Hunky-Dory: Autumn color

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

October 1

Neil has put in a lot of back-breaking hours

over the last couple of years trying to get

grass to grow in our front yard

Looks like third time is the charm

Knox and Ella jumping in a pretend mud puddle (scorched earth left from our recent campfire) just like Peppa Pig and friends

October 2

Ring around the rosie

Knox, Kerry, Holly, and Ella

The falling down is easier on a trampoline

I'm thinkin' Arby's

because we can actually sit inside and eat

First amendment alive and well

in small-town USA

October 5

Fall Break

Neil took Knox hiking at City Lake

The only thing I hate about this time of year

is the sun hanging just below the visor all day long

My niece Julia celebrated her 23rd

October 7

Knox and Neil had such a great time hiking at the lake

that they went back, this time in search of the waterfall

Turns out the waterfall was just a few

yards ahead from where they left off

on their first hike

October 8

Good times on the trampoline

October 10

October 1 1

May have to get her a cone next time

October 13

Nice shootin' there, Tex

I'm thinkin' Wendy's

because we can actually sit inside and eat

October 14

Elijah mastered the backward flip

on the trampoline when he was little

I still pray, after all these years,

that he won't break his neck

Ella was fascinated by the spot of sunlight

on the kitchen floor

and her shadow

Before we went outside, she picked out

a pair of shoes to wear

Couldn't find the mate to the black sandal

so the pink tennis shoe worked for her

Her choice even though those little toes

hung over the top of the sandal

Ella's leaf bouquet

"Here's another weaf, Granny."

That face you make when the strawberry is not sweet

Elijah, Shelby, Knox, Kerry, and Neil

went hiking around Burgess Falls

They had a great time and shared their pics with me

Photo by Neil

Photo by Shelby

Photo by Neil

Photo by Shelby

Photo by Neil

Photo by Shelby

Photo by Neil

October 15

Gratuitous photo of my pumpkin cream cheese

doughnut from Ralph's Donut Shop

October 16

Kelly, Kerry, Knox, and Ella

on their way to Pigeon Forge for a Fall Break

weekend of family, fun, and friends

October 16

Things you see on your way home from early voting

Dinner and a movie night with Shelby and Elijah

Easy to clean your plate when it's a

mountain of chocolate pudding

We also hit Ralph's for doughnuts

And then we watched Halloween (the original)

and Poltergeist (also the original)

Always a fun time with these two

October 18

October 21

It's that time of year when the spiders come out to play

Holly and Shelby enjoyed a day trip to Dollywood

October 22

Knox Aced the first nine weeks of 3rd grade

The great pumpkin~ soon to be Jack O' Lantern

October 23

Picking out the marshmallows in the Froot Loops

October 25

Autumn leaf soup

Ella and 'Jeff'

Late bloomer

I guess better late than never

Dr. J

My sister Jane in her dentist costume

Open wide for some Halloween candy

at our church's Trunk or Treat

Vampire Holly

(I came as a shadow)

Neil terrorized the kids in his creepy clown mask

Seems like all clowns are creepy

Peppa Pig Ella

Kelly took this pic of Ella as Peppa Pig

and Knox as the Fortnite Pirate Fish Stick

October 27

My idea of hog heaven

Wish I could've bought them all

Elijah and Shelby and Neil

tossing around the football after school

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the Earth seeking the successive autumns."
~George Eliot

October 28

So disappointed

I thought they were real

October 29

Peppa 'Ella' Pig

Ella's MDO class enjoyed their Halloween party

Squirrel highway

He had a nut in his mouth

Kerry and Ella

Making a leaf (weaf) bouquet

No one will ever find me under here

October 30

For the artist, anything (or anyone)

can be a canvas

It was dress up like a character from

your favorite book day at school. I can't remember the

name of the character but he's from the

Spirit Animal series. Knox has devoured this series.

October 30

My sister Jane came thisclose to being a Halloween baby

Never mind 59. She's ageless.

HALLOWEEN 2020

Neil decked the front porch in an orange and black

creep show to welcome the trick or treaters

Kerry and Ella

Katelyn, Sarah, and Julia

Dumbledore

Photo by Don Foy with iPhone 12 Pro

Beetlejuice

Photo by Don

Cat Lady

Photo by Don

Good thing it wasn't Avada Kedavra

Elijah and Kiara

Pooh and Eeyore

Photo by Don

Holly

Scarecrow, Cowgirl, or Jessie from Toy Story

I can't decide

Knox

Fortnite Pirate Fish Stick

Don and Jane

They came as themselves

Ella

Photo by Don

Jane, Don, Julia, Kelly, and Ella

Eatin' Chili -- our traditional Halloween supper

Katelyn, Julia, Kerry, Knox, Kiara, Elijah, and Sarah

Don, Neil, Holly, and Jane

Spectacular Halloween sunset

Photo by Don

Creep Show Clown

Photo by Don

Thanks for the pic, Jane!

Shelby was Tom Cruise in Risky Business

Photo by Don

Shelby and Jerry -- better late than never

They had to work today

Peppa Pig and Dumbledore

Halloween 2020

Their costumes are always amazing

Photo by Kelly

Peppa was not happy

Photo by Don

Once in a Blue Moon

Photo by Don

"It won't happen again until 2039. But wait, there's more: The Oct. 31 full moon also happens to be a "blue moon," a designation for the second full moon to occur in a single calendar month. Blue moons are relatively rare as well, occurring on average just once every 2.5 years or so."

"The full moon that will be visible on Oct. 31 is called the blue moon because it's the second full moon of the same month -- following the harvest moon of Oct. 1 through Oct. 3. And in a rare treat, the 2020 Halloween full moon will be visible to the entire world, rather than just parts of it, for the first time since World War II."