AUTUMN NOTES

I think no seasonal change is as pronounced as that from summer to autumn. Two weeks ago it was 90 and we took the dogs for a dip in the Snake River. We discussed how the days were getting shorter and even if the temperature should remain warm – which we knew it wouldn’t – the evenings would soon be too short to enjoy at the river. [The picture here is of Bess with a male Shorthair belonging to some other swimmers.]

 Today I’m wearing a sweatshirt, and I made my first pot of spicy tea. I even lit a spicy scented candle. A brief warming of the bed with the electric blanket is nice at bedtime, using the oven is a possibility, and the little woodstove is ready for a fire.

Holiday catalogs arrive in force, saying such delightful things:

“Look inside for dozens of new holiday items!”

“Everything you need for the holidays!”

“Fall, Family & Fireside Fun. Inside: new ways to enjoy fall traditions.”

“Spooktacular Fall Savings!”

All designed to charm the money out of my credit card. And every day I receive an email from BHG.com with wonderful autumn and holiday ideas, decorations, and crafts – part of the “100 days of holidays” series.

I’ve set out a variety of Halloween decorations. Sometimes I’m lazy about decorating, especially since it’s just the two of us and one of us doesn’t much notice. But – it does help my morale.

Some things when they break or fail must be replaced immediately. Such was the case with my clock radio / iPod docking station. For several weeks I had been making it work by resetting, and finally even that didn’t work. Long story short, it took me most of the day on Monday to find a new one with adequate sound quality. I did research products online, but I wanted to buy locally for a couple of reasons:

1)    I wanted it NOW!

2)    I wanted to return it if I didn’t like it. And that’s exactly what I did with the first one.

So far, my second purchase is working well except for the fact that I have to get used to new settings.

But anyway – I told you about that so you would understand why I didn’t sew yesterday. But I did sew today, working on the little “seasonal wall hanging” that we started at embroidery club last week.

Bouncy Baby Bessie Boo went to the vet yesterday for her boosters. She looks good, the vet said, and she weighs 29 pounds now. She still pounces on Nellie and likes to roughhouse with her, but on the other hand, we have some quiet moments, like those shown here. She seems to have her big teeth now and the need to chew is somewhat reduced, but she still loves to ruin gloves and shoes if she gets the chance. KW