Fall

My favorite time of year is here and it's going REALLY fast!

I'm trying to get my blogging mojo back, but it seems like a lot of work lately, especially when the weather is nice and I could be outside.

I have been outside a LOT!

I made a point of tidying up my gardening supplies in the garage.

Lots of things got thrown out and my pots are all gathered on the shelving unit (which has been on our back patio since before we moved in!)  I cleared it off, dragged it up the hill and around the house to use it as my gardening shelving.  I feel proud of this.

Ivy:

Allistair and Ivy:

Allistair's favorite toy friend, Wanda (far right) is a bit elderly, and losing some of her cellular cohesion.  We picked four more options to present to him, but no one could replace Wanda.

Fall flowers have done their thing.  I love these big things!

I got a new cap with a cute little bitty cat on it.

Allistair:

Ivy and her beautiful belly:

Three cats, all relaxed:

My Mom and I have had some fun outings.  Sometimes we get pizza, but sometimes we pack a little picnic for the car!

I finally installed a soaker hose for my berry patch so that things get enough water but I don't have to stand out there and sweat and get bitten by bugs in the hot months.

I got to have some special days with my nieces before school started for them.  Cora decided she wanted to go to Half-Price books and get pizza at Davanni's.

I found some great books in the clearance section!

Cora had some gift cards and she found an even bigger pile!

Ivy & Allistair:

Esme decided she wanted to visit some Goodwill stores.  We didn't have a whole day, so we didn't get lunch.  We did have fun, though!

I bought this cute wooden clock (it's in the guest room):

We found this painting of Sauk Lake, the lake where my parents' cabin is!

Esme decided not to buy this deer, but it was cute!

This book is more interesting than I expected, and the graphics are cool!

Our sweet boy and his curly tail:

As we were preparing to host our Family Fall Festival, I invested in some adorable fall decor.

These cute pumpkin glasses (Walmart!)

Greg's friend Roger from college came over while he was in Minnesota dropping his son off at the University of Minnesota.  It is crazy that we are old enough for our friends to have kids the age we were when we met!

I got an e-mail from a person in another state who wanted to share the Chirp Curriculum with the attendees at a conference she was going to be attending, so I printed up a few curriculum lesson binders and sent them to her along with business cards and these cute little stickers!

When I purchased these vintage chairs, they had already been recovered in this glorious fabric, and I got the rest of the fabric left over from the recovering job!

I decided to recover this cute footstool my Dad had laser etched for me with a photo of Greg and me at our wedding.

It looks adorable with all our other blue and white patterns.  I don't love a variety of colors, but I do love a variety of patterns!

I was brave with the staple gun!

Some sweeties helped me!

I also put up some more fall decor.

And there has been a lot of snuggling!

Another shopping trip with my sweet Mom:

LOOK how cute she is!

I bought a bunch of plants that bloom in the fall.  This was probably over a month ago, and the asters and daisies are still blooming, but the veronica have decided to hibernate now.  We have had one light freeze so far.

Can you believe it's been three years since we got our driveway refinished?  And almost FIVE years since we moved into our beautiful Minnesota home?  Unbelievable.  We are still excited to wake up here every single day.

Sweet Allistair snuggling his Daddy (with Wanda nearby):

Since Greg decided he wanted to leave his foosball table in his workshop rather than moving it into the main area in the basement, I came up with a new vision for the basement.

I wanted to recreate the bookshelf/conversation "pit" that we had in our Arizona house.

I had the chairs (slipcovered and adorned with cute plaid throw blankets), but I needed the bookshelf and a round coffee table for in the middle.

Greg did a lot of work moving things around to get most of the boxes into his workshop/storage room.

My Dad was willing and able to come with me me to pick up the items I found on Marketplace!

Here's the table!

Here are the book shelves!

I looked for vintage shelves similar to the ones we already have in the basement, but those are really hard to find.  This one was available and a very similar color.  Our basement is painted a gray color, which was there when we moved in), and I've been trying since we moved in to warm things up.  In my opinion, that means lots of wood, lots of fabrics, lots of books.

The table was handmade by a local woman and her father, which I think is pretty special.

My brother's fixer-up property (he doesn't live there) has grapes growing all over the fence.  My Dad mentioned it and I went over to harvest them (with my brother's approval).

Boil grapes, strain grapes, boil grape juice . . . 

hands will be purple for a couple of days!

But the results were great!

Nora:

I didn't get very many berries this summer, but the plants have been busy establishing themselves.  I hope they are happy and that they have long productive lives with me!

Blueberries:

Lingonberries:

Blueberry plant leaves turning bright red as fall arrives!

I have learned that this plant is fleabane, and that monarch butterflies really like it!

I planted purple asters, but these are the wild version that is growing around the pond.  It's a little more spiky and leggy.

I reached into the closet to get my phone water protector, and I saw a cute smiling face!

My best snuggle boy:

 Cute Nora:

Leaves turning colors and falling:

With raindrops!

Fleabane:

A cone flower with a cute little bee!

I got to eat two lingonberries early this fall, and they are not very good fresh.  Either that, or I harvested them too soon!  I'm certain they will make very good jam, though!

I continued updating by purchasing some new pillows for the basement.  

These are the perfect color and pattern to add warmth!

I got 2 of the big ones for the couch and four lumbar ones for the chairs in the conversation area in the basement.  They are reversible, too, so I can use the white background in the warmer months . . .  

And the darker background in the cooler months!

I'll do a more in-depth tour when I get the new bookshelf organized, but here's a little view of the cozy comfy basement with new pillows installed!  It doesn't look cold and grey anymore.  :)

I also found some gorgeous beaded gold placemats/chargers for the dining table and they make me happy every time I see them (I also ordered some snowflake ones for after Thanksgiving!)

I found a GOLD pumpkin table runner.

And a bunch of these adorable blue beaded pumpkin pillows!  I LOVE them!  They are especially pretty.  It always makes me happy to find BLUE holiday decorations.  Although the classic holiday colors are beautiful and cheerful, they're not what I'm currently going for in my own house.

I reached 350 miles on my latest running shoes!  I am always proud that I have run another 350 miles because I'm not fast and I don't run far, but I'm persistent!

Daisies are still blooming!

Lavender, too!

Happily, I've had more lunches with both my parents and shopping trips with my Mom.
Aren't they the cutest?!

Fall on the pond:

Time for the fall wreath on the front door, too!

Here's our sweet boy with water drops on his nosey!

On a sad note, Allistair went in for a dental cleaning, and the vet found a large mass growing in the back of his throat, blocking part of his throat, his sinus, and pressing against the back of his right eye.  We were heart-broken to hear this terrible news.  We had noticed a lot of symptoms, but we were hoping they were related to simpler, less sad causes.  There isn't a cure, but his dose of steroids has been increased to hopefully decrease inflammation.  So far, he's comfortable and getting lots of snuggles and as much wet food with special gravy as we can convince him to eat (dry food doesn't go down very well).  We are trying to come to terms with his diagnosis while giving him as much love and happiness as we possibly can.  He has been a magnificent GIFT to us and we will love him forever.


Until next time. 
xo