It's October!

 It's Pumpkin month. I decorated.

It's all the same stuff I put up every year in October. I really like Autumn - Fall - Halloween - colored leaves, and the crisp but sunny days of October. I can now even be OK with the end of summer. 

The leaves are just barely beginning to turn in our garden but soon the bright maples will be putting on their glow. 

Tom is out cleaning up the patio from a windstorm we had over the weekend. There will be many more cleanings before the falling is done. He will also mow the lawn now that the grass is growing again after the  dry summer.

I'll be out cleaning up the edges as soon as I feel better. That cold or sinus attack or whatever it was got me too, and I am dealing with severe headaches. body aches,  and an unsettled stomach. We hardly ever get sick so it's cramping our style. 

Of course I still have flowers to fill  my vases.

Life is good, even when I'm sick. 

A Weekend On Whidbey Island

 

It's Monday and we are back home from a weekend at the island. Clouds and clearings gave us a show on the lagoon when the tide was in and the wind was calm. 

On Friday it was cloudy and sometimes drippy so we went to Freeland and stopped at Ace Hardware to visit the nursery and enjoy autumn color. 

Then we drove backroads to Langley, where of course we had coffee, as well as walked around a bit. 

When we got back to the cabin in early afternoon, the bay was socked in.

We stayed in and read and in the evening watched some television.

Watching TV at the cabin is a process since the younger generation decided we didn't need cable anymore. For us that means bringing my laptop, hooking it up to the TV and Googling our Xfinity account. It helps if we don't forget the process or if we can remember to get Netflix that way. Sometimes it works. 

Saturday morning was dry and mostly sunny and we went to the farmers market in Bayview. We bought beets and pastries - an almond croissant for me and a big gooey cinnamon roll for Tom. We saved them for Sunday morning. 

Next door to the market we visited Bayview Gardens for more autumn color.

I sat for a bit inside the laburnum arch, remembering Spring as I enjoyed Fall

Back at the cabin we enjoyed the lagoon, went for a walk, read, and did some gardening. 

In the evening we were able to watch the Sounders match against the Minnesota Loons. Seattle won! Yay. Two in a row finally. 

On Sunday morning we were planning to watch the Seahawks football game being played in the other Washington. Nope, sorry. If you are not on your home Wi-Fi you don't get to watch it. Jill called and got us hooked up to her FUBO account eventually but by then I almost didn't care. I finally settled down and enjoyed my almond croissant at least. The Seahawks lost. We headed home through heavy traffic. By then Tom was sick with either a bad cold or a sinus infection. He's miserable but will survive. I hope I don't get whatever it is. 

Since it's Monday I'm doing laundry. I overloaded a load of sheets and towels and so I'm fighting with my washer. These fancy new appliances won't let you tell them what to do. 

I think I need a vacation where everything works. 

But the herons were happy sitting on their perches in the calm lagoon. 

The Autumnal Equinox

I took this photo 14 years ago on  the beach at Rockaway Beach on the Oregon Coast. It was the Autumnal Equinox and the sun was setting on 

Summer between the Twin Rocks.

  

I have been there a few other times on this exact day, and have many photos of those rocks in various seasons, often with sunsets. I always think of those days at this special place on this last day of Summer, first day of Fall.

Fall actually begins here at 5:05 PM, so technically this is the last day of summer. Once again the sun will set on the change of seasons. Hopefully there will be another beautiful sunset for those who can see it. 

I am a summer person, though I do love the beauty of early fall too. I took some photos of the end of summer here in our garden and on the walk I just finished at the park. 

I wore my sun shirt, Zia Sun, that is. 

The leaves are just starting to turn at the park. Our maples here in the garden are still green.

There is color in the garden still.

And plenty of prickly texture in the Danger Garden. Soon these plants will be heading to the greenhouse to overwinter.

Clouds in the morning make way for more sun in the afternoon.

There is chill in the shade. 

Once again, autumn begins, summer ends.

Happy sunsets to you.

 

This Week

 I think I might have photos! We'll see. If I am getting photo access now, I won't wait to post. This is long. 

On Monday we did our usual laundry and house work, and then in the afternoon we met with our insurance and financial advisors. We had received the latest bill for our Long Term Care Insurance and it was significantly higher, with notice that it will be ever higher next year. We needed advice. 

Eventually we decided to stay the course. Having to save for your own elder care would cost even more per year and it's really too late the do that now in our 80's. 

On Tuesday we had our Zoom meet up, I went for a walk in the park, and got a haircut. And I picked flowers.

And our TV died. We had to look back in my blog archive to determine that it was 14 years old. The screen went black. Google research informed us that the back light was out. Since that was a very expensive repair we decided it was time for a new one. We spent Tuesday evening doing research. I identified the TV I wanted. We researched what stores might have it and for what price. 

Wednesday morning as we were getting ready to go shopping we heard the often broadcast ad from Video Only. They were not on our list, but the ad told us "you would be sorry" if you don't go there. So we did. 

They still had a few of the TVs I wanted, last year's model, and at a lower price. We bought it. Then we spent the rest of the day setting it up and trying to get it to work for us. New TVs are set up for streaming. We still have cable because we just want a remote to give us what we want, which is mostly network tv. 

I think is was by accident that we found a way to get our cable. We watched tv. 

Thursday morning I went shopping since Kohls was having a sale and since it had been a long time since I had shopped, I would lose my Kohls credit card if I didn't use it. Using your Kohls card is how you get the good deals.  I shopped for new bras. What an awful ordeal! Anyway when I finally got home Tom had worked on the tv set up some more and we have a good enough system that only takes one more remote than we were already using. 

I rode my stationary bike for exercise.

Friday was breakfast and grocery shopping day. Then Tom harvested his crop if Poblano peppers. I roasted them, we removed the skins, Tom chopped some for the freezer, and I made Chili relleno casserole for dinner. A lot of work, but really good.

On Saturday Jill and Jake went hiking in the mountains. They found a furry friend. 

Tom and I went to the Des Moines Marina farmers market. We bought berries for Jill and almond croissants for us. Then we got coffee at the Quarter Deck and sat and enjoyed the croissants, the coffee, the view, and the people. 

We did a little walking there, then delivered the berries to Jill's house before joining the protest rally back in Des Moines.

We took the summer off, but we decided it was time to express ourselves once again, and release some build up anger. There were about 30 of us and I talked to almost all of them. I had a good time laughing and talking with like minded people. 

The political scene is heating up. I'm working on staying chill. 

Oh, I'm wearing Sounders gear here. They played in the evening. Another tie.

Today I wore Seahawks gear. We walked in the morning. I watched the game in the afternoon. The Hawks won. 

All is good.