I'm Confused!

 Tomorrow is the first day of Fall...correct?  I was a bit worried when I walked into Walmart on Saturday.   I thought for sure I had somehow missed it.  Missed the rest of September, missed my favorite month of October.  Missed Halloween! Missed Thanksgiving! Why?

The candy canes are out...

Christmas trees are lining the shelves!  Santa was everywhere.  I didn't click a pic of him because I was too busy wondering where the Fall decor had gone.  I was relieved when I found a bin of clearance scarecrows, pillows and an isle of Halloween costumes being eagerly picked over by parents and kiddos.  But the real salvation came from M&M's:

Yes! I knew I hadn't really missed Fall...the candy isle had these babies still available...whew! I hope your last day of Summer was great and I'm sending out a "Happy Fall y'all!"   Enjoy some pretty leaves, candy apples, maybe a pumpkin or too in the next few weeks.  Just please don't buy a candy cane yet...thanks!

Game Changers

Did you ever have a day planned and then something happens and things get changed, moved, or plain old cancelled?  I call those "game changers".  Sure, everyone has those. This weekend we had a few of them.  First, Saturday.  It's the day we run around and get the groceries, the laundry done (thanks Jack for that!) and any projects we might have on the calendar. Well, we did get the main things accomplished and then we decided, after some deliberation, to make a run for a new log splitter.  When we got back I said I really needed to get the lawn mowed.  With the warmer weather and not a ton of rain it's been almost 2 weeks since that was needed.  I hop on the rider, lower the mowing thingie, and make a move forward.  Then bam...I notice the front tire is flat.  OK, off the mower and on to Jack removing the tire and me running to Walmart for the repair.   Now there's an hour and a half I can never get back! Ha! It's always interesting to people watch at that place but I didn't really think I'd be there that long.  Game changer.  I got home and made the decision to try and beat the sunset.  I love Fall, but the early darkness is the one thing I'm not fond of. Well, I got the lawn mowed, but I didn't have the light to get all the trimming done. Just a mini game changer I guess!   So on to today.  I'm getting ready for church and Jack says: "I think I heard your phone go off".   (Why is it when calls come in on the land line, the phone "rings", but when they come in on the cell,  it "goes off"?) Anyway, I checked my phone and realized my sound was turned off...and who in the heck would be calling me on a Sunday morning anyway?  The hospital.  I looked at the number and had to make a decision.  I was not on call.  I was on call the last 2 Sundays.  I was not on call today.  What do they want?  I could ignore it, and just keep getting ready for church.  I could call them back and tell them I was not available today. I decided to call them back, find out what they needed.  Could I come in and help with a surgery? Deep breath.  Ok, I'll come in.  Game changer.  So I again missed church and teaching my kiddos but I know the team on call was happy to have a second pair of hands.  Sometimes we have to do what's right and not always what we want. Anyway, it's the start of a new week tomorrow.  It's Ashland's County fair week.  Looks like warm and sunny weather for the event.  I've been hoping for some cool, Fall temps but it looks like Summer is going to hold a bit longer. Fall does officially arrive in another week so I should quit complaining about the heat.  Soon we will be going from this:

To this:

Yep, now that's a game changer.  Night all!

This Day As Usual

Many bloggers have posted this week about 9/11.  I looked back at my posts from previous years to see if I had posted about this historic day. Yes, I did a few posts about it in the past. This day I woke up and prepared for work as usual. Jack and I went about our routine and headed out...Jack to his office, me to the hospital. Arriving at work I was met with the usual craziness that can make up an operating room and it's schedule.  Emergency cases, moving Docs and changing rooms and assignments...just the usual. We got it done with patients never knowing there were any issues.  On my way home from work I kept going back to 9/11/2001.  I thought about the people who got up and did their usual routine of getting ready for work, getting families ready for work or school. Thinking about the way their day would go, perhaps what they would have for dinner, or what bills needed to be paid. You know, the usual.  Arriving at work and doing what they do every day at the World Trade Center, or boarding a plane for a business trip or a pleasure destination. You know, the usual. The sun was shining on that perfectly beautiful September morning with crystal clear blue skies.  Folks expecting just the usual day.  From that day forward it was never again going to be just as usual for the 3000 plus people who died and their families and our country.  Everything about travel, safety, security and many other issues were no longer just the usual.  We should never forget how we felt that day.  We need to remember how blessed we are to live in this wonderful country with all it's perfect imperfections.  We need to honor the heroics of the first responders and the bravery of the folks on those planes.  Maybe we need to be better citizens, nicer neighbors, stronger families, kinder in all ways.  We should always remember this day...and that's my prayer for this day, as usual, for 9/11.

Signs

The first week of September has come and gone and little signs are appearing that says the seasons are starting to make the change.  I like living in an area that has 4 seasons and I truly look forward to Fall the most. (Although the Spring, after a long Winter, can have me happy to be out playing in the dirt!) I know how many folks feel when Fall arrives because all they can think about is what's coming next.  Yep, I get it but I will still enjoy the cooler temps and the fun decor that comes with this season.  So what are the signs?  Well, even though it's still 2 weeks away the Fall festivals are popping up here and there.  The cute shops are having Fall open house to welcome the season.  I'm not a coffee drinker but I know pumpkin spice lattes are here too.  I snapped just a few pics of the little signs at the Pines:

The buckeye tree is starting to slowly have some orange peeping out.

The dogwoods are sporting red leaves here and there along with the red berries. (not pictured!)

We put in a fire in the pit and did pie iron dinner and dessert.  See all the dry grass in the pit?  This is the first fire we've had in a long time. The Spring was just too wet and the Summer just too hot so when the night temps have been in the 40's and 50's it was finally time to clean out the fire pit.

Rae is enjoying her pie! (Yep, it's just a bit on the "well done" side!)

She got hold of the camera and took this angled shot of her Dad and Paw Paw sitting around the fire.

It's still a bit early for pumpkins but the fake kind are showing up now...and they don't rot! Of course when it's October the real ones will make an appearance because we need them for our Thanksgiving pumpkin shoot!  So the signs are little but the cool air we had this week sure makes you feel like having a bowl of chili...which I made today...and watching the football season begin too. (Not me, I could really care less about football but some folks seem to enjoy it!)  September still has warm air to it and this week we're expecting it to reach into the 80's again. It's an up and down climate but that doesn't stop me from getting excited about the little signs...one final sign:

Arnie got a new do for the season...and the bow, thanks to the Barker Shop...topped it off.  Well, enjoy the signs in your neck of the woods!