What a beautiful day! Bob and I were busy outdoors - kind of our last gasp for fall. I decided to scrape and sand the trim on the north side of the house, painted a primer on some bare spots and then a coat of exterior. Lots of ups and downs on the ladder. The garage has a west side that is peeling so I scraped that and hope to prime and paint it tomorrow. I enjoy painting, as long as I am not stressed out or in a hurry. While I was painting, Bob was busy getting the remainder of our neighbors' leaves off our lawn. I told him that he's starting to obsess on the leaves - he wants a perfectly clean lawn - it ain't gonna happen! So, off he went to the local landfill in Maple Grove to dump the leaves. The neighbor kids were outside, too, with questions and wanting to borrow rakes, bags, climb trees and just fool around in the sunshine. It's fun to see them having a good time.

Tonight, after an early supper of leftover spaghetti, Bob and I set a bonfire going in the back yard and nine neighbor kids and Bob and I made s'mores (graham crackers, roasted marshmellows and chocolate). It gets dark early, so it was a perfect evening for telling ghost stories and singing songs ala "American Idol". The kids got a little crazy and Bob and I kept having to remind them not to run close to the fire, not to hold sticks in the fire, and only two s'mores each! We were all sticky - one little girl said that she was going to go home and throw up! Oh well! It's evenings like this that I really miss our kids and the grandchildren. Neighbor kids are fine, but I wish I could celebrate a fine, fall day with my own family.