Monday Stuff on the Way to Other Stuff: Carrying On

      Things started to change this past week.

      We had a few cool days, including two with rain! (Miracle or all miracles) A few flutters of color here and there, and I think the hummingbirds have left on their annual trip to Mexico. The woodpile is getting steadily smaller. And both Michigan and Colorado have been winning football games lately. (Okay, the Buffs got stomped on their latest with Northwestern.)

     All signs that Fall's moving in.

    We had a very long day trip to Denver to see three batches of friends. Otherwise, it's been tidying up here, cleaning there -- and the Brick starts driving for the potato harvest on Monday. Potatoes being harvested? Another sign.

     More to go before month's end.

Meanwhile:

Thirty bucks for a painting at an estate sale -- appraised around $250k!

The hidden oddities of New York City.  Including a Victorian era 'fountain' that really was meant as a horse water trough.

Annie Dillard died this week.  A thoughtful 'everyday' writer I've enjoyed -- and a great favorite of Daughter #1. 

"The press called me … and said, 'What are you doing right now as you hear that you have won the Pulitzer Prize?'" Dillard recalled during a 1992 interview on WHYY's "Fresh Air." "And I said, 'I'm washing spinach.' And they said, 'Don't you know that this means you need never wash spinach again?' And I thought, and probably said, 'Sure, I do. I don't like sand in my spinach.' And I've been washing spinach ever since. And I think about it ever since. Did they think I was going to go hire a maid? I love to cook."

How to plant a fall garden -- a classic from The Prudent Homemaker.

Fifteen uses for mouthwash.  Besides your mouth, that is.

Antiques that are just a liiiitle bit out of the ordinary. Like this metallic link purse:

A "raticule." Get it? (I confess I had to think about this one for a while.)

'All things pumpkin' -- a classic from yours truly. Although I don't know why you'd want to.

Have a great week. 

Guitar Men

 Tommy Emmanuel  and Billy Strings let loose on Guitar Boogie & Working Man Blues. 

      See if you can keep up!

Generous of Her?

 Maybe not.

We have enough trouble with Bo staring at us...let alone hundreds of baby dolls. Ewww.

Is It Here?

 Finally. Maybe. I think.

The development I'd hoped for is starting to arrive: Fall.  The days still tend to be warm to hot/sticky, but temperatures are cooling down in the evenings. We even had a "Michigan day," cool and rainy, on Monday. That night, we had a 'kind of needed' fire in the woodstove, the first one in months.

Could it be? Is it true? Have we endured to Autumn? 

All I know -- the Brick is in stockup mode, changing oil and fluids on the vehicles and busily stacking the remains of our woodpile. I would tease him, but noticed that I bought an armful of various soups during my last visit to the Amish grocery store. I also froze melon, broccoli and peaches for winter meals.

Nice of him to dress to match, though...

I checked my calendar -- our first frost last year was Sept. 17. (Today is the 16th.) That's not going to happen this year. The hummingbirds are still here, though their ranks are thinning rapidly. The dogs are shedding like crazy, growing their winter coats. ('Fur slippers' snuggled on your feet during winter nights -- yay!) And the trees are barely showing color. Apparently the hot dry days we've been enduring have slowed everything.

Come on, Fall. Let's see you make a grand appearance!

Let Us All Go Forth and Do Likewise...

 

Monday Stuff on the Way to Other Stuff: College Football!

     Thanks to its victory over Oklahoma, Michigan is out of purgatory on the Coaches Poll -- it's now #19, with the Sooners panting behind at #21. Poor babies. But on the AP Poll, Michigan is still standing in the corner, with Oklahoma at #24.  Texas and Georgia are #1 and #2, respectively, on both polls. And they deserve it.

     That's okay. Michigan does a lot better when they consider themselves the underdogs. 

     The CU Buffs did okay for themselves, too - 52 - 21, against Weber State. But that's not exactly bragging territory.

     Now we have a Fox Sports subscription, we can watch a lot more of these games. All four of our kids prefer professional ball; i.e., the Denver Broncos. But we hope that someday they will see the light.

 GO BUFFS!!! GO BLUE!!!

     Daughter #2 and Son #1 are selling at the Denver Gem Show all week-- lots of good stuff, too. Bo will miss them; she's been having fun teasing Daughter on the couch. (We call this Bo position her 'belly up to the bar, boys.')

Back to work -- a lot finishing and tidying up to do. The Brick has been stacking wood and doing some fix-up jobs on the house. Getting ready for winter, even though daytime temperatures are still in the mid-80s. Our trees are taking their sweet time changing into fall costume. Is that because it's been so hot and dry?!?

Meanwhile:

Here's your chance! Princess Diana's 'revenge dress' is going up for auction -- again.  

It previously sold for $50,000 back in the late 90's. This time, it's slated to go for much more than that. (I think it will, too.)

Weird pet names -- from a vet who's heard them all.

Ten elusive animals that were finally photographed.

Top ten black slaveowners.  Yes, you read that right.

Green pork chili -- Colorado style.

The 'millionaire' 15-year-old bragging about 'his' Ferrari.  (He's 16 now.) 

There are just a few tiny problems with this. First, he admits he doesn't own it. (He leases, he says...filmed while driving a second rental vehicle.) Second, last I checked, you had to be 18 to sign a contract.  Wanna bet Mommy and Daddy had to lease this for him?  And thirdly, last I checked, you had to be 21 in order to drive a rental or lease. Oopsies... and no proof given for the big bucks Kid says he's worth, either. Sure, Buddy...and here's a newsflash. Advice when you're old enough to actually do this: renting or leasing does NOT mean you own that vehicle, no matter how flashy it is.

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REMEMBERING 9/11:

Some of the final phone calls on September 11.   Plus a documentary on same:

A long look at 'The Falling Man.' -- and other people who were forced to jump from the Twin Towers.

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A T-Rex trackway discovered in North Dakota -- insanely cool.

A classic from yours truly -- saving on your food budget, Part I.

A chef takes the challenge: cooking $5 meals.  (Here's one of his tip videos, too.)

'Unorthodox' life-saving tips for college students -- and us, too.

'Big Dawg' commercials from Subaru.  I love these...

Have a good week. Better make hay before the snow flies.

THEY DID IT!

 Michigan 17 -- Oklahoma 10.

GOOOOO BLUE!!!