"Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower." Albert Camus

Autumn is by far my favorite season.  Possibly because it is the time of year I was born, but more because of the crispness in the air and the urgency to get things done before the weather turns.  My time for resolutions is always in the fall.  I feel anything is possible and things are just beginning.  (There could also be a link to the start of school years here...)  Spring is lovely, but too wet and muddy with only a smattering of flowers coming around.  Summer is great, but I tend to abhor the heat and bugs.  Winter - well, what can I say about that except hot chocolate and Christmas?  Autumn - alive and warm and full of change!


Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all. ~Stanley Horowitz



Sure signs that summer is over (and that it's been successful):

1. You cannot possibly imagine having to eat another hamburger, hot dog, piece of watermelon, ice cream treat, jello salad, etc. etc. etc.
2. The thought of putting on your swimsuit and gathering up all the gear sends you running for cover.
3. The lawn is starting to look pretty good an inch or so longer.
4. You're glad when it's time to pull up the pea and bean plants and rototill the ground.
5. It's a relief that darkness comes around at 8:00.  Now we can catch up on some sleep!

Summer is so busy, let's ring in a warm, fabulously colorful autumn.  Bring it on!

Oh how we love pumpkin season. You did know this gourd-ish squash has its own season, right? Winter, Spring, Summer, Pumpkin.... We anxiously anticipate it every year. ~Trader Joe's Fearless Flyer, October 2010


(I LOVE PUMPKINS)

October's poplars are flaming torches lighting the way to winter. ~Nova Bair

Ummm...

Hi.  I am still here.  I am just uninteresting.  Or uninterested, you choose. 

Uploading my photos this summer turned out to be a much too complicated endeavor for me and, frankly, I was much happier spending my time in the sunshine than holed up in front of my screen. 

Eventually I may get around to it, but really, it's kinda late, don't ya think?

I am creeping up on the big 3-5 this week.  I am in many ways amazed to think that I have walked this earth for that long.  It feels like a heart beat in many ways, yet soooo much has happened in that time.

More amazing is my parent's celebrating their 36th anniversary on Tuesday.  Wow.  In the midst of all the changes and transition we are experiencing it gives me great inspiration to watch them tackle all of life's curve balls together and still be, well, together. 

I was thinking of this today.  All the things they've held on through.

Deaths (particularly of a child).

Financial stress.

Family stress.

Children aging.

Parents aging.

Broken lawn mowers.

Problematic septic fields.

Car "accidents".

Hopes and dreams not realized.

It doesn't end just because we get older and "grow up".

But, lest you think their life is miserable, there's a lot of good to brighten up the lows.

Marriages.

Grandkids.

Having work.

Missions.

All the kids home to visit.

A beautiful yard as a result of some really hard work together.

Good friends.

Oh, and all the above negativities just having a way of working out.

I see now the truth in Marjorie Hinckley's statement:

"Sometimes the pattern of life seems a little monotonous - and discouraging.  It is like climbing a mountain and, after reaching the top, getting knocked back down to the bottom to climb it again; but I guess the fun is in climbing and not in arriving.  I hope so!"

Maybe we spend a lot of  our lives uninterested.  Just surviving.  Waiting for the better times to come along.  When really they're right here with us.

Thanks Mom and Dad for helping me see that life is made up of all these things, big and little. 

36 years.  I hope my marriage is full of mountains by the time I get there.  It will make it all the more exciting to look back on, won't it?

Back to School

It's that time of year again.  I am usually ready for it, and I have to admit that the kids were getting at each other's throats (and mine) for the last week or so, but back to school was bittersweet for me this year.  We had a great summer seeing so many of our friends and family, swimming, travelling, camping, working in the yard and just plain running free.  It's hard to face the reality of schedules and bedtimes and, well, the end of summer.  It has been cold and rainy all three days of school so in a lot of ways it feels like autumn has come in full force.

The kids are riding the bus to and from school for the very first time.  I think it is the highlight of their day - for now.  I'm sure the extra hour and a half added on their school day will start to wear on them eventually.  It's good for us though as we are never late for school! (gasp, looks of shock inserted here)  And it forces us all up at 6:30 every morning.  They are the first stop in the morning and the last stop at night.  The kids get on the bus at 7:38, and aren't home until 4:15.  Quite a change from Port Moody where school started at 9:00 and they were home at 2:45.  Makes for a lot longer time they are away.  Two days a week I will have everyone at the school in the mornings - 4 hours all to myself!  I will let you know how beautiful that is at a later date.

Madi and Clay have had great fun reacquainting themselves with their old school and old friends.  One boy said to Madi, "Madison?  You have changed!" and another greeted her with, "Madi! Look guys, it's my third cousin twice removed!"  Amazing how they remember these things.

Things are good right now.  We are trying to make the best of this temporary situation and enjoy the next 4 months.  After that anything can happen...

In your dreams...

I just read a blog post about which Harry Potter man is for you.  Hmm...I have yet to find myself swooning over any of them.  My mother said the other day that she could watch anything with Matthew McConaughey, and Dan's mom has a real thing for Nicholas Cage (there is no accounting for taste.  Hee hee).  Still, it got me pondering (in a really pleasant sort of way) about my favorite movie eye candy.  And the winners are...



Viggo.  He's basically the reason I've seen this movie about 500 times.




Johnny.  I have loved this man since I saw him in Crybaby a hundred years ago.  The bonus to my kids loving the Pirates movies is that I get to watch him.



Ahh, Hugh.  Even Australia was made watchable by this fine specimen.



Christian Bale.  I watched Reign of Fire last night.  Total snoozeville without him to keep my interest.



Russell only makes the list for historical pieces.  Otherwise, I am ambivalent.



What list of this nature is complete without Mr. D'Arcy?  Thank you, Colin, for setting this unachievable standard for men the world over.


Alright, I realize that most of the members of my list have an accent.  I think that might be the real turn on, especially since I was just debating Sean Connery.

Who tops yours?

Random Thoughts Update

I have not written much this summer.  I find I do not spend very much time near a computer, not like in the city.  I have too much to occupy my time otherwise.  (That was three sentences with the word 'much'.  Sorry.  Terrible writing.)  I realize being back home how I love concrete, physical work.  I have been rolling steel with my dad, weeding gardens, cleaning the house, and even helping to fix the lawn mower.  It feels good to see the end result of your labors.

 
 In my profession, I spend all day convincing people that what we are doing really does make a difference and it is worth their time to follow my advice, not mention worth their money to come in often.  When I roll steel with my dad the customers choose their steel for a project they see happen and weigh out whether or not it is in their budget.  No 'improve you life, improve your health' message there.  Just a matter of priorities and good business.  I suppose that is why I have been away from social networking for a while.  There's so much more to do here to keep my hands and mind occupied! 



Add to that an attempt to make this a good summer for my kids and we are always on the go.  It's also very different actually having family and friends around to talk to at any given time.  I suppose I have more opportunities to speak my mind, rather than write it. 



But I do miss blogging.  It is essentially my journal.  And I do miss hearing more from those of you out there who are also busy during these short summer months!  (nudge, nudge, wink, wink).



Vanity, thy name is...



On another topic, my sister-in-law was sharing her experience in the doctor's office waiting room.  She has recently moved back to Alberta from Ontario.  There she sat - 17 months pregnant, no makeup, hair pulled up, feeling awful, three kids in tow (one in stripes and plaid and another wearing one flip flop and one boot) - a typical outing.  Suddenly someone caught her eye and said hello.  A man who used to be the boy she played with as a child.  He had not changed a bit.  Still very handsome, neatly put together.  She said she found herself telling him she was 20 weeks pregnant and trying to explain away the look of herself and kids and wishing she had simply made herself up a little more that morning. 



I laughed and shared my similar experience - only in the pool in Raymond.  There I was in all my suited up glory, kids in tow and white, fleshy legs and arms glowing when a man who was once a boy in my younger years called out to me and wanted to catch up.  I wish I could remember what he said more than how much I wished I had managed to follow through on that diet and exercise plan for the last 2...5...10 years.  He, of course, seemed exactly the same as I remember him.

p.s.  This is not me.  I will not subject anyone to the sight of me in a bikini

Then we laughed.  How vain!  We are both married to wonderful men who really couldn't care less how we look at the doctor's office or the pool, who have been through 4 children with us and who support and love us not matter what.  Yet we both succumbed to the insecurities of appearance.  I'm pretty sure these happily married men could not have cared less what we looked like.  They were simply trying to be friendly.  Trust me, if looks were an issue they probably would have continued right by....



My sister's 10 year high school reunion is this weekend.  She is not going.  Does not care one bit.  I remember mine.  I also realize my 20 year is in three years.  That's right - 2014.  Will I go?  Will I set that as my weight loss date?  (hee hee).  Do the opinions of people I spent every school day for 12 years with matter to me then?  I have to admit it did a little bit 7 years ago.  I thought I was over that, but the above story shows that maybe I am not.

Did you go to your reunion?  Did it matter to you what people from the past thought about you?

a new blog

Madi would like all my family and friends who might have an interest in her to know she has begun her very own blog to record all of her adventures.  You can find it at:

http://cupcakeadventures-coopsoup.blogspot.com/

She is dying for some comments, so take a look!

Finally...Room to Breathe!

Okay, so we have made it out to Alberta, seen all of our family and said goodbye to Dad for the summer.  Lots has happened and I finally have a second to download some pics.  Enjoy!

The moving crew on the Alberta end.  The 'big' cousins were such help, and a little slurpee bribe never hurts either!

Malcolm broke his leg the day after we arrived riding a quad into Uncle Scott's brand new truck.  We are so glad Scott was so calm and patient.  He genuinely tried to be more concerned about the leg than the truck! 

Our resident firebuilder.  Clayton stokes the flames in the pit any day there is no wind.  It began as the traditional log cabin and has progressed to castles and inukshuks.

We have had the pleasure of babysitting my sister's little guy while she works a few shifts.  Here we are playing playdough...

...and visiting the Raymond Museum on a rain day.  Lots of fun!