MY READING LIST FOR OCTOBER

Quite an eclectic list of books for the month of October.


The Necklace:  thirteen women and the experiment that transformed their lives by Cheryl Jarvis
Published 2008






One day in Ventura, California, Jonell McLain saw a beautiful diamond necklace in a jewelry store window and wondered: Why are personal luxuries so plentiful yet accessible to so few? What if we shared what we desired? Several weeks, dozens of phone calls, and one great leap of faith later, Jonell and twelve other women bought the necklace together–to be passed along among them all.

This necklace weaves in and out of each woman’s life, reflecting her past, defining her present, making promises for her future. Lending sparkle in surprising and unexpected ways, the necklace comes to mean something dramatically different to each of the thirteen women. With vastly dissimilar histories and lives, they transcend their individual personalities and politics to join together in an uncommon journey.


If you like sociology as I do, this book is for you.  It is a fast read but because I got sick and my eyes hurt, it took a little longer than it would have otherwise.  I found a recommendation for this book on another blog and I am so glad I took the author up on this.



What a Year by Tomie de Paola
Published 2002

A new school year starts.  Tomie celebrates his 6th birthday in 1st grade with a cake in his classroom and great gifts.  October comes and Tomie goes trick-or-treating with his brother for the first time.  Then comes Thanksgiving and Christmas.  But Tomie is stranded at home with the chicken pox.  Will he still get to play his part in the pageant?  Finally it's New Year's Eve and lucky Tomie gets to stay up to see the new year in.

Once more Tomie dePaola takes his readers into his childhood with more fun and funny memories.

Joe and I love these books.  Now on to the next one!  I have it ordered and am just waiting for it to show up at work.


Hitler Youth:  Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Published 2005



On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany, thanks largely to the efforts of the Hitler Youth, whose organized propaganda marches throughout Germany helped the Nazi Party grow in strength.  By 1939, it is  estimated that more than seven million boys and girls belonged to the Hitler Youth.

This is the riveting and often chilling tale of a generation of young people who devoted their energy and passion to the Hitler Youth organization and left an indelible mark on world history.

Award-winning author Susan Campbell Bartoletti infuses the work with the voices of both former Hitler Youth members and young people who resisted the powerful Nazi movement.  These voices stand alongside those of Jewish youths and others who were senselessly and brutally targeted by the Third Reich.  What emerges is the story of average children and teenagers faced with extraordinary and unenviable choices.

This book is required reading in the high schools here.  It looked so interesting that both Diane and I wanted to read it but it was always out.  Finally there were several copies on the shelf, so I took one out of the library to read.  It is interesting, frightening, engaging.  I am zooming my way through this one.


Mallory McDonald, Baby Expert by Laurie Friedman
Published 2014



This is number 22 in the Mallory McDonald series.

There's a new baby on Wish Pond Road, and Mallory has had all the baby talk she can take!  Mallory wants to be excited about Mary Ann and Joey's new brother, Charlie.  But she can't help wondering what life will be like now that there's a baby around.  Whether it's painting the nursery, taking family photos, or attending a baby shower, her friends are so caught up in the excitement of having a new baby brother that Mallory feels like they've forgotten about her.  Is there a bright side to the changes that baby Charlie brings?

I love the Mallory books and have read every one of them from #1 on.  Yeah, OK they are kids' books, but who says adults can't enjoy a children's story now and then.  Besides it's a nice change from the dark story of Hitler and the Nazis.  Like most of the Mallory books, I read this in one day.


Hidden Like Anne Frank: 14 true stories of survival by Marcel Prins & Peter Henk Steenhuis
Published 2011



This is a collection of eye-opening first-person accounts that share what it was really like to go into hiding in the Netherlands during World War II.  Each story is different.  Some children were only three or four years old when they were hidden; some were teenagers.  Some hid with neighbors or relatives, while many were with complete strangers.  But all know the pain of losing their homes, their families, even their own names.  They describe the secret network of brave people who kept them safe.  And they share the coincidences and close escapes that made all the difference.

The stories in this book are often heartbreaking, but they remind us of the strength, the kindness of others, and the courage that it took to survive.

Back to World War II.  But these are stories of hope and survival.  More uplifting than the Hitler Youth book.  And another fast read.

I've already started another book, as you can see from the side bar.  What would I do if I couldn't read?





Kathy

OCTOBER PHOTO CHALLENGE #29 -- MOON

I'm not doing too well getting to work on time this week.  Wednesday I was 1/2 hour late.  With the upstairs all messed up it has been difficult getting ready in the morning.  Today should be better, though, since when I got home last night the mattress and boxspring were out front, bagged up and waiting to be taken away in the trash truck.  Still some to go, but looking so much better.  And yes, my friends, you will get to see before and after pictures as the room gets fixed up.

Our showerhead was slowly giving up the ghost.  I guess after 40 plus years it had a right to do so.  So another of Joe's projects was to change the showerhead.  He has been trying to do so for several weeks, but it was really corroded and he couldn't get it off.  He finally did it on Tuesday night and put a new showerhead on.  It was a strange feeling when I took my shower in the morning.  It is really nice, but I will have to get used to it.  It feels more like rain than the other one did.

I had lunch with my friend Donna.  She used to be my supervisor and when she retired I got her job.  We hardly ever see each other and it was nice to spend some time catching up.  I really love Donna.  This is Donna A not to be confused with my other friend Donna B who I am having lunch with on Friday!  We went to Arby's.  It's not my favorite place, but I do like their classic roast beef sandwich.

Wednesday was Debbie's first day of work at the Fishtown Branch.  Diane and I went to pick her up after work.  Richmond is only 15 minutes from Fishtown.  Diane was able to show her where to get the bus to come home so I was glad she decided to come along.  I then took Diane home and Debbie and I went to Little Caesar's and got pizza for dinner.  I dropped Debbie off at her house and then ran home.  I put the food on the kitchen table and then Joe and I ran off to Bible Study.

We had six people there tonight (seven counting Joe).  Joe is doing a series on discipleship.  It's very in depth and quite different from my ladies' study.  However, at one point we four ladies were comparing it to the Jonah study we are doing on Tuesday (obedience).  That made me feel good, because I could tell they were really taking the Tuesday study in because of what they were saying.  So I'm not just talking to thin air!

Friday is Dottie's birthday.  She is going to be 91.  (She is determined to make it to 100.)  So Genny baked a pumpkin cake for her and we all sang Happy Birthday.  Dottie was grinning from ear to ear.  It was so sweet of Genny to do that.  Genny told me that she wasn't going to do it, but she knew she could count on me to help set things up and cut and hand out the cake.  Aww...  *smile*

Wednesday's photo challenge topic was "Moon".  When I think of the moon the first thing I think of is "Hey Diddle, Diddle".  One of my sister Elaine's favorite pictures is one that our mom had as a child of the cow jumping over the moon.  I don't have a picture of it, but I can see it in my mind's eye.

Hey diddle, diddle, the cat and the fiddle, the cow jumped over the moon.  (Google image)

 

 

 

The other thing I think of when I think of the moon is the book "Good Night Moon."

If you can believe it, I had never heard of "Good Night Moon" until I was babysitting my three year old goddaughter, Emi.  (She just turned 23 and got engaged.  Yikes!)  This was one of her favorite books and she had me read it to her over and over.

But since both of these are Google images and not my photos, I will show a picture I took a few months ago of the super moon.  For the first time I have a camera that is good enough to actually photograph the moon (although not as good as my brother, Larry).

What a marvelous universe our God has made!

Linking up with Kaitlin at Homemaker Design for this October photo challenge.

Kathy
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Wednesday's weather
Mostly cloudy/ afternoon rain
High:  72 degrees (8 degrees above average)
Low:  51 degrees (11 degrees above average)
Sunrise:  7:26 a.m.
Sunset:  6:01 p.m.
10 hours and 35 minutes of daylight  

OCTOBER PHOTO CHALLENGE #28 -- BLACK AND WHITE

So here's the catch up post for Tuesday.  The day began with Bible Study.  We were in Jonah 3.  I didn't expect much, but wow!  It was a fantastic study with everyone getting involved so many ideas thrown around.  One of the best weeks we've had.

Then it was off to work.  Both Diane and Bob were back which made the day much better.  I still didn't get as much done as I would have liked, but something is better than nothing.  

Tuesdays are my late day so it makes for a long day and I am so tired by 8:30 when I get home.  I made hot dogs for dinner and watched "19 Kids and Counting" (my favorite show).  I ended up crying through the entire wedding show.  Then I had to stay up to type up Joe's notes for his Wednesday Bible Study.  It was very long and took me about 1 1/2 hours to do.  If I had known it was that much, I would have done it over the weekend when I wasn't so tired and had more time.  I kept falling asleep as I typed.  It's amazing it made any sense at all.  As soon as I finished I went right to sleep.

Today's photo challenge is "Black and White".  Originally I was going to show a picture of my black cat Jenny and my white cat Snowy.  But since Jenny's death two months ago I just can't bear to even look at her pictures too much.  So I chose this picture instead.  It's not completely black and white, but I felt it was so close that I could use it.

Lots of birds sit on the overhead wires going down our street.  It's rare to see just one hanging out like this.  The warmth in the wires keeps them warm.  Since this was taken in January, that's exactly what this little guy was doing.

I have to go.  I'm starting to fall asleep.  More catching up tomorrow and then I will be back on target.

Linking up with Kaitlin at Homemaker Design for this October photo challenge.

Kathy 

OCTOBER PHOTO CHALLENGE #27 -- MORNING

I am so far behind in this photo challenge.  I have been so busy and so tired that I haven't been able to post for a couple of days.  I am hoping to catch up but because I have to leave for work in half an hour and still have tons to do before I go this will be a short post.

On Monday morning I was very late getting to work.  When I walked in I found that I was the only Library Assistant there.  Diane was on vacation and Bob was out sick.  We opened up but I asked Liz to call for help for me.  It's hard to work all day when you are the only one on the desk.  Lunch and bathroom breaks become impossible, let alone all the other off-the-desk tasks there are.  Fortunately Tracey from the Fishtown Branch was able to come over.  She lives close to Richmond so was happy to be closer to home and even went home for lunch.  I love working with Tracey so that was great.

But...  when I got home I was so tired.  I made ham, green beans and mashed potatoes (from the farm) for dinner and then fell sound asleep for the whole evening.  I didn't even work on cleaning up our bedroom.

Joe bought a new boxspring and mattress.  We are in the process of switching them out, but getting them up and down the winding staircase is quite a job.  We had to move things and a lot of stuff is just thrown around the bedroom.  The room is not that large to begin with so it looks horrible right now.  I am planning on spending my Friday off fixing things back the way they should be.  The good news is that Joe vacuumed under the bed while the boxspring was off.  Good job, Joe!  I am planning on rearranging the furniture, we want to get more electrical outlets put in, and then we are going to paint the whole room.  I think we can save the rug.  It is going to look so good when we are finished.  Then on to the next room.

The photo challenge for Monday was "Morning".  Mornings are hectic for me.  I'm always running late and trying to do more things than I have time for.  Like now.  But the one thing that must be done first each day is feeding Snowy.

 
Believe me she will let us know if she is not first!  In just one year she has become a spoiled little girl.  I don't know WHO let that happen.

I also have been taking pictures of the construction site out back.  It will be fun to watch it all take shape.  Right now it's just a big hole in the ground.

Now I really have to run, take a shower and dress, and get myself out the door.  I'll be posting later.

I'm linking up with Kaitlin at Homemaker Design for this October photo challenge.

Kathy

OCTOBER PHOTO CHALLENGE #26 -- LISTENING TO

I really didn't want to get up this morning.  I had a hard time getting myself together and once again took Joe over to church and then came home to get ready.  But I got there, so I guess that counts.

Our friend, Krystal, became the newest member of the church today.  That was so special because Joe led her to the Lord in his Bible Study.  Krystal is special and important to us.

Pastor Justin continued on with his study in the book of Genesis.  We are up to chapter 41.  Heading towards the end of the book.  We had no idea when we began it in the beginning of June 2013 that it would take this long to work through the book.  But it's been wonderful and I've learned so much.

That brings me to today's photo challenge.  Here is what (or should I say who) I was listening to today:  Pastor Justin!

One of the things he said today that I will ponder on this week is this:  God wants us to use our resources wisely.  God gives us a period of time to act wisely and not squander our lives, then comes judgment....  Anything this world has to offer is worthless.  Anything heaven has to offer is beyond comprehension.  You have this time now.  What are you going to be doing with it?

Hmm....

I'm linking up with Kaitlin at Homemaker Design for this October photo challenge.

Kathy
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Sunday's weather
Sunny
High:  66 degrees (1 degree above average)
Low:  47 degrees (6 degrees above average)
Sunrise:  7:23 a.m.
Sunset:  6:05 p.m.
10 hours and 42 minutes of daylight    

SUNDAY PRAISE -- AT CALVARY

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

 Hebrews 4:12

Another great hymn:  At Calvary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kace3TBloZo

OCTOBER PHOTO CHALLENGE #25 -- SHADOW

What a beautiful day today!  Lots of sun and it even got up to 70 degrees!  Lovely.

I slept in today and only woke up when the next-door neighbor called to see if I could return his DVDs to the library on Monday.  I couldn't really blame him for calling too early because by then it was 10:30.  I never sleep that late.  But I'm so glad I did today.  I needed it.

While we were eating breakfast we heard all this noise.  I had heard machinery going earlier in the week, but thought it was just the gas works or water department working in the street.  A lot of the streets are all dug up around here.  Instead when Joe looked out the window he told me there was a backhoe in the empty lot in back of us.  They are building a new house!  Today they were digging out for the basement and foundation.

It will be interesting to see the house go up.  But it will be strange to not be able to see the houses across the street.  I have lived here for almost 35 years and have always been able to see across the street.

Joe and I went to the farm today.  I didn't think we were going to make it because it was so late and it closes at 2 p.m.  But we did.  Of course the produce was all picked over, but we still got some nice stuff.

Amish Muenster cheese, slicing tomatoes, potatoes, leeks and corn.  We took the last two ears of corn they had.  They were 50 cents each.  I had them for dinner tonight and they were so sweet and good.  Just like sugar.  Oh wow!

I took a couple pictures of the pumpkins at the farm too.

Have you ever seen so many different kinds of pumpkins?  It was wonderful.

Then we did our biweekly shopping at Shop Rite, went to Home Depot and Dollar Tree.  I was really hurting by the end of this and sat in the car in the parking lot while Joe ran into the last two places.  This darn arthritis in my foot!  But it could always be worse.

Of course with getting up late and running all these errands what I wanted to get done today didn't get done.  I hate when my cleaning gets pushed back, but there's only so many hours in a day.

For today's challenge I saw lots of shadows, but none of them were interesting.  Finally tonight as the sun was setting I realized I had to get something.  So here's what I decided on.

I started by getting the shadow on this house.

You can see one of the tanks in the chemical plant where Joe used to work behind the house.  Yes, I live that close.

But that shadow still didn't seem like enough.  So I realized that silhouettes are also a type of shadow so I decided on this.

You can just see the steeple of the United Church of Christ over one of the houses.

I seem to have a theme going this week.  I'm in love with dusk.

I'm linking up with Kaitlin at Homemaker Design for this October photo challenge.

 Kathy
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Saturday's weather:
Sunny
High:  70 degrees (4 degrees above average)
Low:    42 degrees (1 degree above average)
Sunrise:  7:22 a.m.
Sunset:  6:07 p.m.
10 hours and 45 minutes of daylight  

OCTOBER PHOTO CHALLENGE #24 -- DINNERTIME

For the first time this season I worked at the Fishtown Branch of the library.  They are our sister branch.  We either work Fridays at Fishtown or Saturdays at Richmond.  I used to enjoy working at Fishtown but now the guard there doesn't like me.  We had a disagreement about something around a year ago.  Even though I have tried to make up with her, she is holding a grudge and does everything in her power to make my life miserable.  So working with her at her branch is not a pleasant experience.  Today she stood in back of me where I couldn't see her and kept dropping things very loudly to make me jump.  It's childish.  Even if I ask her something work related, she refuses to answer.  I heard her tell someone that she hoped I would drop dead because I don't deserve to live.  How nice.  But it's only for a few more weeks.  We are being changed to six day branches where we will all work in our own branch and not be switched around.  It will be so much better that way.  The good news is that I don't have to work with this guard every day!  There is always something to be grateful for.

Today's photo challenge is Dinnertime.  I was really happy for dinnertime today because now I am home for two days and I am not sick!  Well, not much anyway.

For dinner tonight I had turkey burgers in gravy with Brussels sprouts and stuffing.  It was good.  Joe thought so too.

The best part of dinner is the time to relax together and talk with each other.  A time for us to reconnect after a long day apart.

Linking up with Kaitlin at Homemaker Design for this October photo challenge.

Kathy 

OCTOBER PHOTO CHALLENGE #23 -- THE VIEW FROM HERE

Thursday, October 23 -- I feel as if I've lived two days today.  And I am so tired.  It began with Joe and I leaving the house at 7:00 a.m. this morning to get him to the hospital in time for his test at 8:00 a.m.  The drive in the morning is always hard with all the traffic and it didn't help that it was raining so hard.

We got there in plenty of time.  I hadn't eaten breakfast so we stopped at the Starbucks in there and I got a blueberry muffin.  We had brought water and soda with us so that saved us some money.  Then we went to nuclear medicine and checked in.

It wasn't long before Joe got the medicine they needed to use to do the test and then it was a waiting game.  I went to the Canteen and ate my muffin, then came back.  After Joe got the second round of drugs he had a three hour window.  He got a chit for a free meal so we went to the Canteen and he got a salad and a bagel because he hadn't been able to eat since the day before.  I looked in the gift shop.  They had lovely things, but everything was so expensive!

While we were waiting for the three hours to be up, Joe went to another doctor's appointment.  I sat in the waiting room and read my book.  I was so tired because I had had only 3 hours sleep the night before that I fell asleep and woke up when the book dropped from my hand.  That was so embarrassing.  But I had had about 1/2 hour sleep and I felt so much better.

After Joe's test we headed home.  Joe had wanted me to just drop him off and go home but I am so glad I stayed.  His back is so bad that he is having trouble walking and used his walker today.  He would have had an awfully hard time trying to manage everything himself.  But...  he had me all over that hospital.  Three different floors and one end to the other.  I was tired!

We stopped at Wawa and I got a salad for lunch.  It was after 1:00 p.m. by now.  And then I had to go to work.  I got to work around 3:00 p.m. and worked until 8:00 p.m.  It was extremely busy!

Needless to say I did not feel like cooking dinner tonight.  I was going to stop at Old English and get a couple of steak sandwiches, but then thought about stopping at Wawa and getting a turkey bowl.  They sell them for only six weeks during the end of October and the month of November.  It is mashed potatoes, stuffing, sliced turkey, gravy and cranberry sauce.  So good.  So I surprised Joe by bringing home two bowls.  Of course immediately after eating I fell asleep.  Any guesses why?  That is why it is now 2:30 a.m. and I am writing my post now.  

I know today is going to be less stressful.  I am working at Fishtown today so it will be an easy day.  Next week my friend Debbie is starting a new job with the library.  Congrats Deb!  And she will be working at Fishtown!  Unfortunately we probably will not be working the same day.  They usually don't call in the part timers when they have extra people from Richmond on Fridays.

Now on to the photo challenge.  The topic today is "The View From Here."  I really wasn't sure what to do for this, then decided I would show you the view from here -- my home!  This is the view out of the front window.  (And I'm not showing you shots of huge snowstorms.  I have loads of those pictures, but I'm not thinking about snow just yet.)

This is facing east, so again this is my "calm" time of day -- dusk.  Even though the sky is darkening for the evening, the sun is still shining in the west and lights up the front of these homes.

And here is the view from the back of my house.  Welcome to my garden.

I love sitting out here talking with friends or reading a book.  Or even eating breakfast at the table.  It may look like a small yard, but it is a good size for the city.  Most people do not have this much land.

So now I am going back to bed and try to get some more sleep.  Morning is coming quickly.  Until later...

Linking up with Kaitlin at Homemaker Design for this October photo challenge.

Kathy 

OCTOBER PHOTO CHALLENGE #22 -- A FAVORITE PLACE

It was tough getting up today.  I kept falling back to sleep.  As a result I was 1/2 hour late getting to work. *sigh*  It was another busy day.  Is there a day that isn't busy?  I'm working on a special project for my boss and it is coming along so well.  He even complimented me on it today.  That's great!  His compliments are few and far between.

It has been raining quite a bit here today.  We need it though so I can't complain.  It's chilly too.  I guess autumn is really here and summer is gone until next year.

I love the summer and so that brings me to today's photo challenge:  a favorite place.  My favorite place is Ocean City, New Jersey.  I love being on the beach.  I love watching the ocean.  I love the whole shore mentality.  I am hoping that some day I can live down the shore.  That would be a dream come true.  So here are some pictures of my favorite place.

 

 And here's a little video for you to enjoy.

I'm linking up with Kaitlin at Homemaker Design for this October photo challenge.

Kathy 

OCTOBER PHOTO CHALLENGE #21 -- CALM

I got up very early today and tried to get a lot of things done before I had to leave for Bible Study.  It backfired on me, though, because I fell asleep again before I was finished getting ready.  When I woke up it was late and I rushed to get there in time.  I just made it.

We studied Jonah chapter 2 today.  What insights these ladies have!  I always feel that I am learning from them as much as they learn from me.

Even work was better today.  Someday I will actually complete everything I have to do on my list.  But I'm getting there.

Today's photo challenge has the topic of calm.  There were many things that ran through my mind.  I went through my photos for over an hour trying to piece something together.  Finally I decided on this.

I think when the sun is just setting, dusk is just starting and the comforts of home beckon after a long day at work is one of the calmest times of the entire day.  This picture was taken as I came out of work one day.  The sunlight was perfect and I just had to capture it.  You can see the skyscrapers of Center City in the background.  If I would drive a few miles in that direction, there would be lots of noise and traffic.  My drive a few miles in the opposite direction brings me to the peace and quiet of my home.

And now it's time for bed.  Have a good night everyone.

I'm linking up with Kaitlin at Homemaker Design for this October photo challenge.

Kathy

OCTOBER PHOTO CHALLENGE #20 -- 4 O'CLOCK

Today at work was pretty bad.  One lady screamed at me that I always had it in for her, was always nasty to her and lied about her all the time.  Is it a full moon?

I am just so very tired all the time.  I even fell asleep sitting up watching TV.

So let's get right to today's photo challenge.  The topic was 4 o'clock.  I didn't know what to do with this except photograph the clock at work.

When I read Bevy and Kaitlin's entries, they also photographed clocks.  I guess that was the thing to do.  Four o'clock used to be the "witching hour" at work -- that last hour before we got out of work.  Now that our hours have been changed and we don't get out until six it is just another hour.  But still, when we see it we know the time is short.  On our late days, however, it is just another hour.  It is actually Bob's lunch hour.  Diane gets 5 o'clock dinner and I get 6 o'clock.  So it's two hours until dinner for me and then working until 8 p.m.

I'm falling asleep so I will end for today.  Until later....

I'm linking up with Kaitlin at Homemaker Design for this October photo challenge.

Kathy 

OCTOBER PHOTO CHALLENGE #19 -- LETTERS

I'm not feeling too well today.  Decided to skip church, but took Joe over.  When I went back to get him, church was still going on so I sat in the back and listened to the last 10 minutes of the message.  Of course Joe wanted to talk to people so I was there about 30 minutes before we left.

I have been feeling nauseous all day and one of my glands is swollen and painful.  I hope I am not coming down with something just when I am finally getting over this cold.

I am anxious to see how my blood test came out.  I am supposed to get the results either tomorrow or Tuesday.  Then my medication will be changed again.

Didn't do much today except sleep.  Guess that's what I needed.  But I really wanted to get some things done.  Nothing ever gets done in the house because I am always asleep.  I have been told that being so tired is part of my thyroid not working correctly.  I hope that the medication can be sorted out so that I can get some energy.

Today's photo challenge is letters.  I really didn't have a clue what to photograph.  I thought of pulling out some letters I have kept over the years.  I thought of drawing a big "K" on a piece of paper.  Nothing really appealed to me.  Tonight when I was making dinner I looked around the kitchen and saw it was full of letters.  Here's some of them for you.

My favorite picture hanging between my two windows.  It is a reminder to me to live simply.

I don't remember where I got this, but I do love fall.  It's hanging on the fridge.

My spice cabinet that my sister gave me the Christmas before I moved into this house -- 34 years ago.  It has seen much use.

Here are the letters I use the most -- my cookbooks.  These are just a few of the many cookbooks I have.  Believe it or not I use most of them a lot!  Sometimes I just read them.  Yes, I am one of those people who read cookbooks.

 So you see there really are a lot of letters in my house.  And that's just the kitchen!

I'm linking up with Kaitlin at Homemaker Design for this October photo challenge.  

Kathy
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Sunday's weather
Clear
High:  55 degrees
Low:  40 degrees
(Quite a difference from yesterday)
Sunrise:  7:15 a.m.
Sunset:  6:15 p.m.
11 hours of daylight   

SUNDAY PRAISE -- THE SOLID ROCK

Romans 1:16

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 

A great hymn of the church:  The Solid Rock by Edward Mote and William B. Bradbury.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkMapZB8qMk

On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.

OCTOBER PHOTO CHALLENGE #18 -- MADE YOU SMILE TODAY

I'm not doing so good these days keeping up with the photo challenge.  Now that I'm back to work I'm exhausted and keep falling asleep before I write my post.  So let's just pretend that this is Saturday, OK?  OK!

It was my Saturday to work.  I was surprised because it was so quiet.  I got quite a lot done.  Most of the jobs I do are ongoing,  but a few I can actually cross off of my list when I am finished and I got some of those done.  That's nice to make the list a little shorter.

Joe is in quite a bit of pain these days.  His back gets worse and worse.  He has an appointment with his doctor on November 11th and is hoping to hold out until then.  He finally had gotten to sleep when I left for work so I didn't even wake him up to say goodbye.  Poor guy.

I wanted to get to the farm and since it is right near where I work, I ran there at lunch time.  And that really brings me to my photo challenge for today.  The farm always makes me smile.  Besides getting away from work and doing something that I really enjoy doing, I love getting the fresh veggies and talking to the fantastic people who work there.  So here are some pictures of the farm.  I meant to take lots of shots, but my arms and hands were full of produce and I had trouble getting to my camera.  So I've added some older pictures of the farm too.  The fall decorations are very similar to what they did this year.

This was taken through the fence after I had put my purchases into the car.

Haybales and pumpkins.  Lots of pumpkins.

Here's what the farmstand looks like.

 And here is what I bought at the farm today:

Brussels sprouts on the stalk, purple fingerling potatoes, carrots, turnips and a bunch of rosemary that smells so good.

I didn't do the fish on Friday after all.  We had chicken salad sandwiches that were amazingly good.  So Saturday night we had poached salmon, Brussels sprouts and mashed purple fingerling potatoes.  Everything was so good.

And speaking of dinner I am going to put on Sunday's dinner now.  But I'll be back with another post later.

Kathy
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Saturday's weather:
Cloudy
High:  70 degrees (2 degrees above average)
Low:  53 degrees (10 degrees above average)
Sunrise:  7:14 a.m.
Sunset:  6:16 p.m.
11 hours and 2 minutes of daylight    

OCTOBER PHOTO CHALLENGE #17 -- FRUIT

I am so enjoying my day off today and not being sick.  Well, not much anyway.  Still blowing my nose and coughing some, but compared to the last two weeks, this is nothing.

Joe got up with me this morning and we ran some errands.  We went to the post office, the bank and then ended up to our newly opened Wawa.  

Our local Wawa market closed a month ago for renovation and I have REALLY missed it.  There was nowhere around here to go to an ATM or get a good hoagie.  And it being on my way to work I often stopped off there to get lunch.  I am so HAPPY they are open again.  Today was the first day they had reopened.  I knew it was going to be soon when I passed it on the way home last night and saw through the construction fence that the lights were on and it was almost done inside.  Joe and I were really impressed.  The old-fashioned little corner store has come into the 21st century.  Everything is rearranged into logical sections.  Instead of rows and rows of shelves, there are now little islands with chips, with salads, with baked goods.  There were new cold areas with the sodas, iced tea, ice cream, etc.  And a new coffee station.  What was really cool was a new machine with pumpkin coffee, hot chocolate, decaf coffee, lattes and hot water if you wanted tea.  Apparently it changes what it serves with each season because the sign on it said, "Your fall favorites".

So, of course, when I saw the case full of fruit I knew what picture I had to take for today's photo challenge.  I pulled out my phone so it didn't look too obvious taking the picture.  I'm hoping to take more pictures of this beautiful store to show you.

Doesn't this look nice?  The bananas were on the other side or I would have taken them too.

So I'm off to do more laundry and make a nice poached salmon for dinner.  After I take a nap that is.  It's been a nice day.

I'm linking up with Kaitlin at Homemaker Design for this October photo challenge.

Kathy

OCTOBER PHOTO CHALLENGE #16 -- SOMETHING YOU WROTE

I am tired so this is going to be very short.  I woke up at 3:30 a.m. and couldn't go back to sleep.  I was so afraid I wouldn't wake up in time to get Joe to the hospital.  He had an appointment for an MRI at 8:00 a.m. and we had to leave the house at 6:30 a.m. to get him there in time.  He had to get there early so they could get him all set up.

Driving 20 miles in the dark on a couple of major highways was not my idea of a good time first thing in the morning, but we got there fine.  Then I was stuck in rush hour traffic all the way back home.  Yes, rush hour starts around 7:00 a.m. here in Philly.  The highways are all like a parking lot.  It took me so long to get home.

I had a doctor's appointment this morning also to have my blood test.  I get one every three months to monitor my drugs.  I will know the results by Tuesday at the latest.

I had to take an early lunch to go pick up Joe from the hospital.  I was 15 minutes late getting back to work, but my boss said not to worry about it.  It was busy today too, so that was nice of him.

Today would be my mother's 83rd birthday.  I miss her so much.  She was not only my mom, but my best friend.  We spent a lot of time together.  I've been sad all day.  But I know she is in heaven and so much better off than she would ever be on earth.  Here is a picture of her in her younger years.  I think she was about 18 in this picture.  Everyone says I look exactly like her.

Today's photo challenge topic is "Something You Wrote."  I have had quite a few of my articles published and I looked all over to find one to photograph for you, but no luck.  I know they are in the house somewhere.  So maybe later.  Instead I took a picture of my list for today.

I am a great believer in lists.  I make one just about every day.  It helps me to remember and put my day in some kind of order.  It also gives me a sense of satisfaction at the end of the day to see things crossed off.  I find that I tend to do nothing if I don't have a list.  Does anyone else make lists?

That's all I can write, folks, because I am literally falling asleep here.  I know I will sleep good tonight.  I have off from work tomorrow since I am working on Saturday.  I'm looking forward to it.

I'm linking up with Kaitlin at Homemaker Design for this October photo challenge. 

Kathy