Wordless Wednesday

Storm Clouds

Eric Sloane

Autumn

 Pyotr Nilis

Dance of the Whooping Cranes

N.C. Wyeth

Ireland

Frances Walker

Mountain Farm

Maxfield Parrish

Glass of Wine

Jan Veermer

School pictures

 Maya, First grade

Nova, Fifth grade

In this digital world, I'm so glad a few things haven't changed yet.  Like fall school photos, sent in snail mail envelopes to proud grandparents. 

Namaste

This unusual stretch of fine, dry November weather is a real gift, and the garden is pretty much tucked up for the winter. I've cut back the dead perennials and vines, rough-pruned the roses and mulched all the flower beds, with carts and carts of maple leaves.

Sadly, that big tree across the street that gives us so much shade and beauty is slowly dying.  I hope it hangs on for a few more years.

Anyway, the beds are mulched for the winter and what a nice sight, tidy and messy in a good way.  Now the plants settle down and the organisms get to work beneath that mulch.  Next March, Lord willing, I'll be out there again with my rake to pull it off and admire the fresh crop of worms beneath.

What did you do with your "extra" hour on Sunday morning?  How ridiculous, changing the clock every 6 months and upsetting our body rhythms. No one likes it, but compared to the dreaded "spring ahead," most people prefer to "fall back." Those who can sleep in, that is.

Sunday I woke up at the usual time, of course, which was 3:30 am. We ate breakfast early and were starving by 10 am.  But I put the long sunny morning to good use and cleaned the windows inside and out, dusted every level surface I could reach, including the mini blinds, the most tedious housework chore. Adding to the aggravation, one of them got stuck in the pulled-up position, but John managed to wrench it down.

The house looked bright and clean all afternoon, a nice reward for my hard work! But soon it will be too dark to notice much dust.

The Adams Family

Recognize this spooky family?  Amanda, Tom and the kids, headed out for some small town Halloween merriment.  Bet the candy coffers are full, unless the "switch witch" came last night.

The Switch Witch

Quite a night over here in the Urban Village, too.  Whew. Mobs of trick-or-treaters blew through 4 bags of candy by 7:30. We had to grab our candy jar stash to hold us over until 8 when we turned off the lights.  No leftover peanut butter cups this year.

I love how the costumes change over the years. Super heroes are always in, now with LED lighted masks. A few kids were lumbering around these big inflatable costumes, just like the things people put out on their lawns at Christmas. 

What a hoot! And for a nice change, it wasn't rainy or windy.

Oh my, we had some good chicken enchiladas-- a perfect meal for a cold night.  Lots of jack cheese and homemade sauce made with hot green chili powder I bought in New Mexico.  The only problem is, I can't remember where? I told John a good excuse to go back and find more.

All Hallows' Eve

It's going to be a nice night for trick-or-treating. I have 4 bags of candy, hopefully that's plenty.  Of course I buy our favorites: Hershey milk chocolate, Reese's peanut butter cups and Mounds bars "just in case" there's any leftovers.

Halloween, the most pagan of holidays, comes from a Celtic festival called Samhain, marking the start of winter and the final harvest. Animals were slaughtered and people started to hunker down in the dark. Eventually, November 1 became known as All Saints' Day or All Hallows' Day, honoring all the Christian saints and martyrs. All Soul's Day (The Day of the Dead) is on November 2.

John Fogerty wrote "Bad Moon Rising," a big hit single for Credence Clearwater Revival. It's classic rockabilly with a inkling of doom. The lyrics were inspired by old black-and-white 1941 film called The Devil And Daniel Webster, shot in that spooky film noir way. We watched it a while back-- a good devil story, if there ever was one. 

Happy Halloween!

Just another diamond day

The weather has been crystal clear and sunny for days now, but down to freezing at night with only16% humidity. We're not used to that, and I woke up with bright red cheeks like Mrs. Santa Claus. Or somebody who drinks too much wine :-) Hopefully, just the dryness. 

Weird, because some areas have facial moisturizing morning fog. The Puget Sound terrain creates dramatically different micro-climates within just a few miles. When arctic air like this pushes into eastern Washington, it creates a dome of high pressure, and that difference between the two sides of the state creates strong winds through the gaps in the Cascade Mountains.

The cities of North Bend and Enumclaw near the foothills had damaging winds over 50 mph yesterday. A few miles away here in Seattle, not so much as a breeze as the leaves flutter gently down.

I work at the Stop n' Shop Wednesday afternoon, so I usually stay home in the morning and do chores. I have Halloween cookies to decorate, and I'm on the fence about cleaning the outside windows one more time this year.  These beautiful, golden sunsets sure light up the grime.  Of course by this time next week it won't matter.  We'll be off daylight savings time and it will be dark by late afternoon.

From this window in a corner of the living room, we once had a sweet view of the Olympic Mountains. It's been 10 years since they torn down an old rambler and built this enormous grey house in its place, but I still feel a pang when I sit in my favorite spot on the sofa.

How true the fundamental Buddhist teaching, that attachment to things that change is the cause of suffering in life. I guess that's the lesson here. As for losing a cherished little view to ugly new construction, we're not alone in West Seattle.