Encouraging Deep Roots

I cannot believe it's mid-September already. We are entering into the time of the year that is my favorite. I love all the colors and it's been beautiful. We are in a bit of drought, but the weather has been gorgeous. This weekend was probably one of the most relaxing that I've had in a long time. I wasn't canning or processing anything. I didn't have an agenda. I just relaxed. That's a good thing because I have major things going on for the next 5 weekends in a row.  The geese are starting to fly. The squirrels and chipmunks are busy collecting nuts. The bees are still busy collecting pollen. I've been getting out and walking as much as possible each day. I've also been a lot of my work out on the back patio. It's peaceful as long as my neighbors aren't out there mowing or blowing leaves. I have to laugh because almost every single time I sit out there someone decides that is the moment to do yard work.  It's pumpkin and squash season and ou...

I've been super organized this year and on Monday morning was able to get all of my fall decorating done. Usually it doesn't happen until sometime in mid-September. I think the cool temperatures have definitely put me in the mood for autumn decor. We had a family picnic at my sister and brother-in-law's home and had a wonderful time. It was the first time in a very long time when we all got together and just had fun. The past couple of years have been very hard as we dealt with things with my mother-in-law and father-in-law. So it was nice to just enjoy each other's company. I'm plugging away, canning tomatoes, and today's plan is to pick up another half bushel and do tomato sauce. I love this time of year and being able to preserve fresh food. I try and get out and walk each day and I've also been doing some crafting and sewing.  This morning I was wide awake at 3 a.m. (ugh) and made my way downstairs to have my quiet time. As I'm sitting in my recliner...

It's September 1st and August seemed to fly by and yet, I packed a lot into that month. It went out with a bang as we enjoyed fireworks last night. We had company for dinner and Dan, Nathan and Stephen and some of our guests walked down the street and up into the park where they were having them. My friend and I sat in our backyard to watch them there. The trees blocked a clear view, but we saw enough to enjoy them. I spent the weekend canning tomatoes. I used up a half bushel  of them making jars of diced tomatoes and ended up with 16 pints and 4 quarts. I still have another half bushel to go and will be making tomato sauce either today or tomorrow. I have cabbage fermenting in jars and once that happens (about 7-10 days), I'll be canning these. I have a fall retreat I'm putting together for women in our district which will take place the last weekend in September so I've been busy working on that. This may be my last fall retreat as my role as district Alliance Women...

The older I get the more I realize how quickly life flies by. It's mid-August and the corn is getting high in the field. Because we've had so little rain this summer the leaves are starting to change color and fall off the trees already. It seems as if summer will be over in the blink of an eye.   In the spirit of my last post, I spent Saturday just puttering around my house and enjoying the small things. If I had a thought about something that needed to get done that was work-related, I wrote it down and got it out of my brain. This way I was able to stay in the moment. I made a pot roast for my family and homemade dinner rolls.  I processed the oregano from my garden that had been drying and then I went out and cut some more herbs to dry.  I read a book. I worked on a rag wreathe. I went for long walks.  I carried that "in-the-moment" spirit to church yesterday. Usually I'm barreling around the church on a Sunday morning preparing a bunch of last minute stuff....