Sunshine! Beautiful Sunshine!

A warning for you right up front. This is a rather picture laden post. I'm over the nasty little flu bug that hit me for about 48 hours. Thank goodness. Yesterday Chloe and I went out and packed up the camper. Food, clothes, some kitchen things that I use year round. Six hours later it was unpacked and put away at home and I was exhausted. But it was a most beautiful day at the lake. Only Chloe and I and the guys that work there were around. So, so quiet. Barry is cleaning out the garden and he was doing the last strawberry harvest for the year. I was the happy recipient of a huge bag full of strawberries. Yum! Saturday, Hubby and I will go back and to the actual winterization of the trailer. Antifreeze, clean the roof off and put the slides in, etc. Such a bittersweet time of year.

The trees were absolutely beautiful there. I think I was lucky enough to be there during the height of the color yesterday.

This last picture is at a friends spot. Sally researched and painted it herself. Isn't it cute? They are all places she's either been to or wanting to travel to.

On the crafting front, during my time in Portland I was able to finish all 21 of the dishcloths that were ordered. While sick on Monday and Tuesday, even with aching hands I made three more pair of mittens to add to the pair I finished in Portland.

Mandy gave me this yummy Pumpkin Butter a few months ago. I opened it when Gracie visited and I'm enjoying it on a piece of toast in the mornings. It just feels "right" to have pumpkin butter in the fall doesn't it?

And no post would be complete without the obligatory Piper pictures when I've just been to see her.
This first one is a drawing from a picture that was taken in April at Brad's brothers wedding in Nebraska. Isn't it amazing? I think it looks very much like she did 6 months ago and I know this will be a cherished treasure.

And then of course, a couple of birthday pictures. Our little princess! She is such a sweetie.

Yesterday when Mandy, Piper and I were face-timing, it was so sweet the way she kept trying to touch my face through the ipad. She really does seem to love me! That makes this Grandma very, very happy. They will be coming here for Thanksgiving and then we're planning to head back to Portland for Christmas. I would be wonderful if they could spend as much time with Brad's family too, but they have very little vacation time only the actual day off for both holidays. It would be impossible for them to make it to and from Nebraska for the holidays. Even though we're over 350 miles away, I can still drive there in about 6 hours so I feel very blessed.

And now, I need to get busy and finish house-cleaning and start making more mittens! I want to hurry and finish them so I can start working on a couple of Christmas gifts. And then, of course, I still have that yummy yarn Gracie gave me to make a scarf of my own. Why oh why can't these fingers knit faster?

Have a lovely weekend my friends. And remember to smile at someone. It could make a HUGE difference in their day.

Blessings,

Betsy