It's been a long week, and I just didn't take the time to post.  I was running low on sleep - as usual.  I planned on catching up last night, and was getting ready for bed when I got a message from AJ - want to Skype?  Of course I did, and we talked for almost 2 hours.  So much for going to bed early!  

It was really nice to see and hear him though.  He's running pretty ragged at the moment - he has school 6 days a week, taught in Japanese, and then homework for 11 classes for those 6 days of school, he's taking Judo 3 nights a week, he's working with his host Mom as much as he can speaking Japanese - she helps him with his homework! - and he's started working out again.  Added to all of that, he walks close to 6 miles a day to go to school - 3 miles each way.  He is literally black and blue from his judo classes, and he is mentally exhausted by the language barrier as well.  But....he is having fun, learning lots, and is having a great time!

Ralph and I went for a walk last weekend down in the field.  Autumn is here - some of the trees have lost their leaves, and the birds look so cool in them!

These trees are in the neighborhood - I love fall!

Book Club was last Wednesday - and I didn't read the book.  I didn't even open the book to see if it was good or bad (I hear it was really good....The Host by Stephanie Meyer)  Bookmarks this time were ghosts, and I didn't have time to photo them all.  I made them really late, blocked them Tuesday night, left for a business trip to Sac on Wednesday.  I got back in to town from Sac at 5:45, ran home, changed clothes, grabbed them off the board, and went to Rose's house.  These two were the left-overs, and one of them had lost an eye.....not my best work, but the others were pretty cute.

Ralph and I went out to the gun range to shoot after work on Thursday, and these guys were hanging out near the gate.