Hi, everyone!
It’s definitely getting to be fall here! Last time I wrote, I had just made friends with the only Peace rose to bloom on Grandma’s rose bush this year. Then the vines on the trees at Sodus turned red, and now the oak leaves in Fairport are beginning to fall. It won’t be long until I have big leaf piles to play in again!
I’ve been a busy helper! First, I helped Grandpa fix a place on the house where the plywood under the siding had rotted out. Then I helped set up for Grandma’s choir rehearsal at home. Grandma and Grandpa’s church shares space with a Jewish congregation, so any year that Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur falls on choir rehearsal night, Grandma has to move rehearsal to get out of the way of the Jewish services. I made sure we were ready early and even got some music out, in case I needed to help sing!
Bill-kun and Karin-chan’s mommy ordered their Halloween costumes and had them sent here. I made sure the customs forms were filled out properly so the costumes could go on to Japan along with Bill-kun’s birthday book and some other treats.
While Grandma was making the new book about me for Bill-kun, she also made copies of some of my other books for James. They’re all ready to go, too. I hope I see James again soon so I can give him the books!
The trees at Sodus don’t have their full fall colors yet, but the water in the bay is very low. Grandpa says it hasn’t been this low at this time of year for at least forty years! Last Friday, we had fall colors in the sunset at Sodus. On Saturday, Grandma and Grandpa and I got the marine railway out of the water for the year. The low water helped for that, because Grandpa didn’t need to reach way under the water surface to undo the fastening bolts. We had to bring the kayaks upstairs for the winter to make space to store the marine railway sections in the boathouse. I was a good helper drying off the kayaks after Grandma and I washed the outsides. Then I vacuumed the insides of the kayaks so they would be clean enough to be inside for the winter.
I’ve been busy in Fairport, too! Grandma is starting to collect the flour and sugar we need for the Election Day bake sale at church, and I’m helping keep track of how much we have. We still need fifty more bags of flour, but we’re almost set for sugar. I’m starting to get excited about seeing all my baking friends again! Apple pie making is next Sunday, then it’s only two weeks until Election Day! A Trader Joe’s store just opened locally, so Grandpa and Grandma bought me the cereal and nuts I really enjoyed when I visited James in Arlington. And last night, Grandma came home from her college class reunion with a cuddly souvenir scarf for me. I like it a lot!
Friday night, it got so cold in Fairport that the basil plants all froze! Grandma says that’s OK, because we have already made enough pesto to last us all winter. I’m glad the leaves we freeze in pesto stay nice and green and tasty — not like the leaves that freeze on the plant!
Love,
Lion-san
It is nice that you saw at least one flower on the peace rose. I always find it a little sad when we get our place in Maine ready for fall. Then we come home and I forget about it . Today we made and canned 6 quarts of applesauce, but one jar broke in the canner, so we will have to make more. I like your new scarf and we had a frost that killed our marigolds but eveything else was already up and out.