Summer Slipped into Fall
Summer is officially over. It was the most wonderful season, possibly because we didn't really do a thing. Rather, I started each morning on our covered patio, sipping coffee and reading a devotional, journaling a bit, and before I knew it the day was over and we were out there sipping a glass of wine as the sun went down.
I didn't get wet a single time this summer, other than showers and baths. No swimming in lakes, only a few ice cream cones, one sort of camping trip that derailed because of technical problems. I didn't blog, didn't write, didn't sew, didn't do anything crafty.
I guess we were more human beings than human doings, which was quite lovely. We spent a lot of time with family, read books, watched movies on Netflix, ate super simple meals that were planned at the last minute.
Possibly the most exciting thing we did all summer was join Costco.
And seriously, the membership fee is totally worth it for the guacamole, the $8.00 bottles of premixed margaritas and the big bags of tortilla chips. In my humble opinion they don't really need to carry much of anything else, although they do. You can go in for guacamole and come out subscribing to Direct TV, or having purchased a refrigerator or new sofa or cashmere sweater. And of course you can go in starving and come out not needing to cook dinner. I'm thinking brilliance would be to take your husband along, late in the afternoon, and come home to skip dinner.
So fall has arrived in the inland northwest. Yellow buses drive by our house every morning, and there are very few kids wandering the neighborhood during the day. The trees are dropping little reddish yellow leaves. I pick up a few every morning on my walk with Lily, stuff them in the pocket of my red, rainproof jacket, to take home and press, then mail to our grandkids 2000 miles south.
It's finally, finally, finally started raining, those rains that fall soft, and so gentle that you have to poke your head out the door to be sure wet stuff is actually coming down. That's the best kind - it soaks into the water-starved ground, and sets a fog of clouds in front of the mountains at the end of our street.
We've lately had chili, potato soup, minestrone, lasagna and pumpkin bread. That after a summer of tacos, cobb salad, slices of watermelon, shish kabobs and burgers on the grill. Somehow when the temperature drops everything in me wants to throw something in the crockpot. Cub Sweetheart is, as always, just happy to be fed. I love that about him.
I've pulled out a half knit sock to finish, and a quilt top I pieced ten years ago. Finally took it to the quilt store and asked the woman at the counter to please choose a backing for me that has a lot of forgiveness for a pitiful hand quilter. Done is always better than perfect, so done it'll be over the next few months of football season.
We drove to Yellowstone a week ago, saw the most gorgeous animals - a herd of elk, an eagle soaring overhead, the tiniest little deer mouse, a beautiful dark brown moose munching on a tree, and buffalo as big as our jeep. When one walked right up to our window I shot a photo, then rolled up the window, a bit afraid he'd decide to ram us. Driving home we came over a pass in Montana and it started snowing like crazy, big beautiful globs of white falling down all around us.
Back in Texas, where we have other family, they are dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey; I have a first cousin, who happens to be a police officer, whose home has four feet of water in it. If you haven't given to any causes for the Hurricane Harvey relief, find one. My cousin's (the police officer's) GoFundMe is HERE. All those small donations will add up and make a difference in someone's life, even if it's just a sense of encouragement. Hurricane season doesn't end until at least October. It's certainly looking like this could be a rough season.
Times like this, I don't know about anyone else, but I take comfort in knowing things are not out of control, as they may appear. Rather, there is a big God running the show, and He's not surprised at all of this. He has a plan that is way bigger than my little brain can comprehend. I'm going to trust, and try to make a difference for someone else who is being directly affected by the storms swirling all around them.
I thought, more than once over the summer, that I'd come here and post but something inside me knew I needed downtime. My mother's been gone now almost eight months - hard to believe it's been that long already. She left each of us four kids a little bit of money, and I took some of it and bought myself something that I think would please her very much. More about that later.
Oh, we also sold our townhouse a few weeks ago, and bought another little house with a mountain view. More about that later too. Obviously I need to some catching up! Happy Fall everybody. Bake something with pumpkin in it, and give half of it away to a neighbor.
I didn't get wet a single time this summer, other than showers and baths. No swimming in lakes, only a few ice cream cones, one sort of camping trip that derailed because of technical problems. I didn't blog, didn't write, didn't sew, didn't do anything crafty.
I guess we were more human beings than human doings, which was quite lovely. We spent a lot of time with family, read books, watched movies on Netflix, ate super simple meals that were planned at the last minute.
Possibly the most exciting thing we did all summer was join Costco.
And seriously, the membership fee is totally worth it for the guacamole, the $8.00 bottles of premixed margaritas and the big bags of tortilla chips. In my humble opinion they don't really need to carry much of anything else, although they do. You can go in for guacamole and come out subscribing to Direct TV, or having purchased a refrigerator or new sofa or cashmere sweater. And of course you can go in starving and come out not needing to cook dinner. I'm thinking brilliance would be to take your husband along, late in the afternoon, and come home to skip dinner.
So fall has arrived in the inland northwest. Yellow buses drive by our house every morning, and there are very few kids wandering the neighborhood during the day. The trees are dropping little reddish yellow leaves. I pick up a few every morning on my walk with Lily, stuff them in the pocket of my red, rainproof jacket, to take home and press, then mail to our grandkids 2000 miles south.
It's finally, finally, finally started raining, those rains that fall soft, and so gentle that you have to poke your head out the door to be sure wet stuff is actually coming down. That's the best kind - it soaks into the water-starved ground, and sets a fog of clouds in front of the mountains at the end of our street.
We've lately had chili, potato soup, minestrone, lasagna and pumpkin bread. That after a summer of tacos, cobb salad, slices of watermelon, shish kabobs and burgers on the grill. Somehow when the temperature drops everything in me wants to throw something in the crockpot. Cub Sweetheart is, as always, just happy to be fed. I love that about him.
I've pulled out a half knit sock to finish, and a quilt top I pieced ten years ago. Finally took it to the quilt store and asked the woman at the counter to please choose a backing for me that has a lot of forgiveness for a pitiful hand quilter. Done is always better than perfect, so done it'll be over the next few months of football season.
We drove to Yellowstone a week ago, saw the most gorgeous animals - a herd of elk, an eagle soaring overhead, the tiniest little deer mouse, a beautiful dark brown moose munching on a tree, and buffalo as big as our jeep. When one walked right up to our window I shot a photo, then rolled up the window, a bit afraid he'd decide to ram us. Driving home we came over a pass in Montana and it started snowing like crazy, big beautiful globs of white falling down all around us.
Back in Texas, where we have other family, they are dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey; I have a first cousin, who happens to be a police officer, whose home has four feet of water in it. If you haven't given to any causes for the Hurricane Harvey relief, find one. My cousin's (the police officer's) GoFundMe is HERE. All those small donations will add up and make a difference in someone's life, even if it's just a sense of encouragement. Hurricane season doesn't end until at least October. It's certainly looking like this could be a rough season.
Times like this, I don't know about anyone else, but I take comfort in knowing things are not out of control, as they may appear. Rather, there is a big God running the show, and He's not surprised at all of this. He has a plan that is way bigger than my little brain can comprehend. I'm going to trust, and try to make a difference for someone else who is being directly affected by the storms swirling all around them.
I thought, more than once over the summer, that I'd come here and post but something inside me knew I needed downtime. My mother's been gone now almost eight months - hard to believe it's been that long already. She left each of us four kids a little bit of money, and I took some of it and bought myself something that I think would please her very much. More about that later.
Oh, we also sold our townhouse a few weeks ago, and bought another little house with a mountain view. More about that later too. Obviously I need to some catching up! Happy Fall everybody. Bake something with pumpkin in it, and give half of it away to a neighbor.
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