Happy Friday!

I didn't realize it was Friday. There was no school yesterday and none today and the football game was Wednesday. I'm totally messed up. Anyway, it is Friday and though I'm working all weekend, it is a beautiful day in Salt Lake City. I drove to the grocery store this morning and saw so many people outside that I wondered if I'd missed an event. But I realized it's the weather. I think we're all feeling like we're hitting the end of the comfortable temperatures and we want to enjoy the out-of-doors as much as possible.

Hope you're having a great day wherever you are.

Something strange is going on with either my computer or my pictures, and I can't seem to get pictures to post on my blog right now. I'm working on it, and I'm still taking pictures of the tree which is dropping so many leaves right now that you can hear a bunch of snaps as the stems let go, but I can't get them to post and I don't have a lot of time to devote to the problem.

I'll be finishing Farmers' Market 4 over the next week. I took the characters out of their hometown for this one and it's been fun to create a whole new world.

Have a great weekend!

Paige

Glitch

Still taking pictures of the tree, but my computer won't let me upload. Hmm. Working on it.

One Tree

It's a perfect day in SLC. Everyone should get to be outside today.

One Tree

More yellow.

She's Still Here

I hesitated to write this post. I don't want to jinx anything. But ultimately I realized that it's good to be grateful no matter what happens next.

Back in March our dog, Gizmo, was diagnosed with cancer. The vet told us she probably had about seven more months to live - that seven months is up. And, she's still here, doing very well. We treated her with a new drug, Palladia, for a couple months. We decided, though, that if the drug made her sick or miserable we would stop the treatment. We wanted whatever she had left to be as happy and comfortable as possible. After those first couple months she did start to feel poorly, so we stopped the Palladia. She's seemed to feel pretty darn good ever since. We took her in for blood work last week and she's still in the normal range. She still weighs the same, and she's still very playful.

Tomorrow, the 15th, is her birthday. She'll be five. I keep telling her that she needs to give us at least five more years. I hope she's listening.

When she was first diagnosed I put out a plea for prayers and positive thoughts. So, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am certain of this: she wouldn't be doing as well as she is if not for those good vibrations. Today, I'm sending good wishes out to everyone. May something absolutely wonderful happen to you today.

Thank you.

Paige

One Tree

October 13. Temperature in the 70's today. Perfect.

One Tree

Taken about 10:30 AM. A little more yellow.

One Tree

Picture taken earlier in the day today, about 10:30 AM. The light's different, but not much else.

One Tree

I've always wanted to do something. I thought about starting another blog, but I like having just one. So starting today I'm going to document a year in the life of one tree, a huge tree that's on the border of my and my neighbor's backyards. I love this tree. It brings me enormous enjoyment in the summer as it becomes the home to many birds, hummingbirds included. I love watching it change through the seasons. It's also an old tree, and I wonder how much longer it will be around.

Here's the first picture, taken today, October 10, 2011, at noon. It's a beautiful day in Salt Lake City. Sunny, 55 degrees.



There're only a few small patches of yellow leaves but they're beginning to fall off quickly. Normally, by the time they fall they are all yellow. I hope they make it this year.