The synopsis of how I feel about fall

As one who has Hoosier blood running through my veins I cannot get through a cool, crisp fall morning without the words of James Whitcomb Riley running through my head:

WHEN THE FROST IS ON THE PUNKIN

When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock,

And you hear the kyouck and gobble of the struttin' turkey-cock,

And the clackin' of the guineys, and the cluckin' of the hens,

And the rooster's hallylooyer as he tiptoes on the fence;

O it's then's the times a feller is a-feelin' at his best,

With the risin' sun to greet him from a night of peaceful rest,

As he leaves the house, bare-headed, and goes out to feed the stock,

When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

They's something kindo' hearty-like about the atmosphere,

When the heat of summer's over and the coolin' fall is here--

Of course we miss the flowers, and the blossoms on the trees,

And the mumble of the hummin'-birds and buzzin' of the bees;

But the air's so appetisin'; and the landscape through the haze

Of a crisp and sunny morning of the airly autumn days

Is a pictur that no painter has the colorin' to mock--

When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

The husky, rusty rustle of the tossels of the corn,

And the raspin' of the tangled leaves, as golden as the morn;

The stubble in the furries--kindo' lonesome-like, but still

A-preachin' sermons to us of the barns they growed to fill;

The strawstack in the medder, and the reaper in the shed;

The hosses in theyr stalls below--the clover overhead!--

O, it sets my heart a-clikin' like the tikin' of a clock,

When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock!

James Whitcomb Riley

One lightbulb away from KABOOM!

Let me set the scene--it was the Thursday before Joe's surgery. We had a doctor's appointment we had to be at right after we dropped the girls off at school and had the boys picked up by the wonderful friend who was watching them. This meant that I actually had to be showered, dressed and looking presentable by the time the girls went to school. So the morning was hectic. Sara was having a horrible time determining what she wanted to wear to school, so I decided to help her muttering the whole way down the stairs "I don't have time for this" I flipped on the light switch and as the light went on it had an onimous flicker to it. I had just enough time to think "Oh, please don't go out" and then it went dark. Sara's room is in the basement and we don't have the egress window (large window) in yet, so it was utterly and completely dark. Time to change the light bulb. Of course when I took the light bulb out, I dropped it, it hit the chair and shattered EVERYWHERE. So know we are in the dark with glass on the floor and I haven't showered yet! I get a lamp from upstairs and plug it in. It is at the moment that I look up that I realize what a blessing this chaos has turned out to be. For the picture below is what I saw:

Now, seriously, how in the world did this not burn our entire house down!!! And so, my chaos turned into a blessing as, after further investigation, we realized this wasn't the only light fixture in the house that looked like this. And, I even had time for a shower before we left!

Ashley--my little me

The day I took Ashley to the doctor last week, I had at least 5 people say something to the effect of "WOW!!! You certainly can tell that she is your daughter." So I had Joe take a picture so I could get the full effect of what other people see. And, yeah, I guess there is somewhat of a resemblance... If she had red hair, she would know what she would look like in about 20 years.