Tuesday, October 6, 2020

Change Is Constant, Change Is Good

It's now 7:18 a.m. as I write this post, and I already feel like I've gotten half a day's work done.

Papa Pea and I are both "morning" people.  Our mental (and probably physical) capacities are at their best once we've had our morning liquid libations so we've been concentrating on getting to bed earlier in the evening and, thereby, more easily able to get up and goin' earlier in the morn.

As you can imagine, this is accomplished much more easily when it gets dark earlier in the evening than it did during the long days of summer.  

Last night I could not keep my eyes open while looking through my latest quilting magazine, so I did the sensible thing (I did?  Wow.) and was in bed at 7:45 p.m.(!).  Picked up my latest book to read (didn't get very far) and then turned off the light before 8:15 because I was so cozy/comfy that I knew it was time to drift off into dreamland.

Woke at 5 a.m. this morning and was ready to get up.  Now if circumstances don't keep me from maintaining such a routine (no doubt self-discipline will enter into the picture more than anything else), I know I'll be happier and have a more balanced schedule for my days in short order.

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Last Sunday night we had our last-of-the-season outdoor get-together with friends.  We about froze our beezers.  Everyone had been warned to wear warm clothing including bringing jackets.  We had a fire in our small outdoor fire pit, but unfortunately the temp was only in the 40s (what were we thinking?) and, drat and darn, there was a breeze to boot.  I think everyone had a good time, but it did feel downright cold a little nippy.

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I harvested all our pumpkins late last week and several of them have already gone away to decorate other homes.  I had a great harvest and although some are not entirely orange in color, with luck they may still turn.  Did I remember to get a picture of the whole bunch of them?  Nope.

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There are still several geraniums out in the garden that need to be put into pots and brought into the house to, hopefully, add some cheery indoor color over these coming winter months.  Dear daughter plans on taking a couple/few, and I think I'll find a spot for two of them.

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I have a great recipe for caramel corn and everyone seems to like my Honey Caramels and . . . well, it's the season for indulging in both so I may spend a little time in the kitchen today stirring up a batch or two of each of them.

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I've had white valances over all my kitchen windows now for over twenty years (yes, I do take them down and wash them now and then . . . at least every 8 or 9 years or so . . . kidding!) but they no longer look bright and crisp so I just ordered new fabric (plain white again) to make replacements.

Also, I've recently spent a bit of moola on supplies (cloth and thread) since I've found a renewed interest in getting back into X-stitch work and haven't done any for . . . good grief! . . . about 30 years.

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You can tell my thoughts are planning for the winter months ahead and happy days at my sewing machine and hours on the couch in front of the open fire with needle in hand.

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Somebody said every day is a new beginning, and I believe it is.  Plus, living where we do, every season offers new and different activities, routines, opportunities and even different foods.  I love it.

18 comments:

Michelle said...

You sound like a happy little busy bee in this post!

Mama Pea said...

Michelle - Buuzzzzz! ;o)

Rosalea said...

We've kept the AM fire going the last few days, as they've been dreary and wet. Yes, these shortened days, bracketed by darkness morning and evening, does renew one's interest in crafting. I have three (I think!) different projects going on the needles, and plans for the sewing/craft room. Most of the garden work is done now, time for cooking and crafting!

Mama Pea said...

Rosalea - Yay, I like the way you're thinking! Speaking of "on the needles," I have a pair of socks for my daughter on my needles that have been there since last winter! And now I just saw a good sale advertised for sock yarn that is sorely tempting me. (Shhhh, let's not mention that tote I have that is already full of yet-to-be-knit sock yarn.)

Nancy In Boise said...

Sounds downright chilly there! It's 75 today here and hopefully this weekend we're supposed to get our first significant rainfall. My fingers are crossed as it has just phone bone dry here and that coupled with the smoke from the California fires yucko. I'm looking forward to the days when it will be cold and all the hard work will be there in and then hopefully a little bit of snow in November or December. I love the change of seasons this time of year and we'll be putting all my fall Decor out this weekend. When it was 85 last week it was just too hot to think about Autumn! But your pumpkins came out good I've got a small batch we will pick with our grandchildren soon. Happy autumn!

tpals said...

We cooled off nicely but now it's up in the 70s again and all those little black bugs and asian beetles are out in full force. Grrr

Mama Pea said...

Nancy - Still in the 70s in your neck o' the woods, eh? Way too hot for this time of year. Sure hope you do get that predicted rain. I just put my Halloween decorations out today interspersed with my fall ones. Won't be but a couple more weeks and the Halloween ones get packed away already and on to Thanksgiving. Then you know what happens after that. Whoa, Nelly! Let's not rush things!

tpals - Oh no, you still have nasty bugs? Thankfully, all of ours are gone. What seems very plentiful now though are the MICE. We don't get them in the house, but holy cow, we've sure been catching A LOT of them in the outbuildings. More than we've seen in a long time.

Granny Sue said...

Yes, I can see you're getting yourself ready for winter. Planning ahead like that is a good idea.I still have my houseplants outside, but will bring some of them in tomorrow. We still have some garden produce coming in and I'm so thankful. I'm not ready to give up on homegrown tomatoes yet, so we're enjoying every last one we can get from our worn out plants.

Mama Pea said...

Granny Sue - Sometimes the planning ahead is half the anticipation and fun! Our climate isn't such that I put my houseplants outside in the summer time. Probably the wind we get would do them more damage than good, but I can see how a lovely, warm summer would revitalize them. We all should be so very thankful for any and all produce we've been able to grow this past season. Savor those last tomatoes of yours. They must taste wonderful!

Retired Knitter said...

Sounds grand. My favorite season is winter.

Mama Pea said...

Retired Knitter - I'm all for the winter months, too! Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, and the delightful month of January. Snuggle time!

Vera said...

'Every day is a new beginning...' what a lovely way to get out of bed each morning!
I also get up at between 4am - 5am, even if I don't want to! But I must take your hint about going to bed earlier so I get my 8 hours of sleep.
Nice blog, as always. Vx

Mama Pea said...

Vera - Another thing that it's helpful to do to start your day in an upbeat way is to take a minute (before your feet hit the floor) to appreciate all the good things in your life. That may be especially important in these current times of unease and restrictions making our lives less than we'd like them to be. Hugs!

Tressa said...

Would you mind sharing your caramel and honey caramel pop corn recipe. Sounds like a tasty fall treat.

Mama Pea said...

Tressa - If you go way down on my right hand side bar to the Search box and enter Caramel Corn it should take you to the blog post I did with the recipe on November 16, 2008. (The new blogger won't let me put a link up. Grrrr.) I was sure I had blogged about my Honey Caramel recipe but do you think I can find it now? I still haven't made them this year so I will do a post with the recipe shortly when I do. If I don't get around to it, I'll get the recipe to you.

The Wykeham Observer said...

I find myself getting to bed by 8 and making an attempt at reading, but that is so difficult, when I find myself repeating the same sentence over and over! When the lamp is turned off, I am sleeping immediately. Phil

Mama Pea said...

Phil - I know exactly what you mean! Same here. Three more weeks until the time change. Will we be getting to bed at 7 o'clock then??!

www.self-sufficientsam.blogspot.com said...

What a wonderful Fall....we're just getting into ours, in fact, the hummers are still here. I am an early morning person too and I have been going to bed before dark all summer! LOL! I can't wait to see your handwork this fall/winter and your sewing/quilting. Your caramels and caramel corn sound delicious maybe someday you could share the recipe.