Autumn????

Happy Thursday everyone!  The calendar say's it's still summer, but boy howdy!  It's cold here in the Inland Northwest.  It was 39F here last night and the high is only to reach in the low 50's today.  I think autumn is coming soon this year.  The sun is shining brightly though and I'm enjoying today with this little girl.

This is a dress I found her at a shop called "Other Mother's".  They sell gently used children clothing, furniture, maternity clothes, etc. on consignment.  I picked up this dress for just 3.99.  I also bought her the prettiest dressy dress for the same price.  I'll have to take a picture of it.  It's gorgeous and will be a great dress for church or Christmas even.  I got her a few tops and jeans and a pair of shorts, even brand new princess snow boots!  All for just $26.00.   She's so fun to shop with.  Very helpful and likes to sit in the cart and hold the purchases of clothes, yarn or even groceries!   Have I told you how much I adore this girl?

Mommy should be back in Spokane on Sunday and then I'll have to share her again.  Bah Humbug!  Just kidding.  I miss Mandy and enjoy being with her too.  I'm refusing to think about the more permanent separation that is imminent.  Brad and Mandy have purchased a new home in Maryland and should close within 60 days.  It is a new house, just being built.  That means we get to keep our girls here a bit longer than originally thought.  We're very happy about that but we know their family needs to be together soon.  It's a catch 22, isn't it?

Piper and I put out the fall decorations this morning.  She really is a big help and carries things very carefully.  This scarecrow basket is a new thing this year.  I had all the pieces in a bag in the closet and I just found an odd basket in the laundry room and stuffed everything in it.  Then I hot glued a few leaves onto the front.  Total time.  3 minutes!  I think it's kind of cute don't you?  He's living on my kitchen island for now anyway.

The woodstove with it's fall regalia.  Also something a bit new for me.

I picked up these fall mini bushes, (2 of them), at Michaels this morning for 40% off.  Each stem was originally $2.99.  Not too bad.  A little over $3.00 for some pretty fall flowers.  I tucked a few leaves into the flowers and sprinkled them among the birds.  I really like my bird collection and tend to keep them out throughout the seasons.

Even the Holy Family got a few leaves around them.  I bought a bag of these leaves a couple of years ago and just reuse them each fall.

Another purchase this morning at Michaels.  Originally $6.99 and I got it for 40% off too.  Great deals.  Please don't look at the paint scratches.  I have a plaque up here most of the year and it has scratched the paint.  A little paint touch-up is needed on a warmer day.

A little table on the other side of the front door.  When we had our house painted a couple of years ago, the painter surprised me with this free-hand painted angel and Bible verse.  I LOVE it.  No doubt where we stand in our home is there?

I think I have had this guy for about 20 years.  He hangs on the wall just inside the front door and welcomes all who enter.

I think that's about all of my fall decorating.  I don't do a whole lot for fall as it's not my favorite season.  The reason for that is that winter comes next and I really do detest winter.  When Dennis retires we're thinking of moving somewhere warmer since we have no children close by anymore.  We'll see.  That's several years away.

I saw a similar pattern to this blanket on a blog earlier this week and I thought I would show you mine.  I don't know if I've ever posted a photo of it before.  It hangs over a queen size bed about 10 inches on all sides to give you an idea of it's size.  It was so much fun to make.  The flower were really easy and I like the green "leaves" and the bed of gray they lay on.

This is the border, a very simple double crochet.  This blanket lives on top of a quilt in one of the guest rooms.

This is Mandy's dog Polly who is staying with us too.  She gave us quite a scare the past couple of days.  To make a long story short, she was very sick when we woke up yesteday and spent the entire day at the vet.  The final diagnoses was bleeding ulcers.  She had lost a LOT of blood and is now anemic, dehydrated and her bone marrow is depleted.  All within 2 days.  I had to pick her up and take her for an ultrasound in the afternoon where they determined that they don't believe she has cancer, just the ulcers.  An interesting note is that the ultrasound showed she only has one kidney!  She is SUCH a sweet, sweet dog ang I love her like my own.  She has a boatload of medication, special food and has to go back tomorrow to have her blood checked.  And she's a trooper through it all. 

I took this picture a couple of minutes ago.  She's so much better today it's amazing.  She's much more alert and even wandering around the yard some.  I'm so very relieved.  Poor Mandy and Brad.  They were so worried about her and so were we.  But Grandma is taking good care of Polly and Piper is helping with kisses and hugs.  Polly is so good with Piper, even when she's sick.

I think we'll be heading to the lake this weekend and bringing all the liquid foods home so we don't have to worry about them freezing.  From the sounds of it, this winter could be pretty bad if you listen to the forecasters.  They're talking about an early winter that lasts possibly into June of 2015.

I hope you have a lovely weekend and sunshine wherever you may be.  I feel so blessed to have you all as my friends.  That's how I think of you.  We may never meet in person, but our lives have touched through this amazing thing called blogland!  Wonderfulness!

Blessings,

Betsy