The Leaves are a Changin'

We have had a very foggy and rainy week here. Last Sunday, we headed out on the Blue Ridge Parkway to check out the gorgeous leaves. It was foggy and drizzly for most of our ride, but the teens just thought that made it spooky and increased their enjoyment of the adventure. I am so glad we made it before tropical storm Zeta's high winds knocked most of the leaves down. Nature and beauty are so good for the soul.

There is a beautiful valley behind these three that you cannot see through the fog.
There was no way Elijah was getting out of the car in this weather ~ LOL.

Tim had his cardiac and pacemaker checkup at Duke this week. It was a 450 mile round trip and the farthest we have been from home since last October's trip to Duke. That just blows my mind. Only Tim and I went, since the COVID 19 restrictions meant that only one person could accompany Tim into the hospital. He had an echocardiogram, pacemaker checkup and visit with the doctor. His heart is doing great and responding well to the medications he was put on over the last few years. His body is tolerating those low doses without any side effects. His pacemaker is going to need replacing, but should be able to hold out until next fall. They did say the next surgery would be more complicated because he needs new pacemaker leads. He has had the same ones since he was nine years old and they are showing their age. 

While we were in Durham, we visited the mall to pick up lunch and get a few Christmas presents from a store not located in our city. The mall was huge compared to ours. We also noticed that there was 100% compliance on mask wearing, which was refreshing. No wonder their COVID numbers are better than most of the state. We also had to make a stop for gas on the way home in a city that is being completely overrun with COVID right now. It was night and day to Durham. Only one elderly gentleman and I were wearing masks at the crowded gas station. Some young men across the parking lot heckled us for wearing masks. I finished pumping my gas before the elderly gentleman did. I stuck around until he finished and left, because he was African-American and the bullies were heckling him more. It is disgusting that anyone needs to fear for their well-being because they choose to wear a mask or because of the color of their skin. I was glad to get back to my own little city where racism is not nearly so intense. 

The rest of the week was consumed with school, house cleaning and taking Anne to her dance classes. Our dance studio has decided to create a dance film based on Thumbelina. Anne was selected to be the lead, Thumbelina, and will be in every single scene. She will have to put in lots of extra hours at the dance studio. This film is the first for our studio. They are bringing in a filmmaker to help them. The release date will be some time in March, depending on any additional complications caused by COVID-19 and how easily the process goes. Anne is very excited about this project. It sounds like a perfect wrap-up for her senior year.

They decided to dress up as Wizard of Oz characters this year at Anne's work. She was the lion.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and Halloween (if you celebrate it). We are having a backyard bonfire with a bowl of candy. Then we are going to have an indoor hide and seek in the dark (at Tim's request) and a Harry Potter movie. 

Blessings, Dawn