Random 5 for November 9, 2025 – Fall, social gatherings, sales, cats, time

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My neighbor’s yard from my kitchen window

Fall has finally sprung – We are just past prime fall color here but it’s still beautiful. We planted a maple tree at the corner of our deck a few years back and it’s just lovely. We can see our neighbor’s gum tree from our kitchen window. Gorgeous. If only all this color wasn’t followed by six months of gray!

Our Brandywine maple in fall color

Schedule crunching – With the time change, it gets dark early. We are of the age where we don’t like driving in the dark unless necessary so social get togethers are moved to lunch. It’s amazing how fast a schedule clogs up when everything needs to be done during daylight hours.

Salute to the veterans – Tuesday is Veterans Day here. It’s a holiday for some and a big sale day for others. The beloved husband is a veteran so I’m going to take advantage of the sales targeting veterans. I need a few things and it’s so seldom a “need” coincides with a sale.

Hello neighbor kitties – With the leaves dropping I can again see my next-door neighbor’s patio. There are two cats that lounge there and it’s great to see them again. Hello Izzie and Whiskers!

This is Whiskers sunning himself!

Time flies – In two and a half weeks we’ll be celebrating Thanksgiving which is the start of the real holiday season. I don’t know where this year went. I vaguely remember the start of spring and planting flowers. Then it was July and now November. I seem to have missed some months in between. I remember as a kid, time went much slower.

So how was your week?

61 thoughts on “Random 5 for November 9, 2025 – Fall, social gatherings, sales, cats, time”

  7. A lovely portrait of Whiskers.

    Such a nice view from your kitchen window.

    Last week I stayed too late at my sister’s house and had to drive home in the dark. The previous day I had foolishly scheduled my dentist appointment for about the time the sun set. I’ll try not to do that again. It’s really hard to drive through busy traffic at night.

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    • I had scheduled my colonoscopy for 6:30 a.m. I scheduled in August totally forgetting “dark.” It was pitch dark and my husband had to drive me. We haven’t been doing it for a while and everything looks different in the dark. Fortunately it was light when I came home, then we changed the clocks. Had I scheduled a week later, it would have been light. Won’t make that mistake again!

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  9. Fall has always been my favorite season, but today it was marred by snow! Some other counties in Lower Michigan got three inches of snow, but we only had snow on the grass, but more is on the way and it will likely stick everywhere as we’re getting a “real feel” of 10 degrees. After our very hot Summer, this is quite a slap in the face! I can’t remember the last time I drove in the dark – it has been ages. Is Whiskers the same size as Sasha? Maybe it is all fur or a close-up picture?

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      • I didn’t realize that the fur is thicker for a cat from living outside – that’s interesting. This weather has turned to miserable. Our wind chill all day has been in the teens. The snow we got Sunday night stuck better than Sunday morning’s snow and it must have been raining as well, because I heard a neighbor scraping their car windshield with a vengeance.

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          • When my father was still here, he had a 1972 Chevy he parked in the garage – his Sunday car he called it. I parked on the street and I worked through college at the diner, every weekend, school breaks and Summer 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. I would have to be on the floor at 6:45 a.m. for shift change and there I was, in my short waitress uniform, coat barely covering it, scraping the car. My boss, who was like a grandfather to me, said “I’ll pick you up on Saturdays so you don’t have to stand out there in that short dress scraping, brushing off the snow, just to drive to work.” (It was four blocks away – I could have walked it, but unsafe that early.) Then I just walked home, but on Sundays he went to church, so I was on my own. 🙂 I’m glad we are both done with those days. I was happy to take the bus for many decades – walked to the end of the street and spared myself the driving aggravation. My car doesn’t go out in snow unless it would be an emergency now.

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    • He thanks you and Whiskers is handsome. If he lived near you he would be living in your house. He’s sweet but semi-feral. He lives on my neighbor’s patio with his sister. My neighbor has heated huts for them and feeds them twice a day. It’s a good gig for an outdoor kitty. They are around 6 to 8 years old. She had them both fixed but couldn’t get them to live inside.

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  16. Our week… our refrigerator died Wednesday 😦 purchased a new one yesterday 🙂 Yesterday and today I am seeing all these beautiful photos of Fall up North, way North of us like where you are, Kate. And they are beautiful and make me happy! A gorgeous view out your kitchen window! We have cold, for Florida, weather coming in tonight. Lows at night in the 40s and highs in the 60s. Whiskers has the most interesting face… he looks very serious! It’s a ghost town after sunset around here. Best time to pick up some groceries or do some browsing in the stores we love without a crowd.
    *The stupid refrigerator is/was only 5 years old. Ideal example of built-in obsolescence.

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    • I had an $$$ fridge die at 6 years. I had a fit at the appliance dealer (we always use the same) who told us that they never make 10 years (what I was expecting). We got rid of my mother’s fridge at 35 years old because it was ugly.

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      • No surprise about what your appliance dealer said because our appliance dealer said the same thing which did kinda surprise me the first time. Our appliance man told us they build appliances with robots. I didn’t know that either! LOL at your mother’s fridge… you should of kept it because it would probably still be working—kidding, kinda. I told Jerry it might be smart to buy a garage ready fridge so there’s a back up for when the new one croakes. It was the compressor for heaven’s sake… you would think they would have it down by now with compressors!!!! Thanks for letting me have my little rant.

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  17. Your fall colors are lovely. Ours are on the ground after a wicked windy week. Yes, dinner out gets moved to lunch out because it is much better driving conditions. I’m with you on celebrating Veterans and checking the sales. Maybe Starbucks will have a discount on Mochas and hubby can pick one of for you. 🙂

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  21. Love the photo of the view out your kitchen window……Fall colors – someone once told me Fall colors are “my” colors. I suppose that has something to do with being a September baby? Anyway, we also RARELY go out in the dark……we even moved back our “dinner time” for going to a restaurant to a 4-4:30 PM timeframe for reservations. Early but no biggie. We get up early so by 4-ish we’re starving anyway. Time is flying….I used to think time was moving too darn slow…..well…..”those were the days”.

    Hugs, Pam

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  22. Agree with Adrienne. Beautiful surroundings outside your window. Looks like a beautiful movie scape! But its your reality! Today is the first day it has snowed! Ontario! So yes, we are ahead in the momentum of seasons. Our leaves are more gone then not. But a few cling on. Fall is certainly here. Now for the naked trees to do there dances in the wind!

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  23. Gorgeous photo of your neighbor’s and the ‘hood in general! I love the vibrant cranberry coloring of the “burning bushes” this time of year, and this one is situated beautifully. Thanks for sharing!

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