Some Autumn Things

Well summer has finally come to an end.  I am actually glad to see it go, I am ready for a new season and new things.  I love the fall, I enjoy leaves changing, pumpkins fattening, apples falling, and boots!  I adore sweaters and hot beverages by the bonfire.  I even enjoy all the rain I know is headed my way.  But I am getting ahead of myself, for now I will enjoy the early autumn activities of picking blackberries, making pies, and nestling in to my cozy home.

I have been so busy this summer that these first few days of back-to-school feel like just the thing to rejuvenate this mommy.  I have started the final deep cleaning before the cold sets in (it is hard to do this when it gets wet here in Washington, so winter isn't the time to clean).  I rearranged my living space yesterday.  The light is terrible this morning, but here are some pictures anyway.

Last night I lit all the candles and we ate dinner by their light, it was so lovely we decided to let them burn for another hour after we finished our meal.  Perfect way to spend an evening with my boys.

Before I moved to Washington 2 years ago my son attended a Waldorf school.  I try to incorporate ideas from that tradition into our home life because he attends a public school now.  One thing I have been wanting to do is a nature table, but it took reading this great blog post from Tinker Lab to get my butt in gear!  Thank you ladies.  My son is nine, so we can have a wonderful variety of items on our table, including things he has collected (he is really big on rocks).  And underneath I can store some of our games, which seem to have expanded beyond the cabinets ability to hold them recently.
 

 

 Along the same lines I also try to keep my son interested in the fiber arts.  He learned to knit and crochet a couple years ago, but it is difficult to keep him interested in these activities.  A few days ago he discovered the Coco the Cat series in Crochet Today magazine, he thought she was the cutest thing ever.  He wanted one so bad I made her up while he was in school Tuesday.  He crocheted her scarf that evening (with much complaining about the difficulty, he was very rusty).  He is very excited about her and wants her to have 100 dresses!  The boy even had the audacity to tell me I should make her a dress a week since I wasn't working on my sweater a month anymore!  From the mouths of babes... so be on the look out for my next sweater, I have a couple that need to be written up, and then I better get back on track for the one a month, I'm being watched!