HAPPY SEPTEMBER!

Only 4 more days with Gabe before he returns to Fort Campbell.  His fire-retardant underwear came in the mail yesterday.  Yep, fireproof man-panties!  We bought him 2 whole sets, tops, bottoms, hoods.  They're designed to withstand extreme temperatures for 120 seconds. 2 minutes, that doesn't seem like a long time, but I imagine it can feel like an eternity if you are in the middle of a fire.  These will give him 2 minutes of protection to find a way out to safety.

Only 12 more days until he leaves the relative safety of his homeland to take the place of another American soldier who will be able to return to his family's loving and grateful arms.  Less than two weeks and he'll be directly in harm's way.  I dread that moment.

Only 12 more days and I'll be 45.  I neither dread nor rejoice its approach.  There isn't much to look forward to, I've already gotten my present.  Dickidoo told me when he gave me the camera that it would serve as my gift for all occasions, past and present, for the next decade!

59 days until Halloween.  I LOVE Halloween!  Besides passing out candy, we always serve hot apple cider, and we have a fire going in the driveway for the trick-or-treaters to warm up by because many times there is already snow on the ground in Colorado during the month of October.

83 days until Thanksgiving.  But I don't really celebrate the All American way.  We have a 'harvest feast' the following day with all of our hunting friends and serve dishes made from the wild game we've collected throughout the year.  Deer, elk, wild turkey, pheasant, quail, dove and trout are standard on the menu.  So, 84 days until the Harvest Feast.

114 days until Christmas!  And this year I get to shop for my Grandbaby!  How fun that will be!  This will be the very first year our family has not been together for Christmas.

And.... (are you ready for this one?  Can I get a drum roll please!)

121 days until 2006!