cherry tomato

embracing autumn

Oh, I've been such a terribly naughty blogger. I'm really sick of living life in limbo. Everything is packed in boxes, and I can't work on any projects. I don't have my sewing machine, and even if I did, I still wouldn't have any space to sew. I feel like I'm only living half my life right now. I've made it this long though, and I only have a couple more weeks until we move....again.

Saturday was a perfect fall day: overcast and a bit chilly but no rain. Eric and I took a trip out to a pumpkin patch that's about a half an hour away in the town of Fall City. Can you believe I had never been to a pumpkin patch? We spent at least two hours out there enjoying all the sights and sensations of the farm. There was a petting farm there with some little goats that were much too busy eating to pay much attention to all the pumpkin-patchers.

I can't believe I got this one to stop munching long enough to snap a photo. I even got a little tail-wag out of him. One thing is certain: that is one happy goat.

You can't tell from this photo, but she had the cutest, squatty little legs. I love all the hay in stuck on her head.

After petting some goats, we were on the hunt for the perfect goards. We just had a blast tromping through the field and oohing and aaahing over the variety of goards. I settled on this one:

I wish I could have captured just how orange it is. It's still waiting for a face.

I just love the one Eric selected. You can't really see it in this photo, but his is covered in lumps that will be perfect for a nice warty face.

He picked the very last pumpkin at the far end of the patch.

Afterwards, we sat and drank some fresh, hot apple cider and discussed our perfect pumpkins. We had so much fun I didn't want it to end. Eric and I kept talking about how much we want to live on a farm. I've been feeling it more and more over the past year, but Eric has always been resistant to the idea. He's not quite ready to break out of the city. Then, as soon as we get out into the country, all he talks about is how much he would love to live on a farm. I can actually feel the weight lifting from him and see how is face glows. His mood becomes completely altered. The good mood continued when we got back to the city. I made some hot, spiced cider and we snuggled up on the couch sipping it until it warmed our chilled bones.

I started my new job this week, and I'm really enjoying it. It's a small, relaxed office, and it just seems to fit my personality much better than my government job. I'm working in a building near Fisherman's Terminal here in Seattle, and it's the first time in 10 years that I haven't worked downtown. I love it. I look out my widow and see orange, red, yellow and green trees instead of gray and brown skyscrapers.

My health has been great. I can really tell when I'm not taking care of myself like I should, so it's had to become my first priority. I think we all tend to take our health for granted until we no longer have it. It truly is the most precious thing you can have, because without it, everything becomes exponentially more difficult.

Just keep trying to enjoy every day.

moving on::hooray!

Thanks for all your sweet comments. It really does feel great to be back. The good news is that between the break and my dietary changes, my health has improved dramatically. In fact, I'm feeling so much better that I'll be returning to work next Monday. After a lot of flipping back and forth about what to do with our house, we have decided to keep it. As long as my health holds up, we should be fine. We were supposed to move in on October 1st, but due to mundane events I won't bother to bore you with, we won't be moving in until November 1st. We're still in a state of limbo and living in an aparment surrounded by boxes stacked to the ceiling until the big day arrives. I can't believe we have owned this house since June, and we still aren't in it yet! The good news is that we have been able to make a lot of improvements before moving in, but we're getting pretty closed to being finished with the outdoor improvements, and I'm getting more and more anxious to get in and put my mark on our place.

As you can see from yesterday's post, I took loads of photos of the lake and surrounds while I was staying there. Surprisingly, I didn't take any pictures of the things I worked on while I was there. I guess that says a little something about my priorities at that time. Since everything is still in boxes, those photos will have to wait awhile longer. (sigh) I just can't wait to get settled in so I can get back to working on some creative projects. I'm not going to even mention the "C" word right now, but I am becoming keenly aware of how close we are to the end of the year.

Oh, and that reminds me. Monday was my one year blogiversary. It just doesn't seem possible! When I started this, I had no idea how important it would become to me. I'm so grateful to have made so many talented, inspirational women, and I can't even begin to fathom what could be in store over the next year. I'm so excited about all the possibilities.

Last Friday was the opening of Plush You! My huge thanks to Kristen of Schmancy for coordinating the show. It was wonderful to see everyone's work and how different each piece was. I was so excited to be a part of it. I also want to give my apologies to Blair. We were supposed to conduct a workshop together, but when my life was turned upside down in August, I had to bail on her. I felt terrible, but she carried on without me and put on a succesful show. I had no doubt she would, but I felt horrible about having to leave her on her own. Oh, and since we're talking about Blair, her whales were some of my favorites of the show. I couldn't get a good photo of them because it was too dark, but trust me, they are even cuter in person. I loved the mama whale in particular.

(the birds are mine!)

I apologize for the poor photos. You can find more (much better ones) here.

my enchanted september

I almost don't even know how to begin this post. It's so nice to be back after such a long hiatus. It's hard to believe that I didn't look at a single blog for 3 weeks. I've been slowly reintroducing myself to blogland. I can't begin to tell you how strange it is to get out of the city away from phones and the internet after becoming accustomed to having them in my life every second of every day. I think I was in shock the first couple of days, but when you wake up to this, it doesn't take long to forget all about phones, computers, traffic, shopping, etc.

I did not have an exciting time out there. What I did have was the single most relaxing 3 weeks of my life. Eric took care of all our obligations back in the city, and the only thing I had to do was focus on my health. Although it wasn't exciting, every day was different from the next, and it was exhilarating to wake up in the morning. I couldn't wait to go out and see what the lake looked like. Some days there was thick fog on the lake.

Some days were bright and sunny.

And it even looked different as the day progressed. It was pure bliss. I loved to take my magazines down to our float and read while the dragonflies playfully zoomed past me. Once and awhile they even took a break and to hang with me. I'm sure they were just interested in my Domino and Blueprint magazines, that I, quite literally, scoured at least 10 times a piece. After all, I do have a new house to decorate.

I don't remember the dragonflies being out there when I was young. It seems like the sort of thing I would remember because I've always found them so fascinating.

I was sick for most of the time I was out there, and I just promised myself I would listen to any messages my body was sending me about how it was doing. I took naps every day. Sometimes I took two naps in a day. Most of the time I worked on craft projects I could accomplish while lounging. I embroidered, knit a sweater, and got halfway finished with the never ending quilt. I'm SO CLOSE it's killing me, so I have to finish it this fall. It will be read for next summer if it kills me.

One great thing I was able to do was to experiment with cooking for my new diet. It gave me a wonderful sense of satisfaction to eat the foods I need to eat, and most importantly, to avoid those I need to avoid. After being there for almost 2 weeks, I finally mustered the energy to go out and gather some fruit so I could try out baking a crisp leaving out the offending foods. I picked apples and blackberries and set to work.

I had to use what I had available, so I just made up a recipe and used gluten free flour, and instead of using oats on top, I used some crystallized ginger and chopped walnuts. I was quite pleased with the results and will definitely be trying some other gluten, dairy and egg free recipes. I honestly didn't miss a single thing.

I recall one day when I was soaking up one of the last days of summer while out on the dock. It was silent except for the rustling leaves, and the tiny leaves falling from the trees and landing onto the lake. I just thought to myself, "this is what life is about". I kept telling Eric and I wanted to buy a yurt and live out there. I'm only half kidding. I don't think I could handle a yurt for full time living, but I was just trying to get the idea across. I think I'm just feeling a little tired of being so disconnected from the earth. I swear to you I am not a hippie. I just feel like I get so much value and satisfaction from these simple pleasures. I'm paying more attention to what I'm putting into my body and the affects of the world around me. I think my body has been trying to tell me to do this for over 3 years now, and I'm finally listening.

My time at the lake in September was one of the best times of my life. I will keep the memories close to me so I don't forget the lessons I learned while being out there.

And one more thing: Thank you so much for all of your kind, supportive, loving emails. Your comments mean so very much to me, and I'm so lucky to have connected with so many wonderful people. Thank you. xoxo