“In November, some birds move away and some birds stay. The air is full of good-byes and well-wishes. ― Cynthia Rylant, In November

November 1

“It looked like the world was covered in a cobbler crust of brown sugar and cinnamon.”

~Sarah Addison Allen, First Frost

Captured a little yellow butterfly fluttering by

Neil bought this apple fritter from Ralph’s Donuts that was so enormous

they didn’t have a bag or a box that it would fit in

So they smashed it into this Styrofoam to-go box

The fritter wasn’t going without a fight and snapped the box

while trying to escape

November 2

November 4

Flying

November 5

November 9

Ella helped me sweep leaves off the back porch

Then she started collecting all the red leaves she could find

and filled several paper cups with them

They sat on the counter for about a week so I tossed them thinking she wouldn’t miss them

Never underestimate the memory power of a four year old

Next time she came over:

Granny, where are the cups of leaves I made?

November 12

Happy 46th Birthday, daughter Kelly!

November 17

Little turkey at her pre-school Thanksgiving feast

Ella with dad Kerry and mom Kelly

We all enjoyed the yummy food

Elijah and girlfriend Kiara at Ocha, our fave Thai food restaurant

November 18

Not sure if he even knew Ella had placed her unicorn on top of his head

Looks good, yes?

November 21

I love Chick-fil-A’s peppermint chip milkshake

Neil does not. He does like the cookies and cream.

November 24

Thanksgiving feast at the Kimbrough’s

So much awesome food as always

Ate too much. As always.

And always thankful for God’s awesome blessings big and small

After dinner walk around the block

Told everyone to jump. I even counted 1-2-3 jump!

I think it’s clear who follows directions. And who doesn’t.

Or could be that spirit-willing-but-flesh-weak thing

With arms outstretched I thank.
With heart beating gratefully I love.
With body in health I jump for joy.
With spirit full I live.
~Terri Guillemet

The young folks played Apples to Apples and other games

while the old folks vegged out in front of the TV

No pic of the old folks vegging

Use your imagination

November 25

Ella and Knox cracking each other up while waiting for Taco Bell supper

November 27

Shelby with mom Holly and dad Jerry at El Tapatio lunch after church

She was home for the turkey day holiday then back to school

to finish up classes and study for finals before Christmas break

November 28

“In November, the trees are standing all sticks and bones. Without their leaves, how lovely they are, spreading their arms like dancers. They know it is time to be still.”
— Cynthia Rylant, In November

Christmas lights ~ Neil’s handiwork the past two or three days

I guess it’s time to get rid of the pumpkin

November 29

Time to decorate the tree. With one less ornament.

Oops!

Well, with two less ornaments

November 30

Ready or not

“There is October in every November and there is November in every December. 

All seasons melted in each other’s life.” – Mehmet Murat Ildan

Nostalgia - that's the Autumn, Dreaming through September Just a million lovely things I always will remember.” ― Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

September 1

And so it begins

"A fallen leaf is nothing more than a summer's wave goodbye.” ~unknown

September 4

Grandpeeps Shelby and Elijah

Enjoying the Labor Day weekend break from school

These day, the only time I can get a picture of them is when we’re in a restaurant

But that’s okay. I’ll take it.

September 8

Grandson Knox catching fish with Grandpa at Cane Creek

September 9

Granddaughter Ella was not ready to face the day

Grandson Knox dressed up with ticket in hand ready

to go to the homecoming dance at his middle school

September 14

Ella turned 4 years old, and Grandpa took her fishing

She was not amused by the sombrero the kind servers at El Tapatio plopped on her head

Nor the birthday song they sang to her

And especially not the bowl of whipped cream her brother took from

the server and tried to shove in her face

Nope. Not one bit.

Presents before cake

Her cousin Sarah captured this great shot

She loves Bluey and wanted a Bluey-themed birthday party

That face says Yes I’m sneaking icing off the cake

Sorry not sorry

Happy 4th Birthday, Ella Rose!

September 23

September 27

Niece Julia celebrated her 25th birthday a few days early

She’ll be spending her actual special day at the beach

September 28

September 29

Grandson Knox’s chorus concert was very enjoyable

Love hearing children’s voices singing in harmony

September 30

Pumpkin cream cheese doughnut from Ralph’s

The best autumn treat ever

“Ah, September! You are the doorway to the season that awakens my soul… 

but I must confess that I love you only because you are a prelude to my beloved October.” 

― Peggy Toney Horton

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“There is a time in late September when the leaves are still green, and the days are still warm, but somehow you know that it is all about to end, as if summer was holding its breath, and when it let it out again, it would be autumn.” ― Sharyn McCrumb, King's Mountain

September 1

Round and round Ella goes and where she stops nobody knows

It’s her thing lately in our backyard, and she’s fast

Steak ’n Shake supper with Holly and Elijah

September 2

Ready to help pack 1500 food boxes at Churches of Christ Disaster Relief

Crackers are just one of many many food items going into the boxes

Fall Ball is in full swing as Knox waits his turn at bat

September 3

No such thing as too many hair clips

Runs with sticks

September 5

Shelby came home from college to visit this weekend

Ella was happy to see her cousin

September 6

A Walmart parking lot sunset

September 9

The beautiful view from the high school pick-up line

September 10

As a 4th grader at his elementary school, this is Knox’s last Cougar Run,

the school’s only fundraiser for the year

“Go, Knox, go!”

Her brother’s cheerleader

September 11

20 years

September 14

Ella celebrated her 3rd birthday today

She’s deeply into the Disney movie ’Tangled’ right now (my personal fave)

so of course this was her birthday party theme

That face you make when everyone is singing to you and, let’s face it,

it’s so embarrassing that you don’t know what to do with yourself

(Am I right? Nod your head.) 

That face you make when it’s time to blow out the candle

Through the magic of technology, Shelby was able to be at the party too

She would’ve loved to wish Ella a happy birthday in person,

but Face Time is the next best option when you’re away at college

Best part of the party is ripping off that gift wrapping and

discovering what’s inside

She got a princess Rapunzel dress

a crown and a scepter (or wand as Ella called it)

Ella enjoyed a very happy 3rd birthday

'Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!'

Her mom and dad gave her this wig, and she had a great time

throwing all that hair over her shoulder

September 17

Heading north off the town square

This sunset was all over the map

September 20

Elijah started his first job working at Sky High Sports, a local trampoline park,

although they have arcade games and laser tag and all sorts of fun stuff to do

(I borrowed Kelly’s Snapchat picture of Kerry visiting Elijah at the counter)

September 21

The floodgates were wide open at J. Percy Priest Dam off I-40

as we passed by on our way to Nashville to pack food boxes

We’ve endured days and days of steady flooding rain the past couple of weeks

Boxes we pack today could ship to recent survivors of flooding in Tennessee, 

Hurricane Ida, or wildfire survivors in California

September 21

Kelly snapped this awesome photo of Ella and Knox checking

out the Harvest Moon

The Harvest Moon means just that, time to harvest the crops before frosts and cold weather set in. This full moon is very bright and even allowed farmers to harvest at night. The full moon closest to the Autumnal Equinox is named the Harvest Moon, according 

to a source on the Web 

September 22

Autumnal Equinox 2021

We could call this the Parking Lot Harvest Sun(set)

September 23

“I want to watch something!”

It’s a mystery why watching Peppa Pig on a tiny iPhone or iPad screen

is way better than watching it on a giant screen TV

Little Bunny Foo Foo came hopping up on our front porch, had a look around,

realized he was blocked in by the railing, made a U turn, and went hopping on his way

He froze long enough for me to snap his pic

September 24

We took Ella to the children’s library, which she loves, and paid a visit to

Norbert, the Iguana in residence

Norbert was in no mood for socializing

Knox at bat in the team’s last game of regular season

Tournament starts next Monday

September 25

Chick fil A shakes always make us smile

I was surprised to find the peach shake was still available

Can’t say no to the peach shake

Neil can. He got a cookies and cream shake. Also worthy of smiles.

September 30

Beautiful night for a baseball tournament game

Sometimes those great practice swings ….

…. don’t translate to the batter’s box

Knox’s team lost 4-2 and ended up in 4th place

The team played hard this season and were rewarded for their efforts

Life is like the baseball season, where even the best team loses at least a third of its games, and even the worst team has its days of brilliance. The goal is not to win every game but to win more than you lose, and if you do that often enough, in the end you may find you have won it all.

~Harold S. Kushner

“Sweet September Blessings!
I am eternally grateful!!!” 
~Charmaine J. Forde