Fall Things On A Friday

Sharing a few favorites and some miscellaneous bits and bobs on this second Friday in October. 77 days til Christmas for anyone who might be counting. 

For the record I'm not counting. I feel like we're just now finally getting in to fall and fall is my favorite. 

Linking with Erika and Andrea today for their Friday Favorites link party. Here we go-

The air this time of year is so nice. We have so much heavy humidity all summer long, but late afternoons in autumn are cool and clear and perfect. Hubs and I like to sit on the lower patio with a glass of wine and music playing and this bottle in particular is so pretty. It's Spanish and the bottle itself is a soft shade of blue.

Matches the lake and sky both.

I don't do a lot of seasonal decorating other than Christmas, but I love the colors of fall and they fit with the style of my home and my personal taste really well so I do add a few things come Autumn.  

Outdoor cushions for the upper deck furniture-

A basket of assorted acorns, pumpkins, and pinecones made with different fabrics and lots of texture sits on the kitchen island-

Fall chargers and napkin rings in the dining room-

I like my velvet pumpkin sitting on a velvet runner  in the middle of the table. My dining room window treatments are still my favorite and have a fall feel to them. I normally have them open but the sun was too bright for a picture so I pulled them closed. 

On the keeping room side of the fireplace I set my glass pumpkins and then I prop the spidey hands my oldest grandsons made when they were very small.  

Too sweet to part with so I don't. 

I put a glass pumpkin on the bar downstairs filled with hubs favorites in the mini size-Reeses and Kit Kats. I had it upstairs but decided it was healthier for me to have it downstairs. 

I also bought some new pillows for my family room couch and love the muted colors. I especially love the green plaid and will change out the pumpkin pillows for something more Christmasy when December rolls around.

In 54 days, except remember we're not counting. 

I bought a new candle for my coffee table. It's so pretty and the scent is similar to the Volcano candles most people are familiar with-

My front porch...

I resisted buying mums for as long as I could, because our front porch gets so much sun and mums don't seem to last, but I love them. They're the epitome of fall to me and I had to have some. I added a few pumpkins too and have the big bow my daughter made me last year on my front door wreath. 

The autumn moon is something pretty spectacular...

As is an October sunrise outside my bedroom window...

Happy fall y'all...have a nice weekend! 

I See The Moon And The Moon Sees Me

Well today got away from me but I'm not giving up on the A to Z Challenge just yet. We happen to hit the middle of the alphabet today so let's keep calm and blog on.

M is for the Moon

In case you missed it my theme for this challenge has been centered around the word delight. The obvious M word to blab on about here would be motherhood, but I feel like I might have covered that in letter D. 

Let's go with something completely different here today-the moon. 

I tend to talk too much here about all things sky related-weather, clouds, sunrises, sunsets, and a brilliant moon in the dark night sky. Maybe it's the way it hangs over the lake or maybe it's that I have more time to notice, or maybe it really is more remarkable in the 21st century, but we've had so many incredible moonlit skies these past several months. 

The kind where we run out on the porch in our pjs just to get a better look. The kind that feel close enough to touch. Moons so bright and so brilliant and so seemingly close to where we're standing we snap thirty five pictures with our cell phones in an effort to capture beauty we know cannot be captured. 

There have been supermoons and blood moons and blue moons and harvest moons, each one a delight. In the words of Taylor Swift, some nights it really does feel like 'a spotlight on the lake'. 

The first thing I think of when I see a big full moon is the little rhyme I used to say to my girls when they were small. Back when I still tucked them in tight in their rooms upstairs. When I listened to their worries and their stories and their prayers and kissed their foreheads and said Mama loves you to the moon and back. 

"I see the moon and the moon sees me, God bless the moon and God bless me" 

There was something comforting in that old familiar verse...

There still is. 

Mooning Over The Hodgepodge

Welcome to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge! If you've answered the questions add your link at the end of my post, then hop over and say hi to your neighbor on the list. Here we go-

1. Did you watch the solar eclipse? Your thoughts? Sun Chips, Moon Pies, Starburst candies, a Blue Moon beer, a Sunkist orange, or a Milky Way candy bar...what's your favorite eclipse related snack on this list?

First things first-the snack list Ha! Pass the Milky Way please. 

Absolutely we watched the eclipse. We live in the path of totality and skies here were clear. I thought it was completely amazing. Hubs and I went to a viewing party in a neighbor's backyard where we all wore our special glasses and collectively oohed and aahed as the moon showed off. A stunning display of God's handiwork. 

2. What are you 'over the moon' about these days? What's something you enjoy doing every 'once in a blue moon'?

Well the answer to that first one is easy-

photo courtesy of my daughter's mother in law

As far as something I enjoy doing every 'once in a blue moon' hmmm....how about drink a diet coke? Every once in a while I get a craving for a bubbly Diet Coke with lots of ice. Definitely not something I drink on a regular basis so I think the phrase fits. 

3. Tell us about something in the realm of science that interests you. How do you feed that interest?

Birds, specifically hummingbirds, bluebirds, and hawks. We put up a bluebird house and mom and dad moved in the very next day. Babies were born and have grown and now the whole family flits around the birdhouse when they hear my hubs whistle. They know he's bringing the chow. It's really fun to watch. 

We also have a couple of hummingbird feeders, one in my kitchen window so I can see them up close while I'm at my sink. They're just amazing little creatures.  We have two regular bird feeders too, and a couple of bird books, and the bird man at our nearby shop has been really helpful in educating us, particularly about how to attract the bluebirds.  

4. What are a few things you remember about going back to school as a child?

I remember new clothes for the first day, and always getting new shoes too. I remember in elementary school we used to have to bring in a cigar box for our pencils, etc. Cannot imagine asking parents in 2017 to send in a cigar box, but back in the 1960's everybody seemed to come up with one. I don't even know where we got ours but we always had one for that first day of school. 

I remember the night before jitters and the anxiety on that first day waiting with my friends to hear my name called and know who my teacher would be. I remember the feeling of a fresh start. I have always liked fresh starts. 

5. I've seen several versions of this around the net so let's make one of our own...share with us five words that touch your soul and briefly tell us why.

mother-everything about this word says comfort to me. 
It soothes my soul. 

dream-I've always had a big imagination, and I'm still a dreamer at heart. 
Dreams awaken my soul. 

water-being on, near, or in front of the sea (ocean, lake, a good spring rain) helps me refocus when life feels tilted sideways. Water refreshes my soul. 

rest-because life is quite often too full. Hitting the pause button helps me remember I'm more than my literal and figurative to-do list. Rest energizes my soul. 

hope -because I still like fresh starts. 
Hope restores my soul. 

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

Hubs and I met Daughter2 for dinner last night. She's been back at work for a while now, but Tuesday was the official first day for students. This is her fifth year teaching, her second in kindergarten, and she still gets excited for that 'first day of school'. 

My daughter told us a neighbor couple brought over a quiche for her and her roommate in case they were 'too tired to cook this first week'. What a wonderful gesture that meant so much. This couple has grown children, which made it all the more special. May we all look for ways to bless the teachers who cross our paths this next school year. 




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Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 318

So much to blog about, so many other things that need doing besides blogging. In the meantime... here are this week's questions for the Wednesday Hodgepodge. Fly back here tomorrow and add your link to the party.

1. Did you watch the solar eclipse? Your thoughts? Sun Chips, Moon Pies, Starburst candies, a Blue Moon beer, a Sunkist orange, or a Milky Way candy bar...what's your favorite eclipse related snack on this list?

2. What are you 'over the moon' about these days? What's something you enjoy doing every 'once in a blue moon'?

3. Tell us about something in the realm of science that interests you. How do you feed that interest?

4. What are a few things you remember about going back to school as a child?

5. I've seen several versions of this around the net so let's make one of our own...share with us five words that touch your soul and briefly tell us why.

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

Celebrating the Hodgepodge

Welcome to this week's edition of the Wednesday Hodgepodge. If you've answered the questions today, add your link at the end of my post and be sure to leave a comment for your blog neighbor.

1. What do/did you call your grandparents? If it's something unusual tell us the story behind the name. If you're a grandparent what do your grands call you? Who chose your moniker?

We called both sets of our grandparents Grandma and Grandpa. We sometimes added their surname to differentiate in conversation, but in person they were just Grandma and Grandpa. My girls call my mom Mema and my mother-in-law Grandma. I'm still thinking about what I would like to be called, which may or may not be why you're answering this question today-ha! 

2. Ever taken a road trip along the California Coast? If so what was the highlight of your trek? If not, any desire to do so? What's one tourist attraction along the coast you'd add to your must-see list?

I've never taken a road trip along the California Coast, but it's definitely on my travel bucket list. I have a whole itinerary of stops I'd want to make, but Santa Barbara and Big Sur are near the top. 

3. What are three things you don't know how to do?

Wow, only three? How about three things I don't know how to do that I wish I knew how to do? 

Play the piano, speak a foreign language fluently, knit. 

4. Tom Peters is quoted as saying, 'Celebrate what you want to see more of.' If that's true, what and how will you celebrate?

Gentleness. 

Harsh, sharp, and angry is most definitely not working for us. 

I think gentleness in word, tone, and deed invites conversation, and I love that. 
In fact I'll pour the tea. 

5. Thursday (February 16) is National Almond Day. Do you like almonds? Which would you prefer-an Almond Joy or a macaron? What's something you make that calls for almonds?

I love almonds and would not turn down an Almond Joy or a macaron. If I have to choose I'll opt for the macaron. 

In France. 

I mean if we're imagining we might as well go all in, right?

I put sliced almonds in my chicken salad because I love the little salty crunch they add to the dish. I also add sliced almonds to my spinach salads. Yum! 

6. What does Saturday morning look like at your house?

Opening up the bedroom curtains to watch the sun stream in over the lake. Coffee sipped in our comfy chairs beside the sliders in the great room, or if it's warm enough out on the covered deck. Then more coffee. Then breakfast with hubs while we construct a loose outline of our plans for the day. We try to keep Saturday mornings low key and leisurely round here. 

7. Share with us a favorite book you've read this winter.

I've been reading a lot this winter and probably my favorite has been A Man Called Ove by Frederik Bachman. I really loved his book My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry and A Man Called Ove was almost as good. 

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

The moon was absolutely gorgeous last week. Hubs snapped this photograph from our back deck on Thursday evening...

 If you didn't know better you'd think that was a spotlight on the lake, wouldn't you? 

Raise your hand if you're singing Taylor Swift right now?