HalloThankMas

It wasn't Santa Claus who stopped by our house on Sunday when we gathered with the kids to "celebrate" Christmas. We planned to exchange gifts since this was the only weekend we all had free before we leave for the winter. There was a request for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday with turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes, all from scratch, and I complied. That is the "Thank" part of the holiday title. We did exchange gifts, thus the "Mas" part of the holiday title. And because it was close to Halloween, the "Hallo" title beginning.

Rocco is patiently waiting for his gift.

Look what the Gopher Fairy brought for the Grand dog! Actually, he did not mind the dog coat and wore it for more than an hour. Isn't he cute???


Wearing the hood was another matter. Rocco did not care for the hood part of the hoodie outfit. It really is the cutest thing with the "hand warmer" pocket and drawstring for the hood. I can see why Kari thought Rocco needed it.

Oh, just wait until their are grand kids/nieces or nephews!

Karl is sporting his Minnesota wear. In fact, everyone got something related to the University of Minnesota Gophers, including hand and foot warmers, hoping to stay warm for the last three outdoor home games. The Gopher Fairies did good.

The boys sporting their Gopher wear from the Gopher Fairies.

Where's the SUN???

It is windy, cold, damp, cloudy and not very nice! Where is the beautiful autumn days of SD? There have been two days of temps above 50º. Oh, sun, where are you???

Fall Colors

Last weekend while driving back from Minneapolis, I stopped to get some pictures of the sumac growing in the ditches along the highway. We don't have much growing in eastern SD.

I enjoy the various red and purple colors of the plant this time of year.

With the hard freeze last night, the leaves of the ash trees littered the roads today. Those trees are bare. Many of the other trees are slow in turning autumn colors. And now it is snowing. Yes, snowing in eastern SD on October 9th with possibility of more to come this weekend.

It is time to head south like the birds.

Rocco, the grand dog

This is Rocco, the cutest, smartest cocker spaniel ever! He is staying with us for about ten days while his owners are R&Ring in Mexico. He sure does miss his owners.

This is his favorite toy at our house. His "auntie" gave it to him. When he is ready to play, he brings his toy and puts it in our lap or by the chair and then sits and looks at us until we notice and either play or ignore him. We think he feels WE need to play and be entertained.

I was trying to "teach" him to drop the toy at the top of the steps, so he could play fetch by himself. We were some what successful. With all the rain, we have resorted to inside games. Geez, don't I sound like a real grandmother???

Gopher Football

Wisconsin Badger red in the stands for Saturday's football game at the University of Minnesota.

Minnesota fans were encouraged to wear gold, and they did. This is a shot of the student section.

The Gophers had a little trouble trying to pull off a win.

It was a soggy, dreary Saturday. They are true Gopher fans. A retractable roof would have been nice on the new TCF Stadium, but then no one asked me...