Is That All?

Yep, this is about all the cleaning and organizing and decorating for fall that I have done. It's really disgraceful ~ except this was a bigger project that it looks. I didn't just hang up some towels and soap and call it good.

This is a Jack and Jill bath between the boys and girls bedrooms upstairs. It is nice to have but it is small. There are 5 doors in this little space and I am always bumping into one of them. When we moved here recently {ha ~ it was 3 years ago !} I set up Elizabeth's side and just put a lot of junk in the boys. {they were just babies after all } Didn't even clean out the drawers!! Anyone who knows me knows I like my drawers to be neat ~ even more so than the counter they're under. So, who knows what my problem was. {To confess, I think part of the problem is I just don't like this bathroom ~ I don't like the tile or the granite or really anything about it. And that is disgraceful because I am very lucky to have a space just for the grandchildren and I know it. Shame on me. }

Anyhoo ~ it's finally done. Drawers cleaned out, and lined with fresh paper, a trip to Target to buy drawer organizers {one of my favorite things:-) } and new toothbrushes, and princess bandaids and new black and orange towels for Halloween. All of the rugs are washed, etc, etc.

So here it is in all its glory. My camera is so messed up on color, the walls are yellow in here and those little towels are bright orange and green.

You have to have pumpkin soap ~ 1 on a rope and 1 for the tub.

This is Elizabeth's side.
There ~ all done. Now, I think I'll tackle my bathroom. Those cupboards are really yucky!!

School Days

September was such a busy month for me, and for our family. I didn't take lots of pictures, but I did have a few more to share. So many "big" things for our little ones. And I am so thrilled that we live here and are able to be a part of these special times in their lives.

Ben and Cooper are 3, and this is their year for Zoo School! Elizabeth went when she was 3, and it was so much fun. They only go 1 morning a week, which is perfect for them and for mom. They learn about the different animals and every week they go on a zoo walk and see different animals. They also have a zoo visitor each week in their classroom. Every now and then there is a day when parents {and grandparents:-) } can come along on the zoo walk. I went nearly every time with Elizabeth, because Laura was watching Cooper then and we would have both boys in the double stroller and then either Laura or I would walk with Elizabeth. This year I am not needed for "help" but I won't miss the walk if I am in town!

Here are our 2 best buddies waiting for school to start.
Wouldn't you love to have them in your class? The 2 together can get a little "crazy!"
This picture is after school - new T shirts and a back to school bag from Grandma. Of course it is a ferocious lion!! Perfect for Zoo School!
Another fun day in September was Grandparent's Day at Elizabeth's school. They just had the grandparents come for breakfast before school. Elizabeth was lucky enough to have all 4 grandparents attend.
Posing outside her classroom near her work. She is covering up her name:-)
And later that same day I went to lunch with Elizabeth. She had called and invited me and of course I couldn't say no to that invitation! We had our favorite - Subway!
Just a few more glimpses of our fun ~ I need to get going and get a few more fall decorations out! I did get a big job done yesterday, but there are several more on my list. It feels good to be back and getting back into a routine!

Finally, Home

I feel like I have been gone forever!! Our last trip was to the cabin to close it up for the winter. We will not be going back until we open it, sometime in May. We picked this week hoping to see the fall color and enjoy some cooler temps. We got the cool weather that's for sure - I think it was only in the 60's and that's a big change for us.

We were only at the cabin for a week, but I wanted some fall color for the porch. I picked up the pretty pot of mums at the grocery store and enjoyed them all week. When we left we took them to our neighbors {and high school friends} for them to enjoy. {and to thank them for watching over our place while we are so far away}
The view from the deck. I wish my camera took better pictures...the colors in all of these pictures were much more vibrant than they appear.

We spent one gorgeous day driving to some "antique" stores in the area and to enjoy the leaves on the way. The leaves were beautiful, but I had to snap my pics out the front window, as the roads were narrow and had no great place to pull over.

This last picture is our front yard, looking like it needs a little red!! Most of our trees turned shades of yellow, so I think next fall we need to plant a few red maples.
This is just a quick post, just to let you know we are still here! I have the day to myself today and plan to hit a few of the projects on my loooong list. It is a beautiful, cool day here in Texas and I need to take advantage of it and get busy!!

Sunday Songs

I absolutely love this song.

Enjoy

So Many Books, So Little Time

Today my book club met to pick some books for the next few months. We have taken the summer off and I know that I am ready to be back reading some new books.

The photo below is my fancy tablescape after the fact. I just piled up the books I had on hand, a few pumpkin candles, and there you have it! We had apple cake and coffee and fresh fruit. Pretty simple, just the way I like it.

I have been a member of a book club for about 25 years and I think the best part is the way it has introduced me to many books I would never have read otherwise. The group that I began with 25 years ago in Kansas is still going strong and I love getting their reading list every September. I try to keep up with their reading too. We lived in Kansas for about 20 years, but it was 3 different houses with a move in between each time. Both times I returned to my book club they would mention a different book, as we so often do in conversation, and so often I hadn't heard of it, or read it. It was always said "Oh, we read that while you were gone." Well, it got to be a joke, as they could never have read that many books in the time I was away. Now, with the ease of computers, they can send me their list...........problem solved!!

Our group was formed last fall by me. I had hoped that there would be a book club in our neighborhood when I moved here 3 years ago, but no such luck. I joined the local women's club group for 1 year, but it didn't really work for me. I do better with smaller groups I guess. So I finally decided to try to form one and we had about 6 participants last year. Today there were 6 of us and I so hope we can make this work. We picked 4 books for October through January.

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

{couldn't figure out how to underline....is that basic or what?}

I have read The Glass Castle and The Book Thief. Both were very good, so I won't mind rereading them.

Any one else have a great book to recommend? We are always on the hunt!

It's Raining ~ It's Pouring!

Wow - do we have a lot of rain! It started sprinkling yesterday, and then continued on and off throughout the night. It was so nice to wake up and hear the rain on the roof. {I am enjoying the sound, only because we haven't had rain for awhile, so it feels very cozy. Ask me again in a few days if it doesn't quit:-) }

It rained hard all morning, and at some point this morning in between downpours I ran out to empty an overflowing rain gauge and take some pictures. I think we have about 6 -7 inches of rain so far!

This is the only picture of our neighborhood pond that I could find. If you enlarge the picture you can see a stone wall in back of the pond. I have no idea how high it is, but at the peak of the rain today the water was at the top of the wall. The pond is not really a real pond, but it is a retention pond where a lot of the water from my neighborhood goes.

So where does all that water go you might ask? Right through this spillway, which is the back of my yard. Officially my yard is on this side of the fence, but you can see that it is really close to our yard. The water was roaring over the wall, right into my backyard.
The trees got a little wet!
This is the ditch in the back of our yard, where all the water runs. I would say it is about 3 -4 feet deep in this picture. It was running pretty hard, and would have been fun to set a little boat at one end and watch in race through the water. My little grandson Cooper is coming over at supper time and we just may have to try it!
I thought I would get a lot accomplished today since I stayed home all day. Not! I visited on the phone with several people, some fun, and some just phone calls to return. I had better get busy though because tomorrow our neighborhood book club will meet for our new year and they are coming here.

Happy New Year To Me!!

Kind of a funny title for a post, I know, but there IS a reason.

I have had such a fun summer, with lots of travel, and company, and floating on a raft in the pool. If I wasn't busy with someone, I was busy being lazy in my pool. Many of my good habits went by the wayside this summer and I need to get them back.

I am one of those kind of people that need a date to begin something ~ and I really like January 1 for some really BIG changes. But that's too long to wait and I thought September is like the beginning of the year to me too. As a student for many years, then a teacher, then a mother of students, and then a teacher again, I have begun many years in September.

So, great idea, start everything on September 1, just as I do in January. But, I will not be home on September 1, in fact I will be gone 14 out of the 30 days in September. SO, the usual me would not start anything, because it could not be done perfectly ~ and I would continue on with many bad habits.

But instead I am going to begin my changes anyway ~ and here are my hopes for the fall.

1. Spiritual ~ I will be beginning my bible study for fall on Isaiah and I want to remain faithful and complete each lesson each week and even a little early if possible.

~get back into the groove of my morning quiet time.

~be more faithful in my church attendance, a little slack this summer.

2. Physical ~ back on the dreaded treadmill for 30 minutes M-F. I hate doing this, but I will admit I feel better when I do.

~Journal my eating. {maybe I won't eat it if I have to write it?}

~Drink my water.

~No eating after 8pm.

3. Home and organization ~ where do I begin? EVERY WHERE!!!

I would ideally like the whole house done by Thanksgiving ~ but that is a big job for me. I will try to post my progress on Mondays ~ for some accountability.

~Fall decor out and weeded through

4. Social ~ Hmmm...get a social life.

We moved here to TX 3 years ago and spend the majority of our time alone or with our children~which we love to do. But we do know a few people and we need to make more of an effort to have them over.

Suzanne at Southern Inspiration is hosting a Get It Done party and I am joining in. Please go to her blog to read all about it, I found out about it from Debbie. Thanks !!

Today is a day of travel for us {ick} and then I will be without the internet for a few days:-(

I WILL check in with my progress on any and all hopes when I return.

Good luck to all of you that are planning on some changes...anyone else want to join us?