Fall's Arrival...Football and Chili

 

Yeah...it feels kind of like this.

The temperature dropped from 93 to 45 this week and has been hovering in the mid-60's. 

The hummer's are leaving and the wild tangled mess of the end-of-summer plants giving way for the mums, sunflowers and pumpkins to come.

Suddenly the trees are tinged with the beginning of yellow and orange.

And it is Fall!

Cinderella-ing here today and Amber arrives Monday to scrub the carpets.

Tomorrow set aside for football and the very first pot of chili and loaf of
French bread spread thick with butter!

And our Annual Bet. 

John has his Colts...and I have my Chiefs.

The winner of tomorrow's ball game gets the other's $5.

lol

The colors on John's riding path are getting beautiful!

And he has been taking me along in photographs. Which is nice.

Artists setting up easels along the bike path.

Impromptu Concerts.

Kitties.

A huge hornets nest!!

A "book-box"

And more.

I can't wait until we take a walk here together!!!

I may have to bring some books to leave at the box to share :)

Gadget waiting for her prince to come.

And "Mr. Wilson"

...sorry I'm late, babe...traffic was terrible!

 

And Fall, well underway at Brooks Falls in Alaska...

Where the salmon run is drawing to an end...and the bears are HUGE and almost ready for Fat Bear Week...and the contest...October 5th through the 11th...before hibernation.

 

(...a sad note this week...as #94, who had the quad cubs this year, lost one of the four to a boar early in the week. The big male killed one outright and went after a second but 94 fought him off and later reunited with the remaining 3...)

It is very very rare for quads to make it all the way to winter.

Now back to the housework!

Have a great weekend!!

love,

Carla

Sunday Update:

I STILL can't believe The Colts beat us.

Terrible game...good chili and I am  $5. poorer....off to drown my sorrows in a deep bubble bath.

Night.

Virtual China: Laioning Province

 

Liaoning (pronounced Lie-Oww-ning) is a small coastal province that borders
The Yellow Sea.

This area has a great number of military ships.

 It is known in Chinese as The Golden Triangle because of its location.But the name means Pacified Laio referring to the river which runs through it.

 In some areas it is not much wider than an irrigation ditch and can easily be stepped over earning it the recognition of being China's thinnest river.

Laioning is known as one of the foremost paleontological sites in the world... and was known in 1996 for the discovery of the first feathered dinosaur.

The volcanic ash that trapped this well-preserved micro-raptor gave us the first look at the link between dinosaurs and birds.

Liaoning Feathered Dinosaurs

https://youtu.be/Jj1KMVTfRzg
 

Agriculture here includes corn, sorghum and soybeans...also peaches, pears, apricots and plums.

 

Minerals include iron, diamonds, boron...as well as crude oil and natural gas.

The sea provides quality seafood, and is a thriving industry.

 

The population here is mostly Han Chinese...and the primary religion is Buddhism.

The Mukden Palace of the Ming Dynasty is the major tourist attraction, here. As well as the Castle Hotel.

Castle Hotel

https://youtu.be/LHyducnlbo0

 Nearby is the Jade Buddha Palace which has the largest jade Buddha in the world.

 

Next time we will sample some Liaoning cuisine!
 

Finally The Weekend...a Summer Cold...And More

 

So...which will it be, then...Gouda or Cheddar?

...excuse me...???

Which cheese will you be having with that incessant whine?

...pass the Kleenex and shut the hell up...

 

Face it...cats can be less than empathetic at times.

Especially when it disrupts their comfortable lives and routine.

 

Empathy was, like Monday thru Wednesday, okay???? Now you're just getting on my nerves...and clean up this mess...and what the hell is that smell???

Okay, I must be getting better because the mess is starting to bother me, too.

Today is a major Cinderella Day.

End-of-Summer colds just suck...not sick enough to just stop and lay down...too sick to do much of anything.

But it appears to be almost over...thankfully.

Oh sure...there was football.

Monday's SeaHawks in their new uniforms of highlighter green!

 

Thursday's Chiefs  (Watson) and the interception at the one yard line...by a rookie...and ran 99 yards for a touchdown...something that will be recalled for years and years. AMAZING!

And it was a great week for Ukrainians...and a not so good week for Russians...with the Ukrainian Counter-Offensive. They have been kicking ass and taking names.

 

And in politics...a huge blue wave is building...and the best part is that the GOP realizes it...

Only 53 days left.

 

But mostly it has been fighting a fever...and a sore throat...and hot tea & honey...and sleeping...and soups and broths...Covid tests and bleah.

...you're whining, again...

Sorry.

Haven't heard back from Hannah, yet...re: her PET scan.

Talked to KB this morning (who is settling now...having gone through entirely too much in his 17 years) but he knows this, too, is temporary and we will see each other soon.

Planning to see Nicole, Emma and Aiden in early October.

And fear, that like Preston, I may have lost Brenden entirely.

Divorce sucks.

John goes for another scan at the very end of this month and will be getting the oncologist, thoracic surgeon and cardiovascular surgeon on the same page before chemo, radiation or surgery.

We are planning a mini-getaway before treatment starts.

Unless you saw the diagnostics...you would never know he has cancer. He works out (rehab) three days a week and has been riding from 5 to 17.5 miles per day on the alternate days. Eating well and going into all of this in great shape and a good attitude.

It is going to be okay.

And like Sofi-Cat's buddy, Charlie...Gadget now has a feline pal from a door or so down.

Meet Mr. Wilson.

About half-grown tabby..like Gadget.

 

When I first saw this through the crack in the screen shot...I thought the eyes looking back were just a reflection.

Not so.

Mr. Wilson regularly visits, now...taking up the role of mighty squirrel hunter.

Complete with butt-wiggle and all.

The squirrels seem pretty unfazed.

So...yeah...just getting this mess cleaned up...planning a deep bubble bath and good food...and a relaxing weekend.

Have a quiet weekend.

Love,

Carla

 

 Mr.Wilson

 

 

Virtual China: Jilin Province

 

Jilin (pronounced zuh-Chillian) is touted as The Happiest Province in China. The meaning of its name is

"Along the River"

Bordered by Russia, North Korea and Heilongjiang...it is a tiny sliver in NE China. About 73,000 square miles and populated with 28 million people. It is also part of the CPC.

It is filled with precious minerals, metals, and oil shale.

 

Jilin is crisscrossed with railways and has a very advanced railroad system.

 

https://youtu.be/cdxnziQX0qQ

https://youtu.be/5jXyV6REP9c

Most of Jilin speaks Mandarin Chinese...but because of its close proximity to Korea and Russia some of both cultures influences can be seen here, as well.

 Jilin Korean Festival.

Korean in China

https://youtu.be/amL_u0Sjyx8

(...you can use close captioning for English translation but it isn't very good...okay...it is horrible...)

Most of Jilin's cuisine is borrowed from other provinces, including some from Korea and Russian which have been proclaimed horrible. Thus, we won't be doing a Jilin Dish.

 

A major attraction is Winter Sports here. Downhill skiing figures prominently. 

Winter Sports

 https://youtu.be/JuBTuX53yLU

 

Next we will explore Laioning.

Until then...

 

Jilin at night.

 

 

Queen Elizabeth II...King Charles III...and The Start of The Regular Season!

 

Queen Elizabeth II has been the queen for a long long long time.

(...how long...you ask...)

Well, when I was born in 1960 she had been queen for eight years, already.

 

When I graduated HS she was STILL the queen.

 

 

In the late 80s when I had my children..she remained the Queen of England

 

In the 90's when I graduated from  Nursing School...yep..still the queen.

 

When I became a grandmother in 2004 she continued leading her nation.

 

When cancer ended my career and then in 2010, my husband's life, she was steadfastly The Queen.

 

With two of my boys now married and a houseful of grandchildren in 2015 she remained queen.

 

In 2018 when John and I got back together after 2 separate lifetimes and the deaths of both our spouses...she was still Queen Elizabeth II.

 

With her 2022 death I came to the realization she had been ruler for my entire life.

The last photo of The Queen.

 And at 73 years old Prince Charles is now

King Charles III

The Queen is dead...long live The King!

And the regular football season has started!

Both the Colts and Chiefs play their first games tomorrow.

Colts at 1:00 and Chiefs at 4.45.

John and I are waiting with bated breath...and snacks, of course.

Anxious to see our new QB...Matt Ryan do his thing.

Equally anxious to see Mahomes again.

And in only one week we play EACH OTHER!

Which will be all kinds of exciting!!!!!

 

He has been working out at rehab and been riding his bike a lot on the off days.

Taking me along through photographs.

 

Holding our breath for the final (chest) MRI next week and then to get the team of surgeons together and the oncologist/radiologist.

We are planning a couple of days of normalcy before treatments start.

Okay...as normal as we EVER get.

So there's that...

Cinderella Day here...and maybe even some outside tidying before the rains come.

Have a Great Weekend!

Love,

Carla

 

Honey, I think the cat is broken!

Sunday:

Colts vs Texans.

Gaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....

Football is going to be the death of me.

3-20 going into the 4th /quarter...then in one quarter we managed to tie it up to 20-20...

(...and I ate an entire bowl of ice cream because...damn...) 

But in OT with less than a minute on the clock our kicker MISSED the FG...

and we ended up with a tied game.

(...and that is why we drink...)

On to the Chiefs vs Cardinals Game. 

Ahhh...like the lemon sorbet they give you as a palate cleanser at a high-end restaurant between courses...

Patrick Mahomes.

My favorite QB.

And all the talking heads predicted disaster when Tyreek Hill traded to Miami.

Poor Patrick...whatever shall he do.

Well...at the moment he has 5 touchdowns...but we are barely into the 4th quarter...so we will see.

We won..we won...we won!!!

44-21

...but wait...there's more...

Tom Brady and the Buccs are playing their opener at 8:20.

...you know you've got to see...

Football Season's gonna be the death of me.

I have an hour to fix food!

 OMFG...

Okay...it is a crapfest.

Yes...I suppose defensively from both sides POV it is great...but here it is halftime and the only outstanding moment to me is a 45 throw to Julio from Brady...and absolutely zero TDs from either side.

The entire score so far is made up of field goals.

Ridiculous.

Brady has been sacked twice.

...which has to be rough on a 45 y/o QB...

but so far feeling very meh about the entire ordeal. 

And Tom looks like he has lost 50 or more pounds...and not a healthy look...gaunt...

Oh well...back to the game.

 And it's over. 

Buccs won 19 to 3.

Longest damn game of my life, and several hours I will NEVER get back.

Time to turn in....

ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz