I've been very, very negligent of the blog - I was surprized though to see Sept 20th as the last post! We have be extremely busy and are glad we did everything when we did... winter is closing in with wet, dark days!

The shed is completed!From cement pad to finished product! We brought everything from the storage unit and have unpacked the last box - as of this weekend! We are moved in!

The south side yard is planted and the sod is in around the patio and forms a path to the south side gate. Everything will get rooted with the rains and snow and be ready really grow come spring!

In addition to that we celebrated Mom Judy's birthday here in September and Signe and Jack's birthdays last weekend. It was a wonderful sunny fall Sunday afternoon for the party and we made good use of our patio and barbaque. The party had a "Octoberfest" feel due to the menu of a variety of sausages and sauerquart. When the temperature dropped we lit our first fire in the the brass patio fire pit that Caleb gave us as a wedding present!

Jack's Dad has had a rough fall. He was in and out of the hospital several times in three weeks. After a week in ICU the doctors did a procedure to stop the leaks in his lungs and he was able to go home. The fluid seems to be staying out of his lungs now. It's a slow road to getting his strength back but he is very happy to be home.

Last month we adopted Shilo - an 11 month old lab/austrailian shepard mix. She is very bright and loves to fetch... anything...but she is esspecially fond of balls. Mr. Mike still rules as the #1 best dog in the world but he can't walk very far without having really stiff joints. I don't run anymore but do try to walk an hour three or four times a week and like to have a dog with me so Shilo gets the chore. She seems to like it. We call her our Camo Lab - she is a sweet girl! She is smaller than Mike but she has the same calm nature - except when a ball is involved... then she is a pest!

Finally Jack and I felt we had a "free" weekend and we took a Saturday to go to Lake of the Woods and try out our new scuba gear. Shilo enjoyed the water. My computer registered the water temperature at 47 degrees. We were in the water for 25 minutes. We found the kinks in our systems - my hood is too big and I got a smashing "ice cream headache". Jack found that with his wetsuit being new he needs more weight to sink...he couldn't get off the surface! We were freezing and ready to give it up after 25 minutes. The packing the gear from the dock back up to the truck finished us off for Saturday. It's 50 stairs plus the path to the foot of the stairs! I think I prefer shore dives! And I don't want to dive again this winter in a high mountain lake!

Our next dive will be in Monterey over Thanksgiving weekend! The ocean is warmer! The house/dog sitter is set up, time off arranged, and reservations made. We'll work on getting me a different hood and Jack additional wieghts this coming weekend.

Caleb and Mike have said they'll come for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday so Jack is happily gathering reciepes for the event. He is really looking forward to making his first company T-day dinner. It will be small - the boys, Jack's Dad, and us - but that will be nice, for a change! Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!