Catching up in October

I am finding it hard to stay caught up on my blog.  So much happens and life is so busy and sometimes a week can seem like a month and I think to myself, "Did that just happen last week?  Seems like forever ago."

Fall is most definitely here and the weather has been stunning.  Warm sunny days, cool air, lighty frosted mornings.  The leaves have changed and it seems so much prettier this year than I remember it last year.  I think I was a bit disappointed at the country colors versus the town colors.  People plant trees known for their bright Fall leaves and the countryside is more muted, less vibrant and varied.  This year, I have my own garden and trees and even though things are small, I can see color and I can imagine how lovely it will be when things start to fill in.  

Evening...

Morning...

Day time

The deer are horrible!  They have breeched the fence (which we are having to redo) because they can jump through a 12 inch opening.  They have eaten everything "desirable" down to the nubbins and I am hoping that things will make a come back in the Spring.

I love it when we go for a walk (or in this case, kick the soccer ball around the garden) and the animals follow.

This is my latest yarny project.  I saw crochet rugs at the Flock and Fiber Festival and I loved the way that they looked more like a braided rug than a crochet rug.  The other crochet rugs that I have seen have a lot of gaps and are made with things like t-shirt or sheet strips.  For these, you use economy yarns (think cheap acrylic) that can be picked up at garage sales (I found some at the Goodwill).  You create a thick yarn by finger crocheting several strands together and then crochet that yarn into a circle (or oval).  It is very thick and there are so many color options but it is very time consuming!  Because the yarns can vary in thickness, it is tricky to get the tension and increases right and I have had to rip out the last rounds several times to get it to lay flat.  I think there will be a bit of a learning curve but I like the way it is coming together.

The best part is, finger crocheting the new yarn takes no thought or effort and I can do it while tutoring Barton.  It makes such a huge difference to me to have something to do with my hands, that I can put down and pick up in a second while the children are writing out their work.  I can't do this with regular crochet.

After skipping two months, I finally made it to a Salem Sketchers on location sketch.  It was at Pioneer Cemetery this time.  I really need to make sure I prioritize these.  It is only a couple of hours but a nice get away and a chance to be creative and inspired by others when we share our sketches at the end of a session.

I didn't finish.

I learned about Inktober at Salem Sketchers.  For the month of October, a prompt is given daily, and the challenge is to draw every day for a month using the prompt as your springboard.  I did "clock".  I managed 3 days in a row.  Maybe I can catch up today.  Next year, I would love to do the whole 30 days.

Tina invited me to a private garden tour.  I was very inspired for a couple of reasons:  

First, the Eckerts moved onto this property after their children were in college and had lived there for 30 years.  You can start new in your midlife and have a beautiful garden that grows and fills in.  Sometimes, I am a bit discouraged that we have nothing established to work off of...everything is so much of a blank canvas that it is a bit intimidating and discouraging that everything is so small that you have to imagine what it is going to look like and hope that you spaced things out right.  

Second, gardens don't have to be formal.  Mine isn't a well thought out, planned, formal kind of garden.  Many of the plants are economy (cheap and common) and I am learning as I go, making mistakes, transplanting a lot, and I don't have a detailed vision.  I knew I wanted the boarder garden and I filled in with trees and height wherever I wouldn't block the view.  Other than that, I don't have things planted because they look spectacular together or with design elements of structure, form, shape, etc.. in place.  I think that sometimes you can just buy what you like and plant it where there is room and see what happens.

Third, some of those design elements can be incorporated with things that you can add and move around like sculpture, metal, pots, garden art, etc..  I can't afford much of that right now but I can do things with rock and salvaged items.

Phil got me these beautiful Gerber Daisies.  I love the bright fall colors.

Poor Brighton had another major dental appointment.  He was knocked out completely again.  He had gum surgery and the tooth repaired.  I am so hoping that this one lasts.  This is the 5th repair that he has had done, the second time he has gone under anesthesia, has had 2 infections, and has been to 4 dentists including a pediatric specialist and an endodontist.  (And we are up over 6,000 dollars out of pocket.) . If the tooth holds up, the endodonist hopes to work on stimulating tissue growth around the tooth for the best chance of growth and development and eventually an implant.  

In this picture, he is still out from the procedure.  I was trying to get him to open his eyes for the camera instead he managed a weak smile.