Here is the last of the tomato harvest. They've been ripening on the dining room window sill.
As I was picking up pine cones this morning I decided that pine cones are a crop, too.
I have a sneaking suspicion that this sort of thing is what is making my sinuses ache and Bill sneezing big scary AH CHOOS.
Isn't this new Vera Bradley pattern fun? It's called Tutti Frutti. Kelli gifted me with a new bag. I love it!
I ironed and ironed and ironed yesterday morning and this morning. I like it, as I've told you before. There are only a few boring things left in the ironing basket.
Another photo of my SB stack. Aren't they pretty?
Great Granny's work hanging on the back of my chair.
Too well-used brooches.
My sweet English buddy Lynn stitched Sunshine for my birthday. SHE is an angel pie.
This is the looming pile of "homework" for Mrs. M. Drat.
I know I've shown you this before, but I love it so much. Thank you, Sandra! Polly, please DO put the kettle on.
Samantha Rose came to play today. She wanted to work in the garden.
Tea things ready in the Wendy house.
Jack is smiling from the interior of the tiny house.
And all of a sudden, it was time to make dirt soup.
And then Plum Cake woke up from her morning snooze.
You remember my "didn't turn out quite right" apple cozy, don't you? In the summer she's a watermelon cozy and NOW she is a pumpkin cozy.
Can you see Plum Cake's teething necklace? It's amber and it soothes.
Our maple tree is at her finest! She's a golden lady! It is extra-special beautiful here right now.
I won't be the most stylish granny on the beach, but I shall revel in the sun, sand, and sea. I'll see you soon!
Apple crisp or apple crumble? My "crisp" did not turn out the way I wanted it to. I added too much sugar and simply dumped other stuff in the dish. Do you know that if you bake often, your results are better? It's a knack you can definitely lose. As a young bride, I baked a lot. My chocolate chip cookies were beautiful and so tasty that I often started out my "dieting" day with a handful of them (and then felt extremely guilt-ridden for the rest of the day and tried to extinguish the guilt with more cookies). I made brownies with Baker's chocolate, stirring the thick brown batter over the stove. I baked pretty sugar cookies, all shapes. I have lost my skill due to lack of practice. I might make a little plan to get my baking groove back. Any suggestions?
Blue Bunny is a very nice name for a very nice "necessity" and a scoop or two greatly improves floppy bowls of crisp.
My pretty bike, Sunshine, is upside down, hung on the hooks for the winter. SADNESS! In her place is THE BIG RED SNOW BLOWER. Bill is thinking winter. He's so thoughtful. He has already put up our Christmas lights because he'll be recovering from his surgery during the holiday season. Jeff will come over and man the snow blower, if need be. I am afraid of the snow blower. I need to give her a soft name and try to tame her. Do you have any good ideas for a name for a big red machine?
No need for her services yet. Look at the trees! The fall is proving GORGEOUS here in Colorado. Bill comes home from Taiwan, Singapore, and Cambodia today. I've been sleeping with the bedroom window WIDE open and I have been hearing the nice neighborhood night sounds. Dogs are barking, car doors are shutting, nearby intersections host night-owl drivers and I hear that hum. I have been choosing to listen to James Taylor's Christmas album as I fall asleep. I feel cherished by my BIG God and I'm experiencing moment by moment contentment. All is well.
Today, I shall bring donuts to my morning class. We're going to watch the episode of I Love Lucy called "Job Switching" and they are going to identify the elements of plot. This is the episode in which Ethel and Lucy get jobs at the chocolate factory. It's hilarious. The kids always say, "Aw! Is this in black and white?" Then, they begin falling in love with the darling 1950's scenes and they laugh at Lucy's antics. It's precious. They will be slightly squirrelly due to their week long break from school which starts this afternoon! Yay! They need it.
When we get back from Maui, I shall savor being home for a week with my sweet Bill. I love our house and our quiet ways. See what I mean? Life's freebies are food for the soul.
"It was one of those perfect autumn days which occur more frequently in memory than in life."
~ P. D. James
Can you remember specific events or experiences that occurred in some of the Octobers of your life? I can remember sitting in our childhood playhouse (very rough interior and inhabited by spiders) drawing Halloween pictures. I liked sketching moons with witches flying past. I drew ghosts and haunted houses. I created lopsided jack-o-lanterns with triangle eyes.
I remember walking up the hill from the bus stop on fall days. The leaves were falling and they were BIG! Have you been picking up leaves? When you open up your "keeper" books in future years, you'll thank yourself for placing them between the pages.
Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, I always wore a coat. The air was damp and the wind cutting. Here in Colorado, the air is dry and if it isn't snowing, the bright skies make it possible to go coatless. I remember a warm little camel-colored coat with a shiny lining. I had a tweedy woven fabric coat, autumn-colored. I had a puffy red jacket. Every fall, I got a warm coat. Do you remember a childhood coat?
I have just this week of school before my fall break. We're going to a warm place and then Bill is having hip replacement surgery so I'll need to take an additional week off. During November, Bill will be recovering and then my delightful mama is coming to stay with us for a week and she'll be here on feast day! Doesn't the thought of a nice brown roasted turkey make you smile?
Well, with those fall thoughts, I'm having one more cup of coffee and a dip into my Bible before I leave for school.
I hope you have a colorful week of holiday thinking because I believe the consideration of tradition and family joy is the sweetest treat of the season.
