"Bless the Lord, oh my soul; let all that is within me bless His holy name" What else is there to do on an absolutely beautiful "pretend it is fall" day except give God praise. It is 68 degrees, sunny, not a cloud to be seen, and humidity is low. To top it all off, there is a song sparrow outside my window also lifting up its voice to sweeten the sounds of the universe. There is peace in my micro piece of the world.

We are up earlier than normal today. I reckon it is because we went to bed earlier than usual last night. We generally don't go to bed until around 0100 hrs. But, last night at 2300 hrs Ms. Kate said she was ready to turn in and so was I. She had worked all day on making Christmas cards and was mentally bushed. Unfortunately she also woke up this morning with a bit of a sinus infection. So, we'll see how that progresses today. Hopefully now that she is up her system will drain and she'll be fine. As for me, my jaw is a tad sore yet today from all of the manipulation and shots yesterday for my dental work but other than a minor twinge, I'm fine. I need to get cleaned up an dressed and go out and do stuff outside today. I think my flowerbeds are calling me. There is fall raking to do to pull the stuff away from the lilies and the iris need to be trimmed back. Once the dew dries off of the grass, I'll mow the front yard and neighbor Dan's too.

The 0900 crew has arrived at the buffet. Cardinal, Goldfinches, wrens, house finches, sparrows, downy woodpeckers and song sparrows and hummingbirds are all here and it makes for a really enjoyable time. I need to fill feeders again. It is nice to sit and watch them and not have a bunch of starlings and blackbirds come in ad bully them all away.

"My people" are all supposed to be coming home today. Karen will be flying in from Vegas after a week of fun and Dan & Minh are finally home after being gone eight months to California. Dan has traveled back and forth a couple of times during that period for a couple of weeks at a time but Minh has stayed out there taking care of her terminally ill mother. Her mom passed away seven weeks ago but the Vietnamese culture requires forty two days of mourning and honoring. That period ended on Sunday so they are on the road to home. I think it is going to be an adjustment for her to be back in non-Vietnamese surroundings again. She has been totally immersed in that culture and language since before Christmas last year. I think despite being here where their two children and their families are, she is going to be lonely for awhile until she readjusts. Our prayers will certainly be with her.

Well, I have a bit of devotional to read and a talk to have "upstairs", so I'm signing off for today. I hope your week is going well and now it is "half over" and you can start thinking weekend. If you are out and about in society today, be kind to all you meet and start someone else's day with a smile. Never forget God loves you and Jesus has offered you salvation. All you have to do is reach out and accept it. Peace.