Bits and Pieces of Fall

I love evenings like this with girlfriends...



(Some day I will take my camera out of the automatic feature and learn how to actually take a photo in dim lighting that truly depicts the ambiance that we had going... instead of that bright flash, deer in headlights kinda look.)

...after dinner, dessert and coffee.  Sitting around the kitchen table for hours. Good conversation. Apple spice scented candles giving off a warm glow.  Seven children who have known each other since birth laughing and playing and creating the most imaginative games together.  The perfect evening to a gorgeous autumn  day.

As you can see, the tree outside my kitchen window that we watched burst in the spring and then begin to transform a month ago is now barren.  I have come to realize that I like that we live in a part of the world that experiences each of the four seasons. I like the cycle of the year.  I like the predictability of the changing seasons and the activities that go with it.  Mother Nature makes these transitions so effortlessly and flawlessly, without any big announcement, and we need to pay attention and fully live in the moment or else the season will slip by while we're busy with life.

We spent a beautiful autumn day at a community event that payed tribute to culture and the arts.  We showed up in the morning for the pancake breakfast with the intentions of staying until noon.  But instead we had to live in the moment...we stayed at the event for the better part of the day.  It was a picturesque fall day with the sun's rays reflecting off the nearby lake.  And each of the cultural events kept capturing the girls attention causing them to put their play with friends on hold to watch dancers, drummers, singing choirs and to participate in some of their own art making.

    Hoop Dancing...

    Mask making.  Sister can glue like it's nobody's business!

After our time at Culture Days we were inspired to try making some art of our own at home.  I think I have some very talented artists living under my roof.

    A few of their pieces from the "autumn" collection hanging in our homemade gallery...

We didn't quite get done this project as the paintings were supposed to be turned into an fall leaf mobile.  We'll just call it a work-in-progress.

October is upon us.  Bring on the days of homemade soups and stews.  The slow cooker is out is full force and the aroma of supper brewing when you walk through the door, arms loaded down with the remnants of the days activities and a slight chill in your bones from the cool air,  is like heaven on earth. The days are shorter. The evenings darker.  Perfect for lighting candles, home cooking, getting cozy...and living in the autumn moment.