Autumn Patchwork 1000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle

It's that time of year for our friends and family up north to enjoy the fall colors. What do you mean up north? Uh, north of Florida where we moved to in 2006. We traded the gray of winter for green. Even when you take those winter flights northward, you see how everything goes gray to white.

I don't miss the snow, but I do miss the fall weather in northeast Indiana, with jacket weather, the leaves turning bright orange and red, seeing your breath, and the smell of burning leaves. October also means hockey time! I grew up listening to Bob Chase, voice of the Fort Wayne Komets on WOWO, then started attending games in the early 70's. I was also a fan of the Chicago Blackhawks and their blue collar style of hockey. Listening to Pat Foley and Dale Tallon was great fun. Anybody remember the wee-knee comment from Dale?

Having seen the Hawks a couple of times in the United Center before their recent success, we get to see them more here in Florida. They used to come down to play the Lightning and the Panthers every other year. Now with the new alignment, they will be here every year. We usually see them in Sunrise and then travel across the state to watch them in Tampa. Last time we saw them in Sunrise, it looked like the Blackhawks jerseys outnumbered the Panther jerseys. That was fun! Let's go Blackhawks!

But it's time to see the grandkids in Michigan and take a trip to the apple orchard for a hay ride, some cider and donuts, and watching the boys grow like weeds.