Hidden daisy

All of our flowers have dried up. The neighbor's daisies have dried up too, except this one that poked its way through the fence into our yard.

Time to go home

Schubert's mom came over at about 9 p.m. last night to take him home. I'm not sure how long he had been sitting on our porch. Good thing he has the tracker.

Ryder Cup hat

Andy was so excited when the US team won the Ryder Cup on Sunday. One of his work partners went to Kohler to watch the tournament and brought him back a team hat.

Sunday surprise

We were all a little slow waking up Sunday and Andy surprised us by wanting to go out for breakfast. We haven't been out for breakfast in years. We went to Al's Grill, a longtime staple in town that we've never been to. It was good. I would have liked a little more cheese in my omelet but I'm always up for more cheese.

After breakfast we got Andy's car washed. Then, after golfing Friday and Saturday, he left for the driving range. I think he was buttering me up by having breakfast out.

Oktoberfest in the ‘burbs

I didn't even check to see if Glendale Hieghts was having Oktoberfest this year because we were supposed to be in Germany. But they are, after cancelling last year, and it was this weekend. So we went and took Allison along for a short outing Saturday afternoon.

Prost!

Andy is enjoying the festivities.

It's almost like being in Germany. (Probably not but we may never know at this rate.) Lots of polka music, beer, lederhosen ...

and pretzels.

Sitting pretty

Our model cat, Muffles.

And not to be outdone, August.

Freak of nature

I thought this coneflower looked a little odd. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that it's three flower heads fused together atop a single stem.

Andy and August

August likes to sit by Andy every evening so he usually ends up in his lap or on the arm of the recliner. It doesn't look very comfortable but every night it's where August is.

September sunset

I rode with Andy to his golf lesson tonight - he went to the lesson, I went to the mall. The sun was directly in our eyes for about half the trip but then went down enough he could at least drive.

It’s fall, y’all

It's nice having the buffet space for my holiday decorations.

I bought this pumpkin and these gourds in Michigan to set on the front steps. I had to research how to treat them to keep the squirrels away.

I saw that outting pet hair by the gourds will keep squirrels away, especially cat hair as the squirrels think a predator is nearby. If there's one thing I have a lot of in this house it's cat hair. Plan B is to cover them in Vaseline.

Pecan Pie Muffins

My cousin posted this recipe on Facebook. It had popped up as a FB memory from eight years ago and she said she still hasn't made them. I thought I'd give it a go.

They turned out pretty well. Tasty too.

I was concerned they wouldn't come out of the muffin tin so I think I took them out while they were still too warm. Only one flop but it gave us the chance to test-taste them.

Retreat memento

After our Sunday breakfast at Tower Hill one of the women passed around a basket of rocks she had painted and let everyone choose one. Andy took the mouse and I chose "think pink."

My friend, L, sent these pics she took Friday night in New Buffalo.

This pic of Andy grilling was taken by our friend, K. She has a nice, big camera while the rest of us were taking pictures on our phones. She always posts great, clear pictures.

Sunday in Tower Hill

The weather was so nice they planned worship outside.

Can't say I'm a fan of the pre-packed, Covid-safe communion.

Saturday in Tower Hill

Andy was up early as usual and enjoyed his coffee on the cabin's screened-in porch. Good thing there was coffee in the cabin because the coffeemaker in the dining hall wasn't working.

We saw these wild turkeys after breakfast. There were a lot of them. I saw deer Friday night but they were too far away to get a picture.

We went to Dinge's Farm. I wanted to get a sunflower head so I'd have seeds to plant next spring but the sunflowers weren't dried yet. We did get squash and a pumpkin for the front porch.

We took an after-lunch nature hike through the woods.

My artsy nature picture.

Andy and I walked along Lake Michigan. The waves were strong but the water felt good.

Andy was helping with dinner prep so I stopped at our moderator, D's, wine and cheese gathering. The weather couldn't have been better.

The camp's caterer couldn't provide dinner Saturday night so we were on our own to cook. Andy cooked the burgers. We also had brats.

A friend, who's a better photographer than I am, took this pic of Andy grilling.

Our friend, L, did all the shopping so the refrigerator in our cabin was stuffed. It was the best meal of the weekend.

After dinner we played some trivia and other games. This was our team's tower ...

This was the obvious winner. After the games, Andy helped start the campfire and I went back to the cabin for some conversation before turning in a little early for bed.

Friday in Tower Hill

Since we weren't able to go to Germany, we were able to fo to our church retreat at Tower Hill Camp in Sawyer, Mich. Andy and I stopped in New Buffalo for a beverage before heading to camp. We left earlier than usual so it was nice to have the drive in daylight.

We shared one of the new cottages with our friends, L and B.

We debated between Redamak's and the Stray Dog for dinner. We ended up at the Stray Dog and had to wait at least an hour for a table.

That gave us time to see the sunset in New Buffalo.

Waiting for dinner with friends C and L.

The lovely ladies had the cabin next to ours and joined us for dinner. It was a long wait but dinner was good. We sat in the upstairs patio and the weather was perfect.

She’s in!

L just applied this week to the Disney College Program and got her acceptance this morning! She'll spend next semester at Disney World. So excited for her!

We should be at O’Hare

At 6 p.m. today we were supposed to be on a nonstop flight to Germany for our 30th wedding anniversary trip. We drowned our sorrows at the local taproom last night, trying their Oktoberfest beers. Covid canceled our trip (and Germany's Oktoberfest) twice now. Maybe next year we'll go?