For purple mountains' majesty...

This mountain is the view from my neighborhood, and it 's very nice,

but this is the view I grew up with

It's pretty hard to beat that. The peak on the left, obscured by clouds, is where Spielberg and Mr. Triumph hiked last summer.

The mountain/hill in the first picture obscures the view in the second one, but I know it's there. There's probably a metaphor in there somewhere, but today I'd rather just enjoy the view.

A sunset

The day I took this, I happened to be up early and see the most glorious sunrise. The mountains and their snowy cliffs were basking in a delightful shade of rosy peach. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera with me (if only they came attached to your arm.) I was able to capture the sunset.

I am so grateful for the gift of a day with perfect blue skies and sunshine that warms my soul (if not the earth).

When things get really quiet around here...

I know to go looking for her. She will be sound asleep some where; she just can't seem to make it all the way through the day. Sometimes she'll even announce, "I going to bed. I so tired mommy."


Yes! Blue skies today. I am saving these for when the next group of storms is due, because even though I enjoy the thick blankets of snowy white and the stillness they bring, it does my heart good to see some sunshine too. Enjoy!

First (and maybe the last) Annual Christmas Pinata

The gang, assembled (note: John has skills)

Shortly before a made for tv moment
How those pajamas turned out

Hope Springs Eternal

Pinkin' up!

My black thumbs are being held at bay, as this daisy makes slow but steady progress.

I Going School

Now

Bye, bye see you.

Gimme kiss!

Fresh as a Daisy

Leaf Wars

Willow leaves make great ammunition.

And they are perfect for making leaf angels (like snow angels, but with leaves). Or for burying your brother.

But mostly, they are awesome for leaf wars.

Apron Tradition

Edited to add: another apron site and a favorite apron blog.

When it's our turn for Thanksgiving at my mom's house, the moms and grandkids all get together and bake pies. The girls learn how to make pie crusts and then fill the pies with their choice of fruit or spiced pumpkin. The moms are there to help them mix the pie crust dough and fit it into the pie tin.

And we do it in our matching Mom and daughter (or in my case, son) aprons. Last year she made these for us. We had two fabric choices - vintage or modern.

I think she just drew the pattern out. The back of the yellow apron is lined with fabric that is the same as the pocket fabric. I just love them.

For my son's apron we used leftover fabric from Kelley's quilt. My favorite part about his apron is that the neck is actually a very soft cotton elastic (the kind that go into boxers). That way it can stretch over his head and will basically fit him until he can't tie the straps any more or refuses because, "What if someone sees me in this?"

If you don't happen to have a sew-y mom like mine, you can always shop at places like

Heavenly Hostess
Amelia's Aprons
Itz Sew Lucy
Aprons for you
and find the perfect matching aprons for your budget. To see other posts related to Fall and Thanksgiving, visit Michelle at Scribbit and see her Winter Bazaar.

Cheery fall colors for a sick day

Today my son asked me if I had a headache. I told him, "No dear, I have a faceache."

My head cold hit me full force today, so I put my feet up (in cheery woolen socks I knit myself) on the couch and snuggled under a homemade fall-ish quilt.

You know the feeling - your whole head feels pressurized, as if an elephant is sitting on your face. Your ears crackle with each swallow, and attempting to breathe through your nose is pointless. Each cough or sneeze is felt in your throat as a harsh grating. Is there a little gnome climbing in there with aid of crampons and ice axes?

My voice made an occasional appearance, I kept Kleenex (with lotion) in business single-handedly, and me and menthol cough drops are like "this."

I decided that what this place needs is some color for cheering up. For starters, I give you the socks. They are made from a really cool fair isle sock yarn from Fortissima (I think in 9074). I made matching socks for Kelley some years ago. I mean hers actually matched - mine, however, do not. They are knit from the leftovers; I call them my Pippi socks, and I love them.

A few more cheery things:

Mums in the garden: lovely, cheery, and yellow as the sunshine

The wisteria arbor and the willow trees behind it

The red of a Burning Bush

The brown of the blazing stars gone into their fall rest

The unexpected snow storm today.
We had an inch in 20 minutes and the kids built their first snowman.

And one more shot of yellow. One can never have too much sunshine.

How was your weekend? What cheery things did you see today?

I've always wanted one of these...

A life-size troll doll, I mean
I'm so glad she humors me

Back to Life....with some souvenirs

A whole host of cliches are coming to mind right now:

Parting is such sweet sorrow, All's well that ends well, oh crap - those are ripoffs from Shakespeare

Back to life, back to reality - no, wait that's a song

Anyway, we're ba-ack (creepy Poltergiest reference). The time went too quickly, even though we are glad to see our kids again. The last time we left and went somewhere together was February (to St. George) and before that was probably a year ago to an overnighter in Salt Lake. Beyond that, couldn't even tell you. But it was probably the cruise we went on for our ten year anniversary six and a half years ago.


I think we were due for some one-on-one time. Here are some pictures from our trip - as short as it was we still managed to take oodles, tons, and even -

scads of pictures.

the view towards Zion's Natl Park
the view at my feet (from the picture above)
the airstrip at Strawberry Point

(it's that tiny dirt road on the left side of the pic)

Cedar Breaks from below
Navajo Lake
one of the most peaceful places on earth
from the west end of Navajo Lake
and,
last, but not least:

I even used sunscreen
which means I should definitely get out more
and
I should definitely go back-
next week?

Mountains.........a metaphor

Preparations have been made

the bags are packed

the route has been chosen

At this point, when my son realized that camp was just over the top of the first ridge in the center of the picture (which he nicknamed "The Colloseum")

he was overwhelmed
but, when it was his dad that nearly faltered when camp seemed unobtainable,
(this was his first hike after his Achilles' tendon rupture/repair 2 years ago and his legs were cramping up)
My son became the motivator,
telling his dad to just take 10 steps then rest
and it was his idea to run ahead, find the lake, and scout out a camp spot

their views along the way
Mine is a true blogger's hubby -
he dutifully snapped pictures of
the wildflowers

it's important to notice the beauty along the way
The view from the top
(haze from the wildfires)

Almost there

(this picture worried me a bit, but Mr. Triumph assured me that he was just a few feet from solid ground)

The Summit

not the end of the journey,

but where you glory in everything you've learned

for climbing the next mountain,

reaching the next summit

Sunny Saturday

Wish you were here!