Yesterday was so cold and windy. Then last night was a frost warning and, indeed, there was frost on the grass this morning. Winter is coming and there is no way we can ward it off.

So, dig out the heavy coat, shake the wrinkles out of your red flannel woolies and get ready.

Keep in mind that some of our newcomers may not have the necessary skills to tough out their first winter - especially if they are from a balmy climate.

They also may not have the necessary clothes or equipment - snow shovel, engine block heater, etc. Help them out the best you can. If you know any of them personally, talk to them about driving in deep snow, and the importance of making sure water pipes are insulated.

If you were in a foreign country, you’d appreciate the help.

Well, I attended my first conversational Spanish class at DROC on Thursday night. There are still a couple of slots open for the 12-session class and it’s free of charge if folks are so inclined. Just show up, second floor of the ARCC Thursday at 7 p.m. The class lasts an hour and 15 minutes.

At any rate, I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun. We were stumbling over pronunciations, trying to roll our R’s and generally laughing and having a good time.

One of the Latino men taking English language classes attended and helped some of the students with their pronunciations.

So, I came home, memorized my list of phrases and had my husband ‘test’ me. My mind is a sieve. The only one I recalled with any accuracy is Ola’.

The International Day of Peace Observance at the Native American Cultural Center and Museum was quite amazing. Some 60 people were in attendance. There were prayers in several religions including Lakota, Buddist and Jewish. There were grass dancers, and fry bread and wojape.

There were some very stirring moments - the sign language interpreter drew pictures of it all in the air. Even if you didn’t know sign language, you would understand what she was expressing. The Anne Frank reading by a young Roncalli student made me misty-eyed as Frank expressed her hope for the future of humanity, even as her own days were numbered. She was killed in a concentration camp.

This was the first-ever for Aberdeen and I know everyone there is hoping it will be repeated next year.

I confess, I am a recovering platic water bottle addict. I had them in my home, in my car and in my purse. What harm can my few bottles do to the environment when millions of other people use them? That was my rationalization.

But recently someone sent photos of the islands of plastic water bottles floating in the ocean and shamed me into changing my ways. I promptly went to the store and bought and aluminum bottle. It’s pretty nice - keeps my water cold and has a handy little handle and fits right into my lunch bag.

Tomorrow is the sad anniversary of 911 - the day that stole from Americans their sense of security, their feeling of safety and the many lives of people we did not know. But within hours after the bombings, those people and their families became our neighbors. We sent love, prayers, money and help. From this horror came a new America even more determined to protect our freedoms - those which other countries envy. We can choose our own religion, our own governmental representatives, our own career path. We are not told how many children we can have, where we can live or what we can read or say. 911 is no longer mere numbers, the mere mention evokes a swelling of the chest, a lifting of the chin as we become committed to stand shoulder to shoulder and protect each other and our wonderful country.

Labor Day marks the end of summer for us folks in the Midwest. School has started and it’s the last holiday until Thanksgiving. Everything seems to have succombed to the turning point of Labor Day - the leaves are beginning to turn, the crops are looking dry and yellow, flocks of birds are banding together for the journey south. I spotted a bunch of Monarch Butterflies in some pine trees resting up to continue their nighttime flight to Mexico. Today is dark and cloudy and the weather forcast is for more of the same all week. Probably all year. Hard to not be maudlin about the lost summer.

From Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 is Hispanic Heritage Month, established in 1988 by the U.S. Congress. Sept. 15 marks the anniversary of independence for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Mexico achieved independence on Sept. 16 and Chile on Sept. 18.