November 30

Isn't this the cutest little shed?  I was driving on a back road when I saw it in the woods.  I had to stop and get a picture!

November 29

It was a foggy morning here.  This picture was taken on the bridge over the Grand River, near my house.

November 28

We had the first snow of the season yesterday.  Thankfully it was only a dusting, which looked pretty, but didn't affect the roads!

November 27

What a morning!  For the first time in my life I decided to go out early and shop on Black Friday.  I've never seen so many people in one store.  We could hardly walk through it to get anything.  This is the line to check out.  It wound through the store all the way to the back.  We waited 1 1/4 hours to check out.  However, I got the external hard drive I came for and we only heard one woman complaining.  Everyone else was very pleasant.

November 26

Happy Thanksgiving day!

I had to work today, but after work joined my husband and daughter at his Mom's house.  This is our daughter with some of the cousins.  They spent the afternoon playing games, and as I type this, they are still playing.  Good times!

November 25

Cats are the funniest creatures.  I found Oliver sleeping in this crazy position.  He opened his eyes when I was trying to get this picutre, but other than that didn't move.  If I tried sleeping like that I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to walk when I woke up!

November 24

I went in to work early this morning, and as I backed out of my driveway, my headlights shone on something unusual in the middle of the yard.  When I came home from work, this is the lovely piece I saw adorning my yard!

It was snuck there in the night by some friends from work.  You see, today is my birthday and they thought this was a nice surprise gift!  It has made its way to several different homes, and each one has added something else to the mix in the middle.  Now I have to think about who I want to pass it on to!

November 23

I've shown you several barns from my area, so I had to share this one with you.  I can't get a good picture of it without driving in the driveway, so you'll have to put up with this shot.  Anyway - I think it's so unusual to see a green barn.  Have you ever seen one painted this color before?

November 22

Yesterday I showed you a picture I took near the Grand River, which is quite close to our house.  Today I'm sharing a picture of the river itself.  There were some people fishing in another area, but it was quiet and peaceful in this spot.

November 21

We have had a lot of beautiful weather here this year.  Today was another example of an unusually nice day for November.  The temperature reached the mid 50's and the sun shone all day.  On my way to the grocery store I decided to make a stop at some property our county recently purchased along the Grand River which is about 3 miles from my house.  There was a house here until this summer, when the family sold this property.  It's a nice place where anyone can now stop and fish or take a walk along the river.  These little steps lead from the lawn down to the river bank.

November 20

This is a plant we have growing in the woods around us.  It's name is Lunaria, but it's often called money plant because of the coin shaped seed heads.  In the spring it has purple flowers and looks quite pretty growing in the trees, but I love to see it at this stage too.

November 19

Here is another picture that our son took, while on the training mission in the desert.  These colors are so beautiful, and do you see the moon in the sky?

November 18

Our son was recently in the desert in California, near Death Valley for a month on a training mission.  This is a picture he took during a dust storm. This is not a black and white photo, it just looks that way because of the dust.  I thought this was such a neat shot and wanted to share it.

November 17

It's cold out today, but I'm thankful the sun is shining.  I drive by this old barn frequently, and stopped to take a picture.  It could use some TLC, but I think it has character!

November 16

Here's our cat Oliver.  I was trying to get a close up of him, which he didn't appreciate too much.  Doesn't he look like he's saying "get that camera out of my face?"  This is the best I could get!

November 15

This is our driveway.  Now that the leaves are cleared away again, there are these interesting leaf prints over it.  I'm told they are caused by the tannic acid in Oak leaves.  We get this every year, but when winter is done, the leaf prints are gone.

November 14

This is an oak leaf hydrangea, which is in front of our house.  You can see some of the dried flower heads on it.  I think the leaves are so pretty, with the variations of colors, from light green, to reddish to a dark purple color.

November 13

We got a new vehicle last night.  Our van was geting old and we decided it was time to get something a little newer.  This Trailblazer isn't new, but it's new to us.  The 4 wheel drive should be good for Michigan winters!

November 12

The Grand Rapids Zoo has a program called the traveling zoo.  They visit schools and nursing homes with some smaller animals, and give a little presentation on the animals they bring.

Today they came and visited the Nursing Home where I work.  They brought several animals including this bearded dragon.  What an interesting creature!

Our residents had a great time seeing these animals up close and getting a chance to hold some of them.

November 11

I was walking this morning and noticed how neat the leaves that had fallen looked, tucked into the grass that was covered with dew.

November 10

Our Japenese Maple tree has lost all but about 4 leaves.  I thought there was something poignant about these last few leaves still hanging on.

November 9

We were blessed with another sunny day today.  This fence near my house is still sporting a little Fall color, which I enjoyed as I walked past it.

November 8

What a foggy morning we had here today!  I took this picture on our way to church this morning and the whole drive was shrouded in fog.  When church was done, it was like a whole new day.  The sun was shining and the sky was clear!

November 7

Here's an idea of what the back of a van looks like when 3 women spend a full day Christmas shopping.

My 2 sisters and I returned today from our annual shopping expedition.  We shop all day Friday, stay in a local hotel for the night, then finish up on Saturday morning.

We have lots of fun and get lots accomplished. All 3 of us are nearly done shopping for this year!

November 6

I've been off shopping and having fun with my sisters today, so I'm sharing a picture I took earlier this year.  I was wallking in the city near us, and was struck by the beauty of these 2 buildings, with their matching glass siding.

November 5

Here's another view of the Beech tree that I showed you on November 2.  It's been windy and rainy, and as you can see lots of leaves have fallen in the last few days, but I think it's still such a majestic looking tree.  I love how dark the trunk looks when it's wet.

November 4

These maple tree leaves are in our back yard.  Most of the maple trees around us have been bright yellow this year, but this tree had a lot of brown in it.  Many of the leaves are now down and this is one of the few bits of color left in the back yard.

November 3

I had the day off today, but was very busy at home.  I spent much of the day in the kitchen.  I made 8 meals, that are freezer friendly and stocked my freezer.  I like to do this occasionally to take advantage of sales and cooking in bulk.  It saves money and limits the mess to one day.  And it's really nice to have a few meals ready to go!

I just finished this last project.  These cookie bars are to go with a meal that is going to someone in our church.  It 's been a good day!

November 2

This beech tree is across the street from our house.  It's one of the things I see out my living room window.  Today we had a short time while the sun was shining and although many of it's leaves have fallen, the remaining ones just glowed. I knew I better get outside and get a picture of it.

November 1

We have this chair out in our backyard, near some of the flower beds. I like the look of the old chair with the colored leaves falling on it.