Some rain, cooler for short time, and tree color

Clarinda, IA 57º and lite rain just finished.

  Mowed lawn for last time this year, and wind-rowed leaves a little.  Was going to rake them up, but started raining.  Looks like the trees are adding some more to them anyway.

Helicopter taking off - picture taken from our front window.

Helo airborne

Helo sitting on its pad south of hospital

Riding our trikes around hospital, just coming to helo-pad

 All these photos were taken in last few days of the color of trees in our town.

Till next time, Lynn

Photos from our Canada trip to PEI

Side-accompaniment group

 Some photos from our Canada trip -

Quote below is from web site  College of Piping
where we went evening of 8-28-12 to see their show.
"Celtic culture comes alive at The College of Piping & Celtic Performing Arts of Canada! Based in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, and affiliated with The College of Piping in Glasgow, The College has developed a world-class reputation as an international school of excellence in Highland bagpiping, Scottish-style drumming, Highland

Some of the dancers

 dancing and Island step dancing. With a mandate to preserve and promote the Celtic heritage of Canada’s most Celtic province, Prince Edward Island, The College ignites passion in the hearts and minds of students and visitors alike!

Drummers

 Since its inception in 1990, students from all over the world have come to learn traditional Celtic arts, passed down from generation to generation. As the only year-round institution of its kind in North America, The College attracts students from across Canada and as far away as New Zealand, Australia, Kuwait, Japan, Singapore, Germany, the United States of America and, yes, even Scotland! Under the direction of College faculty, individuals and pipe bands have been consistent winners in local, national and international competitions. Instructors at The College have all been selected for their outstanding abilities as both educators and performers."

Drummers & Singers

Drummers

A heck of a fiddler

 I took video of much of this show, took almost 24 hours to load them up to You Tube.

-  Here are websites

College of Piping - PEI 8-28-12 - 1
College of Piping - PEI 8-28-12 - 2
College of Piping - PEI 8-28-12 - 3
College of Piping - PEI 8-28-12 - 4
College of Piping - PEI 8-28-12 - 5
College of Piping - PEI 8-28-12 - 6
College of Piping - PEI 8-28-12 - 7
College of Piping - PEI 8-28-12 - 8
College of Piping - PEI 8-28-12 - 9
College of Piping - PEI 8-28-12 - 10

Dancers

Dancers

http://www.collegeofpiping.com/
This is their web page.

Dancers

We DID get some rain!

Clarinda, IA  Well, we finally got some rain over the weekend.  Something over 1.5 inches Saturday night and Sunday morning.

     Last Thursday evening we had some youngsters at our "old people" Thursday night gathering.  At left Grandma is lighting the candles on the birthday cupcakes.








And then this young lady, who had a birthday the previous Sunday and had brought treats for everyone to celebrate, was ready to blow out the candles.

Couple weeks ago, just before the first frost, Phyllis picked the last of our tomatoes and put them in boxes, hauling them outside when warm and taking them in over the cold nights.

Here are some of them now.  We have eaten a few.  They just wouldn't get red on the vines, and finally are getting red now off the vine.  Will wrap the ones we haven't eaten in newspaper when we leave for Texas hope they continue ripening.




Friday night we took Bonnie & Leland Brown with us and drove to Maryville, MO and ate at the new Joy Wok, a fine Chinese Buffet.

On Sunday we headed out to Lincoln, NE at 8:00 am; went to church with my brother Roger and his wife Carolyn Miles and visited very briefly with cousin Angie and her son Michael.  Spoke a bit with cousin Keith and his wife Becky Miles and their daughters Tiffany and Jessica.  After church we went to a volleyball game, part of a YMCA league.  Jessica is in the 5th grade.

Jessica's team in the blue - before the game. She is at left.

Jessica ready.

I got some movies of Jessica returning the ball, but not a still picture.  She is pretty small, but can really pound the ball.

On the sidelines - Tiffany (Jessica's sister), Carolyn (Jessica's Gmom), Phyllis, Roger (Gpa), Keith (Dad), and Becky (Jessica's mom).

We got a bite to eat after the volleyball game with Carolyn & Roger.  Hadn't seen them since last fall and had a too-short visit.  Then headed back east to Shenandoah, IA where we stopped at Al & Carolyn Ruhde's place for a visit and then went out to eat supper with them.  Home by about 8:00 pm.

Till next time, Lynn

Maybe we will get a rain!

Clarinda, IA   Still dry, but rain forecast for tomorrow night.  Omaha TV stations giving stat of something like 8" below normal rainfall.

Had this hawk sit on a branch in our back yard for quit a while yesterday surveying the ground.  Didn't see him swoop down on anything, though he sure was studying something.









Working some more on photos of our Canada trip a month ago.  Have put up couple more albums.

https://picasaweb.google.com/104734368515318820647/TheBottleHousesOnPEIInTheMidstOfLaRegionEvangeline

This album is one that I didn't include in the Prince Edward Island album, though it is on PEI.  This Bottle Houses tour was quite interesting.  The web page for this place is  http://www.bottlehouses.com/index.cfm

Here is a little about the man who built the buildings:

  Who is this Edouard?    His roots
Edouard was born in 1914, son of Emmanuel and Roséline Arsenault of Cap-Egmont where he lived all his life, except for the years he served in the Second World War with the 8th N.B. Princess Louise Hussars in the United Kingdom, the Central Mediterranean area and Continental Europe (1941 - 1946). Fisherman by trade, at first with his father Emmanuel and later on his own, Édouard also worked as a carpenter during the non-fishing seasons most of his life, including boat building and construction work. In 1948, he married Rosina Leclerc of Urbainville, P.E.I. For several years, they resided in the Cap-Egmont lighthouse where Edouard served as the last resident lighthouse keeper. Their two elder children, Yvette and Réjeanne - the present owner of the Bottle Houses, were raised there for a few years until such time as the lighthouse was automated in 1957; the family then moved to the residence presently on the grounds of the Bottle Houses and two sons, Maurice and Pierre, were born shortly afterwards. Edouard's strong Acadian roots also led him to contribute greatly to the development of the Evangeline area, his home community. Even after his retirement, his creative energy and his sense of humour, very much Acadian, were channelled in his architectural project of transforming over 25,000 bottles into the colorful souvenirs he has left for all of us to admire.
Genealogy path of Edouard Arsenault
* Édouard, son of Emmanuel, son of Pierre, son of Joseph, son of Nicolas, son of Firmin, son of Paul, son of Jacques, son of Pierre Arsenault and Marie Guérin.
* His ancestor Pierre Arsenault, forebear of all the Acadian Arsenaults, was born in approximately 1650 in France. His place of birth is unknown. He arrived in Port-Royal in 1671 and worked as a coastal pilot. He married Marguerite Dugas in 1675 and later Marie Guérin; he fathered eight sons and one daughter. He moved to Beaubassin with his family in 1686. The Arsenaults residing in the Evangeline Region are all descendants of four of his sons.    

Time to head uptown to J's Cafe for our Thursday night group.

Lynn

 

Low: 25.9 °F at 10/07/12 - 7:49 am

That was recorded at KMA radio station west of us in Shenandoah this morning.  There was a white skim of frost over our front lawn when I looked out around 8:00 am.

We drove 334 miles yesterday, round-trip from Clarinda, IA to Ottumwa, IA and visited briefly with our son and his wife at our Granddaughter's apartment.  Photo at left shows Patty and Cam, with Vince and myself.  Granddaughter Emily is working and going to college and Vince is looking for a job.

Phyllis, Emily, and Vince in the cap.

 We waited until Emily got off work at Hy-Vee just before 6:00 pm and then went out to eat at Applebee's.

Cameron, Patty, and Lynn

While eating a little too much (of really good food) we got a good visit.  Drove the 160+ miles west in the dark, getting home about 10:30 pm.  Phyllis drove half the way, so wasn't too bad.

 Bright yellow, bright red, and green trees we spotted when we were riding the recumbent trikes a couple days ago.  With temps in the 40's in the mornings we have been waiting until later in the day to get our 7 - 10 mile ride in.

 At right is photo of the 3 cases of LP records that I have accumulated, hoping to get them transferred over on to CD's so we can listen while we are driving to Texas and in our travels next spring.

A few days ago Phyllis picked all the rest of the tomatoes.  We had very few red tomatoes this year; for some reason they just wouldn't turn.  Ate about this many as green tomatoes and she is hoping these will turn now that they are picked and inside away from the freezing weather.

Merrily and Liz

 Friday we picked up Roberta Rarick and went to Liz Roger's place for a morning coffee.  She served biscuits and real peanut butter with jam as well as some fancy little sandwiches.  Merrilly Tunnicliff also came and the 4 of us had a nice visit.

Phyllis, Roberta and Merrily

Our daughter is traveling to Japan in December and she asked her mom if she would make a quilted lap-robe to take for a gift to one of her hosts where she will be staying.  At left is picture of it in the quilting frame.


Still waiting on our travel trailer being repaired in Indianola, IA.  Hope will get it back within next several trips and we will head to La Feria, TX.

Lynn

October is here in Clarinda, IA

As it is everywhere...........
   We are having one last summer weather day here, though it is 37º outside right now forecast to get to 82º later today.  Starting tomorrow the highs are to be in the 60's and then 50's.  Time to start thinking about heading south.  Plan now to leave on October 21st for Texas.

 We retrieved our Ford Excursion and our small trailer from where we had previously stored our travel trailer.  Made room in the garage for the trailer and now can store stuff this winter both inside the trailer and on top of its solid roof.

 Can still park the car and the recumbent trikes, so works well.

 Though we have had only one light frost here in Clarinda the trees are really turning.  Picture at right is looking off our deck to the trees directly behind our house.  Of course, the picture doesn't show the brilliant yellow quite like you see in person when the sun is shining directly on it.

This is a tree in front of the Methodist Church in Clarinda that always puts on a show this time of year and is again doing it's thing.

 Leaves are falling from some of the trees, especially the one by the shop.  Have vacuumed them up several times and put the chopped leaves in my mulching box in the back yard.  Have filled it and with no rain falling it is not doing much activity.

Here are some of the leaves raked in to piles.

Here is the Worx vacuum/chopper doing its thing.

 Last Saturday was annual Band Day in Clarinda.  Some 51 bands marched downtown in the morning and then competed on the football field in the afternoon.  I didn't go, but Phyllis did - meeting Patty Steckelberg and her granddaughter Olivia.  They came to the house at noon for some grilled hotdogs and lunch.  We ate on the back deck in the nice sunshine.

I have put up some 500 plus pictures up to my Picasa web site on our time in Montreal and added some more to my Quebec album.
Touring Montreal     Just click this site and take a look if you want. 

Till sometime later, Lynn