End of September

How amazing that September ends today. I remember hearing that the older you get, the faster time goes, and it certainly seems to be true.

Fall is here. I was doing some reading this morning and in my peripheral vision I could see dappled shadows around the room as sunlight filtered through the aspen trees just outside the window. I loved it! This afternoon there is much smoke all around; farmers must be burning their fields. The smoke, combined with the shadows and the slowly turning leaves brings a feeling of comfort and security. Time to finish up chores and start planning for the coming winter.

Dan has been busy getting wood, splitting, and stacking it. Some of it has been rather damp, so he's spread it out over the lower yard where the sun can dry it. So much work for something that will be gone--in a puff of smoke! This wood will certainly have warmed him several times over before it vanishes in our stove.

Meanwhile, Buddy the cat has spent the day curled up in the recliner. This time of year the nights are perfect for prowling and then he spends the day recovering from his hunting expeditions. The mice are few in our neighborhood any more.

Buddy came to us one weekend more than eight years ago. We have no idea where he came from, but for days when I came home from school, there he would be in the corner of the porch. Finally, knowing full well what we were doing, we fed him. He's been a part of the family ever since. Living as we do just out of town, we occasionally had mice, but no more! Even the neighbors have remarked on it. He's done his job well, so I guess he deserves his days in the chair.

Take a cue from Buddy and spend an hour now and then this fall in a lovely little nap. You'll feel better for it!

My Honey

I often mention that Dan is out of town working. For a "retired" person, he's on the move quite often. So here's the deal. Following his official retirement, he started receiving calls asking for his expertise and it was just what he needed. After a few months, he decided to create his own consulting business and he was off and running. (I got to contribute by designing his letterhead and business cards. Things of beauty, I must say!)

So what does he do? Well, he's the contract Forest Pathologist for the Idaho Department of Lands, which means he presents workshops on tree diseases in different locations throughout the year, conducts field days where participants see said diseases in their actual environs, and is available for consultation when IDL foresters have questions about specific problems. He is also occasionally called upon by private companies for similar work. It's been fun for him; he says they're asking him to do the things he enjoyed the most when he worked full time.

Another aspect of his sharing has been a tie-in with the Idaho Forest Products Commission. This began when he was working full time, and has continued. They conduct two big tours a year: one for teachers in June, and one they call Miracle at Work Forest Tour for business and political leaders in September.

This year, pictures and comments by Dan have made it into print; a forestry extension field day was featured in the Coeur d'Alene paper, and the Miracle tour in The Capital Press, a west coast agricultural publication.

We were able to capture this picture from the Capital Press's website:

He says he's now waiting for a call from Letterman.

UPDATE: For those interested, click here for a link to the article in the Coeur d'Alene paper: Cd'A article

Happy Fall, Y'all

I'm a sucker for seasonal treats. And I justify them by calling it "decorating."

Cookbooks...

... are one of my favorite reading pleasures. Over the years, I've added quite a few to the several I had when we got married. There are some I've made many meals from, and others I've only read but never "used" in the sense of actually cooking a recipe from them. They're inspirations, I guess you could say. I often take a cookbook to bed to read before falling asleep. Anyone else do that?

Suffice it to say, over the years my collection has grown. When we were first married, I used part of a shelf over the daybed that was our sofa in our 8x35' trailer. In our next homes, they sat in a corner on the counter. Fast forward a few years and I had them on a small bookcase Dan made, which worked perfectly for a short time. All of a sudden, I had too many to fit, and I was forced to decide which stayed in the kitchen and which were shuffled to bookcases in the basement. Not a really good solution.

Last year, in the fall, I told Dan that the only thing I wanted for Christmas was a new bookcase for my cookbooks. He agreed to make one and we measured and plotted. I had very specific instructions. He got a small start before Christmas, but then other things intervened. He was able to get back to it this summer, and today was its grand entrance!!

Note the red bow on the top!!

Here's how it looks inside:

Room to spare!! The little drawer at the top left? It's for bills! Now when they come in, we can just pop them in there, and find them. All in one place, mixed in with nothing else! Yay!

This blurry picture is what I used to have (I didn't realize it was blurry and of course it's empty now, and gone, so...):

I keep going in the kitchen and looking at my wonderful new bookcase. I love it so much! The door inserts are beadboard, the knobs and hinges are pewter, and the whole thing is painted the same color as the beadboard in the breakfast nook. The shelf heights are made to fit my books.

Here's the final look:

I'm pretty certain there are more cookbooks lurking in the basement and when I find them, they'll get to come up to join the others in their new home!

September

Fall is in the air and today could not have been a more perfect day. The high was only in the low seventies and it's been invigorating! We went to Costco this morning with Ann and Daniel and even the valley was comfortable.

Dan is off to a meeting tonight and I was excited to change out our Americana decorations for fall ones. Labor Day is still to come, but...it's September! It just feel right.

I'm working at the shop tomorrow, so it should be a fun day. I've done a little more sewing and have almost finished redoing the guest room downstairs. I like how it's looking. My 830 has been in the shop for three weeks and I've been missing it, but I do have other machines and so I finally got them out and did some pillows earlier this week. I'm so blessed--these other machines (I used two) are such great machines, too.

I'll be back soon with some pictures...of something! Maybe the guest room or just some pictures of fall decorations.

Happy Labor Day!