Picture of the Week

Okay, dear readers, I know you think I've really gone looney this week but bear with me!   So you are thinking what is the big deal, everyone has a microwave.  But wait, not everybody.  For the last seven plus years I have not had a microwave.  Yes, that is right and no, this was not little house on the prairie.  When I bought my house it did not come with a microwave.  I had intended to have one installed over the cooktop but after measuring I realized the microwave wouldn't work there as it would be too close to the cooktop.  I was reluctant to give up some of my nice countertop space and as time went by I adapted to cooking the old way, without microwaves.  So I never bought a microwave oven.  Honestly, I never really missed it but I did get funny looks from people when I mentioned that I didn't have one!

Last week I got to thinking about reheating all those wonderful Thanksgiving leftovers and how nice it would be to pop those plates into a microwave oven and have a quick re-heat.  So I broke down and bought this one.  I've quickly remembered how handy they are and have been popping everything in there to heat.  I'm having to adjust to having food hot faster, though.  I've grown used to putting food on the cooktop or in the toaster oven and then making a salad or whatever while the food warmed.  With the microwave there is far less time to prep other items so I've re-learned to coordinate meal prep on a faster scale.

A Little Jam Session

The boys had a little jam session tonight!  Sounded mighty good, too!

And I got this little guy to stand still long enough to get this picture.  Love the shirt, although I think he is 100% nice!

Picture of the Week

The berries on my nandina bushes are just starting to turn red, a sure sign that Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner.  This year the bushes were loaded with buds and with small berries during the summer but, as in most years, the birds ate a few and (ahem) little fingers pulled a few so the crop isn't as plentious as I had expected.  But that is ok.  When Jaydon walked outside on Saturday the first words out of his mouth were, "look, the berries are turning red"!

I've always liked nandinas.  I think my grandmother had nandina bushes somewhere around her house, can't remember where but I'm sure they were there.  And I've enjoyed these bushes around the deck.  Whether it is a bright fall afternoon or a gloomy day in January the cheerful berries are a welcome sight.

Things I Like About Fall

1.  Pumpkins on a porch or grouped by steps, generally pumpkins on display
2.  Trips to the pumpkin patch to select the pumpkins for the grouping
3.  Cool crisp mornings that turn into pleasant, big blue sky days that melt into chilly nights
4.  Pulling out a favorite jacket or sweater for the first time and remembering how much I like to wear it
5.  Football, any kind, any team
6.  Thanksgiving, planning for it, preparing for it, enjoying it

Creativity-overload

I just returned from several days at the International Quilt Festival.  And I came home with creativity overload. But tonight Jaydon out did anything I saw at Festival.

Jaydon created this Lego football player using a picture from his Lego magazine.  Then he posed for the picture just like the Lego player.  Very creative I thought!