Meeting Grant

We met little Grant on Saturday afternoon and he is a sweetie!!!

Here are two photo's that I took digital photo's of, it works pretty well.

Here is Grant all relaxed on my lap.  Aren't his little feet precious!

He was awake most of the morning and early afternoon so he slept most of our visit.  We did get to see his open eyes later.

Gracie & Grant

Gracie likes her new little brother!!!

SCSU-Munsinger Gardens

On Saturday, we stopped to see Andrew, his dorm, had lunch at DB Searles downtown and then ran over to Munsinger Gardens which is directly across the river from Andrew's dorm.  We loved his dorm, very classic and the oldest on campus. It was a beautiful fall day and brought back memories of college days at UMM-those were the days!

Andrew's room is nice, he has a view of the river.  We met his roommate Chandler who is from China-very nice guy.  Andrew is working hard and enjoying his first semester!
We took a little stroll through Munsiger Gardens.  I was there earlier this summer with Charice.  Fun to see it in the fall too-still very colorful and beautiful.

Two cool dudes!

Isn't this pretty!

Thrifty Finds!

We're going to Royce and Lynn's today and I am bringing this outfit for Gracie.  It's a size 18 months and I've had it since before she was born.  Luckily it will fit her this fall and winter so the timing was right.  I found it at the Fergus Goodwill for 2.99 and the shoes were 99 cents, brand new with tags.  They're a size 5 so they're a little big but match the outfit so I'll tuck them in too. Won't this look cute on Gracie?!!  It's very cozy too.

So cozy...

Big Kitty found a better spot than the top of the hutch.

Delish!

A coworker sent me a link to a website she thought I'd like and I do so I'm sharing it with you.  Go to Delish to find mainly recipes, videos and decorating/party ideas like the picture I posted above.  There are some good slideshows too.

Cardinals??

I was beginning to worry about the cardinals this fall as I haven't seen them in the last few weeks.  It's not like I've had a lot of time for birdwatching but they're usually the first birds at the feeder in the morning and the last in the evening, so I have a good chance to see them.  Tonight I was reading a magazine out in my favorite spot (sky chair) and heard their little pips and sure enough they were down in the lilacs too scared to approach the feeder due to my presence.  So I moved up to the deck and sure enough, 2 females and 2 males came out of the shrubs to feed.  It sounded like more were in the lilacs so maybe they had a successful breeding season this summer.  They can have 2 batches if all goes well.  The male who always fights his reflection and pecks loudly at our window hasn't shown up since early spring.  He was at least 3 or 4 years old and I have no idea how long they live but that is old for a songbird.

I plan to watch the VP debate this evening.  I think it will be fairly entertaining as they seem to be polar opposites!  Dan has been in SF since Sunday and will return Friday evening.  I don't think he's ever spent that much time there in one trip.  He said the weather is just beautiful out there but it's very nice here too!  This week went so fast, hard to believe it's Friday tomorrow.  We plan to see baby Grant on Saturday and hook up with Andrew when we pass through St. Cloud too.  

Just Wednesday...

I just love the photo directly above.  I cannot take credit for it however, found it on a google search for pretty fall photo's.  Tonight I walked down to the point and picked some bittersweet that I found while kayaking last week.  It looks nice but will look better when it pops open.  It was a nice evening here, pretty sunset but it's very chilly.  I hope we are due for another warm spell.

On Tuesday, the Bargain Bazaar had it's "soft" opening.  That is a new term for me and it means that it wasn't an advertised opening,  people were simply told to go to the new store by a sign on the old store.  Well, they had a great soft opening and made over $600!!!  I stopped in over my lunch hour and bought a cool winter hat, vintage looking but quite new, a brand new big candle, and some other goodies.  Tonight I am trying to fill up a bag of fall and winter items to donate.  Shari, somebody bought your Halloween bowl on the first day and Shelly, your pretty tablecloths sold too in the seasonal room.  They have been saving all of the seasonal items since they came in last winter.  I will have to remember my camera soon and snap some photo's.  I must say it is the nicest thrift store I have ever been in.  The location is awesome too, right across the street from the grocery store and down from Duebers.  No flooding in this store either.  Thanks to all of you who have donated items to the Bargain Bazaar and helped make it a great success!!

Grant

Just another pretty baby picture of Grant.  Thanks Nancy.  We hope to see him this Saturday!

Halloween idea?!

I think this may be the cutest Halloween costume I have ever seen.  It looks like tights, kitchen gloves, a white feather boa, white cap with red crown.    Absolutely adorable!  Found this on a blog out there in webland somewhere.

Hummingbirds

I have been keeping my eyes peeled for a hummingbird but haven't seen one in the last 3-4 weeks.  Usually they stay til the end of September but they left in early Sept this year.  I wonder if that means anything about our fall or coming winter...I hope not.  The last hummingbird I saw was at the kitchen window.  It was a female and she was VERY plump so I thought it was evident they were getting ready for the big migration.  Little did I know it would be so soon.  These little birds signal spring and the true end of summer for me.  Have a good winter in Costa Rica little guys!