“Learn to limit yourself; 

to content yourself with some definite work; 

dare to be what you are 

and learn to resign with a good grace all that you are not;

and to believe in your own individuality.”

Henri-Frederic Amiel

Loving fall leaves, days filled with sunshine and rain, crisp days, apple cider, pots of chili, and the call of the indoors as the days grow shorter...

Love that I was able to go on an autumn walk with my little cousin Dawson and that he pointed out perfect leaves, skittering creatures and summed up our walk with, "Isn't this magnificent?"

Yes sweet boy this is definitely magnificent.

cute Thursday

I thought you may like a few "cute" pictures for this almost-Friday!

Um...CUTE! I found these little witch duckies when I was in Bellevue.
What happens sometimes is when you make orange hot chocolate and you look at the cute ducky sitting there just minding its own business is this. You think "now this ducky wants to swim in my orange hot chocolate" and the ducky says "take my picture." And you do because really if a rubber ducky talked to you you would probably do whatever it said. Which is how this cute picture came to be!
And the little ducky's friends they sometimes get sad because they are too big to go swimming in orange hot chocolate, but mostly they are happy. And when you look at them you are happy because...really...look at those faces!

(tall, standing lamp is my oldest Halloween decoration. He was my mom's and was a fixture at Halloween - my mom's favorite holiday. The pumpkin bucket was mine when I was a child. It still has my name, in my mom's handwriting on the bottom -love that! The mugs are adorable and from Starbucks last year.)

And then...You wake up on a chilly, September morning only to notice a sweet kitty looking longingly at you from outside the back door. You open the door because "oh poor kitty has been outside all night with the big bad nighttime outside scariness" and the kitty runs in eats and curls up on a chair and falls fast asleep. Then your son thinks she is so cute that he tucks her in before he leaves for school with his favorite fuzzy blanket (because she isn't fuzzy enough) and she sleeps and sleeps and sleeps (and has been for the past 3+ hours).
Sleep tight sweet kitten (who isn't a kitten anymore...but she is MY kitten so I can call her kitten if I want especially since she doesn't know her name...whatever!).

happy autumnal equinox

Happy Autumn!

I've loved seeing autumn posts all over the blog-o-sphere. So inspiring! Autumn is my new year. New beginnings - I like to organize and rearrange and regroup at this time. My family loves that I start to cook and bake more - big pots of soup and chili, homemade applesauce, cookies and breads. I think I need to run out this morning and pick up some mums to make my porch look like the picture above (last year's golden glory!). At 8:44 a.m.(PST) take a moment to cheer the official beginning of autumn!

Enjoy!

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Autumn!

It seems like the beginning of autumn starts at different times for different people. Cheryl looks at the opening of Bellewood Acres as a signal of the upcoming season. My cousin Lorinda sees September 1st on the calendar and it is autumn in her book - out come the decorations and yummy zucchini bread. Others celebrate the solstice on the 21st or count the 22nd as the first "official day."

Me? The beginning of autumn presents itself at one of my favorite hang-outs. Hmmmm....I wonder where that may be. When I see that sign "Pumpkin Spice is Here" my heart does a little leap for joy and I know without a doubt that autumn is around the corner...Just waiting with mild weather (which we have had plenty of actually), changing leaves, pumpkins, lovely scented candles and a change of decor.


I had my first Pumpkin Spice latte (grande, 2 pumps, non-fat, light whip, a little nutmeg please) with my cousin, Lorinda today. Delightful. (And you know what Pumpkin Spice means right? It means that Gingerbread is right around the corner! Yay!)

So, tell me...I would love to know...What signifies autumn to you? A date on the calendar, a trip to an apple orchard, pumpkin bread? Do you have any beginning of autumn traditions? Anything at all you would like to share at the beginning of this new season? Please share.

Thankful

Just thinking about the things I'm thankful for - big and small. Of course safety, health, family, friends...etc...but "life is in the details" at least that is what I've been thinking about lately.

Thankful for Spaz, the kitten, who while a tad obnoxious is also cuddly and sweet at times and lets Archer carry her around like a rag doll.My darling son, who is a pre-teen, however is still lovely and kind. He thinks of the good in people, spreads joy, and has a positive outlook. (Remember this is an "in general" list...he is a boy by the way and isn't perfect. I know this and want to celebrate the good right now!)
For cats that get along for the most part. They are healthy and only cause minor chaos.
And for "the most wonderful time of the year" which I think is year round...but evidently some people think the sign is seasonal. I love each season, each time for specific reasons. Right now is precious. I love the approach of Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Our Weekend.

Our weekend was a nice combination of rest and work.

• Troy and I went downtown shopping at the antique stores. Troy found treasures. I did not.
• I had a Gingerbread Latte! Just one. I was good. Yum!
• Troy mowed the lawn and prepared the back patio/yard for winter.
• Archer raked and swept the driveway.
• Troy took a nice nap with Horton.
• I watched lots of CSI and Court TV.
  
• I went to Treasury of Memories for their open house. Bought lots of goodies.
• Archer played lots of WOW! and watched The Santa Clause (the first time this season - many more times to come I am sure).
• I made the Halloween cupcakes finally...Archer ate the cupcakes! (Last year we carved our pumpkin 2 weeks after Halloween!)
  

The napping room. Horton likes to lay on top of people to sleep. Eventually he falls off!

Archer veggin' while watching t.v.

Our Halloween cupcakes! Yum!

Archer has enjoyed many cupcakes this weekend!

While I was at the Treasury of Memories open house I picked up a kit to make the JOY frames. It comes with the frames and letters - just choose your own paper. I think the JOY will go on my hutch...not sure yet.

I also picked up this snowman vinyl and frame and added some cute snowflake paper! I love getting in the Christmas spirit. I spent about 20 minutes total on both project. Easy and cute!

Now it is Monday. It is very windy and will hopefully be a quiet day at home! And as it is Veteran's Day I just want to give a big thank you to all the veterans today and thank those who are currently serving in the armed forces. Thank you!

Lucky

Our family is very lucky because we have a Pumpkin Fairy. Each year the Pumpkin Fairy drops pumpkins at our front door. Isn't that fantastic? Not many people have a Pumpkin Fairy, however I do know of a few families around here that are as lucky as we are.

This year the fairy dropped this big-old heavy pumpkin off while we were all in the house in the middle of the day. We opened our door to leave and there it was! That Pumpkin Fairy is sneaky!

Archer getting ready to carve. He loves when the Pumpkin Fairy comes. We probably wouldn't even carve if she (I just assume it is a she - haha) didn't bring a pumpkin. It just wouldn't be the same.

Beginning the carving process. Archer says this pumpkin was very thick! He even had to get his dad to come in and carve a bit! That pumpkin was tough - didn't go down without a fight!

The final product. Took the place of the mum that decided it didn't like life on our front porch. See what happens plants? If you don't want to live here we will replace you! Sorry...now back to my human readers...

Um. I don't even know what to say about this. For those of you who know Troy this is just another day. For those of you who don't you probably are wondering about sanity in this household. Sanity is highly overrated. Troy is actually getting ready for an airsoft game next weekend - Warewolves vs. Vampires...and as Troy doesn't like to follow most directions or rules he is evidently going as a vampire hunter/slayer.

Happy Halloween!

LPM Open House

Friday night was the museum's annual Open House. The museum is celebrating 31(?) years this year! Yea!

Archer was the night's photographer and did a fine job! He got pictures of almost everyone working (I didn't show them all here). This is a new camera for the family and he is 12, so I think the pics turned out pretty good. I didn't "fix" any of them and a few have glasses glare, but you can still see a great time was had by all. You may also notice that he tended to take pics of people he knows, hence the pics of Calob and Callie...he did take a few of other visitors interacting with the exhibits and presenters...

*Tami (my loyal blog reader, mini-bookclub member, and 'boss' -hehe - of the museum) and I

*Cheryl & Callie. Enjoying the night...waiting to go home!

Callie in the Children's Bedroom (one of the newest exhibits done by an intern from WWU).

Callie and Calob on the Hotel balcony.

Susan & Karen. Just hanging out.

Terence in the Parlor. The organ behind belonged to my great-Grandmother.

Belly up to the bar and visit with Bob. I am sure he wasn't serving actual drinks. Right Tami? :)

Troy, Larry the Logger, and ? Larry is the resident logger - volunteers to 'dress down' and participate in the Open House and Education programs.

Col. Jim the egg and constant joke-telling man! He has been with the museum since it began in 1976! Wow - that is dedication!

Troy being Troy. He is in the Natural Resources exhibit. He particularly likes the chirping birds (which don't chirp at this time - thank goodness) because this one is right below his office!

Thanks for the pictures Archer!

Fall.

Love autumn. Autumn colors. Pumpkins. Crisp days. Cool nights. Falling leaves. Pumpkin Spice lattes from Starbucks. Pumpkin fudge. Sweaters and vests. Crunching leaves. Frosted Pumpkin Yankee Candles.

Look who came to visit...

It's Nick!
Nicholas is up for an extended visit. He will be with us through next week. He is staying at mom's house (he is loving being with Grandpa) and spending a few(6) days with us. We are so glad to have him. He is quite a character. On our first day together (yesterday) we had grand adventures. I brought him out to Lynden (an adventure in itself) and my friend Cheryl came to visit.
Cheryl and I took him to Dairy Queen for lunch. He loved his cheeseburger and french fries and very clearly requested ketchup. I did find out that he does NOT like soda. I tried giving him Sierra Mist (he spit it out with quite a disgusted look on his face), so then I gave him a taste of my Dr. Pepper (he really didn't like that...looked quite disgusted), so then I tried lemonade (not a fan of that either evidently)...I did, however, find that he liked water. Yep water. When I gave it to him he said, "Water" like it was a cheer and was so happy! Good boy not liking the soda...hope that lasts! We even let him have the ice cream cone at the end which he LOVED!

Cheryl took this picture right before he fell asleep for a much needed nap. Look at the eyes...you can see the water just pooling. Sweet boy.



Then...after the nap and after Archer got home we went to the City Park which is fabulous.


"Now your turn." Archer swings as Nick pushes.
Laughing at Archer.
After playing in the park the real fun began. As soon as Nick noticed the water he wanted nothing more to do with the park which was fine with Archer who loves the creek as well.

Happy Fall!

“Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile.”

William Cullen Bryant

Signs of Fall

I love fall. It is my favorite season ~ sweaters, candles, and homemade applesauce.
Here is the first applesauce of the season.


Archer loves warm, homemade applesauce. We had to call Grandma Lee and ask her how she makes her applesauce (which according to Archer is better than mine) so it would be just right for him. We left out a bit of sugar so the applesauce wouldn't be to sweet for Troy...Troy is not sweet! Hehe!


Oh, and this is the first picture of Archer as a 6th grader. Oh, every other year I have the pictures in front of the school (PreK-2), then at home as we are getting in the car (3-4), then when he gets home on the 2nd day (5th). This year it is applesauce a couple weeks after school starts...Oh well!