The temperature today, combined with a gusty wind, is making lots of us think about the colder weather that is just around the corner.  There is a definite orange tint to the distant hillsides, and a few pronounced splashes of fall color here and there locally.  Fairs are in full swing this weekend, and that's a sure sign summer is over. We showed a low of 49.9 last night, and tonight at 5 p.m. it's down to 54.0.  If the wind goes down, so will the temperature, I expect. 

The forecast this morning was that there will likely be a frost tonight, at least in some spots within the Kingdom.  This prompted me to put the glass panels in our storm doors.  I started this morning in the garage.  I went out to sort through some newspapers for an article I wanted to clip, and the wind was blasting through the screen on the pedestrian door.  So I put a jacket on and got to work.  

This afternoon, we got the doors in the house "winterized."  It's amazing how much quieter the house is with those glass panels in.  There are a couple good reasons I wanted to do it now.  First, we won't have to think about it when the weather gets really cold; and second, it's the surest way I know to get warm weather back!  Next week I'll probably be wishing I could just open the front door to let a rush of cool, fresh air inside.  Doesn't matter, I'm glad it's done.

After our trip to Portland a couple weeks ago to see a cancer specialist, we got word Fred does have a rare type of cancer involving the appendix.  Until that diagnosis, doctors were unsure exactly what was going on, but suspected the cancer.  We went to Dartmouth Hitchcock yesterday and found out he will be getting chemo at the Norris Cotton Cancer Center in St. Johnsbury for three months and will then be evaluated again to see if the treatment is working to reduce the cancer cells.  He has felt good all summer, even as doctors probed, tested and scanned to figure out what they were dealing with.  And he's keeping up a running schedule on Jamie and Marie's hill. 


We have always enjoyed stopping at the Hanover Co-op whenever we've been down that way, but on a recent trip this summer, we decided to get a bite at the main cafeteria in the hospital.  We got lunch that day and took home roast turkey for our supper.  It was so good, and such a treat not to have to get a meal when we got home, we did the same thing yesterday.  Fred said it was almost as good as the ice cream sundae he had at a Dairy Queen in North Conway the night we came home from Maine Medical Center in Portland.  I was driving, so I stuck to my thermos of coffee!

We thank the many friends who have been concerned about Fred.  Having the option for treatment close to home is a real break, and it should be easy for us to manage, so for now, we're good.