A Crisp Autumn Morning

We had the first snowfall of the season yesterday.  None of it stuck, but it was pretty cool to be driving around for a bit in the snow--we had to drive, Five Guys doesn't do home delivery.  It's also a helpful reminder that our kids needed new gloves to keep their hands dry and warm this winter.  In that light, a surprising fact: REI had much higher quality gloves than Sears (okay, that's really not a surprise) for only two or three dollars more.  My kids will thank me later when, after an epic snowball fight, their hands aren't numb.

The mercury dipped below freezing overnight, and we woke up to frost on the ground for the first time in a couple of years (I'm pretty sure there was no frost on the ground last year at this time when we took a week's vacation to China).  Our cars also had some amazingly beautiful frost:

This is actually our neighbor's car.  Not sure why his car had the cool swirled patterns, but not really going to complain, because it looks pretty darn awesome.

The roof of my car actually had a little snow leftover from the day before.

Between stuff like this and the amazing color of the changing leaves, I'm once again reminded of why it is that I love living here.  Sure, we had a great time in Thailand, and we even hope to go back again someday, but I also love living where we have four seasons and the jaw-dropping beauty of nature's annual transitions.

I was sad because I had no shoes until I met a man that had no feet

I was feeling pretty bummed about the heavy rain that made for slow commute times today, both morning and evening.  And then I stopped wallowing in my own self-pity and remembered that the place from which my family and I recently relocated is experiencing the worst flooding in 50 years.





Almost 300 people have died due to flooding in Thailand over the last month.  Not as widely reported are the almost 250 people who have died in Cambodia.  Barely even reported are how many people have perished in the floods in Laos.

Please stay safe, dear friends and family, you are in our thoughts and prayers.
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