Today was a splendid day and we were able to spend time outside and lounge around on the hot tub. The keeper had a quiet day, and decided to take a hike around LFP and she let us stay out while she was gone. She reported back that the leaves are popping out with so much color, that she kept saying WOW every time she turned around.
she took so many photos that now she thinks she will have to have a Fall Color of the Day until the Winter Equinox.

She met two guys cleaning out the ditch below the house that almost slid down the hill two winters ago. One was from Guadalajara and the other Cancun. They were probably day laborers from Home Depot. No car, only a plastic bag with their lunches. They were digging out gravel from the ditch and throwing it into buckets. Very hard work, harder than what she did yesterday.

The neighbors in LFP are starting to put up Halloween decor. The keeper said that she will show them to us later.

Monday Arboretum

The keeper did not rush home from the dentist. No, she left us inside and went rambling home, stopping wherever she felt like. so she headed to the Arboretum. She used to go there a lot more with a friend, but hadn't been there for awhile, except to the BGC. So, she went exploring and said she was overwhelmed by the color and the peacefulness of the park. The colors stood out in the grayness. Obviously she was not the only one. She came across a woman painting with water colors, a man paddling his kayak, and a whole brood of school kids with teachers and chaperones. The lake was so still, and the willows weeped right into it. The algae glistened and the bird and squirrels were scurrying underfoot and over head. It inspired her to come home, let us out, and she spent the entire afternoon digging up the garden like a squirrel and planting 100's of purple tulip and allium bulbs. She came in covered with dirt. We had already come in and stationed ourselves by the food bowls. She fed us. But now, we notice, that she is cooking chicken. Hm.

Monday Madison Park

Today we stayed home and the keeper rushed off to the dentist in Madison Park. She said it was a fun visit. An older couple, two of his patients, had just brought him a microwave pasta cooker, and they who were somehow connected with the pasta trade, said that this cooked pasta better than anything they had ever experienced. So the keeper and the dentist had a conversation about the safety of plastic and microwaving. This is an unusual diversion from their normal conversations about politics and world events. Maybe they just were weary of the latter topic. she will see him again for a new crown soon. We are happy it is the keeper who is seeing the dentist and not us. But we know our appointment is coming. And unlike the keeper we get knocked out, and don't have conversations with our dentist.




After, the keeper did a little shopping in MP and walked down to the very deserted little beach. But low and behold she saw a heron surveying the lake, serenaded by lots of ducks. The heron never left the perch. His/her mate was on another post. It felt like fall down there, she said. She hadn't been down there for awhile, and it seemed a lot had changed. New shops, a few new restaurants. With the overcast day, it seemed a sad place.

Day After the Rainstorm

On Saturday it rained and blew so hard that it cleaned the air. It wasn't very cold, and everything seemed so fresh. We didn't go out much because the keeper was out all day and part of the night. She gave a talk early in the morning in West Seattle and then had brunch with the hosts following. They live on a bluff overlooking the water, Vashon and Maury Islands, and on good days, Mt. Rainier is to the east. A sabbath place. Lovely people.

From there the keeper headed to Bellevue for the Spanish Mass and a meeting, but had to stop and behold the beautiful park with the blueberry trees and silver pond all shimmering under the pewter sky. The trees were shouting, "STOP! Stop rushing and look at us!" So she did, and brought us pictures so we could look too. We think we would have enjoyed it.

Farewell, Patty and Welcome, Bella

At the end of the week, the keeper learned of two events on the continuum of life. Her first blood grand-niece was born in Spokane. They named her Bella. She looks pretty bella from her photos. Her parents are pretty bella too.

At the other end, her friend Patty, left this life after a long and courageous battle with illness. We wonder if Bella and Patty passed each other in the interstices of life somehow. Patty had an incredible spirit, joy, humor, faith. Many will miss her. The keeper will.

Cosita

Can you believe that we are posting this picture? It's hard to admit that we are including a dog in our blog. But we are tolerant cats, no? This little animal is Cosita. His keeper brought him to a workshop which the keeper offered this morning. We hear that he was mostly well behaved, except for one accident. But can you imagine having to wear clothes like that? Neither Alice nor I would ever be caught dead wearing clothes other than the beautiful coats God gave us. Actually, the keeper told us that we are both bigger than Cosita.

Windy Wet Sabbath

First, the keeper has been too busy to take dictation these week. So we will start from last night. It started raining last night and one of the gutters had gotten pushed off kilter somehow in the wind or by those raccoons who run on the roof. Anyway, it broke away from its coupling and we had Niagara Falls in front of the bedroom window. There was sooo much rain. The keeper came home late this afternoon and it was sunny and very windy, but she ragged out the ladder and climbed up and fixed it. Then she decided she should check all the other gutters, then she decided to clean the garage gutters. When she gets going, there is no stopping. But the rain and wind calmed and now we are ready for the next event. It thundered today and lightening cracked. Alice hid under the bed. Actually, I did too. We were happy to see the keeper come home. By the way, our rian barrel is all full now. And we don't need the water. We need more rain barrels.