A Nip In The Air and Some Other Tid Bits

Hello to all of you and welcome Through My Back Door.It has been a while since I have posted and I have missed you. Sometimes I think no one is coming through and then I look on my dash board and I see you have slipped in and left very quietly. I love having you visit and I always hope you leave feeling good for having visited. My blog fairy slipped in and out too as you see. She does such a wonderful job and I never know when she is coming. That is the way of a fairy isn't it?  I am so blessed to have her at all. She never, ever wants any attention drawn to her. Anyway I thank her.
Do help yourself to a cup of pumpkin spice coffee and some cookies. Not home made but good.
There has been a lot going on Through My Back Door.  This is the way my mantle has looked. It is now changed.

A while back I was going through some more of Curtis' things and found a pattern he had made of a whale shelf. He had drawn it out and cut a pattern. I wouldn't or couldn't stand to throw it away so I gave it to Michael, as he is the furniture builder in our family. As you know he has built several things for me, as well as the girls. Of course Deb. Well when I gave it to him I said maybe you can use this one day. He and Curtis were very close. We love Micheal as a son, not a son in law. He took it and I could tell it made him sad to see it. A few months before Doug had taken him some beautiful Tn black walnut boards. Fast forward to this past week when I get a call to come pick out a shelf. He had made 4 of these whales tail shelves from Curtis' pattern and the walnut from Doug. One for me, Deb and the boys. I actually cried. I was so touched. You all know Curtis was in the nursing home and suffered from dementia for 6 years before he died. We actually lost him twice. But now God has given us the good memories and the bad, sad ones have faded.

Here it is all decorated. He came after work last night and hung it. Deb and I decorated it and I just love it. I look at it and think how proud Curtis would be that Micheal had completed a project he wasn't able to.
A couple of weekends ago I was invited by my cousin Gina and her daughter Leah to go to Cincinnati with them to see Rascal Flatts. My cousin Dale and his wife Debbie were going to be there too. Gina is a month older than Deb and her daughter Leah is Olivia's age. Dale is closer to my age, just  not quite as old.lol We had the best time. I don't think I have laughed as much in I don't know when. The concert was wonderful and Scotty McCreedy, whom I think is the best new male country singer to come along in ages opened for them. We were actually eating at Steak and Shake at 2:00 am. What fun! I just am so grateful that they invited me. They also took me to IKEA and I was hooked. I had no idea it would be so interesting.
This past weekend I went to Pigeon forge with Regina Matney, Linda Attanasio, and Linda Young. We have been doing this for 8 years. We love the shopping and the eating. Also a lot of laughs and relaxing. They are all still working and just love the quiet weekend. This time we went to Wonderworks and I encourage anyone with children to go. Even I liked it.
My fall decorating is done. I didn't do much outside except mums on the porch and deck, along with pumpkins. I may add pumpkins when I come back from the beach. That will be a while so may not add anything else.

I love this Smokey bottle stopper that Michael made.

You have to be tired of fall pictures so I will leave you and thank you for coming Through My Back door where life is good.
betty
PS: It will soon be 2 years since I lost my Daso. I still mis that dog
PSS: Will you join me in continuing to pray for our people in uniform.
PSSS: I will show what it would look like if you actually came up the deck to come into my Back Door today

Wet and Rainy