By Diane SawdonAutumn is absolutely my favorite time of year. Mother Nature always paints such a glowing masterpiece with her brilliant brush strokes of red, orange, yellow and purple. It seems like each morning another colorful surprise awaits me when I glance outside. I know that soon my garden will be sleeping and this last splash of glory thrills my soul. Autumn, and the gathering of nature’s bounty and the sharing of it with loved ones is the spirit of my favorite holiday---Thanksgiving! Just a few days ago I was violently reminded of how blessed I truly am. We were traveling to Truckee with very good friends on HWY 20. It just so happened that on this day Cal Trans was diverting big rigs off of HWY 80 due to road work and the big rigs were flying down HWY 20 with reckless abandon.... 11/03/2008

Ramblings............................By Diane SawdonSome days are just more special than others. The older I get, the more these special days mean to me. Thinking back over the past month, three such days stand out for me. I spent a peaceful and serene morning kayaking on Lower Scott's Flat Lake with my husband, Richard, and good friends and neighbors, Karen and Bill. Balancing on the precipice of this stately old dam, I watched, with utter respect, the complete power and dominance of Mother Nature as the water poured out of the discharge pipe and pounded it's way down to Deer Creek. Now, what can be better than sharing pancakes with your granddaughters? One bright Tuesday morning, I celebrated Grandparent's Day with my two special, little girls at their Preschool having a breakfast of ... 10/28/2008