Mr. Trueheart and I just returned from a two-week visit with my Mom in my hometown of Madison, WI. Fall in the Midwest is spectacular, and we probably got the last two spectacular days of the year. When we left yesterday morning, there was light snow on the ground.

Late Fall colors in Wisconsin.

Fall in the Wine Country is more subtle, but still just as breathtaking.

The vines have lost many of their leaves, and those that remain, are turning red, gold and brown.

Many leaves are still mostly green, but are tinged with November’s fall palette.

Old grapes.

Soon, we will harvest our olives. The bounty of this year’s crop is unbelievable.

Our olives are nearly ripe.

For the first time ever, we plan to make olive oil with the fruit and I am so excited. Our neighbor across the street shared some of their oil with us and I think it’s the best I ever had. Much of the flavor is probably due to the freshness of the oil, which I have learned is a very big deal.

Olives in the sun.

A few links I hope you enjoy:

Good grammar reminders. I have particular trouble with lay and lie, as I wrote about earlier.

Next year, I want to do what a girlfriend is doing this year – take a long RV trip through the Southwest with Mr. Trueheart and our dog.

I love Ohio State Marching Band’s performance of classic rock songs. (Have I mentioned that my Dad played in the band for seven years? Yup, undergrad through Ph.D. He played the French horn and was awarded the first ever “Most Inspirational” award.)

Frances McDormand stars in HBO’s new series, “Olive Kitteridge,” which starts November 2nd. My DVR is set.

I just finished watching “The Wire,” about ten years late. It may be my favorite show ever.

Have you heard about “Transparent,” the new Amazon series starring Jeffrey Tambor? It’s about a father of three in his 70’s who decides to become who he’s always been – a woman. I’ve seen two episodes and I’m hooked.