Another, even better, photo of the burning bush. No enhancement whatsoever.

We will have frost on Wednesday so we’ll be seeing the last of the zinnias and, most likely, the leaves on this bush. I’ll be saying goodbye to my gardens, which is always bittersweet.

We had constant rain yesterday and today will be the same.

I finished The Last Devil to Die  by Richard Osman. This was his best yet. In addition to a complicated plot, his writing about Alzheimers disease, both from the viewpoint of the afflicted and from the observer is heartrendingly brilliant. I won’t give anything away, I promise. But there were so many times that tears came to my eyes as I read Osman’s words. Love and the family you choose: I’m still thinking about that two days after finishing the book.

An extraordinary read.

I’ve just started John Banville’s The Lock-Up.  I read Banville’s Snow  a couple of years ago and discovered his lyrical prose. He is a poet who happens to write police procedurals, among other things. I’m a big fan.

I’m also fiddling around with The World of Frankenstein, my latest jigsaw puzzle. It’s much more difficult than the one I just finished, so I expect I will be working on it for a while.

What else? Laundry today. Exciting, right?

I’m starting to make a list of things I have to take care of before I head to Wonderland of Play on Sunday.

“The world is too much with us.” That quote is one I repeat on a daily basis. I’m grateful for the escapes that take me to another a place; a kinder, gentler place.

Rest in Peace, Matthew Perry, taken from us much too soon.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday,

The other day, I was outside looking at the flower beds. Most everything has died at this point. The zinnias are still blooming, the hydrangeas are hanging in there, a there are a few roses that bloom profusely in the spring and then bloom again in the fall. That’s it.

Except:

The coneflowers faded away over a month ago, after gracing us with flowers for several months. But this little surprise just floored me! I’ve never seen one come into bloom this late in the season.

What a gift! Just what I needed as I contend with a bit of the blues as the seasons change and shift into dark mornings and darkish afternoons. I always feel a bit melancholy. Welcome, little beauty!

I’m going to be selling some of my McCoy pottery – not all of it – on Etsy in the near future. I love it but I have an overabundance for the size of this house. (I have an overabundance of a lot of things, let’s face it.) I’ve been making of list of possible pieces to sell and then I have to do some research as to dates, patterns, etc. Then photos, which will be time consuming. I remember this from the years when I was crocheting scarves and selling them on Etsy. Anyway, I’ll give you a heads up when that happens.

The other day, two residual checks arrived in the mail. I assumed both of them were Don’s, but on closer inspection, one of them was for me! Don, of course, was very excited for me. This time, my check was a little larger than the first one. Don’s was for less than mine. I was the actor/breadwinner for the day! Huzzah! We laughed and laughed. I have to say, it’s still a thrill to get a check from NBC Universal via SAG/Aftra.

My puzzle arrived and I put all the edge pieces together yesterday. It’s “The World of Virginia Woolf” and I love it. I’ll work on it a bit later today.

And I’m smack in the middle of The Running Grave. Fabulous! And scary in the best way.

Today, much to my surprise, it’s raining. So we won’t go for a drive, but we’ll hang out here in the cottage and Don is going to play his guitar while I read and work on the puzzle.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

Twenty-five years ago, this wonderful man named Chuck officiated at our ceremony. The words he used really resonated with us, they reflected the way we felt about our commitment to each other. At the end of the ceremony, he gave us two white roses, and asked us to exchange them. They symbolized our love for each other. He asked that we rededicate ourselves to each other and our marriage every year on our anniversary and that we exchange a white rose.

We have done that many times over the years. Not every year, life gets in the way. We decided to do it this year. So we got two long-stemmed roses from our local florist and, on a spectactularly sunny day, we drove up the mountain to a favorite overlook where we can see the Hudson Valley far below. There were already a few people there and we wanted a bit of privacy for our exchange, so we waited in the car for a bit. Three youngish people (2 men and a woman) who had been standing there got back in their car. Another guy was a hanging around, but just him, so we got out of the car and walked to the overlook. I said that we should grab the opportunity because this was a rare break in the stream of people that would appear. We turned to each other and said the words that were in our hearts and exchanged roses and kissed. Suddenly, we heard the sound of clapping. The three people in the car had been watching us and were applauding us! We told them that it was our 25th wedding anniversary. More applause. The beautiful young woman was hanging out of a window and Don asked her if she could take our picture. Yes. She climbed out of the car and took Don’s phone, crouching down to get just the right angle. I had heard her say that all three of them were photographers, but Don hadn’t. So, he started to say “Make sure you get the valley in the background” and she assured him that she knew what she was doing. She took a couple photos, congratulated us, we thanked her profusely, and they pulled out of the parking area.

Synchronicity, timing. We were a little late leaving our house to go get the roses, but actually, we weren’t. We got there right when we were supposed to be there. We were so moved by their spontaneous applause, by their generosity and their kindness. In view of what is happening in the world, this was the reminder we needed; there are good people everywhere. Truly good people.

We drove down to our local college town because it was such a beautiful day and decided to get a veggie burger from a place called Moonburger. It’s just opened up in this town, there’s another one just north of us. I had heard very good things about it. It’s the kind of place where you order to-go and you eat elsewhere. The guy behind the counter was so nice and when he heard it was our anniversary he gave us free tickets for a future burger and milkshake and saw us off with a “Happy Anniversary!” Again, kindness. Goodness.

At Moonburger, waiting for our order.

We headed back to the car and realized we were right outside our favorite chocolate shop. We love their chocolates and one of the draws is their selection of sugar-free chocolates. We haven’t ordered from them for months because they’re expensive. (We also never eat out because…it usually costs too much money.) But we looked at each other and said “It’s our anniversary!” So we walked in the door and were greeted by everyone as long-lost friends. As we stood in front of the counter, I said to Don, “What did I order before?” And the woman behind the counter – who was taking care of someone else –  immediately said, “the marshmallow and the chocolate truffles.” I couldn’t believe she remembered. Then a few minutes later, I said “how many did I buy?” She heard me and answered “a dozen of each.” Again, I couldn’t believe that with all the traffic this place gets she remembered my usual order after several months – maybe even a year. Everyone was so kind and helpful and we knew that the day and everything we’d done was meant to be. Everywhere we turned, we ran into good people.

We needed that. Not just because it was our anniversary, but because it is easy to lose faith in people, to look on everyone else as a potential political enemy or simply as a stranger who you most likely have nothing in common with. It’s easy to lose faith in our fellow man. It really felt as if the universe was guiding us through the day, telling us to let go of any control we might want to impose. Just be. Be open, be happy, and watch what happens. We didn’t erect any social barriers and good people appeared everywhere.

It was an amazing experience.

Look for the goodness in people. Expect it. You will not only find it, but your life will be better for it.

A beautiful day.

We are blessed.

Thank you for your beautiful comments and congratulations on our anniversary. I am blessed by your presence in my life.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.