{ Dewy mornings, butterflies and preserving gourds }

The past few mornings, we've woken up to foggy car windows, and gorgeous dewy grass.  It's a sure sign that Fall is upon us and the mornings are getting cooler.

I love sitting out back in the early morning and watching the sun shining on all the dew drops, it creates such a beautiful backdrop.

Yesterday was the first day in the past few months, that we switched off the air conditioner and didn't need it running at all.  Makes me happy because I know that it will bring us some much needed relief in our electric bill.

My morning started quite sadly.

I know people will say that cars are not supposed to be sentimental things and that you shouldn't get attached to vehicles, but I can't help it, I always do.

Do you remember when Curt retired from the military and we were packing up to move to Idaho?  Remember we got rid of my Durango and I bawled my eyes out watching it being taken away?

Well this morning, we finally got rid of our older vehicles.  The car needs a new engine and we honestly thought that we would be able to get one installed and get the car back up and running, but it never came to fruition and it's been sitting in the garage for the past 3 years.

The truck was my husband's pride and joy but it needed repairs as well, and again like the car, all the plans of fixing this and fixing that never happened.  To repair a vehicle you need money, to repair two vehicles you need a LOT of money, and that's something we don't have.

We don't live paycheck to paycheck anymore, my husband is blessed to have a permanent government position, but we have  bit of debt and tons of bills and we're working diligently on paying off as much as we can.  It comes down to priorities and unfortunately the two vehicles just fall below other more important things.

Nonetheless, watching them being towed away this morning, broke my heart.  I still remember the day we brought my Dodge Charger home, I was soooooo excited and so thrilled with my car.

 

And the truck has been a family vehicle since 2002, I actually learned how to drive in that truck and took it for my driver's test too.  Insane!!!

So yes, I cried, I cried the ugly cry.  The memories will always be in my heart, but it's still so hard to see your vehicle being towed away.  

When that was all taken care of, I pulled out the ironing board and got hubby's work shirts ironed and ready for him.

I also switched over laundry, and hung up some kitchen towels outside to dry as the weather was beautiful today, 82 degrees and blue skies.

Cleaned up the house, tidied here and there, pottered around with a few things and worked on one of the crochet diamonds for the Ubuntu CAL.

I stepped outside to water my plants and found this mushroom in my mulch area.  I swear every day I have a different kind of mushroom, I need to start taking photos of all the different mushroom species I'm finding out there.  They don't last long, they pop up in the morning and then by nighttime they are dead.

My yard is also filling with butterflies again. It's a yearly occurrence and I'm always fascinated watching them flutter around, at times covering every surface available.

There was schooling done, some vacuuming and carpet cleaning, and I also watched an episode of Season 3 of Versailles.

By the time I looked at the clock, I needed to get in the kitchen and start prepping dinner.  I didn't make anything too hard, it was burgers and onion rings and while those cooked, I got my bags of pumpkins and gourds that I just purchased at Walmart this weekend, so that I could get them ready for decorating.

You could just take them and place them wherever you want them as decoration, but if you want the gourds and pumpkins to last longer, there is something you can do to preserve them.

You might already know the trick, but if you don't, then I'll just show you what I do.

I fill my dish tub with about a gallon or 2 of water, add a few splashes of bleach and a squirt or two of dish detergent.

Pop the gourds and pumpkins in and let them soak for about 15 minutes, then take them out, give them a good rinse and let them dry off.  That's it.

Just that simple quick process will help preserve your pumpkins and gourds for longer and sometimes even all season long.  I'm going to be painting some of these with white paint, but that's for tomorrow, for now they're sitting on the kitchen counter getting a little more drying time.

I have a bible study that I need to get into and just haven't had the time, but I'll make it a point of getting started tomorrow, probably in the morning when the house is quiet.

I'm off to read a little before turning in for the night :)