Calling Kazakhstan and Tree Talk

I just got off the phone with Jessie. I am so excited about this new phone plan we discovered (thanks to another Peace Corps Volunteer) that I had to try it out. Jessie has already used it to call a couple of her friends but I hadn't had any luck using it with our home number. It still doesn't work with my home phone but worked great with my cell. In some strange way I feel better about her being so far away knowing that she is able to call me or anyone else when she needs to talk to someone. She received two of the four packages I sent - in just 10 days! That must be some kind of record. I hope she will receive the other two tomorrow and really hope they are not lost! She asked for some low boots that she could wear to work (semi-dressy) to replace the black flats that she wore out. It was hard to find boots fitting that description and I had almost given up hope when I found a pair on the sale rack at Famous Footwear for $5!! Luckily those were in one of the boxes that arrived yesterday and she said she has worn them for two long walks already! They fit! YAY! I guess you can buy just about anything in Kazakhstan but the shoes are crappy Chinese imports. The US must get the better Chinese imports. I would be hard pressed to find a pair of US made shoes these days.

Today is gray, rainy and COLD. The lawn is covered with leaves but I don't see any point in raking them until they are finished falling. When we first moved here in 1988 we had to import leaves (literally! Emil even asked strangers for their leaf bags while I slid down in my seat hoping no one would recognize me) to cover the flower beds for the winter. Now we have an abundance of leaves. Emil has never been able to pull up a tree sprout once it got established and I guess that is the reason we have so many leaves! We have a volunteer ash in the side yard that towers above our roof and a silver maple in the back yard that is huge. We also have walnut trees all over the place (thanks to the squirrels). We have a lovely volunteer crab apple tree with blooms in the spring that are paler than the crab apple tree in the front yard (I have no idea where that tree came from!) and some kind of maple bush/tree in the former rose garden that came from Rob's (across the street) helicopter seeds. There are a couple of box elders in the former vegetable garden (can't grow vegetables any more because there is no sun thanks to all the trees!) and I really wish we would get rid of them (the box elder bugs are so nasty!) and some sugar maples we stole from the park on our walks and planted in the back by the stand of huge willows and cottonwoods. I am sure I have forgotten some varieties - but you get the picture. We are living in a forest and now we don't really need leaves to mulch the gardens because the gardens don't get enough sunshine to prosper. Oh well.

Ebay is making me so frustrated. I don't have time to write about it now but it looks like I am going to have to find another place to sell my lovely postcards. Ever the optimist though, I am going to buy some more today. My favorite dealer informed me that he has acquired 60,000 new cards. He pulls out the cream of the crop and lets me look through the rest (he always has very nice cards and his definition of "cream" is main street real photos of small midwestern towns , leaving me plenty to choose from). I have to put up some listings before I leave though so will have to end here.

TTFN

Mary Ann

Time to get started

It's Fall! I love Fall! Ever since I was a little kid I always felt that Fall signaled the start of a new year. I guess that's because school started and everything was "new": new teacher, new classmates, new school supplies, new clothes, new shoes - new everything! It was almost better than Christmas!

The hot days of summer are over and the trees have changed from boring green to crimson and gold. The sidewalks and pathways are filled with crunchy fallen leaves. I can still smell burning leaves (long ago outlawed for environmental reasons) in the air. The sun warms the afternoons and the evenings and mornings are chilly.

Last week we took one final ride on our pontoon boat. We might get another ride in but I am not counting on it. The trees were magnificent. It seems like Fall arrived all on one day this year. I thought the day of the pontoon ride was just the beginning of the annual spectacular but as it turned out, it was the peak. Winds blew in the next day and all of the crimson sugar maple leaves dropped, leaving brilliant yellows on the ash and walnut trees to mark the season. The oaks haven't even changed yet. This has been an unusual year - very cold spring, a dry and moderate (perfect weather) summer and late arriving Fall. We had our first real frost last night (October 20th). They say we don't get good Fall color until after the first frost but I have to say we did have some beautiful but short lived color this year without a frost.

Here's a view from the boat: (Oct 12)

And here's another - sumac was gorgeous!

So, the season has me feeling like I need to begin something. It is not "just" the season of the year but also the season of my life. My nest is empty for the first time. Lizzie is in Las Vegas teaching and Jessie is in the Peace Corps in Kazakhstan. I think I am feeling a little depressed, feeling purposeless. And so I am beginning a blog just to be starting SOMETHING!

And so, it is started! I'll drop by every now and again (can't promise every day) and post some more.

TA DA!
Mary Ann