Autumn is Falling

Happy Friday (night)!  Life threw us another snow ball today.  During the rain/thunder/wind storm, we lost power (see #2).  That really messed up my schedule for writing my Friday Fave Fives.  But here I am, finally, to share my Five blessings from this first full week of Autumn.

1.  I do hope that everyone who is living on the east coast of the US is safe, dry and snug in their homes.  Because I have a sister-cousin in Florida, I have been watching the progress of the nasty weather very closely.  Good news there is that she let me know that she is fine and her house is intact.

2.  As I mentioned above, our electricity went out this afternoon and was out for several hours.  I am thankful that we weren't worried.  We have flashlights, oil lamps and candles.  And we had peanut butter sandwiches for dinner.  And now our power is back on again, and we are very thankful for that.

3.  We have a new mattress!  We wanted to buy a new one and then we found out that someone needed a bed.  So, we offered our old mattress to them and bought a new one for us.  It was delivered Tuesday.  I am thankful for a good dependable store near us that would deliver and place the bed on its frame for us.

4.  I have been going through all my old photos which are hanging around on my laptop and enjoying the reminiscing.  And deleting the ones I don't want.  Actually, I am finally ready to move them to a flash drive.  And then I will be able to move all the photos from my trip to Ireland, England and Wales onto my computer and write blog posts about it.  The fave in this is that I am learning all the tech stuff.

5.  Autumn decor.  (no photos yet)  I love autumn, and I love having fall decorations, especially flowers (like last week).  I bought two gorgeous mums and they are sitting on my front porch now smiling at everyone who walks or drives past the house.  I am thankful for the beauty of autumn.

Happy Fall!  Happy Friday!

Is It Autumn Yet?

 It's almost Fall!  Two more days!  Are you ready for the weather to moderate and the leaves to change colors?  I am!  So many things about autumn make me happy.  Some of them made me happy this week (but not the still very hot weather).  I am sharing them as my Friday Fave Fives, my five blessings from this week. (follow the link to join us!)

1.  The flowers from my garden are all autumn colored.  I cut some and placed them in vases on my mantel where they made me smile every time I saw them.

2.  One evening after the weather cooled a bit, we walked along the paved paths by a local creek.  The heron is my favorite bird, and there was one playing bodyguard to a flock of ducks which were swimming around in the water.

3.  I finished two afghans this week.  Here is one of them-- made from leftover sock yarn.  Younger Daughter saw me knitting and claimed it.  She loves all. the. colors.

4.  I received a letter in the mail last week.  Enclosed were two packets of hollyhock seeds.  Oh my!  I am so excited for next spring when I can plant them.  Thank you, MBP!  The seeds are just a symbol of our deep and long friendship.

5.  Earlier this week, I drove out to a friend's farm to harvest some goldenrod plants.  And besides getting the plants, I had a great time chatting with my friend.  Here's hoping the plants survive all this hot weather in their new location.

So, those are my Friday Fave Fives for this week as we are moving into Autumn.  I hope you have had a good week, too.

FIRE, HOPE and a Few Other Faves

 Good Friday Morning!  I hope your week has gone well.  Mine was busy although I was able to find some time to relax and rest.  Our weather has been hot and dry.  Even so, we have been able to do some work in the garden and take a few short walks in the evenings when the temperatures cooled down a bit.  As I looked back over the past week to choose my Friday Fave Fives, this is what bubbled up to the top.  (the link takes you to Susanne's blog where you can find other bloggers who have written their FFFs, too)

1.  Bargain hunting with Older Daughter.  I was looking for a couple of items and so we ventured out to explore the local thrift and bargain stores.  Score!  I found a laptop desk, the kind to use while you are sitting in your chair.  And some fall decor.  It's almost autumn!

2.  A successful episode at the dentist.  I had two very small spots on two teeth that needed attention.  I greatly appreciate my very skilled and caring dentist who spent at least half his time with me refilling vials and pushing needles into my gum to continue to numb the area.  Evidently, I do not have "normal nerve pathways" (to quote the dentist) so I don't respond to normal anesthetics in a normal way.  But in the end, I am fine, and he was relieved to have me out of the chair all healthy and even more relieved than he was.  I am very grateful for such a kind, caring and competent dentist.

3.  Several coolish evenings this week meant we could have bonfires.  I love to sit out on our patio and just relax while I watch the flames.

ready to light the FIRE!

4.  Hair cut!  I love my hair stylist!

5.  Two Bible Studies I am part of began this week and are both studying the same book-- Revelation.  I love that one had a statement that the main topic is HOPE!

September Fave Fives, Week One

Good morning! Here it is Friday, already.  AND, it's September!  Where has the year gone? Where did the week go? It's already Friday Fave Fives time. Let's get to it.

1.  Twice this week, we had coffee time with our friends T and S.  I know I mention this as a Fave often, but it is always a blessing to spend time talking with them about everything under the sun.

2.  Garden produce.  Mostly raspberries and tomatoes. So so yummy!  When I can just walk out my back door and snack on freshly ripened tomatoes, it is such a treat.

3.  Friday, we enjoyed an evening at the local Sweet Corn Festival.  The band Shenandoah performed and we had a great time.

4.  Summer weather in Ohio is not my favorite.  But now, we are seeing a bit of a drop in temperatures, and that is definitely a Fave for me.

5.  One step in the right direction with my laptop computer issues. Our local neighborhood fix it guy took a quick look at my laptop and diagnosed a problem. And he didn't charge us for his ten minutes of time because there wasn't much to do... click a couple of buttons and give it back to me.

That's a short version of my week.  How was yours?