From the front of the house...

to the back, I see fall color. Yes, it is not as dramatic as fall color in the Midwest or the New England states but there is color. This weekend's weather couldn't be beat; plenty of sun and temperatures in the 60s. It certainly was perfect for all the little trick-or-treaters in West Seattle's junction and in downtown Burien. We went for lunch at Hey Paison! in Burien and the sidewalks were crowded with little ghosts, goblins, princesses, super heroes gathering 'loot'in the shops lining S.W.152nd. I was surprised to see so many dogs dressed up along with the kids. Unfortunately I did not bring along my camera. Sometimes I consciously leave it behind thinking that I should have face to face connect with the world rather than seeing everything as a photo opportunity. Saturday was one of those days. If you have not eaten a Philly steak sandwich or Hoagie from Hey Paison!, you should. Everything is very fresh and tasty and the owner and staff are super friendly, greeting everyone who enters the door with a "Hey, Paison!" The walls are covered with Rat Pack photos and album covers, many of them signed and the music playing was Frank Sinatra. This coming Wednesday they will be a featured sandwich shop on Northwest Evening Magazine.

My mums are leggy and lovely in their autumnal yellow and mauve. Conventional gardening advice is to prune them in June which I didn't do because I just could not bring myself to cut off all the developing buds. They say they come back shorter but stronger. Maybe next year I will prune in June.




Other weekend excitement: we went to a wine tasting Friday night. It was Sangiovese wines. Only one was appealing to me and it was from a Woodenville winery and made with Columbia Valley grapes. Imagine that, an Italian wine made with Washington grapes was everyone's favorite. Now I know you want to know the winery; it's DesVoigne Cellars.
Most exciting of all was having an online conversation with our daughter in Tunisia. We even got to see her, thanks to Skype! We even waved "Hello" to her host mom when she stepped into the room. I sure wish I spoke French or Arabic so I could tell her thank you for taking such good care of our girl.