Thankful Thursday

Today I'm thankful for getting through the big storms and destructive high winds this week. I have been looking at the clouds a lot lately, and they appear different every day. This cloud formation may not look like anything special, but it also had what looked like a cross to me, so I took that as a good sign.

Wordless Wednesday: Max, the Library Cat

Chief Illiniwek

Chief Illiniwek, the Cherokee mascot for the University of Illinois' Fighting Illini, did his traditional dance at the Assembly Hall (the building that looks like an alien ship landed.) He had just made an appearance at the Homecoming parade the night before and again that afternoon for the Homecoming game...Illinois won 42-13...he was still very energetic and gets the crowd to rally around him, although there is a big controversy surrounding this mascot. The band performed, there were speakers in support of the chief and then there was also his dad, also a Cherokee, who spoke very well on the controversial subject and introduced the former chiefs and his son, before he gave his performance. He is a wonderful example of keeping a tradition alive and I enjoyed sharing that tradition with my kids too.
(the chief shouts) I-L-L (the crowd answers) I-N-I! The Chief Lives!

I had the privilege of meeting Chief Illiniwek and his dad after the chief danced. He does all his dances barefoot, whether inside the Assembly Hall (concrete floor) or outside on the football field.

It was an awesome performance. The Chief Lives! There is a website you can visit...it has better videos than mine and you can see lots of dancing...http://www.thechieflives.com.

Fingerprints on Friday

Many of our leaves have already fallen, but it's always nice to walk around this conservation area to look at all the trees, the bright red one is a Sassafrass tree...very peaceful, it has God's fingerprints all over it. The geese, also fingerprints of God, are right in front of where the boats are supposed to go into the water, and there is a sign next to them that has "do not block boat ramp" but these geese probably didn't read that sign.

Thankful Thursday

Bright blue skies, beautiful autumn colors everywhere...simple joys to be thankful for this fall. It's wonderful to feel the wind, crunch the fallen leaves and simply have fun today.

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul. ~ John Muir

Wordless Wednesday

Macro Monday: Moth or Butterfly

There are certain differences between moths and butterflies, and from what I remember about butterflies, besides their beautiful colors, are their antenae and wings...making me wonder if I saw a brown butterfly? I also saw this rose blooming in October and a web on this shrub that reminded me of a bridge, more simple joys of fall. If you want to see more Macro Monday photos, you can visit http://lisaschaos.com.

Wordy Wednesday: Covered Bridges Festival

I went to the Covered Bridges festival in Indiana yesterday, and although it started out to be a very foggy morning here, the sun came out and was another warm day to enjoy. We found a good spot by the grist mill for lunch and then it was time to go through the covered bridge and look at all the booths. There were 6 different towns to stop in, with historical covered bridges, but we only went to one...no wonder it lasts for 10 days...that's a lot of shopping.

There were so many food vendors, it was hard to choose...no, I didn't choose pizza this time, but had to take this photo with my kids in mind...I am in the reflection in the glass (where the pizza is gone.)

I enjoyed reading all the signs that people made...this one made me laugh...

I purchased a few gifts for my kids, a jar of yummy apple butter from the Amish (why did I only get one?) and a sweatshirt that will certainly remind me to enjoy the simple joys of fall.

Monday in the Orchard

A warm October day with bright blue skies, great for visiting an apple orchard. I think about a million others had the same idea, but once we managed to get through the crowds, we soon had our bags filled with apples. The little country store and cafe was filled with wonderful aromas of apples and cinnamon, so we also went home with some yummy apple doughnuts. I didn't have any time to take a picture of those...they were gone too quickly, but it was a fun time of enjoying some simple joys for all of us.

There was also a pumpkin patch...