Fall colors in Idaho are breathtaking. We have been surrounded by the colors of fall for a couple of months now. While every season has its beauty, I believe Fall is the most attention getting. The leaves are almost all on the ground now. I'm a little sad. Winter here surrounds us with the look of dead things. Snow can cover it all with its white beauty. I hope it does this year.
I decorated the house for Halloween, filling it with the colors of Fall and the happy spooks of the holiday. We trunk or treated at the Church parking lot for the kids and I was happy to have given out all the candy that I bought. I made the mistake of asking Layne to buy just a little more in case we had trick or treaters at home. He came home with three huge bags of candy! And we had absolutely not one trick or treater come to the house! So my best laid plans for ridding us of all candy has gone terribly awry.
Halloween was on a Sunday this year, which may partly explain why there were no kids out on Halloween night. The folks here are pretty religious generally. Angelica did go to a friend's party on the Saturday before Halloween. She dressed as a policeman. Here she is, looking very official (with Layne's pilot hat serving as a police hat--I wonder if it worked).
Fall brings the end of our garden, leaving us with a collection of produce that is almost but not quite ripe. This year I decided to pick all the green tomatoes, lay them out on folding tables and see if they would ripen. Here is the crop.
Can you believe all those green tomatoes? What is your guess...do you think they had a chance of turning red? I'm happy to report that all but two of them ripened! I turned their beautiful red bodies into 10 quarts of marinara sauce! That was a successful experiment, wouldn't you say?
Happily, we video chat with Seth every week. He is adjusting to life in New York, but, of course, he misses the unlimited amount of food here. That boy must eat! He finds the people there less friendly than here and that has given him pause. But his companion is very outgoing and has set a good example for him. He's learning to put himself out more. So good for him! Here are a couple of shots of him, one with his outgoing trainer and companion.
I'm grateful to be able to talk to him regularly. I think he's going to wind up enjoying himself, once he gets used to missionary life in New York.
Son Reed asked me if I'd like to drive to Seattle with him and his boys for a weekend visit a couple of weeks ago. I packed up and went. So fun to spend a weekend with the Gendreaus while Reed and boys visited his son James. It was Alex's birthday, so we all met up to celebrate it. Alex turned four. Just in case you may have forgotten, he is our great-grandson. Here he is about to blow out his candles.
Son-in-law Chris is a pretty gifted photographer. While we were there he set up a photo shoot for our two High School seniors, his daughter Peyton and Reed's son, Timothy. Chris asked permission from a local hotel to take pictures in their beautiful lobby. So we all met up there. As he posed them, I followed behind, taking my own shots. They were not as good as his, but here is an informal shot of Peyton and Timothy together.
The drive to and from Seattle is beautiful. I especially loved the view on the trip home, as it had snowed, filling the trees with white snow tinsel. I took a bunch of pictures as we drove by...I just couldn't resist. Most didn't turn out well; the colors are dulled when shot through the car windows. But here is a sample.
You just can't beat nature for beauty!
Our time in Seattle was lovely. But it is always good to be home. This coming week we will celebrate Thanksgiving. The Reed and Dorothy family will be here and the Gendreau family as well. It will be a lovely bunch and I'm excited for it. My heart if full of gratitude for the wonderful life that has been mine. I want to keep that feeling in my heart, for when I do, it brings peace and optimism with it. In these troubled times, we could all use a little of that.
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