Gretchen the Good

 Timothy likes to put his paw on his humans, to reassure us.  Smile.

I puttered around the house in anticipation of Gretchen's (Gladsome Lights) arrival.  We had scones and whipped cream, pears and blue cheese, nuts, and tomato red pepper soup with LOTS of cheese croutons on top.  I haven't had a scone in a while so I piled on the whipped cream. Gretchen had her scone with butter and jam.  

 Oh, how I LOVE Gretchen.  We could have talked for hours and hours more. She is so gentle, so kind, so warm.  Wow!  Such a person!  I feel very much richer having spent the afternoon connecting with her.  I am so grateful.  We have both had our blogs for so long and knew each other only through the text we shared, but sitting face-to-face with all of that background knowledge (from reading each other's blogs for so long) made for a real soul-to-soul communion which is miraculous.  Powerful.  I'm basking in the afterglow.  

 Millie chose a fuzzy toadstool for my birthday.  I love it. 

 I hung a shelf and gathered the gnomes.  Sometimes I need "company coming" motivation to do things.

My brother and sister in law are arriving tomorrow afternoon and will be with us for a week.  I'll be so buzzy that I'll probably have a hard time falling asleep at night.  

What a beautiful time of year for them to visit. The leaves are lovely and the weather will be very warm then very cold.  They'll get an accurate read on Colorado weather!  So erratic!

So today, I'll tidy more and scrub the bathroom.  I'll vacuum my car (maybe - I hate this chore).  I'll shop.  All good.  People are good.  Loving God and loving people, the very best of LOVE.

Thank you for stopping in.  I hope you enjoy the end of lovely October!  We have a houseful coming for dinner and trick or treating.  I'll try to take some photos, but I might be too busy fluttering about.

What does November bring?

(BIG HUG!)

Lots of Smiles

 "Hello!  I love this time of year when there are many soft blankets around the house.  I like to burrow inside and bake myself." 

I am still working on this mitten. I wonder if I'll EVER get fast at knitting from a chart.  I must keep looking back and marking my place.  Yikes. 

I'm ALMOST finished with these scrappy socks.  I love them.  They look so rustic. 

Sometimes I scroll way back to very old blog posts and find happy things like this cup and saucer from a hotel in Vail.  Every morning we had a lovely breakfast.  I love the dishes! 

 And when I find Ann I smile, don't you?  Isn't she just the sweetest and kindest girl EVER?

Parsley and strawberries in a tiny vase?  Smart old Pom Pom of the past.  

 And once I WAS going to make an entire tea set from a shiny cotton yarn but my hands got so sore from the tight stitches that I sent the yarn and cotton away to Flavia in Spain (she doesn't live in Spain anymore).  I do love the pink jelly beans and the winky heart. 

 And CAKE!  I haven't been eating cake but I am still a BIG fan of cake.  I wish I could cut a slice for you, because of course it IS the little things in life like the Susan Branch writing says. 

 "Heated blankets are wonderful, so relaxing."  

 I took this photo of the pumpkin pile at Whole Foods.  Why are there stickers on the pumpkins? They ruin my picture!  Oh well.  

 A gift mug from Kelli a few years back reminded me of my respect and admiration for good teachers like my buddy Sondra who teaches literacy in the city and my sister Karol who is the best Sunday school teacher EVER and has been teaching for years and years. 

 There are a few trees that are outdoing themselves here in the neighborhood. Can you believe the color?  WOW! 

 I got some new socks to wear with my boots but they show more with my squishy Soft Science mules.  Not the most fashionable Pom Pom these days, I know. 

Before my brother and sister in law come to visit on Saturday I have another VERY exciting visitor coming to have lunch here.  I have been reading my friend Gretchen Joanna's blog for ten years or so.  She is here in Colorado attending to granny duties and she is making time to come see me!  Yippeeeee!  I can't wait!

I'll take pictures.

I have lots of fun ahead!  I feel blessed indeed.

October has scooted by at a swift pace.  The leaves are still gorgeous. The people are abundant and I am deeply grateful.

Thank you for stopping in, kind reader.  Oh!  Thank you for saying so many nice things about my ladies in their outfits!  I loved reading your comments and thinking about the dress you chose as your favorite.

xoxoxo

Full House Happy House

Hello October lover!  Doesn't everyone love October? It did snow here yesterday so now the zinnias and nasturtiums are dead. Sad.  I bought two cheap quilts for the kitchen slider, because I am anticipating winter.  

Wouldn't you like to spend the winter in the cabin below?  It belongs to the parents of one of our friends and sits on a large property they own.  The man who uses this cabin made that cute chair and table.  I love to view and review this lovely little photo. 

I noticed that a few years ago, I took a photo of my Beatrix stuff.  It must be October that makes me think of her.  I took another photo this year!  

 Christie made a delicious pesto pizza and it was SO very tasty.  I broke my cheese rule and I'm not sorry.  YUM!

 I've been drawing little ladies again.  Which outfit do you like?

Bill was in Taiwan for a week and Mr. Needy spent the week by my side, on my lap, trapping me in bed, so I couldn't turn over . . . 

He's happy that Bill's home now!  Me, too! 

 I've been watching artists on Youtube (as you do - lol) and I am fascinated by their supplies.  I didn't know about alcohol markers but I found these at Tuesday Morning.  They make very nice marks. 

 These lovely ones (and James) were here this weekend.  We enjoyed their company VERY MUCH.  Having a houseful of kids is the best, best, best!  Watching junky tv and eating chips can't be beat either. 

I'm looking forward to my brother and his wife coming to see us in a few weeks.  Also, our baby is going to be (gulp!) 30 years old at the end of the month.  We've already planned our Thanksgiving gathering and we always do Chinese food for Christmas Eve.  Breakfast on Christmas morning? Probably.   It's nice being an old lady and NOT having to do a lot of hustle and bustle for the holidays.  I can simply do what sounds fun to me.  Perfect.

Thank you for popping by, Sweetie Pie.

xo

Birthday Fullness

 I've been away so long!  Yikes!  We were busy happy birthday-ing Noah, Lizzy, and me!

 I must pop in Tim (aka the spoiled prince) photos.  He's so happy, isn't he?  No insomnia for Timothy.

I had a wonderful 60th birthday.  People are so nice.  BILL is so nice. 

 I lost a little of my cake vision by the time I needed to bake my birthday dessert. 

Shocker.  It didn't want to come out of the pans in a "perfect" fashion, so it is a bit like a cake Thing #1 and Thing #2 might have made.  

 I THOUGHT I might enjoy eating a big slice, but I didn't.  Oh well.  Note to self:  No cake baking necessary next year.  

I went to lunch with Christie and the boys. They brought flowers and balloons (JOY!) and then we went to the yarn store and James helped me pick out the yarn I wanted.  Aw!  I shall make a hat. 

 I have a friend who shares my birthday so we met for coffee.  I ordered us wrist corsages.  Aren't they gorgeous?  The florist took a few short cuts (glued on buds, not wires - boo) and one of each of our buds popped off.  Maybe we talk with our hands too much.  Ha ha ha. 

I needed (sort of) another pair of Aussie boots, so I used gift money and a gift card to reduce the cost.  Now, if the weather could just get wet and cold enough for boot wearing.  

Look at all this wool!  Again, we need some cooler weather for necessary bundling. 

 Brad gave me four envelopes of special teas (and the cute cup).  The Russian Caravan is smoky and delicious.

 And then . . . Kelli, Jenny, and I went to Victoria, BC for further birthday celebrations.  I thought you might like this lovely dish pattern I saw at the Empress Hotel gift shop. 

 They have re-faced the Empress and it's still lovely, but it doesn't look as authentic and delicate to me. 

We went whale watching and saw a young humpback whale and MANY sea lions and seals. 

 We shopped in Chinatown. 

 Five years ago,  Bill and I visited Bee Hive Wool Shop, so I had to return.  I wish it was my LYS. 

 And then we went to the Butchart Gardens.  Wow.  The blooms were wonderful - still fresh and lovely.

 We came back to our room for naps. Aw! I love my sleeping beauties. 

 We took a water taxi to Fisherman's Wharf where the houseboat "neighborhood" holds great charm. 

 Oh, we had a wonderful, easy and peaceful time.  I'm so thankful.  
I'm thankful to be home now.  It's definitely feeling like fall.  The evenings grow a bit chilly and the mornings are cool.  The skies are lovely.

 Here's the home sweet home mascot, again.

Remember when I was working on my Rule of Life?  Well, it's time to revise, so that's what I'm going to do in the next few days.  Also, I'm going to make some lists.  I like cleaning lists and other house-y "to do's" and after being in Victoria (every restaurant was spotless) I think I'm inspired to try a little harder in our hobbit house.

For my book club we're reading The Virginian.  I've never been very interested in cowboys or the Wild Wild West, so it's a bit of a chore to focus on this month's read.  I'll do it.

God be with you this sweet October.  Anne of Green Gables loved October and we do, too.  Don't we?