Scattered Thoughts . . .

As autumn begins, we are booking our schedules through January at this point! Which really is crazy considering I don't know what I'll be able to accomplish even tomorrow due to my health. Between Sheila and I, we have some medical appointments booked already... some medical procedures scheduled... and we have some pleasant events on our schedule as well. Sheila just finished reserving our block of rooms for the annual Amherst Railway Society's train show in January. We spend a few days at this show each year and we look forward to the extended weekend out of town and socializing (something I don't get to do all that often anymore due to my poor health) . We put a few social events on our schedule... some time with the grandkids is always on our schedule... and, although it is hard to believe, we are booking things into 2016 already. We also just remembered that Rutland has a small train show each year. Last year, we got to see some autumn colors on our drive ...

After a few hours at 'Shelburne Farms' the other day, we were all quite hungry so we headed to 'The Olive Garden' for lunch. After filling ourselves with chain-restaurant pasta, we surprised the kids by bringing them to one of our favorite stores, 'The Christmas Loft'. On this very hot September day, Christmas may very well have been the day farthest from their minds but, as we entered the darkened barn-like building, they were excited to be suddenly immersed in Christmas and a Christmas village. The center of this large store is a Christmas village... a church... shops... homes... a bridge... snowbanks... snowmen... sledding... snowflakes... snow... lamp posts and lanterns... animated figures... and the sounds of a Christmas village on Christmas night. I think Kenzie would have been happy to just sit on the bench in the middle of this village and just sit quietly in wonder! Surrounding this village is room after room of Christmas decorations. Each r...

I've already posted a few of Lukey's photos from Shelburne Farms... I suppose I should share a few of my own photos from Shelburne Farms too. We rode the wagon on our way to the barn... Lukey was excited about being pulled by a tractor... Kenzie... well... not as much...  Before the tractor even started up, I jumped off the wagon to get a quick photo of the kids with Sheila sitting on the wagon... Kenzie was upset that I might get left behind and wouldn't calm down until I was back safely on the wagon... A nice shot of Lukey just as we arrived at the barn... (I'm relieved that this shot came out so nicely since this is the basic kit lens that came with the camera and one which I recently broke... I dropped it on a dock at the Burlington Boathouse a few weeks ago! You'd never know I broke this lens by looking at this shot though... that's a relief, for now!) This calf was named "Nellie"... she took a liking to Lukey and...