The other day I was grocery shopping in our local ShopRite. I was looking for a particular brand of rye bread that we have here in the east only I couldn’t remember the name. I know what the packaging looks like, no problem. But the name? Call it old age syndrome or whatever, I could not remember at the time.

I scanned the bread aisle in the section where it usually is, but no luck. There was a man restocking bread in the aisle, so I asked him. “Where is that really good rye bread hiding? Did you put it in another section?” He said something of which I didn’t quite catch the whole sentence but it included “Pepperidge Farm.”

“No, no, no,” I exclaimed. “NOT Pepperidge Farm, you know the really good Jewish rye!”

He looked at me kind of funny and said “Lady, I am trying to tell you that I am only the Pepperidge Farm distributor and I have no idea which bread you are talking about! If you could tell me the name though I might be able to help you.”

“OHHH ...” I said. (oops!) “Sorry! And no, I can’t remember the name just now. Thanks, I’ll keep looking.” And I did. I scanned that bread aisle from front to back and high to low, yet I didn’t see the familiar package on the shelves.

Finally I gave up and went back to where he was still restocking the Pepperidge Farm breads.

“Oh well,” I said to him, “I guess I am going to have to settle for Pepperidge Farm this time.”

He stood up, put his hand over his heart and said “OUCH. You’re killin’ me here! You’ve really wounded me. Settle for Pepperidge Farm? That hurts!” And then he laughed.

I picked up my Pepperidge Farm Whole Grain Rye bread and put it in my cart. He approved.

One of the many small reasons I love living where I do is the people I encounter every day.

The Pepperidge Farm rye was not nearly as good as this rye, which of course I remembered the name of once I got home. But please don’t tell him I said so!

OMG. These things are so addictive. Thanks to friend Carolyn, I’ve had to eat the whole bag just to get them out of my pantry! Be gone evil nuts! I banish thee to ... uhm ... my mouth! Argh! I cannot. stop. eating. these. disgustingly delicious morsels.

Be gone ye evil things!

Out, out and into my mouth! Hurry, no time to waste.

Okay, gone now. I can go back to normal eating habits.

Whew, that was painful.

If anyone is making some kind of sweet potato casserole this Thanksgiving these would make a great topper! That is if they make it past your mouth and on to the casserole ...

Lay’s potato chips, you have met your match. I challenge you to “eat just one.”

P.S. Carolyn, do I thank you or curse you? Hmm?

You know me—I love a good storm. Sitting in Colorado under all that blue sky while back home they were having two really good storms drove me crazy. As predicted, the Nor’easter came. But it was pretty much a fizzle. Yes, it rained but not nearly as much as they had thought it would. No biggie, that’s for sure. Today is supposed to be gusty and windy on the tail end but that’s about it. If you want good weather just ask me to come and visit you! But, there is a definite upside to this and that is the changing trees. Right now they don’t need to have their leaves ripped off!

It was still the perfect kind of day (cloudy and cool) to be making this stew. It takes tons of prep work with peeling and cutting all the veggies and making the red wine and porcini mushroom sauce, but it’s totally worth it.

It gets served with some lentils (they get the sauce too) and a celery root and potato purée. Delicious!

Now for the second part of this post. The day before yesterday Rick came home from work and handed me an Apple bag. I knew right away what it was—an iPad! He told me I would probably getting one for Christmas or my birthday, but it’s neither one of those! What a surprise!

I LOVE IT! Thanks so much, honey!

Since Rick got his back in May it’s hardly left his side. I’ve often kidded him about how his iPad can do just about everything. Well, except for one thing that I can think of! And, if it did that he wouldn’t need me at all! After just one day of playing around with it I am beginning to see the addiction. I can just see us now, sitting side by side completely engrossed in our own little iPad worlds, sending each other IM’s back and forth ... how romantic!

Finally.

The air is crisp, the light golden and soft. As we drove to the farmer’s market in Mia on Sunday (top down) we both had our seat heaters on and light jackets. The wind tugged at the brim of my hat, threatening to dislodge it from my head. I thought that spring and summer were the best times for a convertible, but I was wrong. Fall definitely is.

At the market we bought apples for a pie, acorn squash which we’ll make tonight, and lots of veggies to go into a stew that I will make tomorrow as the predicted Nor’easter brings us rain—lovely rain.

The trees are starting to change. Just in the one week that we’ve been home we’ve seen a big change. Today I took all three dogs for a walk (two at once, then Bella). While on my walk with the dogs I noticed some things I wanted/needed to photograph. What follows is the beginnings of fall where I live.

Virginia creeper along our chain link fence.

Love that red!

The leaves of this particular kind of tree (of which I do not know the species!) look like web-fingered hands.

The day was nice, but with spotty clouds obscuring the sun at times. Not the most ideal conditions for taking photos but sometimes the lack of sun is a good thing. I decided to walk down to Green Turtle Pond to see how the colors were coming along. It’s coming along nicely.

I can predict a canoe paddle soon!

More creeper!

Fall ... you’ve gotta love it! I know I do. Now we just need to get all that wood moved in time for fire season!

Has it really been one whole week since I last blogged? It doesn’t seem that long. I guess I have some catching up to do. It’s going to be a long one, so please bear with me as I wade through the goings-on of the past week +.

We had a good Labor Day weekend and the weather was glorious. We didn’t do much of anything, just some yard work such as emptying the deck flower boxes of their past-their-prime petunias, one of the signs of a winding down of summer.

The petunias may have been done with in the flower boxes but they managed to seat themselves in various places, such as the potted palm that has been spending the summer outside

and also poolside.

The weather has taken a turn since my last post. Nights are cooler and every day we have less sunlight. The sun has a hard time getting above the trees for the better part of the day. The pool deck is covered with bits and pieces of acorns that continually drop from the big oak tree at the far corner, making loud thonks! whenever they hit. Fall is in the air.

Earl completely missed us and all we got was a bit of wind on Saturday. Since he passed by our weather has been just beautiful: blue skies and cool days. Perfect for throwing the windows wide open and letting the breeze blow through the house. I have to admit though that we needed to close up the house on Sunday night because it was too darned cold! 47 degrees F overnight!

The heat wave of last week did allow the pool to recover slightly in temperature (74 F) and we went for what we believe was the last swim on Friday night. With the past few nights dipping down into the 50’s and high 40’s, the temperature has tanked back down to 70 F again. I don’t think it’s going to recover this time.

We’ve had this visitor several times in the front yard. Eating acorns I’m thinking since it is always in the same spot: under the oak tree.

The only thing really left blooming in my yard is the overgrown morning glory vine that is threatening to take over the deck and Rick’s weather station. It got a late start this year.

Another sad thing on the winding down side of things is that we had to euthanize our old kitty, Vincent van “Goatee” last week. He was our little “Frenchman” kitty that came with us when we moved back from France. He was 18 1/2 years old and failing in health. It was hard to make the decision to let him go but when friend Carolyn visited and she sat down and talked to him, the end result was that she agreed it was time. Over the past year we’ve known that he probably had cancer from the results of his blood test and he had to live in an x-large doggie airline crate because of his lack of bathroom habits. He stopped taking care of his fur and it became matted, fell out and never regrew. We nursed him along but his quality of life confined to a crate was poor.

Over the past month or so he started looking very gaunt and was really nothing but skin and bones. With our three week vacation looming, we knew we could not leave him with a cat sitter coming in once a day, and feared that he would pass while we were gone. Here he is with eBay in better days, and getting a treat on Christmas three years ago. It’s hard to remember that he ever looked that good; he’d been failing for so long. Sleep well, sweet Vinnie.

And the gearing up, you ask? Well, I was gifted this gorgeous fig tree by a neighbor.

It came complete with instructions for its care.

And figs!!!!

Some of which we’ve already harvested and eaten!

And the biggest “gearing up” is of course for our westward trek to our cabin back in Colorado. Next week this time we’ll be somewhere in Indiana! Lists are being made. Piles of things to take are starting to accumulate in the spare bedroom.  Recipes are being poured over and rated (or not) as cabin meal candidates. The Suburban got washed and awaits its interior cleaning this weekend and the donning of its roof rack and storage pod. Soon, I tell the dogs. Soon you’ll be running free over the high prairie—and Bella—you’ll be swimming in the beaver pond. And your Dad and I will be sitting on the screened-in porch after dinner listening to the coyotes sing.

Very soon.

Thanks for slogging through this week with me!