[Ruthxxx]

Good morning! At long last we have reached federal Election Day and the political phone calls and other fuss will end. It has been a long campaign. I don't know how you Americans handle your much longer ones for President! Voter turnout at the advance polls was up by 71% which is a good sign.

Brrr! A tad "nippy" right now at 23ºF but it'll warm up to 50º later and there is no snow on the ground, just tons of leaves. My black walnut trees said "To heck with it!" and dropped all their leaves yesterday plus a goodly number of walnuts. Millie thinks they are balls and brings them in the house.

We have a Mill Board meeting this afternoon at 2:30 and it will be a long one with lots of things on the agenda. I have a financial report nearly ready and hope there is no nitpicking discussion. (By the way, the woman who was interested in being Treasurer withdrew her lukewarm offer! I guess I scared her off although I only told her the basics.)

It's first light outside now and I can see one part of the deck buried in fallen leaves. I've never had to rake the deck but today may be the day for a first.

Time for another coffee before I tackle life! Hope your Monday is gentle.

[Lexxiss]

Good morning!

Ruth, thanks for getting this started this morning! I'm sorry to hear the new treasurer bailed. Keep looking. Do you harvest your walnuts? So interesting to hear that they just dropped all their leaves at once.

I'm just quietly sitting downstairs. I spent some time outside listening to big owl hoot. It's still warm here but looks like we'll have a killing frost on Friday. Sad to see my flowers go. I don't want to wake my friend by going upstairs so I guess I'll just keep sitting. What a concept.

Have a great Monday everyone!

[cottagebythesea]

We actually had a few snow flurries yesterday. They didn't last long, though. It was a good day to be making a big turkey dinner with all the delicious, homey smells wafting through the house.

Looking outside, I see all the rooftops and cars are covered with a frosting of ice this morning. My hanging planters by the front door look ok, but I haven't checked out back yet. It seems ironic that we're supposed to be back in the mid 70s the rest of the week.

Well, I have homemade tomato soup for my lunch, and there's plenty of leftovers for supper, so I'm set. Let's see what's waiting for me at the farm.

[TwynnB]

Good morning Ruth! I can't wait til our presidential elections are over either, although I'm a *tad* nervous on what the answer will be. It is quite chilly here as well - I think it's 28 right now, with a high of 46. (I just had to tell DD who has a summer dress on....)

Today is somewhat busy - I have my regular GP appointment this morning. I guess since 3 special friends have been diagnosed with breast cancer in the last few months, I should get a mammogram done- I'm 2 years overdue. I'm with a few others in the IBTC group, but still important. Need to catch him up on everything else too! And this afternoon I have a consult for a sleep study. I really don't want one since I know why I don't sleep, so it will be interesting to see what he says. Anyone ever been through a sleep study?

DS just left, time to get DD ready! Hope Monday goes smoothly for everyone!

[TwynnB]

Look who snuck in! Good morning Debbie, I didn't know you could sit still . Linda, I can just imagine how good your house smelled yesterday! I hope the day at the farm goes smoothly.

[Pearlrose]

Good morning,

Our weather is back to the 70s this week so glad I didn't put away summer clothes just yet, I will do next weekend.

We went to the Zoo yesterday and it was just a gorgeous day loved it.

Today is in office day and nothing on agenda for tonight.

Ruth that is a lot of leaves at one time, hope you are able to find a replacement for you.

Cottage I am sure your house smelled lovely yesterday

Tywnn never had a sleep study done you will have to let us know how it goes.

Debbie hope you have a wonderful day as well, I always start listening to your weather reports around this time of the year lol as we plan to come back for New Years week to go skiing there again and I get nervous about the snow

Have a wonderful day everyone!

[jekel383]

Good morning I broke down yesterday and put the heat on. Yet with temps in the 70's for most of the week maybe I'll be opening a window or two. I actually accomplished a lot yesterday which felt great. Still not 100% the nagging cough makes things a little challenging but today after a long hiatus I am going to work out. Going to Joe's later for dinner we haven't seen each other in almost two weeks.

Tammy glad you are going to see your GP. October is BCA month so it's a good reminder to get your mammogram. Never had a sleep study either.

Debbie lingering??? Now there's a first lol Enjoy YOU deserve it.

Ruth what a bummer! Hope you find a replacement for you. I agree with Tammy I'm worried about our choices for the Presidential election too.

Linda I love how Thanksgiving smells. Your home must have been heavenly yesterday.

Pearlrose glad you have fun at the zoo

I was fortunate and did not get called out this weekend. So my house is actually clean, food ready for the week, uniforms ironed and got the front flower beds weeded. I even cleaned out my dressers and two closets. It felt good to get stuff done.

Have a great day

[KimStar1of4]

Good morning, everybody!

Ruth: Sorry your treasurer candidate ran off. Hope you find someone soon! Do you usually lose all the leaves on your tree at once? I wonder if it's a sign of the winter to come.

Linda: Sounds like it is a lovely day for soup. I can just imagine what your house smelled like yesterday. I can't wait for our own Thanksgiving celebration!

Debbie: I hope you enjoyed the stillness. I bet it makes a great, peaceful way to start the day.

Tammy: Sounds like a full day for you! Hope all the screening and consultation goes well. I've never done a sleep study. My lack of sleep the past 4 years has two very obvious causes.

Pearl: Have a wonderful day!

Jekel: Yay for productive weekends! I know you will enjoy the fruits of your labor this week.

We had a good weekend, just the three of us. I was pretty darn proud to get us all out the door in time for church yesterday morning. We were quite lazy the rest of the day, but we all needed it.

Today is errand day for us. I need to get the kids' school pictures in the mail to out of town family and we've got to get some grocery shopping done today. DH usually takes care of all the groceries, since having a baby carrier in the basket and the preschooler in the front doesn't allow for a big shopping trip, but it's up to us this week.

DH is doing well. He and his crew have been working 14 hour days every day since Thursday. They are in good health and good spirits, but you can tell the fatigue is setting in. We were hoping they would demobilize today, but then it got pushed back to tomorrow, and now it looks like Thursday. I don't have the heart to tell DD yet. She misses her favorite buddy. He told me yesterday that the conditions are so unfavorable for containing this fire that he doesn't know for sure how they'll be able to demobilize even late this week. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, though. I miss adult interaction!

For those of you wondering, wildfire fighting isn't his usual job. He is a GIS specialist for the Parks and Wildlife Division of our state. However, the state has a wild fire fighting team that he is a part of on the side. So, whenever a catastrophic fire like this takes place, it becomes his priority.

Well, off to get the kids ready for the day. They woke up early and are still a little drowsy. I'm hoping the baby will nap the majority of our morning out.

[Beth19]

Hey chicks, I Made it through Monday without Much Ado, which is okay with me. Just the normal busyness of work. Luckily when I woke up early yesterday I had planned the week's food and actually remembered to take stuff our of the freezer too! So tonight it is fajitas; I have some 5-layer dip to finish up with them. Yum.

Sounds like everyone had a full day planned; hope things went well, Tammy, and that DH gets to come home earlier rather than later, Kim. Debbie, you can sit still?

To those chicks still enjoying warm temperatures, be thankful! It was 15* when I left this morning. Luckily we are forecast to have a warming trend this week, although "normal" is only around 60* right now.

Have a good evening!

[CyndiM]

Where does Monday go? Not a bad day. Made a yummy new soup to use some of that last 5 1/2 lbs of tomatillos I picked before the freeze. I do love soup weather. Hope your evening is relaxing and warm