Fall is in the air! The combines are going from sun up to late at night. Most of the beans are out and the farmers are on to corn. The apples at the orchard are crispy and juicy. The maple trees in our yard are beautiful!!! I really do love this time of year. Being raised on a farm, I know that this is the make or break time of year. This is definitely a farming community. And as the farm economy goes, so goes main street. Everyone hopes for a great harvest no matter if you are a farmer or not. Even my garden harvest was good. My vegetables are all in jars in my basement. There are a few things left to do however. There are leaves to rake, the garden to spade over, and the perennials to cut down. Just not enough hours in a day!

They say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Well, I think I just tested that this past week. I had to go to Omaha for some classes. It was pretty unnerving to me. I am not used to driving in city traffic. After all, we don't even have a stop light here in town. For this trip I had to drive 4 hours by myself!!!! I had to go from I29 to I180 to I80 to get to my destination. I was very nervous to say the least. I made it though. I didn't get lost or take a wrong turn. Yay me!!! The classes I took were interesting, but by the end I was feeling very overwhelmed. My brain felt like pudding and was running out of my ears. Yipes. I am getting too old for this.

Today is the official end of summer. Kind of sad I guess. The good part of that is that it means we are coming to the end of lawn mowing, weeding, and canning. I will probably can a few more things, but for the most part I am done. I took advantage of the long weekend to get a lot done. I canned 16 pints of Bloody Mary Mix and picked a bunch more. green beans. I also got caught up on cleaning and laundry. I got things done that have been on the back burner for quite awhile. It felt so good. Then today I caught up on a few things from work that I was falling behind on. That was really a good feeling! So even though it was the official end of summer, which is kind of depressing, it was a very productive weekend for me!

And the harvest continues. I have canned more green beans, more salsa and more "Rotel". Next up is Bloody May Mix. I decided to take a break from canning tonight. I probably won't do any tomorrow night either. Then I need to get back to it. I have most of my pint jars filled. I have some quart jars left so I may have to can some of the Bloody Mary Mix in quarts. Stress at work continues. Once again I feel like I just keep falling further and further behind. I try not to take work home with me. I need a break from it to unwind and relax. But I think I am going to have to start. Performance evaluations are due soon, I have had some traveling to do for work (to other offices for appointments) and have had to cover for a co-worker when she has been out. On top of all of that we are changing broker/dealers AGAIN so there is a ton of paperwork involved in that. It all feels like it is caving in again. Well, I better go get something done then.

Again, the end of a very busy week! It was Murray County Fair Week. That means we were down at the fair grounds every night for something. Lauren and Logan are in 4-H so of course we had to go to the 4-H building and see how they did. I am very proud of both of them! We had to go see how my niece Cheyenne did on her calves. She did an awesome job - reserve champion. We went for the Lumberjack show, the Looney Lutheran show, had to get a malt at the Dairy Assn. stand and a pork burger at the Pork stand and check out the wine tasting and beer garden! Saturday was the parade and of course the band was in the parade. Then right after the parade the band was part of the dedication of the county Veteran's Memorial. I was exhausted by last night when it was all over. Well, then today I got back to my canning. I canned 16 more pints of green beans, 15 pints of salsa, and 5 pints of Rotel. In a couple of days I will have a lot more produce to can as the garden is doing very well this year. We have had nice rains at just the right time and lots of moderate heat - just enough heat. Lots of vegetables for fresh eating and a lot of extra for winter consumption! Yummmmm! The bonus part of our garden is that it is also my stress relief! When I go out to the garden I pull weeds like a crazy person when I am stressed. It helps! I take all my frustrations out on those poor weeds. tomorrow it is back to the old grind. In 2 weeks I will have my 32 year anniversary there. Sometimes I am proud of the fact that I have been a long time employee. but a lot of times lately I think it is just too long. I am tired of the politics of banking and tired of the stress involved in being in the position I am in. Sometimes I just want to have a job that doesn't take so much out of me. Like being a cashier at the grocery store or the drug store. When I go home, I don't have to think about it any more. But, I guess I just have to keep thinking about the 4 year plan. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

A very busy time of year! Friday we headed il to Mall of America. Laurent was nominated for an academic award at the end of the school year. It was a statewide award. The ceremony and reception for the State winners was at the Mall of America. It was very nice, but boy is that a big place!!!!!! I think I walked 10 miles! We came home the same day so we spent 3 hours on the road each way, but it was worth it to see hr get the award. Yesterday I furiously cleaned house, picked and snaped beans, and then headed down to Relay For Life at the fairgrounds. It was a very nice event. I helped with the silent auction area. We 59 items donated for the silent auction! Just amazing! Even more amazing is that in a small community like ours the whole event raised $60,000 for the American Cancer Society. There were lots of ways to give money besides the silent auction. Each of the teams had things going on in their campsites and there were games to play. . . . Just lots of fun stuff. Then today after church we headed out to the farm and picke gd sweet corn. We got it all cut off the cob and processed. In all we got 48 pints done!!!!! Whew! Now we are sitting on the patio watching the Comings game. It is looting rain outside, but it is very nice sitting out here. I need to rest and recharge tonight. Tomorrow starts fair week here in town. The busiest week of the year! Every day after work it will be off to the fairgrounds. Then Saturday is the parade and Veteran's Memorial dedication. The end of the busy week! But that means the first day of school is right around the corner! Summer is almost over. Booo

Another great weekend! We went out for super with friends on Friday night. That was so nice. We haven't. Been ot with them for awhile so it was great to get caught up. This couple has had so rough luck in the last year. She was diagnosed with epilepsy and can no longer work. She us my age. At about the same time, her husband lot his job because the company he worked fir was sold. I feel so bad for them! I had to work Saturday morning, but that's okay. I needed to get caught up from being on vacation (kruse -a -palooza). I was able to get a lot done! Then Saturday afternoon was spent cleaning and doing laundry. A necessary part of life I guess. Then we ate supper out on the patio and then lit the firepit. It was so relaxing!!!! After church today we ate lunch out on the patio again. Wonderful! This afternoon I helped Laurent finish her 4H project. We started it a few months ago and she needed to get it done now. She wanted to learn his to sew, so I taught her how to make a pillowcase. She did it all herself though and she did a pretty good job! I hope she gets a blue ribbon on it. Now a little time to relax and get mentally ready for the work week ahead.