Fall Is In The Air!

Yes, we woke up this morning to 64 degrees and took our morning walk in longer sleeves! As I look at the forecast for the coming week, all temperatures begin with an 8 rather than a 9! All good news!

I've been trying to get to this for a week, but it wasn't meant to be. It's been a busy month of scheduled activities, further complicated by my volunteering to give a presentation on our African safari! I knew better than to volunteer, but I did it anyway, and now I'm getting anxious about it. I've spent time paring down the information that Tippy and I put together when we offered it as an OLLI class, in hopes of making it shorter and more concise. I'm doing it on Thursday and will be glad when it's over. Most of all, I hope folks enjoy it as much as we enjoyed the trip.

One of the high points since last writing was visiting friends in Bluffton. Maria (Felix and Hanry), my former neighbor across the street, was kind enough to invite us for a visit. Needless to say, Rosie was happy to visit with her friends, too. The first day there, we were fortunate to have an early dinner with Chris and Lynn before Lynn took off the next morning at 4:30 AM to pay a surprise visit to her granddaughter in Portland, OR, who was a brand-new mom! She was traveling with her son and DIL, whose visit was planned, but Sage didn't expect Lynn. I felt very excited for Lynn and knew it would be a good trip. The second morning, Maria had Ann, another neighbor, over for brunch, and we had a good natter. You can see from the photos that Rosie was happy to see her people, too! Tuesday evening, I went to Drinking Liberally and connected with David, Chris, Rhonda, Carmen and Dominick, and several new members since my move. As always, there was lots of good conversation and laughs. David followed that up with a visit to Maria's the next day to see Rosie! Katie also stopped by (and I neglected to get a photo - too much to talk about!) since she was unable to come for brunch. It was great to catch up with everyone! Wednesday lunch was our favorite standby, Olive and Fig for the F-word - Falafel! It was as good as ever, and I've really missed it! Chris, Rhonda, Maria, and I reserved a booth and put the world to rights! There's nothing better than great conversations with good friends! Due to the usual busyness of summer (travel, company, etc.) I was not able to connect with everyone, but I knew they were enjoying themselves. Maybe next time! It was a lovely visit, and I thank Maria for her hospitality. It was perfect!

We returned, and the following day, the Clinton Presbyterian Community Facebook page featured a little piece about Rosie!! I hope the link HERE will open to the correct article. If not, you may have to scroll a bit. Anyway, that was very sweet! Before we left, many of Rosie's regulars were wondering what they were going to do without her......little mention of me, mind you! I know my place in the overall scheme of things!

I've been on three outings organized by our Life Enrichment Coordinator. The first was to the newly renovated Laurens County Courthouse. We were provided a guided tour, and it really is beautifully done with top-of-the-line AV features, etc. There are photos of the earlier versions as well as a small museum. The main meeting room is beautiful, with several smaller meeting rooms also available. I'm sure it cost a pretty penny, and when asked about its usage, it seems that the county council meetings are about it! From there, we walked across the street for lunch at Roma, an Italian restaurant I'd been wanting to try. The food was very good, and I've added it to my list of places to take guests. 

We also visited the Greenville County Museum of Art, which is noted for its collection of Andrew Wyeth watercolors. We were given a guided tour, which was very informative. There were several sketches from which he worked, and I was especially taken by the partial paintings that showed how we painted from his sketches. Needless to say, his watercolors are impressive. I really loved the "Birding" section by Grainger McKoy from Sumter, SC. The detail of the work was magnificent, with the rooster being one of my favorites. I was also taken by the large, decorative floral pieces they had in various locations. When I asked about them, our guide said they were for the well-known international floral distributor, Temu! Even so, they were very pretty. I think another visit will be in order, as we did not have time to see all of The Southern Collection or Notable American Masters series. It was very enjoyable and followed by a nice lunch. I also enjoyed seeing parts of Greenville other than the motorways. It was in a lovely area with some interesting buildings. All in all, a very nice outing.

In addition to these outings, I've gone on two shopping trips to various shops or malls, one in Greenville and the other in Greenwood. While it probably would have been quicker to go on my own, it is an easy way to learn my way around better. There were definitely a few places I would revisit, now that I know where they are and what they offer.

I'll end with a glimmer, and Rosie updates. The little tree is from my front door, and at a certain time in the afternoon it looks like a spotlight is on it. It just glows a brilliant yellow-gold! The photo doesn't do it justice. 

Rosie is sniffing cars, as she likes to do. With some of the wheels, she can get her whole head in one section of the hubcap! And she obviously smelled something enticing in the hedges! 

The last two are of her being fully alert in anticipation of a squeaky toy being thrown! I'm so thankful she is doing well and enjoying her people!

I hope this finds YOU doing well also! Let me hear from you when you have a minute.  xoxo