First Frost

 We had our first frost early Wednesday morning.  It is time to put some outside "stuff" away.

The old watering can, water hoses and car wash stuff that can freeze and other "stuff". 

It will all happen little by little over the next few days. 

We had Moons over my Hammy again last night for supper because we had the fixins  and they are easy.  Ham, cheese, egg on bread grilled to perfection.  Far Guy made a few fried potatoes and we also had peaches. 

Minnesota weather: High 63 F or 18C Low was 25F or -3C.  It was a sunny day.

Not sure where the day went while I cleaned one bathroom, washed all the sheets from upstairs and caught up on laundry...mostly.  Oh yes I ordered some books for book club, groceries to pick up and some misc supplies that will be delivered. 

I am feeling somewhat better, Far Guy is trying his hardest to get all better.  It was a Fall cold...started with a extremely sore think razor blades in your throat then hits your nose that runs like a faucet and then it settles in your chest with a nasty cough. Uffda. 

Far Side

Grocery Day Report

 They were out of Milky Way Dark minis...so I had to sub the regular Milky Way minis.   I also had a substitution on my wax paper.  I use lots of wax paper when I am painting ornaments....and baking cookies...but there are no cookies being cooled lately...just painting.   I ordered Cara Cara Oranges to see if they had them...they substituted a South Africa Orange called Midknight...I have not tried it yet.  I marked my Cara Caras  "no substitutions" and you can bet if it is not up to my rigorous orange standards...I will complain. 

We have been slowly stocking up on bath soap, laundry soap, toothpaste, shampoo and lotion. AND we have a good supply of toilet paper!  Next on my list is to check our supply of flour, yeast and sugar....and Pumpkin...because the Grands are already asking for Pumpkin Bread.  

I took my Dad to Bingo, I  got a bingo...so it was a free night out for both of us!  Dad said he had fun.  He was a bit unsteady...and almost fell once...I was able to grab him and keep him  upright.   Scary for sure. 

Far Guy took off on Ranger Blue when I left for Bingo....the other day there was "this trail"  it was narrow and rocky and I decided it was not a great trail and backed out before I got too far....it was sketchy...well guess who HAD to try it?   Far Guy reports it is just as narrow and rocky as we thought...but it also has many steep hills up and down ...he said there are huge gullies and I wouldn't have liked the trail at all.  So he had an adventure without me.

I did not get 6 Christmas Ornaments done yesterday...perhaps I can make up for it today.  The car has an oil change appointment and our electrician is stopping by to install a smart thermostat and to do some other work....so it will be another busy day. 

It froze hard enough that the Impatiens looked sick in the morning and by late afternoon they were brown and shrunken...the blooms are now only a memory. 

Far Side

Signs of Fall

Today is the first day of Fall, I did not have to go far looking for it either.  As soon as I step outside the door the fallen leaves crunch under my feet. The main trees in our yard the Burr Oaks just turn a poopy brown color and then fall off..not very exciting..we have a few Red Oaks that turn RED..but not yet..that happens later in the season.

My miserable attempt at growing Spaghetti Squash was nipped in the bud by the first frost ( September 18)  last weekend. Of course I was so late planting them that it would have been a miracle If I had gotten a decent harvest.   I might get one tiny squash the size of an apple, unless the deer eat it. I will have to support the local grocery store for my winter stash of squash. Chance and I do not like just any old squash either it must be Spaghetti Squash.  He knows the nights that I have baked it..and he waits for his taste.

The fireplace goes on most mornings now that Far Guy called for a gas fill..I used the oven a few nights to warm it up in here. I suppose I could have baked something..but I wasn’t hungry..just cold. It is a little early to start the outside wood stove, I would be constantly opening windows because it would be too warm in here.

I can feel the urge to cook a big pot of soup coming on.  With fresh potatoes and carrots..and rutabagas.. I will freeze part of it..perhaps Far Guy can bake some bread..comfort food.

Yesterday Jo and I went for a ride down part of the Hanna Ore Road..

A few more days and we will be peak color, unless it rains and the wind blows..it is raining this morning..we have had enough rain.  I talked to a local farmers wife the other day, she said,    “ We have beans to do, and it keeps raining, we have had enough rain to last us until next spring.” 

The view at Bottomless Lake. 

Maple leaves are real show offs!

Yup..Fall is here..I want to take hundreds of leaf photos and then I want to eat fresh vegetable soup and spaghetti squash along with warm baked bread that is slathered with butter and then I want to hibernate till spring..how about you? :) 

Fall Projects : Update

One of our larger projects has been completed. The half log stair steps. They needed to be refinished. Ten years ago we sealed them with a product that was less than satisfactory for continual use. Besides that almost five years ago we got a little Border Collie Puppy that liked to chew on the edges of the steps, they were conveniently located next to his mouth when he laid down. I put a mixture of water and cayenne pepper on the edges of the steps, it looked a little funny..but it stopped his chewing.

The beginning of the project, bottom test step has been completed.

The steps had been used and abused by moving furniture in and out, and suitcases clunking up and down. It was time. We did a test step, the very bottom step..it was removed..

Planed on the planer.

Sanded and refinished. The first product we used was a nightmare. It took three days for the first coat to dry. Lets see each step would get three coats, that is nine days, and we have twelve steps...three months?? That is not happening. We called the company that manufactured the product that was so hard you could skate on it..if it ever dried. It was seven years old..it had been on the shelf at the store that long. Luckily it was a store we frequent for supplies for home repair. They replaced it, with a store brand that they highly recommended. A very helpful hardware place.

The project was able to commence, Far Guy started doing the steps two at a time and in a couple of weeks we were done!

I got the front door repainted too, two projects scratched off the list..we are cruisin' ..but the Fall list isn't getting any shorter as I added a couple of things to it.. I had a corner in my garage that was dirt, it had never been covered in pavers, because it was just a storage area for plastic nursery pots. Well it looked pretty pathetic after "Johnny came way late to pick up the rest of the greenhouse junk he bought" So last week we found the correct color pavers far far away..luckily they were delivered to Park Rapids..this is a good lesson..if you start a project you shouldn't take ten years to complete it because your materials may have been discontinued, and possibly they will cost you twice as much as they would have, because they have to be delivered from far, far away and transportation costs for brick pavers is not exactly cheap. But the end result is the floor in my garage will all match, and I will be happy, WELL happier than I was with a dirt corner. :)

**We had our first frost this morning it was 31 degrees.