Greetings  Friends!
And just like that, chilly windy weather has arrived for Halloween!
As we enter the busy season of autumn, I send encouragement and I want to share some light!
Spring may be attractive after a long winter, but we revel in the deep reds, browns, unique shapes of drying seed pods, aromas and warmth of the fall season!

I’m not a fan of shorter days, but I love celebrations and illuminated winter holidays.  I am eager to return to Paris during the festive season.
This week, we lost electric power late one evening. It seems crazy that it kept us awake! After we located the flashlights and votives, we were able to welcome the deep desert darkness.
It reminded me that it is not the darkness, but the knowledge that light is unavailable or hard to access that troubles us.
What a metaphor for our day!
We need the light of encouragement and to share that light. We have choices to make!
“Light and shadow are opposite sides of the same coin. We can illuminate our paths or darken our way. It is a matter of choice.” ~ Maya Angelou
“A candle loses nothing when it lights another candle.” ~Thomas Jefferson
“There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.”  ~Edith Wharton
I believe light represents truth. (I am now posting my blog on SUBSTACK.  You can read the rest of this post  here.)

As I review 2024, I am asking, “What are the best things we can honor and pass to the next generation?” I think we need to study closely the legacies left to us – and tonight I’m focusing on immediate family, friends, mentors, and those good people who influenced our lives for the better…who gave us time, told us stories, taught us skills and encouraged us.
Many have had to look outside immediate family to neighbors, teachers, business associates, who served as models of kindness and gave life hope and meaning.
And now it is our turn to provide inspiration, values, and knowledge to provide tools for the next generation to stay afoot on an unknown path.  (I am now posting my blog on SUBSTACK.  You can read the rest of this post  here.)