A very kitty Halloween

Happy Halloween! Stay safe!

Growing pains

I was going through old photos on my computer yesterday afternoon and I came across this photo of an ornamental cabbage. Ornamental cabbages and kale hold a special place in my heart.

1) They remind me of my dad. My dad was big into decorating his porch with flowers and plants according to the season. He ALWAYS had cabbages and kale in the Fall and he ALWAYS left them out there well past their prime. By January they would be shriveled and slimy and generally gross. I liked to poke fun at him and give him a hard time about it. I miss him.

2) They're pretty and autumnal.

This particular photo was taken at our first house on Cedarcroft Road, the first house Steph and I bought together. I think I took the photo in 2006. I miss the pot in this photo. I'm fairly certain it broke during the move to Nashville.

Speaking of Nashville, I've been missing it lately. That tends to happen when I pore over old photos. We haven't been back in nearly two years. I'm not worried about the house-- I'm sure it's fine, but it would be nice to just check in before the renters move out. I'm not sure what will happen when their lease ends. I harbor this fantasy that we'll move back in, but I don't really see it happening. The most likely scenario is that we'll sell it, given that the market down there seems to have improved ever so slightly.

It's also fun to look at old photos because I can clearly see how much better my photography skills have gotten. I feel like I am kind of in a rut with that lately. I know I should be taking pictures every day, but I haven't been. Life has sort of gotten in the way. Not like that is a good excuse. You need to make time in your life for the people and things that are important to you.

I'm considering moving my blog to Wordpress. I want more control and it seems like an overall better platform. Just something I've been learning and working on and will probably happen in the next few months or so if I can get my act together. I feel like I've outgrown Blogger and need more creative control over all the design elements of my little blog.

Wow, this post is all over the place.

The steady beat of Fall

Fall is a great time for nesting. Since September, we've done a lot of work around the house. We painted the entire kitchen (walls, ceiling, trim, and floors!), finally. It's so nice to not have five colors going on in there, all competing for attention. We also finally found some furniture for the dining room. Landscapers came and cleaned up the yard, and it's wonderful to look out back and see a freshly mowed yard and mulched beds instead of huge tree limbs that fell during various storms. They also fixed our DIY pebble path that went awry. We learned the hard way that you need to put weed blocker fabric under that shizzle. Ooopsies. Next time we'll know. Not like I think there will be a next time because hauling 5 tons of river rocks and raking them out in a path was not my idea of a good time. Pictures of all these finished products to come.

Meanwhile, while we toiled, Winston and Louis, as usual, were busy napping. They love Fall because the windows are open during the day, which allows for lots of squirrel watching. We have a resident squirrel who has a large nest in the Maple tree by the house. He likes to collect walnuts from the neighbor's tree, and then scurry across the power lines and along our rain gutters back to his nest. The cats are fascinated by this show. They watch him all morning and then promptly fall asleep for the rest of the afternoon.

As you can see, Winston likes to contort himself in strange sleeping positions. Louis prefers to curl up on my pillow on the bed, or nest under our down blanket. Here are some photos of squirrel watching and napping.

Apple Picking at Baugher's

I have once again fallen behind in my blogging. Sigh. September and October were exceptionally busy months for me. Lots of parties to attend, babies to meet, and traveling to do. I've also been fighting with AT&T. Yesterday I printed out a 35 page bill so I could try to figure out where over $100 of crazy charges are coming from. Mind you, we have a set plan with unlimited data and texts and we never go over our minutes because both of us never use our phones to call people. Exhausting. Exciting, yes?

Back in late September, we went apple picking with Jess and Mike. We went to Baugher's in western Maryland. We used to go there when I was a kid. It's insane how built up that area is now. It's full of strip malls and fast food joints. I remember it being endless expanses of open farmland. It made me sad, but on the other hand, our house in Nashville is in a development that used to be a family farm, so I am not in a place to judge. I take these things more personally when they interfere with my childhood memories. Natural, I suppose.

Pictures from our apple picking adventures! We ate a lot of the apples we picked, and I also canned a few quarts of applesauce.