Currently

It's a comfortable, though cloudy, evening with temperatures in the mid 60's. Dark comes by 7:00 now and nothing has changed...I am still that weirdo who loves the early darkness. It brings people together inside, candles are lit, lights seem softer. It's cozy season!

I'm watching The Voice. I've only caught it sporadically in the past, but I'm really enjoying it. The coaches are so much fun.

I answered the call in a community group on Facebook for a new book club starting up. Six women met up at a local restaurant this past Friday to iron out the foundation and choose our first book. As of today we're up to 15 members! This is going to be so much fun. Our first book, which I started today, is Danielle Steel's Past Perfect.

At work, the new supervisor has a background in elementary education, and she's decided we should have a morning wake up time where we listen to upbeat music and dance. Not the worst idea, but all of her song choices tend to lean toward Romper Room. The Good Morning Song is the most insidious ear worm of them all.

All things autumnal are making me smile these days. I don't think it's going to be a very colorful fall here due to the dry conditions, but fall is still managing to make itself known with the tastes, the sounds, and the smells. 

As a family we decorated the yard for Halloween on Sunday. I haven't done that since my kids were at home, but now there are the grandchildren and our daughter doesn't decorate outside these days. I have enjoyed all the displays we've seen in recent years featuring clever and fun scenes with skeletons, so it was an easy decision to decide to give it a shot. Our front yard now has a "Hula-ween" theme. There are skeletons enjoying a luau (including a skeleton pig with an apple in its mouth) in their finest grass skirts, Hawaiian shirts, and lei's. There's one "floating" in an innertube and everywhere there are flamingos, both pink and skeletal. The pink ones have little skeleton jockeys. There's flaming torches, a skeleton alligator, and even a skeleton mermaid. It's all in good fun, not scary at all. I promise I'll get a few photos once the lighting is complete.

Like everyone else, I feel sad about recent events in the news. It feels like the whole world has gone stark, raving, mad. However, I am rejoicing at the awakening and revival I'm seeing in so many young people. In my own little world, it has meant our daughter going back to church (and getting her husband and children to go, too) and she finally took the major step of withdrawing the kids from public school and is beginning their homeschool journey this week. The kids are very excited and we all believe it will be better for them.

My knee (well...maybe my whole thigh) is feeling rather stiff this evening, but it is, I hope, a good thing. I got my first Euflexa injection today and they warned that would happen. Stiffness aside, I do think it has helped the pain a little bit. I get another injection next Monday and the final one the Monday after that. Here's hoping it works and holds off knee replacement for a while.

Feeling grateful...

• The man I took care of is in a nursing home and began chemo treatments today. There were days we didn't think it would get worked out.
• I got to attend church and worship with our daughter and her family.
• New friends in the book club.
• The weather is beautiful.
• I have good co-workers.
• I don't live in an urban area.

Giggling at...