I’m enjoying the solitude and peace and quiet of this empty house, after a busy summer with family and friends. I’m even doing some repairs and touchups to get it in better shape. My dear dog Cheyenne is getting older and obviously has arthritis – like me – and is getting reluctant to go upstairs at night to sleep. I don’t like it either, although I still love my beautiful bedroom.

I’ll be happy to get in my motor home again, and am thinking more often about taking to the road in Europe, to see my granddaughters and travel the continent.  I want to return to Romania, and see other countries in Eastern Europe.  I have friends who are camping part of every year abroad, down to Africa and across to the Middle East, also Scandinavia, and even Iceland!  I don’t want to delay until I’m too old to do it.

We are having one of the most beautiful autumns I can ever remember in Alaska!  Cheyenne and I often take a gorgeous two-mile walk through the woods, across Soldotna Creek and then down along the Kenai River.  I finally took my camera this week and got some terrific pictures.

In that last photo, it’s funny that Cheyenne is exactly the color of the fall leaves, so she’s almost invisible!

Also it is getting darker, so when the weather is clear we can see the northern lights again.  I’m usually asleep in the middle of the night, but other friends stay awake to take glorious photos.  These are taken about a mile from my house –

And I love this one from NASA, showing the aurora borealis from space –

Sadly, my elderly friend Irene is fading fast, and I’m afraid she might not make it through another winter.  She refuses medical treatment, although I did manage to get her to visit my doctor long enough to get some pills to relieve some discomfort. I know aging is a natural process and she accepts her death without a qualm, but it’s sure better if it hurts less.  I’m always surprised that I’m doing as well as I am, considering my heart attack two years ago and the nuisances of arthritis, asthma, and swallowing pills every day.