Before we launch into another season wholeheartedly, I am savoring these in-between days and nights. Waking up to a day that doesn't know what it wants to do...it can't decide what to wear...its a bit befuddled as to its exact purpose...it has temporarily lost sight of its goals...is unsettling. You know where it is ultimately destined to arrive, but the back and forth banter and playful scuffling of temperature, sun, rain, clouds and wind keeps us off kilter. Keeps me, anyway, feeling a bit twisted inside and out. Not in a totally bad way but just in an 'anything can happen' way. In my mostly ordered life, I like this major uncontrollable force. I am still preparing like crazy for the winter. I already made plum and strawberry jam. Just picked all the shallots and onions and have them hanging & drying. Beets and carrots are in cold storage. Pesto has been made and is in the freezer. Peas and rhubarb are frozen too. The tomatoes are picked, getting nice and ripe and will soon be ready for preserving in the form of my roasted tomato sauce which, if i do say so myself is quite yummy.
Today is predicted to be almost hot after a chilly night so maybe a nice float on the lake would work. Of course the monster dog will go for a swim as she has not figured out that the dog days of summer are coming to an end. Winter will be quite a surprize for her.
Falling in love all over again. Me and my imp were at it all last week. A girl after my own heart and let me tell you...she caught it. The defining moment was when she discovered 'free-boxing'. We were driving and saw a box with a sign over it that said 'FREE' so I pulled the car over and told her to jump out and see what was inside. That was the beginning of her obsession. After that we were on a constant hunt for free stuff. How can you not love that?!
She found some really good stuff too (two cool purses). She also found some funny stuff (that weird puppet). She also found some gifts for other people (nice make-up bag for me and earbuds for T.). Her excitement was hilarious.
An added bonus to this whole affair is that we have all decided that we are related (it's distant and a bit stretched, but we are taking it) and that makes things even sweeter.
The only down side was our time together was way too short. But this is not just a geographically-convenient love. This is L-O-V-E in all caps.
xoxo to my favorite little funny girl.
Of course, she's not perfect and I've been told, neither am I. But, I confess that I do have an obsession with trying to be. I figure if we can at least get close then we are doing okay. I am being cheeky here. It is just that it is coming up to a year since PG has bounded onto the scene and she has come a long, long way. But she still has a few itsy, bitsy, teeny, tiny issues. Here is one of them that I could use some input on. With most dogs her size or bigger she is very docile and playful but with smaller dogs she is a bit rough. She tries to step on them and growls. After a few minutes, everything is okay and they start playing, but she is still too rough for the little ones. In almost one year, I haven't seen any serious aggression but I admit, I am a little tense and watchful when she is around smaller dogs. I am hoping that with more exposure this will work itself out and I always stay at the ready to intervene if necessary.
I used to feel so conflicted about blogging. Before I started blogging I would destroy anything I had written down. The reason being that whenever I would re-read my writing, it always seemed so trite, so simple-minded, and so, well, so, stupid. Starting a blog and putting things out there to the 'world-wide-web', was a risk. A BIG risk. Now I think... no big deal. Although I do temper myself somewhat, this has been a such a rich experience. It has provided a great forum to work things out. The blogging community has gotten me through the darkest of days and has expanded my view of the good world. I feel grateful to have shared such intimacy with all my newly made 'blogger pals' and with all my 'real world' pals.
WOW. Now this may be borderline 'trite' but hey, forgive me my trespasses and please keep on blogging. I love reading yours.
Who knew that mud could be so much fun? It is apparently 'joie de vivre' to the max for this rascal. This is the dog that was scared of everyday things a few months ago and now will dive into a black hole if it smells good enough. She has never been frightened of thunder or any loud explosive noises on the other hand. This is a very good thing as we have the most lovely thunderstorms here all summer long. It's great to sit on the deck and watch them rock & roll their way in and have her peacefully watching as well. Oh, and one other thing...she knows the names of her friends. Tell me you haven't done this with your dog, "Hey is that Lilly? Ry? Raja? Q? Koda?". They fall for it every time...can't help it...it's funny.
Well, I could have posted all the usual, unbelievable and beautiful scenes of summer that are gushing all around us here in the great white north. But, as you can clearly see, my new flip-flops have won out.
Yes, the garden is blowing out beets and peas and squashes. Yes, we are having our vital greens every night. Herbs are getting chopped and added to every dish. It is a veritable vegetable carnival. It is almost like this is a different place. In fact that is what I love about living with four seasons. Life is totally changed four times a year.
This time of year, life is almost constantly lived outside and compared to winter we wear hardly anything. Hence, the wonder of the flip-flop. In just a few months we'll find ourselves transported to a winter wonderland without going anywhere.
We're definitely not in California anymore.
(okay, a little summer peek)
It has become impossible to ignore the new season that is here. No more hopes for an 'indian summer', as much as we all love the sound of that, chances are slim that it is going to happen. I was walking on the trail last evening (the one that is closed due to some visiting grizzlies...yikes) and it was littered with the first leaves of fall. The true colours have not come in yet but with a few more chilly/cold nights we are just hours away from a good show.
I seriously need to make time to do my annual closet changeabout, which I look forward to. For me, cold weather wear is a good look as you can see by my very, fashionable legging picture. Leggings are a point of contention amongst some of my cohorts but I buck their attitude and forge ahead clad in practical, comfortable and effortlessly stylish cold-weather gear.
It also is good time to dive more into knitting. Our Nelson Knitting Co-op is so much fun. We have already donated to one charity's fundraiser event and will be donating to two more charities this November. It takes our knitting to another level when we can give our beautiful, handmade items to strangers and know they are appreciated and used. The 'Co-op' concept is really coming to fruition and I am so pleased.
Okay, enough of this drivel (dribble?) and we'll talk later.
