Love, love, love
this table chalkboard.
What I really like about it...
the frame,
{I could have a house full of these charming gems}
the post-it-note calendar,
{so very clever; including, weekdays vs weekend colors}
and the chalk drawing of the Golden Gate bridge,
alluding to the city in which the creator resides.
Delightful!
{cannot remember where I saw this thirty days ago,
if you know please let me know so I can credit the artist.}

We have 60 square miles in our school district;
many {most} of them crops, that I have the good fortune
to drive by every academic day.

This corn field and sign are across the country road
from our brand new high school.
So far so good in sharing the road;
cooperation works well, yes?

I gave out quite a squeal this morning

as I was checking my emails in the predawn hours,

clicked on the Tulane New Wave link and

saw our daughter, Jessica, with Taylor,

as the feature photo for today's edition,

celebrating 175 years of homecoming events.

What memories it brought back of a

fun, fun homecoming day in the Superdome!

{photo from emily's blog--thank you!}

"As a kid I learned that my brother and I could
walk forever on a railroad track and never fall off--
if we just reached across the track and held each other's hand."
-Steve Potter
{flickr photo by fraley_tera}

"Delicious autumn!

My very soul is wedded to it,
and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth
seeking the successive autumns."
- George Eliot

Just like the cardinal and sparrow,
some of us look up and some down...
I like to look all around at the new smells and sights
with which fall will gift us.
Welcome delicious autumn, indeed!
{flickr photo by cookie 1234}

As summer ends,
I have so many amazing memories from my travels
for which I am so very grateful.
Now back home, one of my favorite times of the day
is when I hear that unique sound
of hummingbird wings,
which beat 50-80 times per second.
I glance out the back windows to observe and enjoy
our little hummer flapping its wings
in that magical horizontal shallow figure-8 pattern.
Hummingbirds supposedly have good memories
in their four year lifespan
to remember their food sources from previous years.
This is our first year placing pots of geraniums in this location;
I hope our memories serve us as well to remember to
place the pots back so our little hummer may return next year.
May it have a safe migration southward!
{flickr photo by janruss}

May you and your sweetie bike 'n kiss
on this last weekend of summer!
{flickr photo}

"Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo,

but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you
when the limo breaks down."
- Oprah Winfrey
{google photos}

"Art is the colors and textures

of your imagination."

--Meghan

Los Cerros Middle School, 1999
{flickr photo}

I giggled when I saw this.

It is a surprise ball.

Doesn't it look like so much fun to unroll the
crepe paper to discover all these treasures?

I thought so too and purchased a similar one a few years ago
for one of our daughters at an amazing shop
on a trip to Sonoma California.
It did not go over so well in our house;
however, I think if you made one yourself with
trinkets that have meaning specifically for the recipient--
doodads collected from a trip
or whimsical, silly objects
that it is a fun item!
{all photos by sandra juto,

via jordan ferney's blog}

A beautiful quilt created by two sisters
with every September 11 victims photo,
displayed at the entrance to the Pentagon.
A description of the many quilts sent from around the world
can be read in the article
"Quilters Show Support From Around the World"
published in the U.S. Department of Defense.
May we reach out,

one to one another,
with the comfort and warmth
of a kind word, hug or a quilt
when peace, kindness and love are needed,
as they were this day and in the many days that followed.
We remember and honor the heroes of this day
and all who lost their lives.
We will never forget.

{flickr photo by catface3}

And they say cats don't like water?!
We had a snuggle muffin who also enjoyed fresh
water from the sink, but not to this extent.
Enjoy!
{thanks to my sistah for sharing this with me}

This totally makes me think of the upbeat
Tommy Roe song,
"Dizzy"

raspberries+

sugar

+

lots and LOTS of stirring

coupled with a ten minute hot water bath

=

a cupboard full of joy!

Last nights industrious effort.

Getting the jars ready...

processing the jars
in the hot water bath,

to hear the reverse of Seinfeld's quote,
as the lids were popping,
"I wanted salsa, not seltzer."

At our house,
the windows and doors are flung as far open as possible
as we are enjoying cooler than normal temperatures
accompanied by less humidity.
Fresh air--
my favorite fragrance!I am so much more industrious when it is cooler out
so we have had some delicious dinners.
This is a super quick, easy, dinner--

roasted salmon and asparagus with
lemon caper sauce.
After cleaning and snapping off the woody part of asparagus,
spread them on your favorite baking sheet
drizzling the spears with olive oil
and grinding sea salt on top.

Set two pieces of salmon directly on top of the asparagus spears, once again
drizzling olive oil and grinding sea salt and pepper, to your taste, onto the salmon.
Pop the pan into your oven and
bake at 425 degrees for a mere 15 minutes!

Meanwhile, mix:

2 T minced red onion,

2 T fresh lemon juice,
1 t chopped fresh thyme,

1 T drained capers, chopped and

1 T olive oil
together in a small bowl and set aside.Plate the roasted asparagus and salmon onto a platter and
top the salmon with the lemon caper sauce.
Heavenly!

As we have a plethora of garden fresh cherry tomatoes,

the other evening,
I decided to make some bruschetta.

1 pint of cherry tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic, peeled
5 sprigs of thyme
¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil
salt, pepper
1 baguette

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place the tomatoes, thyme, and garlic into baking dish. Season with salt and pepper, then add the oil. Place the baking dish onto center rack of oven for approximately an hour. Tomatoes will explode, releasing juices that will evaporate before they emerge. Once the thyme and garlic is picked out, only intense, sweet tomato flavor shall remain.

Slice bread on an angle to maximize surface area. Lay on a baking sheet, drizzle with tomato oil from baking dish, salt and pepper. Broil until golden brown on edges yet moist inside.

To serve, lay toasted baguette slices on a plate and then pile as many tomatoes as possible on top of each.
Yum!

Then, last night,
Mr R called and said he was going to be home
in twenty minutes. I wanted
dinner served on the table when he walked in the door.
{Please note when it is hot out, sadly, this does not happen.}
I asked myself what I could do
with the leftover roasted tomatoes.
I put the tomatoes, garlic and thyme in a blender,

with some fresh basil I quickly retrieved from the garden,

{along with a handful of cherry tomatoes

for a spinach salad}

warmed it up on the stove

alongside a pot of boiling water for the pasta,

gently added some creamand we had a delicious pasta sauce!
This is what we have been making and sharing
together in our home these past few cool evenings.

I hope they are way good days for your family, too!

{click on links for original recipes}
[photo one by flickr Stina Magga]

"The wind rushing through the grass,
the thrush in the treetops,
and children tumbling in senseless mirth
stir in us a bright faith in life."
--Donald Culross Peattie
{flickr photo by aNne}