50% FULL OR EMPTY?

This is one of my favorite lakes. It is absolutely beautiful and in a very picturesque setting. Last weekend was so warm and perfect for a drive to the lake and even a little fishing. It has been so dry for the last several years that the lake is at a record low of 50%. It hardly looks like the same lake as we have enjoyed for the last 25 years.

Here is our Tahoe on the lake bottom, well dried out enough to drive on. It's almost hard to believe that only one year ago we were in our boat 10 feet above this area.

The hills and pines still make a beautiful back drop for this very low lake.

It was so still and you can just see the reflection of the new shore line. It normally should be up close to the pine trees.

As you look straight ahead, you can tell the lighter part is where the water was earlier this spring. With the nice weather there were many motorcycles enjoying a fall ride across the Dam road.

Our 10 year old dog certainly enjoyed the outing and even got his feet wet. Actually, more then his feet, the water in this lake is always very cold so he would not stay in the water for more then a minute, even though it was close to 70 degrees temperature.

This is my trustworthy, well used rod and real, My real acts up from time to time probably because of it's age and many hours of use. NO, we didn't catch any fish this time but sure enjoyed the peaceful outdoors and fresh air.

Maybe Santa will see my well used real and bring me a new one for Christmas or I may have to Wait until the big Sport Show at our Civic Center and take advantage of some of the special sales. It's still a good looking real and can still bring in those big fish!

If only they would bite!

On the way home, as the sun was starting to set, we stopped a another almost favorite lake to try a few casts. Guess what? The fish weren't biting there either. Here you can see the fragrant pines at the water edge. They always smell so fresh. This lake is not down as much as the other lake. Across this lake is our special picnic area we and our friends often pull our boats up to the shore and enjoy a picnic, good visit and sometimes even a short hike.

Reflections of a pleasant fall day.

This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!

It's a Caramel time of year!

OK, OK! I do this the easy way. I use the individual wrapped caramels rather then cook my own Caramel. I wouldn't really call this easy though, unwrapping all these caramels takes awhile, patience, endurance, even when you have your grandson helping.

This was his idea, we make Caramel apples every fall around this time of year. When he sent a email asking when we were going to make Caramel Apples, I knew it was that Caramel time of year! Here he is stirring the caramels as they melt on low heat.

He pushed the sticks in the apples and we were ready to go.

Rolling the apples in the hot caramel. UM UM, I just love caramel apples!

I like mine dipped in crushed peanuts or pecans, whatever you happen to have on hand.

It looks good enough to eat, RIGHT? They still needed to cool just a bit in the refrigerator.

I place them on nonstick aluminium foil or wax paper so they don't stick. The crushed nuts not only add flavor but help so the runny Caramel dose not stick too bad.

Hear they are. Some people add drizzled white or dark chocolate. Ours were quite plain but very tasty.

My grandson enjoying that first bite of his caramel apple!

Still enjoying the 6th bite of his caramel apple!




Looks good doesn't it? It's a mouth watering experience and not too bad health wise either!

For Nov 5th in this area, these beautiful flowers are quite unusual. While taking my dog for a walk I couldn't help but think how warm a fall we had had and what a long season for these lovely red Geraniums.

It's like the Flowers are giving it one last powerful bloom before the hard frost.

Just one day later the temperature hit 24 degrees and so now everything is pretty well frozen.

The day time temps have still been getting well up in the 60 degrees. Maybe we will have a mild winter or maybe we will have a later winter that lasts long into spring. We will just have to Waite and see.

This tall grass was standing so pretty in the lowering west sunlight, I just had to take a picture.

As I have been slowly working at reading through the Bible, I remember just reading about Grass. In Psalm 103 verse 15 - 18 it says, As for man his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.

We worked diligently to clear the vines and frozen plants from our garden and tilled in a bunch of chopped leaves from the yard. They should decay and make the soil rich and ready for spring planting.

The far western part of our garden still has collard greens and kale so we have left that until the hardest of frost. Hopefully we will still get several meals of fresh greens from these plants.

The Old Governors Mansion

The Old Governors Mansion from the center of our State was moved about 200 miles last summer to a new location. It was replaced by a new governors mansion so had no purpose at its old location. This is how it looks now. What a beautiful sight and what a gorgeous huge mansion now ready to be used for numerous fund raisers, parties and actives.

Yesterday, Saturday Nov 3rd was a free open house and fund raiser to start off the Toy's For Tots contributions. The mansion has already been decorated for Christmas and was the perfect Saturday morning activity for one of my good friends and I.

We certainly did enjoy the very interesting, informative tour and also the many fund raising booths set up to stem our interest. This is toward the left as we came in, it was the former living room for the many governors who lived in this home since 1936. The colors are all kept as close to what they actually were for most of the years of occupancy. I love this mauve color and the pink accent curtains in the below photo.

This was upstairs. There are at least 6 bedrooms of which we only saw 4. The bedroom at the end of the hall was not open to tour since it belonged to the new occupants of the mansion, a Dr. and his wife. Another bedroom has been turned into a office.
My friend and I both enjoyed seeing the beautiful bedrooms and the old elegant chandeliers. It was a fun time even if it was a last minute Saturday morning plan!

This original carpet had actually started down stairs in the mauve formal living room but it wasn't long until they realized that white wasn't the color for such a active area. It was moved up to this bedroom.

This is the tour guide talking to my good friend.

He also was the one who put together all the Christmas decorations.

Another bedroom, the quilts were absolutely lovely and everything so well coordinated and decorated.

This was the third bedroom we saw, I did not get a picture of the 4th bedroom. Notice the elegant lace curtains in all the bedrooms. I used to work for Spiegel Catalog call center for 12 years and these quilts, furniture and lace curtains look like many in that catalog.

Another old original Chandelier. I would imagine all these elegant Chandelier's and light fixtures had to removed during the long move and replaced after this huge building was placed on its new foundation.

The decorations were so very beautiful.
To the right you can see a large mirror with garland, ribbons and Christmas balls.

This nicely decorated fireplace is at the end of the formal living room.

This wall of Governor portraits shows all the Governors who lived in this mansion. There is another wall with portraits of the Governors who did not live in this mansion. Our currant Governor's portrait is not up yet. He did live in this home for over a year. We were told the portraits are done at the end of their term. I hope you enjoyed this tour through the eyes of my camera. It of course is much better to view it in person.

The Christian Pumpkin

Last Sunday when we went to the Reservation for our Porcupine Mission, we took with us a bunch of pumpkins. These were donated by some good friends of ours. We had a total of 32 pumpkins.

I carved the largest pumpkin in front of the class for as the lesson. I got this idea from my youngest daughter who every year in her first grade class carves a Christian Jackolantern using the pumpkin prayer.

The Pumpkin Prayer
Dear God,As I carve my pumpkin help me say this prayer:

Open my mind so I can learn about You;(Cut the top of the pumpkin)

Take away all my sin and forgive me for the wrong things I do.(Clean out the inside)

Open my eyes so Your love I will see;(Cut the eyes out in star shapes) The star also reminds us about the star that shown the Wise Men the way to Baby Jesus that first Christmas.

I'm so sorry for turning up my nose to all you've given me.(Cut a nose in the shape of a cross)

The cross shows us what Jesus did for us, died on cross in payment for the sins of the whole world.

Open my ears so your word I will hear.(Cut the ears shaped like the Bible) I only drew the Bible ears.

Open my mouth so I can tell others You're near(cut the mouth in the shape of a fish) this is the sign for Christian.

Let Your light shine in all I say and do! Amen.(Place a candle inside and light it)

The children and the adults really enjoyed this object lesson and just maybe now, when they think of Halloween and all the scary spooky things happening around this time of year they will be reminded of the free gift of Jesus, our Light and Salvation and that we all can let our Light so shine before men, that they might see our good works and glorify our Father in Heaven. Mathew 5:16

It was amazing that when we started counting and handing out pumpkins that there were exactly enough and wouldn't have been had not two older siblings had volunteered to share one larger pumpkin. The children only got to wipe off the dirt and draw a face on their pumpkins but they were encouraged to have a older family member help them at home and then tell the lesson about the pumpkin prayer.

When I looked in my craft bag, I found a free gift, absolutely free, I excitedly opened the gift and it was a candle in a glass holder that had a Bible verse on, The Lord is My Light and Salvation Psalm 27

Salvation is a free gift, there is nothing we can or have to do to receive this free gift, It was fully purchased by Gods Son, Jesus.

For it is by Grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8