First Fall Day

Yes, you read that correctly. Not the first day of fall, but the first fall day. Although the air was warmer than usual during my morning walk, the temperature is only going into the low 60s. There is now a very brisk wind. Leaves are swirling around and all those little sticky pine cone things are clicking as they drop on the skylights.

We do have more trees than just pines so we have aspen leaves and maple leaves filling the air before dropping to paint the ground with color.

Yesterday I wore palazzo pants and sandals. Today jeans and sneakers.

There is still blue sky and there are a lot more clouds than we have seen for months. Perhaps there is hope for the rain which is forecast for later in the week.

Deck umbrellas are lowered and tied down. The deck furniture is staying where it is for now and the time to store it is coming rapidly.

The season changes. We are pensive, excited, grateful and reflective. All of life moves on.

Thank You Notes

Yesterday we received a handwritten note from Sam and Joshua thanking us for their wedding present. I'm no longer sure what the etiquette time line is and I think they made it. I was just so pleased to receive the note for several reasons. The first being the traditional (I'm old and believe in handwritten thank you notes). The second being that when I ordered the gift, Target sent them an email telling them what we had given them and Sam emailed me back immediately ~ so technically I had already been thanked. And the third being that I think handwritten notes have really gone out of style, which I think is a shame (see first reason). I could tell by the handwriting (in cursive, by the way!) that Sam wrote the note but Joshua signed his name. Well done, my loves!!

The other day in the post office there was a young woman putting stamps on small decorative envelopes. It didn't take Sherlock Holmes to notice the lovely engagement ring on her finger and the young man standing next to her grinning. She was stamping thank you notes for presents already received. 

I love the convenience of email and texting and when it comes to saying Thank You for a special gift, I really do like the idea of writing by hand, giving us time to think about the gift and the people who sent it and how we already delight in using it. I even have a young granddaughter who sends these notes for Christmas gifts. It has been fun to watch her notes grow from a scribble at the bottom of her mother's writing, to signing her name, to writing the entire note, to finally addressing the envelope herself. All of these young people give me hope that good manners and some traditions are still around. I really appreciate the little things that mean so much. 

A Little Weirdness

I told Dean this morning, he may want to check my horoscope, or my temperature, or look for pods under the house. I am thinking about being active in the kitchen.

When my first husband and I had been married about 30 years, I said, "I am tired of cooking. I am not going to cook any more." He was fine with that. We were empty nesters. He often ate a big lunch in the college cafeteria. I was traveling a lot. Snacking or a simple meal was just fine.

After he died, I ate a lot of Lean Cuisine. Once when I was agonizing over cooking something for company, daughter Meredith said, "Mom,  you are a good cook. You are just having a problem deciding what to cook." Well, yes. Tell me what to prepare and I'm all over it.

Dean and I eat well but simply. Honestly he does a lot of the cooking - grilling and wonderful soups and stews in the pressure cooker. But recently ~ recently ~ hmmmm. I am cooking.

I am coming up with ideas about what to cook. The other night Dean came home from a meeting to meatloaf, corn pudding and asparagus. Where did that come from??? I have started cutting corn from the cob and roasting it for freezing. While doing that the idea of corn pudding popped into my head. For only the second time in my life I have made it, it turned out really good.

This morning I was looking in the freezer and thought, "I really need to clear and clean that." What?? I do?? Well, yes ~ but oh, my. The fact that I think about it and might actually do it is rather weird. If you know me personally, you know I am not much of a housekeeper. I would rather read a book, take a walk, do almost anything than clean or organize around the house. And here I am, thinking I could use this morning to clear and clean the freezer.

You do notice, however, that I took time to write about it first. Ha! Unless I write a mea culpa, we will all assume I will now clear and clean the freezer. Blessings on your day!

Garden Variety

When I was young, we used to say something was "just a garden variety _____" ~ meaning it was plain and ordinary and not much to comment on. The phrase crossed my mind this morning just as I was eating a tiny tomato our friends had brought us from her garden. We have tomatoes this year as well, just not in the quantity she does. And suddenly I thought ~

~ Garden variety? There is Nothing plain and ordinary about a garden variety tomato. Anything from the garden is So Much Better than what we can buy in the store. We cheer when the Farmers' Market comes to town and grieve its passing every October. Dean nurses tomatoes and an occasional squash in our high altitude, even having built a cold frame to keep things warm during cold mountain nights. All of it done with love and care in order to have garden variety taste in the summer and into the fall.

I have friends at lower altitudes who have really large gardens and harvest and can and freeze in order to have that fresh, garden variety, taste all year round.

Maybe this has always been true and we started using the phrase when freezers became popular and small farms and gardens were not as popular. They were so ordinary. Today we know better. They are wonderful and the vegetables grown in them are delectable and delicious. Which may be the very good reason why calling something "garden variety" has gone out of style.

The Art of Conversation

As most of you reading this will know, I had a squamous cell carcinoma removed from my face last Wednesday. All went well and the dermatologist removed it all the first time. So - done and done.

I posted a picture on FB, grateful for it all and that the dimples remained in tact. Nobody messes with these dimples! Of course I received all sorts of love and support and caring. Friends are wonderful. I have also been amazed at how common this type of cancer is and how many people have had the surgery. Knowledgeable support was So appreciated!!

One dear friend had emailed me a couple of times and today I emailed her with a question. She called me back!! We had a conversation - a give and take, in the moment, sharing conversation. It was great to hear her voice again. She offered answers and we told each other stories.

She could have written an answer to my question and that would have been just fine. And I am still aglow with the sound of her voice and our conversation.

I have another friend who asked if I would read a book with her and discuss it once a week. We are now on our 4th book and once a week I get to hear the voice that goes all the way back to when we both learned to talk as babes. That is so special.

And then of course there are the times when my daughters call and say, "I just needed to talk to my mama." "I just needed to hear your voice."

Technology is wonderful. Sometimes I need the time to read and think about what is said and answer out of my own wisdom and not just blurt the first thing that I think or feel. And sometimes, it is really good to hear a voice, share in the moment, be present with each other while miles apart. When I was young, long distance calling was a treat and we did it only on Sundays when the rates were lower. Today it is all part of the technology that allows us instantaneous communication. I think we should take advantage of it more often.