THE LAZY DAYS OF FALL

Hi everyone!  I hope you are enjoying your week so far!  The weather has been gorgeous here...crisp, cool and dry.  I sat outside with the dogs this morning having my coffee and as I looked around at my flowers, I thought how they seem to be loving this weather, too!  Normally my inpatiens are overflowing out of this old barrel but they struggled all summer due to the heat.  But they are little fighters it seems!

This pot was in the shade of the hedges all summer and did quite well.  My patio needs a good sweep, but I'll save that for another day!  This was just a nice break to get out and breathe the fresh morning air and watch Milo and Layla roll in the grass!

As I mentioned in my last post, I have been going through my cookbooks looking for some great cool weather recipes.  I have really been gravitating toward casseroles for some reason.   I get the same gratification of chopping vegetables and mixing things up as I do when I make soups and stews, but you can't beat the creaminess of a hearty casserole.  Once I choose a few and get my ingredients in order, I will share some with you.  Does anyone have a tried and true recipe they want to pass on?

It's quiet around here with Emily working and Abby going to school and working at the pub a lot of evenings.  I keep myself busy with an equal share of housecleaning, laundry, trying to organize clutter (!), as well as things I love to do for ME!  I'm plowing through book after book and I recently picked up a sampler that I started last year hoping to get done with in time for Christmas.  It didn't happen so I am going to try to devote a little time each evening to get it finished by December.  It's a cute wintry scene and will be perfect to bring out each year during the holidays.  Ironically, I used to do a lot of stitching when the kids were younger and I had less free time.  I guess we need to carve out that "alone" time, even if it's during their nap!

I've really been enjoying my visits to your blogs.  All the fall decorating is inspiring me.  I might add a thing or two every year if it really catches my eye, but it really is all about creating something new and fresh with what you have.  I hope to get started on that closer to the end of the month (which is flying by!).

So, this is just a short post on one of my lazy days!  I'm having a cup of coffee while the dishwasher hums and a fall candle makes everything smell yummy!  Hope you are having a wonderful day, too! :-)