it's the same thing

Rummaging through the back of the cupboards for things to eat and found my hoarded box of beignet mix from last year's trip to New Orleans.  Decided that it was a fine way to kick off the ending of September~especially as I had still had some of last week's caramel to drizzle upon them.  A soupcon of cinnamon and brown sugar sprinkles...delish!

Fresh pastries are always a delight, but on a rare cool & rainy morning, they were extraly (new adverb) enjoyed.

potato, potahto

Phone icon says 'partly cloudy'.  I say 'deluge'.

of buzzards & such

Not so pleasant as the butterflies and the fawns that are usually out/about.  I'll spare the details of what they were doing as I walked passed.

Photographic proof of a tinge of colour changing!  It was in the 90s today and will be all next week.  Certainly am getting my money's worth out of the summer wardrobe.

Still discovering new wildflowers.  Thinking that I ought to take a class next spring on all the wildflowers of this region.

let this suffice

This poem crossed into my email inbox three times yesterday, so I know that I was supposed to read it.   Love the imagery~recalls some very happy days learning how to sail around in the Puget Sound.

Before us now the edge of the earth,
below us the nearly endless cold.
Around us nothing but shimmering
water,
the miles of empty and sparkling blue.

For a few hours, the sail fills on
toward infinity. Shadows of
our delicate bodies ebb and flow
across the deck of our delicate boat.

What if the beautiful days, the good
and pacific temperate moments,
weren't just lovely, but everything?
What if I could let it fall away
in the wake, that ache to extract
meaning from vastness?

Let this suffice; the ease of thinking
it all goes on, whether we're here
to see it or not. The splashing waves,
the suntipped gulls arcing across
the radiant world.

"Sailing on Lake Superior" by Kirsten Dierking, from Northern Oracle. © Spout Press, 2007.

life is brutiful

'The more I opened my heart to the folks in my circles, the more convinced I became that life is equal parts brutal and beautiful. Life is brutiful. Like stars in a dark sky. Sharing life's brutiful is what makes us feel less alone and afraid. The truth can't be stuffed down with food or booze or exercise or work or cutting or shopping for long. Hiding from the truth causes it's own unique pain, and it's lonely pain. Life is hard - not because we're doing it wrong, just because it's hard. It's okay to talk, write, paint, or cry about that. It helps.'

~ Glennon Doyle Melton, in "Carry On Warrior: Thoughts on Life Unarmed"

speak to the hand

I need a yard

health care

seasonal shift

 A glorious autumnal day~clear skies and 80 degrees.

 I wasn't the only one blissed out by the return of the sunshine.

A slant of light upon the first batch of caramel.

I thought sparkles on the water were the happiest kind, but I think that the browned butter goodness of caramel sparkles are right up there.

 Have never seen a silver mantis before, but this one has been hanging around my front door.  As the porch light turns my entryway into bug-palooza nightly, he's quite welcome.  Even if he looks freakishly spray painted.

And then!  My pleasant afternoon was squelched by this arrival in the mail.  Couldn't even shrug it off as mail addressed to 'Current Resident'.  ACK.

one man's trash

turned out to be my treasure today!  While filling up my car, I always empty my trash and when I went to toss my gum wrappers, etc., saw a brand new magazine in the trash can.  Had 0 embarrassment in fishing it out.  A lovely little treat to end this rather tough day.  Commuting in flash floods in not something I wish to experience again.  Ever.

On the calmer side of the day~perhaps the deer are a bit too tame around here!

 

Wishing y'all a beautiful transition into autumn~full of caramel apples, spiced candles and drinks, cosy sweaters, crispy leaves and mellowing skies.

nostalgia

Remember the hours of fun and stealthy classroom antics/under-the-desk-passing these provided?

Even though I'm technically part of GenX, this article explained much about my current life.

moisture event

My phone's weather app is brilliant red and shrieking about the storms heading our way.  My favorite phrase in the warning is 'moisture event'~this referring to the possibility of getting 3 inches of rain.  And knowing Texas style downpour, that accumulation will happen in an hour.   Moisture indeed.

charmed

I found Prince Charming on the steps as I went to fetch the post tonight.

Although, as I almost stepped on him and then shrieked when he leapt~perhaps we're not off to a good beginning.

just in case

comings/goings

The flowers are doing well during this sweltering week~my phone's weather app is all filled with jagged clouds promising thunderstorms.

Penny found~one of my leafy views which I enjoy every morning.  Also enjoyed and was relieved in hearing that my naval cousin was safely at work during the shoot out in DC this morning.

Saddened to hear of the passing of one of my favorite tenors.  Jack Paden was a stalwart tenor and source of much teasing/humor during my choral years at St. John's Episcopal.  He and his wife were also highly influential in creating the successful production of Amahl and the Night Visitors.  His wild tales of life at West Point and the early years of IBM livened up many rehearsals and vestry meetings.  Feel lucky to have crossed paths with this character.

bits & bites of happy

One of my studios~the lavender one.

 Even the music stands are color-coordinated~which is actually a rather brilliant idea.  Makes it verrrry easy to find who borrowed one's stand and didn't return it.

And to celebrate 3 months at this present address, we got some lovely spiced candles.  This week is autumn~at least according to the calendar page and so we're transitioning even while running the a/c and still wearing flip-flops everywhere.

Not so pretty, but oh so tasty.  Fresh berry compote with freshly ground cloves sprinkled around.

fonts of wisdom

In case you were curious as from where fonts arrived...

managing

 

A local friend has started calling me Snow White with all the flora and fauna that I seem to find on all my rambles.  So, I was truly delighted when two butterflies began swooping and darting around me this morning!

Thought it was enchanting when dragonflies lit on my nose, but having a butterfly swoosh past my cheek ranks high on the delight-o-meter.

The temperatures have held steady for the past month or so, so not sure why the meteorologists are so breathless about the 'record breaking highs' that we're having.  I figure as long as I have access to numerous swimming holes and bountiful a/c, it's all good.

Been many moons since I found a penny, so was pleased to find this shiny one while dashing into Target.  And I send you into the weekend with a fabulous Twain quote that summarizes the aim of this blog:

'Drag your thoughts away from your troubles~

by the ears,

by the heels,

or any other way,

so you manage it.'

be awesome

For several years, author Jen Lancaster has provided me with laughter and courage in dealing with the mercurial vicissitudes of life. Just finished her newest~The Tao of Martha and leave you with this gem from her beloved dog: 

Be awesome. 

Give awesome. 

Get awesome. 

Had to snicker a bit as I've made an effort to delete that word from my vocabulary after being around my sweet ESL student in Seattle who didn't seem to know ANY other adjective and I noticed that I picked up his habit and over-used it. But it's time to bring awesome back.

watch

 

'Above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you
because the greatest Secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places.

Those who don't believe in Magic will never find it...'

~Roald Dahl

 

anything

“The pale stars were sliding into their places. The whispering of the leaves was almost hushed. All about them it was still and shadowy and sweet. It was that wonderful moment when, for lack of a visible horizon, the not yet darkened world seems infinitely greater—a moment when anything can happen, anything be believed in.” 

~Olivia Howard Dunbar The Shell of Sense

Dazed by the sunset sky as I drove home after a massive thunderstorm.  Wish I could remotely capture the vastness of the Texan skies.

one cinnamon bun at a time

The Ephron sisters have always had good things to write and yesterday's column stayed true to their pithy tradition.

Here's to contentment~one blossom and one bakery bite and one nap at a time.