn on that first day of sunshine last Wednesday. When Elizer and I took our walk we had the greatest time watching all the people on their riding mowers and others pushing their mowers. He never, ever tires of watching them. And of course if they look our way, he waves at them and they wave back. It's so cute.
We went down to the playground behind our house and a neighbor was mowing. Elizer sat on the swing watching him and waving each time he made a round. Doesn't get much better than that for a two-year-old boy!
But it did get better! It was almost time for Grandpa to get home from work, so we sat on the porch and waited.
And waited and waited!
As soon as Dick got home he started the tractor mower and took Elizer for a ride around the neighborhood!
There they go!
When Destiny got here after work to pick him up they had so much fun on the floor! If only these pictures had sound. His giggle is so contagious!
Later that evening I saw this picture on Jess's Facebook. How CUTE!! They were at the Manheim Farm Show parade. Behind Jess and Charlie you can see Bjorn, our friend Kicki and our daughter Miki in the plaid shirt. How we would have loved to be there! That's the kind of stuff we really miss since we moved away from our home area in 2009.
On Friday Destiny and I really wanted to have a cookout. We had not counted on the temperature getting down to the low fifties by evening, but that's what a fire is for, right? We invited Anthony and Lori to join us and also (Pastor) Lynn. (She is officially no longer our pastor, but it's hard to call her just Lynn without "pastor" in front of it!) We had so much fun!!! Hot dogs, brats, hamburgers, and S'mores. And lots and lots of laughter!
Lori gave this costume to Elizer, a hand-me-down from Hunter. How adorable is he????
I cleaned my house on Saturday, but there are no pictures of that, haha! Destiny and Elizer stayed here overnight on Saturday. Of course, Elizer was up bright and early!
Destiny had to work on Sunday. In the afternoon Dick and I met Alex and his dad halfway to give Elizer to them for the week. We met at a McDonalds and we were there first, so we got Elizer some fries. He loves them with ketchup.
This was the cool dude across the table, lol!
It was sweet to see how happy Alex and Elizer were to see each other. Destiny came to our place after work and we finished watching Titanic. Oh my goodness, what a horrific event!!
On Monday morning I had to go to the lab to get my finger stick, mandatory the day before cataract surgery. I got a few groceries afterward, and when I arrived home these three were in my house!! Woohoo!! Our daughter Miki, her service dog Hope, and our friend Kicki are here from Sweden for the week! We're having a wonderful time, but that will have to be in the next post!
One more thing - I had another successful cataract surgery on Tuesday! More on that next time.
Sunday (our 51st anniversary) was a really full day! At church we were introduced to our new interim pastor, Jim Jacobs. We liked him a lot, but the service did go longer than normal, so we were eager to leave as soon as it was over due to our tight schedule.
We drove directly from church to Pleasant View Communities in Manheim. We were planning to meet Grandma Arlene, as well as our daughter Miki and her friend Kicki at Hearth and Harrow, the restaurant in that community, at 12:30. But we did not make it by then. Actually Miki and Kicki were not there yet when we arrived. Grandma Arlene met us inside the door. And THEN we kept seeing people we knew! Most of them were families whose children had been my students at Manheim Christian Day School. It started to feel like a homecoming after a while! So fun!
We had a delightful time eating together!! Such a lovely atmosphere there!
It was dreary and raining outside, but very warm and sunny in our hearts. The girls will be coming up to our house next week. I'm really looking forward to it. They are so much fun!
From there we went to my sister Mary Ellen's house. We were having a sibling gathering. My sister Barb and her husband John were visiting from Idaho because he had had a 50th high school class reunion on Saturday evening. John's sister Ruthie and her husband Andy, who live in Tennessee, were also there. John and Ruthie's mother lives in a retirement home south of Lancaster, and they had spent time with her. So this was the scene of our gathering in Mary Ellen's living room
Left to right: Doris, John, Andy and Ruthie, Barb, Mary Ellen, Dale.
We talked and laughed and sang and shed some tears.
Then it was official picture time. My sister-in-law Nancy had arrived by then, and she's a professional photographer. However, I got some pictures with my phone too, which is what I'm sharing here.
Four sisters - Jean, Barb, Mary Ellen, Doris. How we would have loved having Rose from S. Carolina and Betty from New Hampshire join us too!
Sisters and in-laws: Mary Ellen, Nancy, Dick & I, John & Barb, Dale & Doris.
After pictures we sat around Mary Ellen's big dining room table and had pulled chicken sandwiches with lots of delicious sides. The last course was our anniversary cake and ice cream. This picture is the only one I took during the meal.
And speaking of the cake, here's a closer look at it!! Doris's daughter Greta, who is a self-taught cake decorator, did this cake for us!! Those colors are just like our wedding colors! Isn't it gorgeous??
All too soon it was time to say our goodbyes and drive back home. And look who we brought along with us! He's such a good traveler, and we were so happy to have him. I never stop being surprised at how he's growing up.
Elizer and Destiny were so happy to see each other when we got back!
On Monday morning I went to my friend Helen's funeral at our church. Helen was just 77, but had been in a car accident a few weeks ago and was recovering, then ended up about a week later with a brain bleed. It was so sudden and tragic! Helen and her sister Pat have always played piano and organ together, and they have been my trusty subs whenever I go away. Helen had been in our choir until COVID messed everything up. She will be greatly missed!
Yesterday afternoon I picked up Elizer before Destiny had to go to work at 2:30. He was excited to be going to my house, but when we actually got here he insisted that we go for a walk even before we went inside the house! It was a raw, damp day, but we went for a walk anyway.
I'm happy that despite the very cool, rainy days we've been having, we have not yet had a killing frost. So this flower bed is looking lovely!
It seemed like a good day for soup, so I made a pot of chicken noodle soup. It really hit the spot! I'll be taking some over to Anthony and Lori later today.
At the end of the day we had an amazing sunset!!
Destiny had to work until 11 pm (that's her regular Monday schedule - the only day she works that late shift), so we had Elizer. He was so excited when Pawpaw came home from work!
He fed his baby.
He made a zoo.
And we made a farm.
Destiny stayed here overnight since it was so late, and this morning she had to start at 11:00. I had Cocomelon on for Elizer to watch. He had fun dancing with Old McDonald!
That's all for this time except THIS!! Austin has a YouTube channel for his Pokemon games, and I just discovered that three days ago he made a video showing how to make this amazing origami box!! It's about ten minutes long. I still would not be able to make it. He is definitely some kind of genius!
