Dear Readers: First of all, this piece of news should have been in last week's column, but due to computer issues beyond our control, I didn't get it in here until now. Cheyanne Cox (Mrs. Kyle) participated in a program called Crossfit, and what a program it was! She went to Gatlinburg, Tennessee (which is really mountain country) and ran/walked 26 miles with a backpack filled with 35 pounds of sand.

Dear Friends, Blanco has lost another treasure - Vernon Schmidt, who passed away last week. He was a remarkable craftsman. Those of you who have not seen any of his work, stop by the Blanco Library. Encased in glass is a model of the Old Blanco County Courthouse that he built.

Dear Readers: It is a gloomy day today where I am - I hope it's sunnier where you happen to be. Hill Country Trail Ride dance at Twin Sisters this Saturday night, followed by a Cowboy Breakfast Sunday morning from 5:30 to 7:30 AM at Yett Park. Good fixings to warm your belly!

Well, the sun is shining here (hope it is wherever you are) and the weather is brisk, which makes for good sleeping weather - not too cold, but not stuffy either. Enjoy it - the next freeze is right around the corner! Maybe we will have a white Christmas - at least we know somebody will! Happy birthday, Ruby Barnard!!!!!

Dear Friends: The Christmas season is once again upon us, and there will be something going every weekend from now until then here and in the surrounding areas, sometimes overlapping, so you will have to pick and choose! This weekend is the Community Choir concert - Friday in Johnson City and Sunday in Blanco.

I’ve noticed that all the wild turkeys I saw on our road over the past few weeks have run for the hills, so maybe it’s time for a ham for Thanksgiving! A shout-out to Tina at the post office, glad to hear she is feeling better. The chili cookoff held this weekend was won by our own Mikey Hounsell!

Dear Readers, This is the one weekend of the year that you will not be able to get to all the events held; however, you can give it your best shot, with the segue into this is the big hunting weekend of the year. Once you have gotten your deer, you can head over to the Buggy Barn and eat from a chuck wagon and watch knives being thrown.

I would like to thank everyone who openly (or secretly) congratulated me for my team, WVU, beating the Longhorns Saturday night. It was a good game, the weather was, to put it mildly, brisk, and it was a big thrill for me to see such a wave of blue and gold in the stands - I didn't realize how homesick I was.

Folks, my husband and I were given an opportunity that is probably a once-in-a-lifetime thing - we were invited to an outdoor Texas wedding in the midst of thunderstorms this past Saturday and we took that opportunity, not solely based on the fact that the bride’s father opined a couple days into said storms that Saturday about 6:00 PM, the wedding having been scheduled for 7:00, the rain would pass, and there would be sunshine and, by golly, he was right!

Dear Readers: I must apologize in print for singing Happy Birthday to Leona Smylie on the wrong day. She had a lovely birthday - I was just two days late. Don’t forget - the rodeo is coming up the second week of October! Come out and see us. A good time will be had by all! Hellos to Ruby Barnard and Pearlie Greebon.

Wonderful readers: Lots of good thoughts and prayers go out to Judy Dorsett! She is recovering and we are glad to hear it! The first football game has been played and the Panthers are now ready to take on the world! The 1st Fifth Quarter was held at Blanco United Methodist Church and was really well-attended.

Summer's winding down, and, if you've noticed, the temperatures are coming down a little too! I can't wait for Fall!!! The kids are heading back to school, so watch out for them - they can be so quick! Just wanted to say how much we all miss Tommy Vallone. I especially miss him coming into the drugstore accusing me of putting the lids on too tightly for him to open; he was a pistol!

Gentle readers: This is another one of those lousy seven-day periods, in which we lost two more of the kindest people I have met in Blanco - T.D. Smylie, Jr., and Randy Cox. Totally different in personalities, but so, so kind. And Randy had one of those laughs, like Tom Gardner's, just up from his belly.

Well, Lavender Festival is over for another year. It is fun to see all the people, but I always hear complaints about parking and the heat. Wish the lavender bloomed in the winter! Ada Cooley had a surprise visit from her grandson Kevin and his family, who live in Arkansas.

This has been another one of those weeks that kick you in the stomach, they are so unexpected. Dear Mr. Tom Gardner, husband of Deena, passed away last week while undergoing some tests. He was one of a kind - he had the most infectious laugh - seemed like it came from way down deep in his belly - and he enjoyed life!