Happy Halloween

The number of trick-or-treaters has been dwindling and last year we didn't have any. I'm not sure about two years ago. Rather than have lots of candy in the house, we opted not to have any this year. We weren't caught empty-handed since, again, our doorbell never rang. (Truth be told, we didn't have our porch light on.)

A couple of days ago I was thinking about the tradition and realized that I never went trick-or-treating as a child. For one thing, we lived on a farm and it would have meant that our parents would have had to drive us. Then I remembered the occasion when we had some trick-or-treaters knocking on our door. I can't remember how old I was, but it was a surprise! (I think my parents may have known someone was coming.) The trick-or-treaters were my Dad's cousins, Fritz and Leila Berning. They were in costume and mask and, as I recall, I didn't know who they were.

A couple of days ago my neighbor sent me a photo that she had taken as she walked her dog. I thought it was stunning. Hope you agree.

Sunrise on Oak Creek Drive

Cross Country

First things first. Today we celebrated Reformation Sunday at church and sang "A Mighty Fortress is Our God." Generally, we sing it once a year. The guest preacher today was our pastor's son, Brian, who is a 4th year seminary student. He did a very commendable job of preaching. The sermon centered on the theme of freedom. We live in a land of freedom. According to the Declaration of Independence we have been given certain rights by our Creator, among them life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. However, in the spiritual sense, we are not free because we are slaves to sin, meaning we are all sinners. But we are comforted by the fact that Christ's word sets us free from our slavery.

After lunch we headed north to Carmel on the north side of Indianapolis. Several days or weeks ago I had received notice of a cross country race and decided just two or three days ago to sign up. Ray did too. We're used to road or track races but this was a cross country race, always popular in the fall of the year. I think I've only done two CC races previously. Since I'm not planning on running much this week in anticipation of next Saturday's half-marathon, I thought a 4K race would be perfect.

The course was laid out on the property of a huge church and the terrain was rolling and mostly grass covered. The women's race was first at 2 p.m. and consisted of mostly young girls and three women. I ran the course in 26.10 and was dead last! The winner ran the course in 16:02.

Ray's race began shortly after mine finished and he completed it in 26.59. He's really not used to running doing mostly racewalking. The top male finished in 14 minutes and a few seconds. Actually, we were racing against school kids and not anyone in our age divisions. There were a few older men who ran but the woman closest in age to me was in the 45-50 age bracket. We both came home with a medal. One of the attractions of the race was its entry fee: $7 each!

The day was pretty nice except for gusty winds now and then. In addition to the cross country course the property also had a disc golf and I noticed some people playing that.

When we arrived home we turned on our DVR to watch the Colts game against the Tennessee Titans. The Colts haven't won away from home in 10 games (going back to last season). At the end of regulation play the game was tied and the Colts won the toss for overtime and were able to go the length of the field and score a touchdown. Sudden death in overtime and they won a game on the road!

Teenagers!!

Earlier this month, when we were celebrating our grandson's birthday, we made arrangements for a day trip to Vincennes University during his Fall Break from school. But, last night plans changed. A better invitation came his way and he was on his way to northwestern Indiana to visit a friend that used to live near him. I can't say I blame Dustin as we had beautiful weather today and I'm sure it was fun to spend time with friends.

We'll probably re-schedule the trip to Vincennes but there's no guarantee that we'll have such a beautiful day in the coming weeks.

However, it gave me the opportunity to do my final long run this morning since we were not on the road to Vincennes. Tomorrow morning we are expecting much colder weather and possibly rain and I would not like running in those conditions. In the final analysis, everything worked out OK. The temperature was 60 degrees this morning at 8:15 as the sun was peaking over the horizon.

Indian Summer

Last evening as I was driving home from my church meeting, I turned on the WNBA game between the Indianapolis Fever and Minnesota Lynx. At half time, the Indianapolis Fever were leading by a small margin. This was game four of a five game series and the Indianapolis team was leading the series 2-1. At home, Ray and I watched the game on TV -- a truly exciting time for the team as they won and became WNBA champions! This was the first WNBA championship for Indianapolis in 12 years of having a team. Also, this was the first basketball win for the city of Indianapolis since 1973 when a team won an ABA championship.

Today was warm and reminiscent of what we often call "Indian Summer." I was able to get outside and  clean most of the windows. It's a task I have put off for a while, but I wonder why. With my trusty squeegee and cleaning fluid, I was able to clean quite a few windows and thought I would finish them all, but a light sprinkle sent me inside. The sprinkle didn't last long so I'm hoping to finish the job tomorrow and then I need to do it all over again to clean the windows inside. Even though warm today, the skies were overcast, a perfect day to do windows. So tomorrow morning if the sun shines through the windows and I don't see any streaks, you may just hear me yelling "Good job."

Italian night

Yesterday, Saturday, was busy but fun and enjoyable. It started with a trip to church where a small group worked on quilts for Lutheran World Relief. I spent my time knotting and today my thumb is a little sore from pulling the needle through the layers of fabric.

I was home in time for lunch and then started preparing my contribution to our neighborhood quarterly dinner. Mary, the hostess, had decided on an Italian theme and I made some breadsticks. They were more like sticks than what you get at Olive Garden. I also made a Leek, Pasta & Spinach salad. I took my camera to the dinner but really missed out on an opportunity to take a photo of the lovely presentation of appetizers that Mary had prepared: prosciutto wrapped around asparagus stalks; prosciutto wrapped around melon wedges, tomato slices topped with mozarella, bread and dipping sauce, and some type of Italian sausage. Yum!

The main course was meatballs (we all had one really large meatball) over homemade noodles and some marinated veggies (tomatoes, black olives and artichokes). The desserts were equally delicious: cookies, cannoli and gelato.

A Google photo -- but Linda's version of cannoli was very similar

This morning's church service was based on the story of how can a camel pass through the eye of a needle. It seems that the more people have, the more they want. We can always think of someone who has more wealth than we have. Realizing that the average income of the entire world is $800/year, we are, in comparison, very rich. We are also rich in God's grace and love.

After lunch I covered our little outdoor pond with a tarp in preparation for the coming winter season. Several days ago we emptied the pond and cleaned it. It was very windy that day but today was warm and sunny and much easier to handle the tarp with the calm conditions.

The Colts played at home today and defeated the Cleveland Browns 17-13, a game of two rookie quarterbacks.

I'm headed to church again in a few minutes for a meeting of our LWML society. We haven't met for several months so there should be plenty of items on the agenda.

Happy Birthday, Ray!

We watched the presidential debate last evening and went to sleep later than usual so it was nice to sleep in a little this morning. Our yoga class was at 9 a.m. and after that Ray went for a walk but I decided to take a day off. Hope to get in a long run tomorrow if the weather cooperates.

After lunch we headed to Mooresville to the theater that was reopened recently. Since the Mooresville schools are off for a week for Fall Break they had scheduled some matinee showings. Also, we thought it would be appropriate to support a local enterprise rather than a large theater chain. I noticed in this morning's newspaper that they were showing Argo, which had a four star rating by one reviewer. I've been holding onto a movie pass waiting for a good show to come along and since it was Ray's birthday today, I treated him! We didn't have to fight lines or crowds. We were the only two people at the 12 noon showing! I doubt that many school-age children would have an interest in this movie and, besides that, it had an R rating.

Argo is a real life story of six Americans who escaped the American Embassy in Teheran when it was stormed by mobs in late 1979. These six people found safety in the Canadian Ambassador's residence. The Iranians weren't aware of their existence in the ambassador's home but were getting close to discovering them. A risky plan was devised to get them out of the country. Lots of scenes from telecasts of that era; e.g. Walter Conkrite and a very young Tom Brokaw. It was interesting to see the style of hair, glasses and clothing from that era. We're giving it a "thumbs up" rating.

Though not part of the movie, at the same time negotiations were ongoing for the release of 52 prisoners held in the American Embassy. They were released in January 1981 after being held 444 days.

A small thunderstorm rolled through shortly before supper this evening and Ray pointed out the trees behind our house. Maybe today they were at their peak. You be the judge.

No reflection today. The sky had an eerie cast.

The area just left of the bench is where Ray trimmed all the holly bushes to the ground.

Fall chores

Thinking about a job doesn't get it done. It felt good to work outside this afternoon. Nice weather -- not too windy and warm enough that I didn't have to wear a jacket. I trimmed several peony plants and other foliage as part of the fall cleanup. Ray had already pulled all the tomato plants and cages from the "tomato jungle" and then had to pick up hundreds of green tomatoes.

We have never had this many wasted tomatoes.
Some were saved and are on the workbench in the garage.

The rhubarb plant still had some good looking stalks so I pulled them and sliced them for the freezer. The stalks aren't Grade A but a B or C if one were assigning a grade. I think they'll be good for rhubarb bread this winter.

As I was getting ready for our evening meal, I thought the fall colors outside our kitchen window were at their peak.

When the wind is calm the reflection of the maple trees is beautiful.

We may have some rain tomorrow and Friday so I'm happy to have taken care of these tasks. Still a few more things to do. I'm hoping to get to those projects next week.

A little German music

The pastor's sermon theme today was "You Lack One Thing." A young man asked Jesus "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" The answer is there is only one thing needed -- faith or a relationship with the living God.

We've had quite a few dinners this fall -- seems like more than usual. Today the theme was Oktoberfest featuring bratwurst, sauerkraut, green beans, German potato salad and some great desserts. Someone played German music so the atmosphere was quite festive. Having eaten a big dinner, we didn't feel like having a large evening meal. An easy day for the cooks in our house.

When we finally arrived home, the Colt's game was already in the third quarter. (I thought I had set the DVR to record, but it didn't.) We watched hoping the Colts could make a comeback, but the young players weren't up to defending against the Jets' running game and their offense wasn't good enough to score many points. This was only their second away game of the season and they've lost both times. It's much better to play at home.

Proof of the crop

A few days ago I mentioned that our Sweet Potato crop was skimpy compared to the previous year and that I didn't feel like taking a photo. However, I've relented. In a few years we'll forget how poor the crop was unless it is documented. I think everyone would agree that this year's crop has no comparison to last year.

The potatoes are curing in our sun room.
In a few more days they'll be ready to eat.

Three weeks from today is the Monumental Half and Full Marathon. I've participated in all previous Monumental Half Marathons and this will be the fifth year of the run. My training plan recommended a 10K race last weekend but I was at the Women's Retreat. So today we headed downtown for the Spotlight on Nursing race that raises funds for nursing scholarships. Ray decided to walk on his own and not participate in the race and afterwards he purchased breakfast in a sit-down restaurant! During this time I was running and when I finished I added on about another three miles to help in my endurance for three weeks from now. There were no other runners in my age division so I could have crawled (not really) and still won the $10 gift certificate at a local running store. My official time for the 10K (6.2 miles) was 64 minutes.

The skies were overcast today and I should have ventured out to work on my outdoor chores. If I don't get myself motivated I may be doing last minute pruning during a snowstorm! Let's hope not.

Day trip to Fort Wayne

We were on our way to Fort Wayne by 8:00 a.m. knowing that we might have some delays on I-69. True to what we heard on the morning news, there was a slow down as the road narrowed to one way north shortly after passing SR 38. Fortunately we noticed there was no construction on I-69 south so we wouldn't encounter any stoppage on our way home.

According to my recollection this was our first trip north on I-69 this year and I noticed a change in signage. All exits have a new number beginning with "2." For example, one of the more familiar exits to a music venue was always known as Exit 10 but now is marked at Exit 210. I guess the change was mandated because of the extension of I-69 to Evansville.

Even with the slow down we reached the high school just in time for the 11:00 luncheon. The food was delicious and Ray and I ate our fill. The teens not so much. Kaitlin is a very dainty eater and seemed to eat only a few bites. Garrett has been through two surgeries on his esophagus and is facing another one next week so it is difficult for him to eat.

After leaving the luncheon we headed south to Trinity Church Cemetery to check my parent's gravestone. We had heard that it had shifted so we wanted to see it for ourselves. On the way, we passed the building where I went to high school. It's now part of the Indiana Tech campus.

When I went to school there was no parking lot in front of the school.
When I saw the red trees I immediately wanted to take a picture.

A short while later we were walking in the cemetery and found the gravestone and, sure enough, it was leaning backwards.

Compare the gravestone with the one on the right.

Another view shows the lean.

I probably haven't visited the cemetery since my aunt's funeral in 2008.

My aunt and uncle's gravestone.
I was exactly six months old when they married. 

I saw this new gravestone and realized it was another relative.

Luella lived to be 88. She was my mother's cousin.

The fall colors during our annual trip to Fort Wayne were as beautiful as ever. We arrived home on fumes and stopped at the local truck stop to fill the tank and were home before 4:00. Still time to do some laundry and make plans for the weekend.

Trader's Point Creamery

We're really not very familiar with the northwest side of Indianapolis but have heard the term Trader's Point. Last summer we spent a day at the Trader's Point Charity Horse Show and today we visited the Trader's Point Creamery.

The Creamery is part of a working farm and we enjoyed lunch with Max & Pat Walker in the old barn converted into a restaurant. The mission statement on their menu explains it best: "To offer food in which you can trust and believe. To be a place where you can watch how the cows are raised and see the products being made. Eat where a community believes food should be chemical free, hormone and antibiotic free, and animals should be out on the pasture." When opened in 2003, the Dairy Bar Creamery was Indiana's only 100% grass-fed organic dairy farm. The restaurant opened in 2006.

After lunch we went on a walking trail around the farm. The charge is $2/person. Our leisurely stroll took about an hour.

The beginning of our walk was past this barn and equipment area

Wavy and irregular bricks formed the foundation of the barn

The base of a tree -- what caused this unusual formation?

Pat and I under the man-made arch -- Eagle Creek is behind

Ray ponders whether he could cross Eagle Creek on the stepping stones.
Can you see the red tree house on the opposite bank?

The tree growing at an angle is a Sycamore.
Seems like gravity should pull it down.

Some of the Brown Swiss cattle that are only grass-fed

Ray took a different path (through the milking parlor) and
made his way back to the trail using the same path as the milk cows.

We returned to the start and went into the restaurant for a scoop of ice cream to top off the afternoon. The creamery makes cheese and yogurt and had other items for sale. Some of their items are available at Whole Foods and other local grocery stores.

A small crop

After a hard freeze, it's time to dig sweet potatoes. Normally we have a bumper crop, but this year not so much. We suspect the drought kept the potatoes from developing they way they usually do. They aren't even pretty enough to photograph. Last year's crop was huge and we ate sweet potatoes for many months.

Ray also picked the last of the pumpkins and we now have 15 small pumpkins in the garage. I made a pumpkin cake today from the pulp of a pumpkin we picked last week. Guess I'll be making some pumpkin soup in the next couple of days. Could there be some pumpkin cookies in the future?

First Frost

As predicted, the temperatures this morning were as low as 29 and hovered around 30 as we drove to the Rec Center. I had donned cold weather gear and enjoyed my run. The wind was calm and the sun was bright. As I neared Hummel Park I could see the fog was much heavier than when I started. The park has a one-mile trail around the perimeter and I could barely make out the opposite side, an indication that the wind wasn't moving the fog in any direction.

The Kubota was delivered after lunch along with a $900 invoice for repairs. Ray grimaced when he heard the figure, but later admitted to me that the repairs changed the operation of the tractor for the better! The engine runs cool even when operating at high speed and he finished the front yard in a few hours. Tomorrow he tackles the back which hasn't been mowed in about three weeks.

After he had been mowing a short while he came in the house with a briefcase that he found on the lawn. He found a business card and realized it belonged to one of our neighbors and immediately called them. Ray didn't know it at the time, but an i-Pad was inside the briefcase. The neighbor forgot that he had set his briefcase on top of his truck and drove off and when passing our house, it flew into the grass. We all have stories like that, don't we?

A rep from our electrical company also stopped in this afternoon and gave us some suggestions and tools to help keep our energy costs down. We'll still have big bills if we have another hot summer but he explained how to go to their website and monitor our day-to-day electrical usage. They take a reading of our meter every day at midnight -- we never knew that. He also gave us an electrical usage monitor that we can use with anything electrical to give us the exact cost of using that appliance, TV or computer. I think we'll be learning a lot in the next few weeks.

Football Sunday

The first Sunday in October is almost universally known in the Lutheran Church as LWML Sunday and most of us who are active members wore purple shirts or blouses to church today. The pastor's sermon was based on the theme Salted for Service from Mark 9:50.

Banner hanging in the church sanctuary

We decided it was time to turn on some heat especially since the prediction was for an overnight freeze.   The Colts were back in action today after having the previous Sunday off. During the week, news broke about the head coach, Chuck Pagano, and his health. He has a rare form of leukemia and is in the hospital and might miss the rest of the season. The Packers were in town and at half time led the Colts 21-3.

The second half of the game was much different. The Colts played extremely well -- especially Reggie Wayne. Wayne caught numerous passes and some were not easy. The defense stopped Green Bay and allowed only one touchdown in the second half. In the end, the Colts defeated the Packers 30-27. The locker room was filled with emotion after the game as team owner Jim Irsay was given the game ball which he immediately delivered to Pagano in the hospital.

We are wondering how cold it will be in the morning. A freeze is expected. Ray picked tomatoes and he's also hoping the tractor is delivered tomorrow so he can mow again after 13 days without a lawn mower.

Happy #17 Dustin!

Spent most of the day at Camp Lakeview (south of Columbus, Indiana) at our Women's Retreat. Only seven ladies were able to come this year so it was an intimate crowd. Last evening we began a Bible study on some of the verses from Proverbs but also had fun playing Catch Phrase and got to bed quite late (for me). Earlier in the evening the camp manager started a fire in the fireplace making the meeting room seem cozier.

Not a great photo but evidence that we did have a working fireplace.

The weather was sunny and after lunch we went for a short walk outdoors. As part of the activities for the day, we cut crosses from the front of greeting cards and wrote a Scripture verse on the backside. The crosses are given to to prison inmates.

I arrived home about 5 p.m. and within a few minutes Ray and I headed to Greenwood. Grandson Dustin is 17 years old today.

No longer a little boy

There was some discussion on the correct spelling of Shmmm

Getting in character

Posing with cake

Silly Siblings

We didn't stay late at the birthday party, but got to sing "Happy Birthday" with Boo the dog joining in too. Enjoyed a piece of cake and then headed home. I'm a bit tired from the long day and lack of sleep last night.

Cold Front Brings Change

In a few minutes I'll be heading south about 1.5 hours away to Camp Lakeview to the annual Women's Retreat sponsored by our LWML group. I'm taking along sloppy joes and dill pickles for this evening's meal and some oatmeal bars for breakfast tomorrow morning.

This morning Ray and I went to the Rec Center for our usual Friday workout. I planned a long run on the trail system. We knew that a cold front was bearing down on us and it would bring rain, but I was hoping that it would stall until my run was finished. It actually didn't work out that way. As I got further and further from the Rec Center I began to hear faint rumbles. When I was quite a distance away the rumbling was definitely thunder and when I turned directions and looked at the western sky, I could see very dark clouds. Eventually I saw lightning. I changed my plan and headed back instead of doing another lap or two around Hummel Park hoping I wouldn't get soaked. I think the elements spurred me to run a bit faster than usual!

Even though I saw lightning and heard some loud booms, the weather system seemed to be north of my location and moving to the east and not getting closer to me. Rain began falling when I was about four or five minutes from the Rec Center. I finished my run on the 1/8 mile indoor track and was reminded that it's not really as much fun as being outdoors on the trail.

I'll probably be driving through rain all the way to Camp but at least we still have daylight for a few more hours.

Last beautiful day

Today was beautiful and I should have spent more time outside. In fact, the only time I was outside was to have a snack on our patio in mid-afternoon. We're expecting a huge cold front to come through after midnight with some rain. Hope it isn't raining at 8 a.m. as I'm hoping to get in my weekly long run in preparation for Nov. 3. I've met someone new on the trail -- we have only spoken to each other as we meet and pass each other. She's a walker and is also registered for Nov. 3. We have an unlikely friendship but know nothing about each other. I hope someday we can actually meet and have a few moments to introduce ourselves. It's just a wave and "Hi and how are you today?"

On Wednesday we enjoyed another free lunch at the Rec Center. A local woman shared her pictures and stories about a mission trip to Cuba last February. She was with the Quaker church and had many pictures of 1950 cars that the Cuban people keep running and they all look good!

Our Kubota tractor is still being repaired. In addition to a hose leaking hydraulic fluid, it needed a new water pump. When Ray added two quarts of hydraulic fluid and it still wasn't full, he knew there was a leak somewhere. It's possible they will deliver it tomorrow; if not, I suppose we can expect it on Monday. Tomorrow will be the 10th day without the tractor. We had several days with rain this past week but now the lawn needs mowing and with more rain in the coming week, Ray may have a challenge in getting the lawn mowed.