Why I Love Fall

Today is Saturday and we spent our day riding around looking at Fall. Most of these pics were taken at a park about 5 blocks from the house.

Fall Storm Has Arrived

It is 7 pm Thursday night and our fall storm is hitting. The super cells were coming in off of Lake Michigan. This one contained a tornado that was striking just southeast of us. As the news came on to warn about it, hundreds of geese were fleeing over us away from that storm.

Beauty of Fall

Some of the trees have turned, but I fear the leaves won't be there after today. We have high winds today and we are suppose to have the possibility of storms this afternoon and evening. I have decided next spring I am planting a golden and red maple of my own. These trees are behind our house in the neighbors yard. The old house behind us was the original farm home on this property. There is a big red barn that was used for milking etc as you turn into our neighborhood and a big pond across the street from us. As I was digging my garden out back last year I found all kinds of interesting things like at one time they had a chicken coop out there because I found bits and pieces of it. My view of the neighbors house isn't so great but the trees are fine!

Our weather has been weird. This time last year we had a 2 inch snow. This year we are sitting at 74 right now with high humidity waiting on the big fall storm we get that sets us on our way to winter. It blows through and strips the leaves and downs trees, but what follows is cool air. I love the smell of fall. It's comforting, but sad and fills me with anticipation of the winter to come and the spring that follows.

Because we have entered into our rainy days, I have picked up my reading again. It's been raining off and on for the last 2 weeks, feeding the trees and getting them ready for their winter sleep. I have given myself a new project for this winter in my reading. Last winter I read the entire Bible, and New Testament, so for this winter I have ordered a translated copy of the Koran. I want to learn what the differences are between the Christians, Jews and Muslims. I was watching Ann Coulter the other day put her foot in her non politically correct mouth and I really understood what she was trying to say about perfecting the Jews. The Bible represents the Jews and the angry vengeful God--but able to forgive after certain restrictions and punishments are adhered to by the Jews. I see why they feel this is all there is if you base your life only on the Bible. The New Testament was a "perfecting" of the Jews, the Christians. The loving, forgiving God as long as forgiveness was asked for. A God and religiion for all people--gentiles. The Bible speaks of the religion was for Gods people--the Jews. Now I want to read the Koran and see the parallels with the Bible and the New Testament. Oh well, just a project of trying to understand why the hell everyone wants to cram their beliefs down each others throat. I realize our stakes in the middle east have nothing to do with religion, but I want to understand the Jews and the Muslims and where this bullshit started. I have also been doing research on the computer of World History. I took World History in college unfortunately the only thing I remember about the Muslims were the Christian crusades. I want to dig deeper into the Muslim culture to understand or get an insight on the different tribes etc.

I got interested in all this when I read "The Kite Runner", which is an excellent book. It is fiction but it contains a lot of current history of Afganistan I didn't really know about. After I read that book I read the authors other book of "A Thousand Splendid Suns" (Khaled Hosseini). It also contained a lot of information on the people of Afganistan and all the warring tribes. These are two books I would greatly recommend. Currently, I am reading "Middlesex" which is a story of a Greek immigrant family, fleeing Greece when the Turks invaded slaughtering the people of the country, and their genetic failures. It was a Pulitzer Prize winner. It is steeped in American history and the life of the immigrant--very interesting. Last winter I also read a book on Georgia O'Keeffe by Roxana Robinson which I found informative and interesting. Well, if you get a chance I suggest you pick these books up and give them a read. Also I found a signed first edition of "Water for Elephants" at the goodwill store (where I get most of my books). This is a great story of the circus and its people and growing old, a story I greatly recommend.

The stairs are working great for the dogs that are spending most of their times outdoors now when it is not raining at least. They lay on the deck, down the stairs and on the patio below. They seem quite content now outside. Freckles spends the day watching for the rabbits in the yard outside the fence and crazy squirrel. All my tomatoes are gone thanks to crazy squirrel.

Well take care until next time. Time for me to get back to reading.

We Have Stairs!!

It is done!! All projects for the house are finished. Gary and I worked on this project for 11 hours this weekend. I was the go get and hand me this and hold this etc person and Gary did everything else. He worked very hard on this and it has taken a couple of days but the dogs are getting the hang of it. All except Hercules, he doesn't like going down them yet. Well we are ready for winter--I would be happy with fall. It was close to 90 each day this weekend and humid too. We had to wait till late afternoon to start work on the stairs and we still thought we were going to fall out from the heat.

Nothing new going on here except for that. Gary still working the consultant job in Kalamazoo and here at Smith's. We did get a fairly new car---newer than the Mountaineer that had 160,000 miles on it. We bought a 2006 Eddie Bauer Explorer that was turned in as a rental that had 28,000 miles on it (still has warranty on it). We needed a car to take the trip in to move Jessica because everything on the Mountaineer was getting where it didn't want to work. We looked at renting a van but for one week it would have cost us around 1000 dollars which I felt would be wasted money since we needed a car with less miles on it. I have been looking for 3 months and I finally found one that I wanted to go look at. It was listed at 22,500 and Gary said it was probably a come on. But when we got there it was a very nice car, although they kept trying to push more expensive ones on us. We put down a big chunk and plan on paying it off in a year. So all we owe is our house, utilities, and one car.

Well take care until next time.

A New Week

I was hoping this week would start off better than last week, but it is a dark, dreary rainy day. Last Monday I was on a miserable ride back from St. Louis with 8 dogs and a worn out husband. Tuesday, I laid around all day going from chills to burning up. Wednesday, I woke up with a migraine at 3 am and spent the day in a dark room barfing, trying to keep the dogs quiet because the slightest sound ripped by head open.

Thursday was going to be better I thought. I got up got dressed and decided to go to Menards and do some shopping for my stairs out back. This was a major hurdle for me. I was determined to change my outlook. I haven't been out the house alone in months. I have a problem with panic attacks--I guess that is what you could call the melt down I go through if I don't have someone around me I know. I break out in a sweat and start dripping, shaking, confused at where I am at. Everything is spinning, and I either crap myself or puke.

I walked into Menards grabbed a cart telling myself I could do this. Everything was going to be alright. I am at Menards, in Grand Rapids, (only about 2 miles from where we live), I know where the car is, I know how to get home, I will not be sick (although the sweat has started running down my face and it is only 60 degrees outside). Well, I take my wallet and lay it in the cart and at the very entrance is a display I stop to look at. I turn to my left take two steps to pick up a box to put in my cart, turn back around and my cart is gone. I see this guy that had just walked past me pushing a cart, in a camoflauged (sp) jacket and hat and pony tail stuffing something in his coat walking very fast away from me. I run to catch up with him but see my wallet is not in the basket. I then ran up to the front desk and cashiers and start yelling someone just stole my wallet. I am explaining to the manager and cashiers what has just happened and what I suspect of the guy camoflauged jacket. The manager gets on walky talky and tells all employees to watch the guy, and look for a basket that might have a wallet laying in it. Then he announces it on intercom for customers to check to see if they have found a wallet in their cart. I am standing up front basically shaking down everyone checking out looking for my wallet.

Not 1 minute after the manager announces on the intercom, the dude comes up to check out and the manager tells me he can't approach him--but I could. I walk up to the guy as close as I could--kissing distance you might say--and said "Sir, as I was standing by the front door you walked behind me and I "believe" you mistakenly took my cart with my wallet laying in it" He says, nope. He has this nasty little smirk on his face. Then I say, "Do you remember maybe anyone else walking in before you?" He says, nope. Cold beady eyes. I looked down then thought about all the books I have read--if a victim- make the guy see you as a human being. I looked back in his eyes, beginning to cry with my bottom lip trembling, I put my hand on his arm and said, "You know, I don't have any credit cards or even any money in it, but the only valuable thing in it was my insulin, and if I don't have it in the next few minutes I have to call an ambulance. I just wish I could have that back." At this time, I am in full fledge panic attack. I am talking very loud making a scene, everyone stopping and looking at us. His eyes are moving now and his smirk is gone. He is looking right and left over and over like someone caught with their hand caught in the cookie jar. In a shaky voice, he says I'm sure you'll find your purse somewhere around here. Then I let him go and stand away and watch him as I cry. After, he walked out I stopped the crying and watched him through the door. He walked all over the parking lot and I once again see him digging around the inside of his coat. The manager ask me about the insulin and I told him quietly I was just trying to appeal to the man.

Two minutes later an old couple walk in up to the customer service counter with my wallet saying they found it on the parking lot. I ask where they found it because the manager is insisting I probably just dropped it on the way in. Where they found it was in a cart in the return cart area, all the way across the parking lot from where I had parked my car. Nope--I didn't just drop it--I remember putting it in the cart when I walked inside the store, because I didn't have a pocket to put my keys which were still in my hand. I had a hundred dollars cash in it, license, and debit card which were all still in it. At that point, I went home. By the way, I don't take insulin, I just had to make him see me as a human being with problems too. I knew he did it, but other than sticking my hand inside his coat I could think of no other way to approach him.

Friday I spread mulch finishing up my planting project for this year. Saturday, Gary and I returned to Menards which unfortunately someone came up and ask me how I was doing since they remember me from 2 days ago. Soon as I got to the car, I started vomiting on the parking lot. The rest of the day was spent in bed. Sunday was fairly peaceful. So begins the new week.

Our state was suppose to shut down last night at midnight. They were closing the state parks and throwing everyone out last night. Well at 4 am the gov and crew finally agreed on screwing the public some more with higher taxes. It was either raise the sales tax, or state income tax by 2 percent. Now a state that has the highest unemployment rate in the US which do you think they would finally agree on? It's not bad enough we pay around 3.45 a gallon for gasoline (major taxes) or that we pay 6 percent sales tax unless you buy in the city then it is another 1 and one half percent sales tax added to that, or that our state income tax filling says--what did you make--ok you owe us 3.6 percent of that--no deductions. Well, we got the increase for income tax and all the state workers get to keep their job, the state lottery can still operate, the welfare checks can go out, the unemployment checks too -- don't forget 8 percent of Michigan are unemployed. Oh too, we are number one in the US with house foreclosures. Maybe that is why I like living here--it's becoming a ghost state. People leaving not moving in. One day, I am afraid, all those people who have rushed to live in the South will be too hot from all the global warming that they will come back North. I personally can't live there anymore. Too hot, dirty and public bathrooms might as well be outhouses.

This week I start on my stairs from the deck. Wish me luck I don't fall off the ladder.