Dark and Dreary - All is Bleary

This fall's colors are starting to find their way to the front door. The backyard maples and frontyard birches haven't seen any change yet, but the house has been decorated to remind us that nature's glory will soon be seen.

Changes are also seen in the sky as this weekend's storm approaches from the west, blowing north as it plots a path along the coast. We haven't had the predicted rain showers yet (it's 2:43 p.m, Saturday right now), but it has been cloudy all day. Angel is playing with the cat and watching cat videos on the computer. All is quiet on the western front.



A few remnants remain from the summer roses - persistent blooms before the freezing winds and frost. Then it will be time to pull them out and plant another that hasn't been borer infected. I'm just not a rose lover type of guy. At least when it comes to babying them.









Mother Liz and daughter love driving around in the Rabbit.







Halloween is a low-key event here at the homestead. The true bug-eater that she is, Angel has no problem posing as a withered wretch before going to the church's big candy/game/music/fun evening Friday night. Adventure will be her forte as she finally decides on a life course. May God direct her, whatever her decision might be.



We're often caught off-guard in our expressions. We hate having our picture taken because of the few bloopers that caught us with our tongues hanging out, eyes crossed or worse. Here is proof that you can take a bad picture and make it a standout. Just depends on who's judging the contest.

Arroyo Where?

Here we are in Arroyo Grande, the berg you usually whiz through when traveling north of Santa Barbara on the way to San Luis Obispo. We're visiting an ice cream parlor that lets you experiment with different mixes of ice cream (which is why it's called Doc Bernstein's Ice Cream Lab). Our friends, Tom and Linda are here with us (Linda's taking the picture) after a going to church in Paso Robles together, then zipping over to Morro Bay for lunch, then to Oceano to see the Train Depot (it was the Railroad Festival weekend on the Central Coast).


In this crazy world, friendship is becoming more important. My favorite composer, Edvard Grieg, said, "It is great to have friends when one is young, but indeed it is still more so when you are getting old. When we are young, friends are, like everything else, a matter of course. In the old days [our golden years], we know what it [really] means to have them." And as Selden said, "Old friends are best. King James used to call for his old shoes; they were the easiest for his feet."

Old Familiar Places

Although Dryden said, "All objects lose by too familiar a view," that can't be said about certain places we visit often. As the seasons change and people come and go, the experience changes as well. Our perspective skews a bit. We refocus our line of sight and find new details to give greater definition of the world before us.

We hosted the roaming gnomes, Don and Janet, yesterday by traveling to Sutter Creek. Granddaughter Angel in tow, as well. It was another hot day without much of a breeze. Those miners must have loved working the streams and rivers in the area during the summer as long as they were able to get their feet wet and stay cool. Don and I were boiling while shooting the Knight Foundery and environs. Not much water in the creek at this point anyway.

The girls let their eyes do the walking as they perused the antique/junktique stores and kept in the shade. The boy photogs didn't keep their 40 minute limit agreement, and were soundly trounced in the Ice Cream Emporium upon return from their labors.

Angel felt a bit out of place, which is normal for any ten year-old who is forced to tag along with a group of sexagenarians. At least she is learning that old folks can have a great time and laugh a lot, in spite of their decrepitude, a not-so-small pleasure God has given to the aged among us.