Shady Square Small Stuff

Dobro Jigsaw Puzzle

If I were Garrison Keillor, I'm sure I could make an engaging story of the everyday passage of life here on Shady Square. Instead, it's just me, so it will be a rambling of recent events.

We are nearing the end of October, and this week marks the first truly fall-like days that we have had, and suddenly, and I do mean like in the span of just a day, the fall colors have turned on! We rode up to Troutdale in the Grayson Highlands yesterday for a wedding, and it was gloriously autumn!!! the air was crisp and breezy, the sky an endless azure, and trees, crimson, bronze, and gold. More wedding news and pictures to follow. Stay tuned. We haven't had a full-blown frost yet, so my rose bush (my only smart landscaping decision in the past 3 years!) is blythefully blooming away as if it were May.

It is a wonder to me that it has survived, much less thrived down there by the road in the drought. (Years ago, my kids wrote a book about the 7 wonders of Shady Square. Right now I can only remember one of the notable "wonders" that they recorded: the rainbow tree, that grew in a great arch with a root system at both ends of the tree. Surely this rose bush would have made number 8. If any of my wonderful progeny are reading this, please chime in and remind your dear old mum what some of the other wonders were.

Speaking of offspring, here is my first-born, 30 years (eek!) after the fact, with her nearly life-long friend, Stuart, as she was departing Galax for her return to Germany.

They have know each other since they were 7 years old when they both started taking violin lessons from the same teacher in Mount Airy. They've remained friends all these years (in spite of living on separate continents) and now she reports that while she doesn't know what to call it, they are both considering themselves to officially be a "couple." I love how much she favors her dad:

I just needed an excuse to put his handsome face up here so the kids can see their dad looking not goofy in a picture. He looks his usual normal, handsome self because I wasn't really taking a photo of him; he was just my willing, submissive test subject for my exposure settings at the wedding yesterday. (Goofy-looking eyebrows for pictures is another propensity Amber shares with her dad.)

I read a news story on the internet yesterday morning that there was going to be a meteor shower this morning of the Orionids that held the promise of being a best showing in about 70 years. I have a life-long fascination with the night sky and heavenly phenomina, so at 3 am, I drag the remains of my family out to Gambetta, where the sky is expansive and dark,for the really big show. Well, it was less than extraordinary, and while we did see a fair number of dim shooting stars, I did not have any luck catching one with the camera. This shot was the last frame I exposed. That freaky-looking fire in the sky is actually yours truly, staggering to my feet in front of the camera, illuminated by the headlights of the car. So this is my self portrait of the week:


The last newsworthy item to report is the passing of an era in the McPherson annals: We said goodbye today to the "White Chariot of Funness," our '85 Toyota Corolla that was bought for 400 bucks back in 98 for Amber to get around Winston in. There are SOOOOO many memorable stories wrapped up in that vehicle. To the Kings, who purchased it for $50 (what a STEAL: if it had been anybody else, I wouldn't have sold it for less than the $400 we paid for it!); never forget to park it facing downhill, and you have to let me borrow it to drive up Buffalo Mountain.