Welcoming The Change Of Seasons

 

Autumn is my favorite season, though I do like the other seasons as well.

I've learned over the years to welcome each season as I would a friend.  My friends are not all the same, and each one brings different joys and personality to my life. I think it's the same with the changing seasons.  Each season is full of gifts to give us joy if we will just have the eyes to see them.

The autumn season makes my heart sing in a way that the other seasons do not.  Maybe its because I was born in the autumn?  I love the cooler weather, the bright blue sky, the changes in the trees. I adore being outside in the autumn, when there is little chance of sweating to death due to humidity.

I love campfires and hayrides, I love wearing a sweater with my outfit of the day, and getting to wear my cute boots.  I love the scents of autumn; pumpkin, clove, cinnamon.  Here is a essential oil blend that I diffused yesterday.  It smelled so good in here!

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I know that some, who have short summers, long to hold on as possible to the hot days of summer. I get that.  I really do.  For us Autumn seems to be our shortest season.  The mild days, after summer, don't last too long most years. 

So I hope you don't get too tired of seeing autumn posts from me.  I plan to share recipes, oil blends, outfits, and decor.  It's going to be such a great season!

Remember, in this year where so much has changed and there is much is out of our control, our attitudes and the way we think about things IS in our control!

Happy Wednesday Friends!

Welcome Autumn

 

The morning glory is the only thing in bloom, besides some echinacea hanging on, and my hydrangea, especially limelight.  My Annabelle's are green and pretty battered after the rains we've been getting.

The ten day forecast is for the weather to be in the 70's, with a few days of low 80's.  A nice start to Autumn.  Many years we are still very hot through September!

I know my dear friend Linda at Linda's Life Journal is celebrating today with the playing of Neil Diamond's September Morn and enjoying her home decorated for autumn!

I put away the summer things I had out and will now bring out autumn florals, wreaths, and my ceramic and glass pumpkins.  Maybe not all at once, but I will have it done by mid September.  We'll be headed south to see our daughter and her sweet family, and to drop Sarah off at her bible school.  I'm going to need my favorite season to embrace me when I return.

Our precious friends left yesterday for the next part of their summer travels.  We'll miss them.  It was an excellent week together.

Sarah works four more days, then she'll be off for a week, to hang with friends, do some shopping, and pack her things for school.

Seasons change, so do life seasons.  I've always worked at embracing the changes, and not fighting against them.  In three more years all my children will be adults. I'm delighted in the people they are - loving, kind, hard working. 

Today, I will do some decor changes in the house, do school with Kyle, and enjoy the open doors and windows!

Welcome Autumn! I've been waiting for you!

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Scenes From My Week

 

Time with friends and family this week have been soul filling. 

I'm finding myself praying more than ever as I see the evil that is happening in our nation.  God is in control, and I am trusting him.  Prayer helps me to trust, and allows me to be a part of God's work.  

Happy Weekend Friends.

New Lights In The Garden

 

I tend to think of the garden as the enclosed space in front of my house that has all my lovely flowers in it.

In the UK it seems that they call the whole yard, including lawn space, as the garden.  (please correct me if I'm wrong)  I really like this idea.

So that's why I'm saying my new lights are in the 'garden', though they are hanging in the trees in the yard.

Our friends are visiting this week, so we had pizza in the 'garden' and invited Nate, Kay, and the girls to come share it with us.

Klaire enjoys this spot in the climbing tree.  She really liked it with the lights in the tree!  Childhood magic at grandma's house!

Autumn Pillows And The Blue Trend

 

I don't know about you, but I love to order online from Amazon.  Usually the item is shipped to you in just a few days.  This is very handy when you share a vehicle with a daughter who has to be at work at 5:30 am. It means I don't have to take her to work at 0' dark thirty, as my dad always says, so I can have the van to go shopping.

Yesterday, we needed the van because Tim's work vehicle was getting an alignment, so he took her to work, and when his vehicle was ready, I took him to pick it up.

It was just over an hour until Sarah needed to be picked up from work, so I didn't go back home, I decided to pop into Homegoods, which is across the street from where Sarah works.

I love Homegoods, but yesterday reminded me of how much I hate shopping during all the Coronavirus restrictions in our state.  I won't go into it all, but think big sections of the store missing, directional arrows everywhere, etc.  I did find two french jams that I like - they use fruit juice to sweeten rather than cane sugar, and a few other things.

Their seasonal items were not great, sadly.  This is why I do so much online shopping.  Everything all in one place, and I can compare styles and prices.

Here are some fun autumn pillow covers that I found online.

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Have you noticed how big the blue trend is for Autumn?  Its everywhere, and so pretty with the traditional autumnal tones of reds, oranges, and yellows.  I did blue for our Thanksgiving table last year.

What colors do you like for autumn?  Are you a color person or do you do more neutrals?  Do you like the trend of adding blue?

Just a quick reminder that if you go through my links and make a purchase I receive a bit of credit.  It costs you nothing extra.  

I'm Speaking of the A Word Today

 Yes, dear friends, in 8 days it will be September 1st.  Why I am surprised, this year has felt like two years already, I can't say.  Many lovers of summer usually don't ever want to hear of summer ending, but this year I have the sense that people are ready to get on with things to get this year over!

Also, did you know that while the calendar is set up to call the seasons by the astronomical seasons, meteorologist use the annual temperature cycle.  The astronomical season is based on the the position of the earth to the sun, the Earth's tilt and the sun's position over the equator determine both the solstices and equinoxes. (That's more than you wanted to know right?) You can read about it {here}.

Meteorologists break it up this way.  Spring is March, April, May.  Summer June, July, August, Autumn is September, October, November, and Winter is December, January, and February. (Northern Hemisphere) 

In the blogging world we generally use meteorological autumn and start speaking about it in late August.  Many want to help others be inspired for decorating their homes, and to reflex what's happening in nature.  Lindsay sent me this photo last weekend.

This leaf is just an overachiever and we really won't see tree color change until late September or October.  This said, I'm collecting seeds in my garden, and the black willow trees are starting to drop some leaves. (they are always early)

I've been enjoying my Victoria magazine - the British issue.  

Guess what came on Friday? 

Isn't it beautiful?

It's full of such great inspiration for decor and the many enjoyments of the season.  In a few weeks, I'll begin to bring out my glass pumpkins, the heavier throw blankets, some faux autumn florals.  I bought three small mums at Aldi last week.  

I always go to our local produce stand for my big mums, and our pumpkins.  Sarah heads to school in a few weeks, too.  

My favorite season is almost here.

Living Room Rearrangement

Well, you knew it was bound to happen, sooner rather than later, right?  The need to do something creative in my home hit me on Wednesday and I spent the afternoon, moving furniture.  I also vacuumed under where the furniture pieces had been, so I guess I've begun a bit of fall deep cleaning too.

Here is how it looked in January.

 

Here is how it looks now.

All the same furniture, but no coffee table.  I moved that out a few months ago.

We are liking it a lot and I'm enjoying seeing things from a different viewpoint. 

I hope you have a happy weekend, friends!

Home Keeping: How I Use Fairy Lights In A Room With No Natural Light

 

Our hall bathroom, the one that guests use, is a room without natural light.  I so wish the family that built this house would have put a small window above the shower.  It would have been so nice!  

Another thing is that the light switch for this room is halfway into the room, because there used to be a door coming into this room from the bedroom that had been the master bedroom before the next family built an addition.  

So anyone using this bathroom has to go into the room to turn on the light.  It can be awkward.

Several years ago I strung a small string of light of fairy lights with some greenery at Christmas and we all loved it.  Not only did it look good, but it solved the issue of the bathroom being very dark until you got to the light switch and turned the light on!  We've had some kind of light string hung and plugged in ever since.

Lindsay found these lights about five years ago at Target and used them in her home.  When they moved she gave them to me.

I love them because they serve both form and function.  That's a win in my book.

Do you use fairy lights in  your home?  Do you remember when we hung icicle lights in our hallway one Christmas, and then left them up for three years?

That was fun!

Beef: It's What's For Dinner

 Does anyone else remember those commercials?  It might just be me because I do tend to remember these kinds of trivial things.

I mentioned that we were buying a side of beef with my parents and Lindsay and Joseph, and we got it about a month ago.  Until last evening, I had only used the ground beef for hamburgers.

Last night I cooked steaks and they were so good!

I used this marinade that I found online about five years ago.  The recipe is attributed to 'Alyssa.'

World's Best Steak Marinade

1/3 cup soy sauce (I use Bragg's Liquid Aminos)

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/2 olive oil (I use Avocado oil)

1/4 cup Worcestershire Sauce

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

2 Tablespoons Italian seasoning

1 Teaspoon black pepper

1/2 Teaspoon salt

pinch of red pepper flakes

We often will marinade steaks for a few days, but yesterday I only did them for a few hours.  They were still AMAZING.

It was raining yesterday so instead of grilling them, I cooked them under the broiler in the oven.  We use an Omaha Beef guideline that says for medium steak cook 7 minutes on the first side and 5 on the second side.  When I used the meat thermometer it wasn't at the right internal temperature so I did two more minutes and they were perfect.

I made some green beans in a creamy sauce and called it dinner.  

We are very happy with this beef.  It was locally raised by the farmer we used to buy our hay from. There is nothing like knowing the man who raised your meat.

We are looking forward to many more delicious meals using this beef.

Scenes From The Weekend

 

It's only been since Tim started his own business that he has had the weekends to do what he wants.  Saturday he was busy with helping with a septic system at one of the transitional housing cabins at our church property, then he did a lot of digging at my parents house to find a leak in the foundation that allowed a lot of water to seep into the house with the big rain we'd had a week before on a Friday.  Then he went and mowed the property for an older couple that the husband is having serious health issues.

He's a good man. 

On Saturday, I did home things, tidied my desk, peeled a lot of peaches, pan grilled a lot of chicken and made a huge chicken salad for dinner.  I make my own ranch dressing, too.  I like to put peaches on my salad as well, but everyone else had them on the side! 

Kyle had his friend Daniel over for the day.  This was the first time they'd seen each other since March!  They had fun hanging out, playing Minecraft together, and laughing.  

Sarah a short shift on Saturday.

 

Yesterday after church, we went to a local restaurant with friends, and then came home.  Tim and our friend Denny, went to run a few errands, Sarah went to meet up with friends.  I read.

Then I came across a peach cobbler recipe and decided to try it.  I'm trying to eat better, and on a plan that works for my body, so I substituted xylitol for the sugar, and used sprouted flour in the topping.  It was really good.

I hope that your weekend was a good one.  I hope you were able to see family, eat good food, enjoy music, sit in your garden.  Maybe some of you went boating, took a walk, read a book.  We have to take care of ourselves, including caring for our souls.  There is so much evil happening, and we must remember that "greater is He who is in me, than he who is in the world." 1John 4:4

Let's go into this week trusting that "if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us, and if our God is with us, then what could stand against?"

Let's Chat

 

It's been a good week here.  

It's been quite a year for pollen and this year I've had a lot more allergy issues.  Sarah had sinus drainage this week that lead to a sore throat, so she is not allowed to work (sore throat a potential sign of covid) until she is symptom free for 72 hours.  It was something that a year ago would not have been an issue, but this year it is.  It's been nice to have her here during the day.

Kyle got to spend the afternoon and evening with friends, and Wednesday the youth at church did a lot of outdoor clean up.  The big storm last Friday had created quite a mess.

I got my hair cut yesterday.  The second time since the lockdowns started. Its shorter again, and I like it.

Tim and I have started to take time to pray together in the evenings.  There is so much going on in our world; riots, fires, explosions, human trafficking, child sex trafficking, pedophile rings.  It all needs prayer.

Later today, I'll have my grandgirlies for a few hours while Kayleigh goes for an ultrasound.

I still write for our state homeschool magazine, but its online now.  A link to my latest article is {here.}  This is my 26th year, or is it 27th year of home educating.

I feel for the parents who have chosen to homeschool this year because of Covid regulations.  If I could talk to them I'd encourage them to do a lot of reading, take nature walks, have creative time, plenty of time for free play.  I'd tell them to talk to their kids about everything, and to listen to their kids talk, too!  Lessons don't have to be long when you are in the home.  There are not 25 students to wrangle, or to help while the children do practice sheets.  Your child can do their math and when they are done in 15-20 minutes, you can move on to something else!  

Its so freeing! 

Lastly, let me leave you with some encouragement - 

When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.

                                    Isaiah 43:2

• Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
•                                     2 Corinthians 1:3-4

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

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