Compelling

Are we not all compelled this time of year?
All that's done is in fun. Well, it feels like a luxury really,

a feast plated-up on necessity, at our house. Like a little Norwegian feline chalet. Free materials. And I don't know how he does it. As the weather dips, the kittens need to take up more permanent residence. Fun right?

Over here, are some of the bouquets I have made thus far with my neighbor's flowers. (With their insistence, of course.)

Thrown together for church, school teachers, friends, mi boudoir, dining table, lady's luncheon and broadcast, you get the idea. It is for the taking, so I simply must.

Don't get me started on the food so fun.

cookiesandcups.com

I found this autumnal-tastic Snickerdoodle recipe with Cream Cheese and it is worth every one of its cinnamon sugary granules. (I like this page because it has pictures.) And most everything else is made  exclusively in cast iron or enamel dutch oven. It's just part of my thinking process, "Will that fit in this size skillet or that size skillet?"
You get the idea.
Go enjoy being compelled. Change it up, it's fun.

Al and Dan's "Taco Balls"

You Know You Do It Too

I have a menagerie of pictures I'm proud of on my cell phone. I don't think anything can beat the convenience of that tiny lens in a fleeting moment. So here, take a journey with me, lets stroll down a fresh avenue of memories.
The spells of serene,

"Comfy" Allison

The fun of festivities,

Sequim Lavender Festival

The accomplishments,

Island Park Retreat

Library Reading Rewards 

The dreaming,

Cal Ranch, Blackfoot

Lowe's with Friends, Pocatello 

and the innocent scheming.

No comment

Not to mention the tickling sense of discovery,

Lophocampa maculata

The pose of potential,

Grandma's school room

and I know it is just a cell phone camera but I must try to capture it. I must.

Olympic Discovery Trail

I want to remember the voices, the silliness, the action, too! I've been taking a plethora of mini video clips. I'm not really picky when it comes to devices, but I've just decided with insistence I will always have a phone that can record. (It's for my job you see.)

Can I get an "Amen?"

How My Garden Grows

I really like gardening. With relief I can say we did fine with it this year.

Picture me: I stand to rub my dirty hands with introspection out of doors,
for some things die and others baffle me with their resolve to live,

living for the sake of it. They merely chose. They can, you know. Right?

These sweet peas were not-- with their feet planted-- going to bloom until I actually tied and trained them to something. "Can't you climb that yourself? You're supposed to." Then I broke down, got out the twist ties, and they resolutely held to the agreement in less than a week.

A barely peeking sunflower here, a mass of belated cosmos there.

My favorites are the aromatic and the edible (herbs and vegetables) as they tend to be thoroughgoing and unassuming. Good qualities.

Perfect for the summer climate that wasn't. We've bonded over it with the neighbors. Which means they in turn took part of the fence down. We're flattered in a way...

We adapt, grow, change.

Growing until, with good conscience, you stops to wonder how it all had progressed right before your eyes.

I Spy

It seems this trip was almost like a game.

Quite a trip, an average late summer day. This is the view from a tiny wave tossed boat on Lake Crescent. I spy something beautiful.

Unique.
....no, Fascinating!

What a sight. Then, we were out just long enough to rescue novice rowers that couldn't make it back to the old Lake Crescent Lodge. (They took a picture of us too.)

I'm not sure how I'd describe this.

What, Dear? Your turn? (Two year olds don't know the concept of the game yet.)
...His name is Baker.

This is Shasta. Their names change a lot.

Oh, don't show them that. A potted Lavender I killed. We're working on it.

What else can you see?
Mom.

And now what's this?

Oh, "paper mache."
....I......... wouldn't have guessed that.