Today was a fun day! Kathy, Mae, Corliss and I left about 9:30am and drove to Hartwood Acres for a house and grounds tour. We passed this quaint church right before turning into the estate.

Hartwood Acres was a beautiful and interesting place! The only down side was that you can’t take photos in the house! But it was a lovely morning.

We arrived early so we took some time to walk around the outside of the house and also stroll through the gardens. There wasn’t a lot blooming but there were still fun things to see and also some color.

The fall decorations both inside and out were beautiful. We enjoyed seeing all the plantings and the grounds.

I liked the library the best, and then the master suites (Mr. & Mrs. Lawrence’s). Mr. Lawrence had quite a few more closets than his wife. But her room was light and bright and comfortable. His bedroom included an art studio with wide windows that offered a beautiful view.

After we left Heartwood we stopped to grab a sandwich for lunch. I think we were there an hour and a half, just talking and visiting. It really was the perfect day!

My blessing today was these dear friends (and sister) that shared my day!

PEANUTS Thought for the Day:

TOMORROW October 24th is:

My Best Winter Skin Day; National Lamb Day; National Bologna Day; National Food Day; National Kangaroo Awareness Day; United Nations Day; World Polio Day.

Yesterday’s fake day was National Project Day. Tomorrow: Food is good. And I remember when we had to get the polio vaccine. It was in a sugar cube the we ate. THAT doesn’t happen any more! God bless…

Even though I don’t have a lot of info to post tonight, I accomplished a lot. I worked in Jeannette, then stopped to help Mike P with some problem deals, then headed home.

Beth and Harold stopped at 10:30am to check out my garden project. He had some good ideas and a lot of explanations as to what should be accomplished, and how. It seems overwhelming to me, but he didn’t seem to intimidated. I did tell him not to commit to something that would be too much. They do live out of town! But we spent almost an hour sitting on the deck in the sun and talking. Always fun to have them here.

I didn’t do anything else outside today. I did ironing and read a little and watched Greg Pelc’s message from Sunday.

I was also able to finish up my research and complete the rough draft of the Christmas play for Kathy’s church. I’ll let it set a day or two and revisit it. Also sent it to Kelly and maybe she can weed out the messy parts and make some suggestions.

Biltmore Christmas is on in the background. I’ll probably watch it several more times before it expires on Roku.

Quote of the day:

And that’s the total sum of my exciting day! It’s 7pm and I have to figure out if there is something I can eat that I can taste! I had veggie soup for lunch and I could get a taste or two from that. Maybe I’ll finish it. Took one last picture of the hillside in the sunshine with the color on the trees.

My blessing for today was spending time with Beth and Harold!

PEANUTS Thought for the Day:

TOMORROW October 23rd is:

Lung Health Day; Medical Assistant Day; National Project Day; Mole day; National Boston Cream Pie Day; National Croc Day; National iPod Day; National Paralegal day; TV Talk Show Host Day; National Horror Movie Day.

Yesterday’s fake day was National Tansy Day. Tomorrow – lung health – I find it particularly important to breathe! God bless!

Today is Uncle Clifford’s birthday! Happy birthday, UC – sending love and wishing you many, many more!

Today after work and lunch I threw in a load of laundry then went out on the hill and finished weeding the last section. Beth and Harold are coming tomorrow to see if the hill project is something Harold could tackle. I don’t want him to tackle it if he’s not 100% comfortable with the project! But at least the weeding is done.

I know you’ve heard of the Book of the Month club. I am starting a new club: Garden Clippers of the Month club. So far this summer I have broken or destroyed at least 5 pair of garden clippers. Sigh. I’m not sure what happens. I’m just snipping away and the spring pops off or the screw comes out or the handle comes loose. I had quite a time this afternoon just getting through the last section – none of my clippers worked!

Autmn brought me several boxes of Chex cereal yesterday – there was a special offer that if you bought 3 you got a free Peanuts tin. So I spent some time today at work with Ken helping me uploading the boxtops and the receipts. Now to wait for the 8 weeks until I get my tin!

With the bright sun shining on the trees this afternoon the neighbor’s two trees were in full glory. I always look forward to them being bright red and orange at the same time.

I thought this facebook post was hysterical! I love it!

My blessing today was definitely finishing up the weeding without wheezing, coughing, getting stuffed up or sneezing!

PEANUTS Thought for the Day:

TOMORROW October 22nd is:

International Caps Lock Day; National Tansy Day; National Color Day; National Make a Dog’s Day; National Nut Day; Scar Appreciation Day; Smart is Cool Day; National Tavern Style Pizza Day.

Yesterday’s fake day was National Candy Day. Tomorrow: Caps lock (hehe), Color, and Pizza. And I have plenty of scars, inside and out! God bless…

I intended to go to bed at a decent hour last night, but I fell asleep on the couch and finally went upstairs at about 1am. Slept well after that, though. I even got up a few minutes early before Diane’s song-of-the-day, which was Runaway. Which I don’t even have the energy to do tonight! Long weekend!

Autmn sent me pictures of Cameron in his costume, and the pumpkins they did. She even made brownies! Sweet little family!!

Trunk or Treat was a success. We had over a dozen cars and tons of kids. There were hot dogs, chips, and cookies inside after they went Trunk to Trunk. There were games and challenges outside, and the kids got tickets to go through the hay maze where candy was ‘hidden’ in corners.

Mary and I did my car full of Snoopys. And this isn’t even my whole collection. There were several other ‘Great Pumpkin’ cars there, too.

Noah and Autmn brought Cameron up and I was happy to show him off! He had a great time running from car to car. He wasn’t that interested in the candy; just running!

My blessing today was just sharing with friends and family at Trunk or Treat.

PEANUTS Thought for the Day:

TOMORROW October 21st is:

American Frog Day; Back to the Future Day; Count your Buttons Day; Everyone Writes Day; National Candy Day; Loud Shirt Day; National Apple Day; National Archives Day; National Pets for Veterans Day; National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day; National Reptile Day; National Witch Hazel Day.

There was no fake day yesterday! Tomorrow: Counting buttons sounds fun, and of course I’ll write. That’s enough for me! God bless…

Dillweed! We had such a great time. It’s almost impossible to describe the relationships, the experiences, and the support within this group. Cousins!

We packed the Ford and got on the road from Kathy’s at about 4:30pm Friday. Kathy’s long-time friend Mae (from Kentucky) is up for two weeks so she was made an honorary cousin for the event. The drive up was beautiful, and the foliage was bright and colorful. Kathy and Mae had to take pictures since I was the driver.

Once everyone was there we spent some time sorting out who was sleeping where. Gail needed the room with the sink, so she slept in Sage. I needed to be in a room alone in case I started to cough, so I had Rosemary.

Karen O and Connie took the King size bed in Thyme, and Kathy and Mae shared Parsley, which had a double and a twin bed.

Colleen, Gwen and Beth took the 3rd flood Garden suite, which was perfect for them. A lot more room for three people.

After we were all settled with luggage, we tucked the food into the spacious kitchen. Holly took charge and wrote down the pizza preferences on a napkin. Beth set her phone timer so they knew when to drive over and pick it up. While they were gone, the rest of us sat out all the food and plates and drinks, etc so we were all ready once the pizza was there.

I don’t even think I can name everything, but here’s at least a partial list. We had veggies and caramel dip, fruit with dip, chocolate covered potato chips (Yep!!), a tray of mixed nuts (including chocolate covered peanuts, double dipped!). Charleston Buffalo/bacon dip (or something named like that!) with crackers, butterscotch pudding pie, meat and cheese tray, cheese pretzels, popcorn puffs, M&M’s, and the crowning dessert was Colleen’s homemade pumpkin (made with pumpkin from her garden!) chocolate chip cookies! We ate until we couldn’t eat anything else.

THEN…. we sang happy birthday to Gail (happy 77th, Gail!) and had a huge vanilla cake with strawberry filling and cream icing with slivered almonds. Oh, my. It’s a wonder we even fit on the chairs!

Once we were done eating, I read the two short essays I wrote for the occasion – one about being (or NOT being) a missionary and one ‘Ode to Chocolate Chip Cookies.’

Karen V and Holly drove home and didn’t stay to sleep (they live close) but came back in the morning. They stayed late enough, though, to help keep the conversation going. We covered every subject from kids, work, grandkids, spouses (those who had them!), food, clothes, neighbors, vacations, memories, health, and of course dreams and plans. There were a few gifts for Gail, which she opened. It was well after midnight when we all went seeking our respective rooms. I wasn’t sleepy so I read until after 1am. Beth said the Garden Suite gals were up til about 2am! I heard Karen and Connie chatting quite a while after they closed the door and shut off the light.

Saturday morning the nine of us took turns getting showers and using the bathroom. Karen and Holly were back early Saturday for breakfast, and as it always is with Kyra it was delicious. We had a fruit salad, sausage links, apple cinnamon French toast bake (delicious times two!), chocolate chip scones (imagine that!) and orange juice, tea and coffee. Checkout time was 11am and we left the tables at about 10 til 11! Once we had everything in the cars and packed away we all went over to the gift shop and spent about 45 minutes browsing and still chatting! And spending money!

Kathy and Mae and I headed home about noon and the trip home was even more beautiful with the sun shining on the fall leaves. There were several low-flying planes cruising over Route 22 and it was so peaceful and magical.

It was a wonderful weekend and I felt better than I have all summer. We know we can share anything that’s on our hearts with each other. No judgement, no questions, no stress or arguments. Just love and support and laughter and Holly’s amazing animated stories! And too much food! I couldn’t navigate life without these sisters of the heart. God knew what He was doing when He connected us through family and faith. Love you girls!

I got home about 2pm and put everything away, then did a little work outside. It was a perfect fall day! Tomorrow is Trunk or Treat so another full day!

My blessings —- overflowed!

PEANUTS Thought for the Day:

TOMORROW October 20th is:

Information Overload Day; International Chef Day; Miss American Rose Day; National Brandied Fruit Day; National Day on Writing; National Youth Confidence Day; Sunday School Teacher Appreciation Day; Respiratory Care Week; National Chicken and Waffles Day.

Yesterday’s fake day was National Sunshine Day. Tomorrow: Writing! Celebrate writing. And Sunday School Teachers. And YES — respiratory care! Have a happy Sunday – God bless…

As far as I know, Nate and Dave (B&B Windows) took a vacation day and went Frisbee golfing. Long overdue! Have fun, my ‘two’ sons!

Today is my cousin Gail’s birthday – the founder and initial leader of the Skunk Hollow girls! Happy birthday, cousin!

Full moon photos last night!

This will be short and I will catch up on Saturday with details of the SHWF event. But before I sign off, this is the txt I got from Ken (Moore, my boss) this morning. Apparently he is now in the bat-saving business!

My blessing today is the anticipation of the Dillweed!

PEANUTS Thought for the Day.

TOMORROW October 19th is:

Bridge day; Evaluate Your Life Day; National Sunshine Day; International Sloth Day; National Fetch Day; National New Friends Day; Sweetest Day.

Yesterday’s fake day was National Blanket Day. Tomorrow: It often helps to evaluate where your life is. Don’t be a sloth! Cherish your new friends, and reach out to your ‘sweetest’ ones! God bless…

Well, I know what Nate and I were doing on October 17, 1981! I feel a lot more relaxed today than I did then! The years since then watching my son grow into a fine, loving, good man, great father and wonderful son have been very rewarding. Happy birthday, Nathan Wade! Love you!

Oh, and I understand that in addition to the two trays of chocolate chip scones that I sent down to him yesterday, Jen is getting his favorite Jioio’s pizza for supper! THAT’s a real treat.

Do you believe that Countdown to Christmas movies start tomorrow? I don’t watch them all and I don’t watch it all day and evening, but I am excited to see some of my favorites, like Haul out the Holly, Biltmore Christmas, Godwink Christmas, and a few more on the top of my list!

Work was long today, because we had a few problem deals and an outside deal, and several ‘normal’ deals. Then I had to stop at the bank, grab a few cards at Dollar Tree, and make a 30 second run-in to Walmart for one item!

I was able to organize the Dillweed items, and get the Christmas and Easter Snoopys out for Trunk or Treat. While I had the car out of the garage I decided to sweep it out.

I did a quick scope of the hill, and there’s not much left to clean up. Maybe by next week I’ll be able to finish that!

I came inside, got some ‘office’ type work done, and am having a cup of hot tea. Also, I like the little bench behind the table all decked out for fall.

And just for fun, here is another picture of our favorite little guy!

My blessing today was to clean up the messy deals at work, and to talk to Rege about his friend’s funeral.

PEANUTS Thought for the Day:

TOMORROW October 18th is:

Healthcare Aid Day; National Alaska Day; National Chocolate Cupcake Day; National Blanket Day; National Mashed Potato Day; National Necktie Day; National No Beard Day (Good thing I shaved….); National Prayer Day; National Sunday Day; Ride to Work Day.

Yesterday’s fake day was National Ink Day. Tomorrow celebrate cupcakes, prayer ,and mashed potatoes! God bless…

PS – One more sleep til Dillweed!

Happy 18th birthday to Jesse and Tonia’s son Isaac! Can’t believe he’s 18 already, and a senior in high school; and the top drummer in the Mt. Pleasant High School Band! Have a great year, Isaac!

All I did today was clean and do laundry. I took the trash up to the road, and the mail had not gone yet. I haven’t even been back outside to check again, so I’ll get it in the morning. The most exciting thing that happened to me was talking with my life-long friend Gen from New York. It was good to catch up – talking to her is always an encouragement and a joy for me!

My blessing today was talking to Gen!

PEANUTS Thought for the Day:

TOMORROW October 17th is:

Black Poetry Day; Child Poverty Day; National Ink Day; Conflict Resolution Day; Get Smart About Credit Day; National Pasta Day; National Pay Back a Friend Day; Wear Something Gaudy Day.

Yesterday’s fake day was national Sneeze Day. Tomorrow: being smart about credit is ALWAYS a good thing to celebrate. And wear something gaudy – why not? God bless…

PS – Two more sleeps til the Skunk Hollow girls Dillweed B&B sleepover! Yea!

My focus today will be on two things: Christmas fun and clouds! I had to get groceries on the way home from work, so when I walked past the Ritz cracker display – look what I found! They used to have snowflake shapes. This year they are more fun!

I was able to get the ironing done, and a few chores around the house, and mixed up the scones Nate wants for his birthday. They need to be mixed up, kept refrigerated overnight, and baked in the morning. So I will take them down tomorrow when he gets home from work. His birthday is Thursday.

I spent part of the afternoon finishing my summer medical journey – typed it all out and saved it. I tried to do that for my medications, too, but I knew I had missed some. I called Giant Eagle and asked if they could print out a list of my prescriptions from June first. By the time I got off the phone they were printed and ready for me! So once I got caught up on my work, I drove over (it’s only a few miles down the road) and picked up the copy. But while I was there, I found Christmas OREO cookies, necessary for making holiday Oreo Ice Cream! Yea! And little boxes of baggies with snowmen. So all these things that I normally have to look for during the holidays were right in front of me. So just bought them a little early.

The sky was very dramatic and I couldn’t resist taking pictures of the clouds and even the trees. There aren’t too many colorful trees in my neighborhood so I gave them some air space!

And took a picture of the deck lights, just for fun!

My blessing today was feeling well enough to get things done!

PEANUTS Thought for the Day:

TOMORROW October 16th is:

World Food Day; World Spine Day; National Sports Day; National Dictionary Day; National Sky Day; Global Cat Day; Hagfish Day; National Boss’s Day; National Department Store Day; National Fossil Day; National Take your Parents to Lunch Day; National Veterans BBQ Day; Unity Day; World Allergy Awareness Day.

Yesterday’s fake day was National Sneeze Day. Tomorrow – be aware of allergies of course! I’m trying to figure it out! And my bosses! Best in the world! Love you guys! God bless…

I had lots to do in Jeannette today, having missed work on Thursday. But I was in no hurry, and was home about noon without any extra stops. When I got home I decided to make veggie soup so it will be ready in about an hour.

So now, Cameron’s party. I stayed pretty quiet for the most part, and just sat and talked to people and watched Cameron run around having fun. There were a lot of young people there – Autmn and Noah’s friends and siblings – and they were good at chasing Cameron.

Autmn did all the planning, baking, designating, getting food and supplies, making photo display, and organizing the whole event. When we got there everyone was asking to help, so she gave them all chores and things got done. Sherree and I put the centerpieces together on the tables. Then we snitched some chips and dip!

Autmn wanted to surprise her dad with the homemade butterscotch pie and the ‘Puppers’ shirt. She even had a birthday crown for him. She was very excited to give him honor for his special day. I think he WAS surprised.

Cameron was stripped of his clothes (except for diaper) and given his ‘1’ cake. As it was black and white checked the black icing really made a mess. He had it everywhere, of course, but he didn’t attack it. He just approached it calmly and smeared it everywhere!

He got a lot of really cute clothes – people are so creative. He got toys and books and blocks and even diapers. I think he’s set for the winter! He also got a few toys and a stuffed doll for Miss Rachel. If you don’t know the show I’m surprised! He loves watching it, and it’s a learning show.

It was fun to see them all having a good time. Noah is really a big help and a great dad. They both did a nice job hosting the party. Love you guys!

My blessing today was calls from both Dr. Pirzada and Dr. Cole – hope things are moving in the right direction!

PEANUTS Thought for the Day:

TOMORROW October 15th is:

Global Handwashing Day; I Love Lucy Day; National Cheese Curd Day; National Grouch Day (that can be me!!!); National Lemon Bar Day; National Mushroom Day; Pharmacy Technician Day; Shine a Light Night; National Sneeze Day; World Students Day; Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day; White Cane Safety Day.

Yesterday’s fake day was National Pink Sky Day. Tomorrow – always wash your hands! I loved the I Love Lucy museum in New York. I have 3 grandchild students. God bless!