Hello Fall ♥

 

Good morning Fall, so happy to see you!

Technically it is not officially the first day of Fall, we have to wait until September 21st, but we will just pretend and go with it.  Truthfully, the minute September 1st comes around, the weather shifts, the light changes and the temperatures drop.  It's like a tease of what is to come without officially being the time for said season.

 

“I would rather sit on a pumpkin, and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion.”
― Henry David Thoreau 

So, how have you been, how are things going for you, is Fall starting to make an appearance yet or are you still plagued by Summer heat?  I use the term plagued loosely because I do understand that there are many of you out there, who love summer and love the heat.  I used to, but not anymore, I think my body radiates enough heat on it's own without needing outside assistance.

 

 

I wanted to come in a just share a little of the past few days.  I've been sort of in a cocoon, not by choice but kind of a forced one, brought on by overeating things I shouldn't, this past weekend.

It's been days since my stomach has felt normal, and I can tell you that I hope to never go back to feeling that way again.  It's funny though, because I was telling Curt that I used to feel this way all the time, I would go months where my stomach was just not right.  This was back before January when the blood tests came back with elevated Triglycerides, and my diet and life changed completely.

I don't know how I was ever able to live like that, because just 2 days of that crampy, nausea feeling and I was ready to run away to the hills.

Thankfully it's all sorted out, I'm back to very minimal sugar and carbs and am already feeling so much better.

I've been taking it easy, starting my mornings slowly with windows wide open and the fresh crisp morning air coming in to renew my soul.  How I missed these cool mornings where the air feels crisp, you can smell the wet earth and breathe in without feeling like you're smothering in a hot oven.

The animals have been loving the change as well, and we even finally got a little rain.  

I'm definitely a Fall season girl nowadays.  Give me dark mornings, curtains blowing in the wind, and beautiful candles lit throughout the house.

I've divided my time between reading and crocheting, both hobbies that had dwindled down for a while and have now come back full force.  I am back in my little bubble, stepping back from social media and rather spending my time watching history documentaries, crocheting and reading.

I've already finished my first book for September, and went back and redid my reading list for this month.  I had previously posted my September Reading List in this post, but am not feeling those books at the moment, so I've stacked them in a neat pile, to the side, and have once again browsed the bookshelves for others that caught my eye.

I'm not going to do a whole new post, because honestly I will probably still end up reading the original books I picked, but I just added 3 more.

 

Walk the Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson

Marilla of Green Gables by Sarah McCoy

Days of Dreams and Laughter by Lucy Maud Montgomery

 My crochet has been divided between adding rows to the ever growing Cosmic Blanket, whipping up a sweet book sleeve and now making granny strip pumpkins, because it's Fall season and you can never have enough pumpkins in my opinion.

 

These are just adorable and so easy to make, they're also helping me get through my stash of random yarn needing to be used up but being too small for big projects.

 

The pattern is very easy to follow and you can find it over on Mj's Off the Hook Designs.

 

I made the medium size and the large size yesterday afternoon.  Well, I finished the last two rows on the large one in the evening, and only because I had to stop to go and make dinner, or I would have finished it before.  It's a quick pattern and just the cutest things ever.  No doubt there will be more popping up, as I plan on making a plain orange, plain brown and plain white pumpkin too.  You'll see those in future posts.

As for the documentaries I mentioned above, I have subscribed to History Hit, which is a very cheap app containing only History documentaries and it is fabulous.

So far I have watched three, one about the Holocaust, and two from one of my favorites Dr. Suzannah Lipscomb in England.  

Meet the Tudors - Holbein at Henry VIII's Court

Six Tudor Lives

There are so many to choose from.  I love documentaries because I can move on with my day and just have one in the background.  I feel like I don't HAVE to stare at the screen, I can just listen to it while getting things done, and I am learning a lot too.

Have you heard of History Hit?

It's been a great start to September so far.  

I leave you with this photo that I took of the usual Fall visitors.  We have a lot of deer year round, but this time of the year we get an even bigger influx, with tons of does and little babies, plus always a huge group of beautiful bucks.

*sigh*

{ First fire of the season and hibernating }

It is downright nippy here.

The temperatures plummeted yesterday morning, right down to 30 degrees and then rose to 47, that's it, 47 for the day.  Throw in wind and storms, and I actually found myself shivering as I climbed into bed.

The same rain, strong wings and chill temps have continued through today.  I've been eagerly awaiting the first real cool days, and here they are in all their glory.





I donned on my first sweater and boots of the season too and braved the cold rainy weather to take my daughter to work.  If there's one thing I highly dislike, is driving in the rain, it makes me quite anxious.

Upon returning home, I immediately got the fire going.  There's nothing quite like the first fire.

The smell of the wood burning, the crackling sounds and the popping flickers of fire flying up from the flames.





I sat for a few minutes, just listening to the fire and the high wind blowing outside, but I can't sit in my jeans and boots, I'm the kind of girl that needs to immediately change into some comfy sweat or pajama pants and warm slippers.

I quickly set the house to order, got the kitchen cleaned up, why is that the one room in the house that is constant disarray?  No matter how many dishes I wash, how many counters I clean, there is always and I mean always a dish here, a cup there, a wrapper on the counter.  Never ending job.

But as I sat washing the dishes and looking out into the trees outside the window, I began thinking and planning, and a word came to mind, hibernate.

I'm not a bear but I do tend to hibernate during the cold winter days.  I wish I could say that I fill my tummy and sleep for 3 or so months, but that is not the case.

I hibernate in the sense that I plan, and prepare and gather all I need for the winter months ahead.

Summer months mean gardening, swimming, barbecues and constant on the go moments, and as Fall starts swinging around, I start slowing down and looking forward to the dark nights, the stews and soups, hot chocolate and crackling fires, and nights spent on the recliner with a warm crochet blanket draped across my lap.



It's not a question of if we will need firewood or if cold days will come, it is a question of when, and so we start gathering, chopping and piling wood months before.  We started back in July and still have quite a lot to get through.



Our pecan trees are full, their branches littered with big pecans ready to be harvested to or knocked off by a gust of wind.  In the next two weeks we will harvest them all, big buckets of beautiful pecans that will then need to be shelled, bagged for pie for the holidays and pecan milk for the fridge, the rest will be frozen to use as needed.



This is also the time of the year that I pull out my knitting needles and crochet hooks and work on new hats, scarves and blankets.  Of course you can buy these at the store, but there is something knitting or crocheting each item, putting your love into each row, not to mention that something homemade seems to be a lot warmer than the store bought ones.



Stocking of candles, long tapered ones and small tea lights for nights where the power goes out.



I take this time of the year to also can jam, applesauce, salsa, tomato sauce and anything else I can think of.



Cold weather also means colds and flus.  Every year I like to prepare for those with some store bought items but mainly homemade remedies that are sure to keep those sore throats and coughs at bay.  If you've followed me for a while you will no doubt have seen me talk about my Honey, Ginger and Lemon Syrup.  I make it every.single.year and make sure to refresh it and make a new batch as soon as October comes around.

This year I'll also be making a Ginger shot sure to pack a punch.  One shot of it each day will keep those nasty bugs away.



The garden will be put to bed, plants will be moved indoors for the freezing weather and plans for Spring gardening will be drawn up.

I find the cooler months to be probably my favorite time of year, we have all the holidays to look forward to, time with family and delicious food to be consumed. 

We also have dark cozy nights with candle light, snowy storms outside and holiday movies on the TV.

So I'm preparing and prepping and getting ready to hibernate into the cooler months.  Tell me, do you hibernate as well?