Fall Leaves Pictures and Raffle!

I've been a photo-taking fool these past few weeks, with all the maple trees turning yellow for fall. They don't turn that gorgeous red color here in Spokane. They fall while they're yellow. Still, the maple trees are magnificent in October.

 My Minnesota cousin Kathy thinks pine trees are ugly. Any other time of year I disagree, but in autumn the maple trees outshine the pine trees by a large order of magnitude. I will give her that. Maybe she'll admit that the pine trees make a nice background for the maples, here in Washington State.

I did manage to catch a few pictures of Raffle while he was running around at the dog park. Well, I caught a lot of pictures of him, but I managed to catch a few where he wasn't checking out the scent poles, LOL!

I weighed in at 157.6 this morning. I won't tell you what it was yesterday, only that I lost more than 2 pounds yesterday. We got pumpkin spice bread mix from Costco and have been indulging in pumpkin spice pancakes on Sundays. Oh, yum! I like them even more than pumpkin pie! The mix is made by Krusteaz, and it's really easy. Just add water and eggs. I was planning on getting pumpkin spice pancake mix at Trader Joe's because they sent us a flyer, but then I saw this one on my usual Costco run and saved us a trip. It's only for a Sunday indulgence during October.

149.6 Spokane Fall Leaves, Raffle, and Oreo Picture

I love the beautiful fall leaves! This is me out in them with Raffle and Oreo, about two weeks ago. It was sunnier and warmer then. Now, I wear my snow coat whenever I go out; it's that chilly and windy out. The sky isn't blue anymore, either. It's once again cloudy every day. Believe it or not, I actually prefer the clouds. I had the sun in my eyes for 45 years down in California.

I just adore this huge maple tree that I pass under every time we go on our walk in the park. No one lives here right now, and so none of the leaves have been raked. They are two feet deep in places! This is the spot where I first realized it was too autumn here in Spokane as early as August, when the leaves started crunching under our feet.

Most of the trees here in Spokane are evergreen pines, but we do have a smattering of Maples and other picturesque deciduous trees that people have planted in their yards and in parks. Even the pines get a bit brown in early fall, though, because we don't get rain all summer. There are pine needles all over the ground, mixed in with the fallen Maple leaves. It is quite pretty on the green grass.
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My weight got up as high as 152 yesterday, because of all the Halloween candy I ate on October 31 and November 1. I also awoke with a migraine Nov 2, and I blame all that sugar. I have learned my lesson: I can indulge for one day, but I get a migraine if I stretch it to two days, as well as terrible weight gain. I lost 2.4 pounds yesterday, though. I was in bed all day with a migraine, so I didn't get any exercise. Here is what I ate:

Half a packet of plain instant oatmeal, handful of raw baby carrots, four slices of wheat toast with 4 tablespoons chunky peanut butter, 1/4 can Healthy Choice chicken noodle soup