Good Saturday to you on this first weekend in November. The weather has been up and down but in the low 50's now. Joel has been busy raking, mulching, and bagging leaves, cleaning eaves and eavestroughs and getting ready for winter in Iowa. The squirrels seem to be busy doing the same. Joel is soooooo close to his 1,000 mile goal for biking this year. The weather has been cooperating too, so he should hit 1,000 today. Yay!
Yesterday Joel drove me down to the "river road" below our cul-de-sac, and I went for a short walk along the river. I can't climb the hill for now due to my knee/back issue and wanted to get out and get some fresh air in a familiar place. We have walked the river road for years, and I hope to again. Mostly I walk indoors for now.
Last Sunday Joel and I made him some apple crisp. He had picked the fallen apples from the college campus ....they go to rot each year! It was a lot of work, but he enjoyed it all week! He did say that next year he was going to make an apple pie...much easier! Of course that would be with a boughten crust! We also made homemade chicken soup again. Just that time of year.....
Last night we watched a 20/20 episode on ABC. We don't ever watch that or Dateline unless it peaks our interest. This one did, but what hit me was hearing that there are an estimated 14,000 unidentifed bodies in unmarked graves in our country. 14,000 Jane Does or John Does who somewhere have family that wonders what happened to them. How very sad. It also took me back to our son Kevin who died of congestive heart failure in Colorado. We wanted to bring his remains back here but did not have the authority for that. We went to visit his grave in 2015 and it took us a long time in an enormous cemetary to find his "unmarked" grave. There was a record of his buriel and who he was buried next to, but no stone. After talking with the man in charge of the cemetery we discovered we could legally get him a gravestone. We went right "across the street" and found the perfect stone for him, ordered and paid for it and within a few weeks it was in place. It gave us such peace. Everyone deserves to be "known" in life and in death. I go back to those 14,000 unidentified bodies and unmarked graves across our country and how sad it is. Someone is missing each of them. Someone cared.
It was Halloween this past Tuesday and so cold here we were not sure how many kids we would have. Turns out....many! We gave out 7 bags of mini candy bars, mostly to older kids. Joel enjoys handing it out. He had two guys come for candy and they both had beards. NOT kidding! Joel asked them how old they were and they said, "20". What???? Yep. they were 20 and trick or treating~ Joel got a good laugh out of that. He said they were polite and nice, but a "little old" to be trick or treating! Maybe from the nearby college?~
Our two older girls will be coming home tomorrow from a week long adventure in Scotland. It has brightened our days to "see" through their eyes the fun they are having and the places they are exploring. What a precious time for them.
So with that I give thanks for their new adventure. Give thanks for a walk by the river, for Joel reaching his goal this weekend! Giving thanks for Halloween and the good laugh Joel got over the "older" boys trick or treating. Grateful for the leaves getting taken care of....for my husband's strength and mindset he has of "work is a privilege". Grateful for homemade soup and apple crisp for Joel. Grateful for all things Fall. Grateful for all the pictures, texts, and phone calls. And so much more...............
Enjoy your weekend!
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