Yesterday afternoon with the sun shining and splashes of sunlight throughout the living room and kitchen. Today, on the other hand, it’s raining. But that’s okay. We could use some rain. There will be more raking to do, of course, as the rain brings brings the leaves down. Also okay.
I’m enjoying this rainy morning, sipping on my coffee, reading the newest Jan Karon.
I counted 34 morning glory blooms this morning when I went out to get the New York Times from the driveway. When I first get up and it’s barely light, they look rather other-worldly and mysterious. I’m grateful. Winter is coming and I’m trying to wrest every ounce of gratitude and satisfaction out of this beautiful autumn.
Don’s flying in a private plane this afternoon! No check-in at the airport. Just a car picking him up, delivering him to Teterboro Airport in NJ, and then…off to New Orleans. I must admit, I’m impressed. I’ll miss knowing that he was in NYC, just a bus ride away, but New Orleans will be exciting.
Last night’s sunset was truly spectacular. I was just about to close the blinds in the den when I saw it. In the nick of time. I threw on my Birkenstocks and ran out to the porch to get some pictures.
It’s that time of year. I’m hearing the honking of Canada Geese as I write this. I love that sound.
Today will be a lazy sort of day. Reading, maybe some organizing and sorting (my desk needs some serious attention.)
Happy Sunday.
We have the Canadian geese flying also. It always means Autumn to me.
Have a lovely, lazy day!
I will – you too!
Enjoy your day to relax and read while the rain falls outside. Beautiful sunset, thank you!
It’s our Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada and we were hopeful for a sunny and warm 3 day holiday. But it started raining yesterday and has continued today. Our plans changed from outdoors to in but we’re making it work and loving the coziness of home, with candles lit and lamps to fill in the gaps. Prediction is that tomorrow will be warm and sunny ….. fingers crossed we get to enjoy our outdoor Autumn tomorrow.
X Chy
Happy Thanksgiving, Chy! Stay warm and cozy and then enjoy the outdoors tomorrow!
Enjoy your rainy day…we are leaf peeping! ;)
Have fun, Donnamae!
It is so cloudy here today but no rain…yet. I’m again just resting and maybe a bit of sorting here and there. I really need to see Sara and the Grands. Some hugs and a little talk with my girl will make me feel better. Enjoy your day.
You need to see your family, Linda! Have fun!
Hello from your friend you’ve never met. Just a quick note to say that I love your cozy house, love your gardens and love your blog. Chris
You are so sweet, Chris! Thank you.
The sunny picture in your house looks so cozy.
Thank you, Christine. Our little cottage is very cozy, indeed!
Safe travels to Don. We have Canadian geese year-round. With the mild weather, large green spaces (school play fields, parks, golf course), and many lagoons with adjacent green space, they don’t have a need to migrate. I love hearing their honking as they fly from area to area. They commute back and forth every day.
Oh, we have them year round as well. They’re always here. But some Canada Geese travel this time of year and they like to hang out on our rivers on their way to wherever they’re going.
Mr. Wizard’s installing an air conditioner because the heat here is unbearable. Reported humidity at 100%! Didn’t know that was possible…oh, that’s why the mirrors are crying! Sounds like Don’s headed for another adventure. Best to you both on this Autumn Sunday.
Oh boy, that sounds miserable! I hope you’re feeling cool by now!
We have had some lovely sunny Autumn days of late, and I count them as diamonds in life’s tiara. We, too, need the rain, so those days are greatly appreciated as well. My friend in Denver said she is to have 6-8 inches of that white yuk overnight. ugh. So not ready for that!
Heard the hurricane skirted NOLA, so I am happy to hear Don is on his way. In my work life, I flew in a corporate jet to a few meetings and it was quite lovely. Unlike “steerage” that I was used to on usual plane rides. There is a whole other world out there!!
Hope you enjoy your cocooning today. I do find those days quite peaceful….and we all need a lot more of that in our lives.
Oh my heavens, I can’t even begin to think of snow yet! Poor Denver!
Yes, Don is just about to land (in the private jet) as I write this. He got to sit in the cockpit so he’s happy!
safe and fun, easier travels to don! looking forward to the show in chicago (and long to/from travel-time visiting with my sister) next month!
your day sounds lovely. hope you enjoy every minute of it. knitting here.
kathy in iowa
I straightened up my office and also Don’s part of the office. Read a bit. Did the crossword. A good day!
Canadian geese and a sunset. So calming. Wishing safest travels for Don.
We’re finally a bit cooler today in SoCalif, breaking the heatwave; was in the mid-70s at 11am; haven’t looked at the thermometer since.
We’re spending the afternoon head-scratching over Social Security, like spreading it out on the kitchen table, pen and paper in hand and, for once, the two of us, really trying to figure this out and make a final decision although we ‘talk’ about it constantly; I feel we need a financial planner; I’m so tired of trying to read through the Social Security labyrinth, that I have a headache. We went to the beach yesterday afternoon and I still couldn’t shake the aching head. I guess it’s partly eye strain! I swear the older I get, I struggle more and more with this sort of thing, and any kind of paperwork. I just would rather somebody else do it for me! Lazy brain methinks. It must be nice to be wealthy and/or famous, to have ‘assistants’ and a legal/financial team to figure everything out for you…and throw in a daily chef, housekeeper, personal exercise trainer, a masseuse at my beck & call, with maybe a home organizer and overall life coach in there, too; wow, I’d be one happy girl!
Gosh. I don’t remember any problems signing up for Social Security or even in figuring it out. I just called them, gave them all the information – wait, actually I did it online because it ended up being faster – and that was it.
But it sounds like you’re trying to figure out if you should start it. I say yes. Why not avail yourself of it now, instead of waiting?
I have my own SocSec benefit…but my husband’s benefit is far greater than mine. He’s older than I am, he’s been working a lot longer than I have and he always made more money than I did. We want to make sure that if I claim my own benefit now, I’ll be able to later switch to the 50% of my husband’s SS benefit once HE files, which is at least a year or two or more away; 50% of HIS is a whole lot more than just mine (like 4 times as much; I’m not kidding), and we don’t want to risk losing one cent. He’s going to “file & suspend” for now, but the question is really around what to do with me. So, we’re making an appointment with Soc Sec to sit down in front of one of their reps who can answer this and some other questions which are still confusing us.
xo
I have been having nothing but the best luck all day. This makes up for other ones when it seems like it’s all bad luck! I’ve been sick for the past two weeks and my body has a tendency to trick me as to whether or not I’ve got an infection or not (long, complicated history I would never go into here) but yesterday I knew I was in trouble so, OMG, I am HMO but everybody worked hard behind the scenes to get me an authorization to a specialist in another town to where in the space of 24 hrs, I got authorization, appointment, procedure, diagnosis and antibiotics, so I couldn’t feel more grateful and I feel like I should send flowers to all in mega thanks for jumping through hoops for me. It was either that, or I was back in the ER again. (This has nothing to do with my car accident.) AND, my husband had the morning off, so I had a DRIVER; curb service, which meant the world when not feeling well. I swear, on my knees in thanks today. And the medicine is already helping. Really, tears of gratitude on my part. A day when all the world is good!
Another part of a long story, but we were practically next door to the Social Security Admin office when I was done at the clinic, so we went inside, my husband sat me down to get me off my feet, we took a number and got remarkably fast service at SocSec although the lobby/wait room was FULL of people; nearly SRO. All we’d intended to do was make an appointment for another visit but because our questions were pretty basic and not too specific, the rep took a couple of minutes to talk it over with us…and answered our questions(!!) so, now, more good luck with finding out what we needed to know without any need for a further appointment, which saves them AND us time, and I feel like we’re finally GETTING SOMEWHERE.
My husband can’t file & suspend; he misunderstood. The bottom line is that he works full-time to at least age 66 (he’s not there yet). In the meantime, I draw my own benefit (by choice) even though he hasn’t drawn his yet. When my age of 66 eventually comes around (a ways to go yet), and he’ll already be age 66 himself at that point, I can then change my monthly benefit (of my own SocSec earnings), over to his, to get the 50% of his monthly payout instead of my own lower one, which is a godsend for us because we will be, in frugal retirement, VERY dependent upon the Soc Sec supplement to his small pension…so that we can make our darn house payment each month (which is larger than we’d prefer!) and try to have a life!
Anyway, feels so much better to get out of the ‘in limbo’ situation and just move forward…and I’m glad to say that in person, and on the phone, I’ve run into the nicest people at Social Security, which is really good to find out. They really do seem to ‘be there’ to help us all. There was a lady next to us in line at the actual office who was saying she gets her SocSec check on the third Weds of each month and could she change it to where she could get it on the first of each month instead and I think they were going to be able to help her with that…anyway, I’m glad our initial dealings prove impressive (gosh, I bet they had 16 cubicles in that building with that many SocSec reps; it was a HIVE of activity; interestingly, I made note that they had two uniformed security guards in clear view and each SocSec rep was behind glass, which I wondered was bullet proof or not).
So happy you had a good day and that things are working out!
Isn’t it nice of the Canada geese to honk and wave as they pass by?…they are so pretty…Those clouds look like they are on fire!…I’m glad that Don is safely where he needs to be for now!
He’s in New Orleans and settling int, Nancy.
Sounds like the ideal Autumn Sunday to me. We had rain yesterday and it has been wildly-windy today – something I love – so we’re drying out nicely. I heard the geese for the first time this season last Tuesday. That sound ALWAYS takes me back to Fall schooldays, either on the playground at lunchtime or waiting for the bus to come home on the sidewalk in front of our house in the morning. And counting the acorns at the base of our huge oak tree. Last time I went past my childhood home that tree was gone & it honestly was a shock. There are some things that I never want to see change, and that was one of them. Kept driving but my eyes were blurry for a while. A bittersweet moment, then Life goes on. Oh well. Have a wonderful week. Peace. 🌳
#Resist
I don’t like to see places I once knew and loved change. I think that’s why I’ve been holding off visiting back home in Michigan – it’s become so densely developed that I’m afraid to see the changes in my childhood neighborhood. I understand.
We had rain here yesterday, so I guess I sent it your way again. We needed it desperately, too. Today was perfectly sunny and 77 degrees, so maybe that will be coming your way tomorrow, as well! We live only a few blocks from a lake and that’s where all the Canada geese hang out. They’ve been honking and flying overhead a lot lately. Love seeing and hearing them.
I thought it was supposed to rain tomorrow, but I haven’t checked the forecast lately. If it rains another day, I’m fine with that!