Fall has arrived!

What's that you say?  Not officially?  Well, maybe not officially, but here in Spokane within the past two weeks we've gone from temperatures in the  90's to highs in the 60's for the past week.  Lows are in the 30's and 40's.  I would say that's fall.  The good news is that it has seemed to rid us of most of the smoke from the past couple of months.  There are still fires burning though and that is not good.

First of all, I want to thank you all for your sweet comments about my migraine and about Alex.  He is fine.  He was woken up during the night and lost a bit of glassware, but no real problems where he lives.  Unfortunately, earthquakes are so commonplace for him that he didn't even think to call to reassure us.  My headache is somewhat better.  Now I'm just having the residual headache that lingers for awhile, but not nearly as bad as the first few days.  Thank you all again.  I am so blessed to have all of you as my friends and that you truly care.

On the knitting front I have been working non-stop on the zick-zack scarf with one small pair of mittens thrown in the mix.  The scarf is now 33 inches long as of this morning.  The size 2 needles and sock yarn are making it a slow knit, but I am enjoying it.  I realize that I am a production knitter, not a process knitter and this is forcing me to slow down and enjoy each stitch and the definition of each row.  Since all shades of purple and lavender are my favorite colors, this scarf is tempting me to keep it, but it is destined to be a Christmas gift.

 I decorated for fall yesterday and today.  It may seem like a lot of decorations and kind of "busy" but I do like it.  I found a box of decorations today that I haven't seen for a couple of years and I thought had been lost or given away.  So I have even more fall stuff.  :-)  I like fall and the cooler temperatures, just not the winter that follows. (No suprise to any of you is it?)
This is the console cabinet under the TV.  See the ugly wires?  I got all of my decorations that you see in these pictures either on sale somewhere or at the Dollar Store. I rarely pay full price for any decor items.  I lOvE the dollar store.  It's amazing the things you get there.  Ours now has fresh bread on Tuesday and Thursdays.  It's the same breads you get at the grocery store and it ISN'T day old bread!  They stop on their route to deliver to the grocery stores.  I get sandwich thins for $1.00.  They are $2.98 at the store.  They also have Orowheat Rye, english muffins, whole wheat and white Sara Lee bread.  All kinds of breads.  All fresh and all for $1.00!  You have to know when it's delivered and be there waiting because everyone is waiting for them and I tell you what, it's like a bunch of locusts!  The delivery guy loads the carts and they're empty in less than 5 minutes, but everyone is very nice about it.  No pushing or shoving at all.

  

 This is on the kitchen island.  I have a crocheted leaf garland that will replace the triangle bunting soon.  All of these were from the Dollar Store over the past several years.

 This is the middle of the Hoosier Cabinet.  The sign and flowers are from the Dollar Store this year.  I have had the big pumpkin for years.  I think at least 20 years!  All of the pinecones that you see in these photos are from the lake.  I use them as fire starters in the fireplace in the winter, but meanwhile they make good decorations.

 I have had this "Welcome" sign for over 30 years, it came from Omaha with us when we moved.  Isn't this little guy cute?

 This sign and pumpkins were from the Dollar Store a couple of years ago.  I love this picture of Chloe.  Sorry about the glare.

 These leaves and flowers were from the D.S. too.  The photo is from our 25th anniversary and the heart photo frame is from Neal & Jenny for our 40th this year.  The picture was taken in Washington D.C. at the Washington Monument a couple of years ago while we were visiting Mandy and Brad.  It says "Dennis and Betsy - 40 years of love"  Isn't that nice?  It spins around and I'm going to put a wedding photo on the other side.

 A full photo of the Hoosier.

 I still love these little glass bottles and I'm so glad I persevered and finally bought them.  Aren't the little plaid pumpkins cute?  I got them from Mandy.

 The corner shelf by the front door.  Too busy?  Oh well, I like it.  I've had the basket on top for years.

 A corner in the hall bath.  Flowers again are from the D.S.

 You're probably all sick of fall decorations aren't you?  Well here is a cutie for you.  Piper sent me a picture modeling her Halloween costume.  She's going to be a unicorn!  Isn't she the cutest unicorn you've ever seen?

And guess what?  We're heading to Omaha again so I'll get to see this little girl soon!   Not in time for her birthday, but she won't be home then anyway, because the three of them are heading to Germany for a couple of weeks.  They come home on Piper's birthday and we're driving to visit the next week.  We'll be driving during October, through the mountains of Idaho and Montana.  We're really hoping to NOT encounter any snow as we drive, but we're taking the 4-wheel drive truck instead of my car, just in case.  I'm also hoping to sleep in the truck overnight if it's not too cold.  That way it will be an adventure and more of a vacation to me.  I've checked and the KOA camp grounds are open in Montana and South Dakota until the end of October.  We can have nice hot showers in the mornings.  Sounds like fun to me...if it doesn't snow or get too cold.  If so, I'll settle for a hotel, but I would rather camp!  Dennis is worried about my back, but I would like to give it a try.  I miss those kinds of trips with an air mattress in the back of the truck.

And Mandy says they will have Piper's birthday party while we're there so we won't miss it!  Yay!  I'm looking forward to seeing my sister and all of our family again.  More and more, I'm finding that I miss family and we're tentatively making plans to move back to Nebraska or Iowa after Dennis retires.  We will dearly miss our mountains, but the pull of family is real.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.  We're heading to the lake and will try to enjoy one of our last weekends there for this year.  We have to be closed up completely by October 1, so we will start bringing things home this week.  Dennis will start making trips with his truck, bringing home the patio table, chairs, cushions, grill, lawn mower, etc.  We'll take the roof off of the gazebo.  I'll bring home extra food that we won't use up during the next few weeks.  It's like moving twice a year in the spring and the fall.  I'll try to take before and after photos when we start closing up so you can see the difference.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

Blessings,
Betsy