Little House on Brush Prairie: October in Pictures

Wow....OK, so I've been a little overwhelmed lately and haven't had a minute to sit down and write a blog post. But it's fall and I love how one day you just wake up and everything is gold! We've been busy enjoying the last of our summer garden, the weather, doing projects around the house, working, and being social, but we did find some time for a trip to San Francisco. Here's our last month in photos....

JSM grew some beautiful dahlias this year and we were able to enjoy them until mid-October

Long shadows start just as tomatoes are about to finish...

The last of the Oregon sweets.

In early October we attended the Humane Society of SW Washington's annual fundraiser. What fun! Dressing up is fun and spending money is fun, but it's even more fun when you are supporting animals that can't help themselves. The funniest part? The week before the event JSM brought home a packet with a list of all the items that would be available at the live auction. Live auction? We'd never bought anything from a live auction. We're not those people! Not that we don't want to be, we just never had the opportunity. And as JSM compared the list of weekend getaways with his Oregon Golfer magazine naming the resorts he's been wanting to play I laughed at him. But when friends play together we all win and we'll be spending Christmas at Pronghorn with our friends Annie and Jeff and supporting pets around Clark County in the process. That's what I call a win-win situation!

So handsome although he was so sick...

Channeling the Mad Men era...

Thinking about a bid! (The necklace was not part of his ensemble.....just to be clear!)

Phil!

Our friends Annie and Jeff!

In mid-October things took a turn.....the weather became chilly, we had our first fire of the season, and we spent a couple days home sick with colds.

JSM watching TV, while sick and checking email....always checking email!

I pulled out my librarian shoes (clogs - my favorite) just in time for fall and my feet are thanking me!

We got dishwasher drawers which I was afraid to use for days after they arrived because I couldn't figure out how to load them! The instruction booklet only specified how NOT to arrange the dishes. Thankfully, I finally got up the courage to start it and I've not looked back! My dishes only have to be washed once (imagine that, not three times like before) and it's so quiet!

We all know what this means.....Phil sees suitcases and is sure something is afoot. He thinks he's "hiding" from us! He's so funny....

And in fact as the rain started to fall in late October we split town and headed down to California to celebrate Nanny Annie's 70th birthday! I love JSM's mom, Nanny Annie! She's so laid back and lots of fun to travel with. She met us in San Francisco for 5 days of good food, shopping, ice cream, and wonderful views! JSM used to live in San Francisco, right before we met in Miami, and he has always spoken highly of the place. It was everything I imagined - the views were spectacular, the people were hip, and the fog was magical. Except, I didn't imagine we'd get in a cab accident on our way to the Slanted Door! Thankfully, no one was injured. We did ride in the ambulance with Nanny Annie, who, bless her heart, had to endure a neck brace and bumpy ride to the Cal Pacific emergency room. We emerged after a few hours with slight headaches and headed back to the hotel for expensive room service. So much for the Slanted Door this time around, but we made the best of the rest of our trip and ate as much ice cream as we could. Our final day was spent over the Golden Gate Bridge in sunny Sausalito.