November At Its Best

November in the valley is not usually known for its beautiful weather...

but this year was different.

Clear skies...

bright moonlight...

...and God's signature at the end of the day.

Amazing sunsets!

Early in spring the Trans-Mountain pipeline work began in our neighbourhood.

It would be all done by fall...

they said.

I'm wondering which fall they meant. 

The noise and the traffic disruptions have gone on for months.

Then they closed our road completely for almost a month.

That meant a six-mile detour to go from our yard to the farmyard...

which is ordinarily less than a half-mile drive. 

They ran into some major issues in our corner...

...with no simple solutions.

And so the construction continues...

often late into the night.

One day soon the last pipe will be in the ground!

We spent the first part of November in Palm Springs...

...where the sun always shines!

We drove down this year...

and took our bikes along.

It was nice to meet up with two of my sisters and brother-in-laws there.

We played  'five crowns' together most evenings...

and shared a few meals. 

We hiked in the badlands...

...cycled in the La Quinta area a few times.

We visited a date farm, watched the harvest...

and sampled sweet dates right off the tree.

We relaxed at the resort...

and read one book after the other.

We are the ones who spend hours floating down the lazy river  on a double tube...

with our e-readers.

We also met up with friends for dinner one night...

at the Daily Grill in Palm Desert.

I'd recommend it...

both the restaurant and spending a lovely evening there with them!

Before we knew it...

it was time to head home again.

While we were away Micah turned 14.

We went to watch him play basketball in a tournament once we got home...

and took him out for dinner.

A good basketball player...

and a great guy!

Emme and Spencer had their twenty-second birthday this month.

Emme arrived home from her European travels to celebrate the occasion with her sister.

In many ways it seems like yesterday that they made me a Grammy!

The years flew by but I am left with so many wonderful memories of these two. 

With the nice weather these last few weeks...

I have walked a few trails and enjoyed the beauty of fall.

Cheam Wetlands...

just before sunset a few days ago.

Our local peaks got a dusting of snow a few times this month.

I cut roses from the garden the other day.

We'll see if there are any Christmas roses this year.

As the sun sets on November...

the roses are still blooming and the grass is still green...

but the lights are on and we are getting ready for Christmas.

“You don’t need a reason to Hope — 

you only need the Person of Jesus. 

And He is Coming.”

Wishing you all a wonderful advent season...

as you prepare your hearts and your homes.