Finally Friday - Fall is Here?

Fall is in the air.  Well, it's a dream concept this year in Texas.  Still 90s as I write this post.  But evening temps are lowering and we've had a few drips of rain. That cools the pool a lot. 

Still too hot for fall mums. So, I planted a gnome instead. 

" Sweater " weather indeed - no not the sweatshirt or a "jumper" as my UK friends call it.  Here in Texas we are still perspiring - ha!

I am playing an old Hall & Oates tune - "Fall in Philadelphia"  It allows me to sense the cooler tinge in the air, see the bright reds, golds, and oranges in the leaves, and smell a fireplace burning. 

Happy Fall Y'All!   Are you rich enough to afford a pumpkin this year?

Monday Moments - Fall Filler

Happy Fall and November.  I am currently in Philly visiting my dad, so I won't be around much to comment.  Here are some random fall filler pics. We've survived Halloween, now it's onward to Thanksgiving, and

 sshh! You know who sees you when you're sleeping, knows when you're awake,  knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake.

Have a good Monday and week.

Wednesday - Birthday Week, The State Fair, and Fall

Birthday Tuesday October 8th. Yep - getting older.  But wiser. I knew I didn't want to go to work. Neither did Ray on J Day.  So we put in for vacation and headed to the Great State Fair of Texas. 

Go big or go home - that's the TX motto and I love this fair. It's truly bigger, bolder, better, badder, than any one on the planet.   We started with the very cool chainsaw carver. The man is amazing with a design in 30 minutes.

Then there are art sculptures, a fake Big Tex (and little me), an exhibit at the Hall of State about Texas Cinema - yes, we had to pose with ol' Hank Hill.

Throw in a bird show, creative arts building, auto show, huge Ferris Wheel, Fletcher's Corny Dogs, Dairy/Ag building, music, stunt bike/skateboard/scooter show, and stunt dogs. Whew!

And for a fried finale - the Fla-Mango - 2019 award winning dessert.  Mango deep fried in a light batter with a side of mango/berry sorbet, and a dollop of whipped cream.

9 hours. Over 10K steps. Calories - hey, it's my birthday - who's counting?  Gosh, I love fall and October.

Monday Moments - Finally Fall

 Sunday - record high of 97. Very warm September, serious drought conditions, and no end in sight.

 Then, last night the wind shifted, we got a trace of rain, and temperatures plummeted.

 I awoke this Monday to 65.  Delightful

 And our project Saturday was kicking October into gear with pumpkin heads.  The pop of orange gives me a fall fabulous feeling.

Just don't walk into the spider web out back.

We have the spirit, and now with fresh cooler air, a kick in the step. Have a good Monday and week.

Fall Tablescape

I love October. It's my birthday month (official date October 8), it's generally cooler in Texas, and there's just a crispness to the air and my attitude.  I will have spent this past weekend in PA visiting my Dad and family, and catching up with old friends. (Yes, I've known them since junior high and we are getting old(er) )

Last weekend I visited our local nursery and bought these pumpkins for my fall tablescape. Bright and cheery oranges and yellow pop - a treat for the eye.

So, happy October and Monday. Back to work for me.

Philly Fall - Radiant

 I visited Dad on the most perfect November week possible. Warmer than normal and the colors were still blasting absolute glory

 From the front porch around 7 am

Crisp air and sunshine. Tough to beat

I've been back in Texas two weeks now. Dad reports he's doing much better.  Getting out and about with some friends. No more visiting nurses, so he has to do his exercises on his own. It's quite positive.

Let's have a good rest of the week everybody.

Thoughtful Thursday

Follow the yellow leaf road

(The picture doesn't do justice to how the sunlight made this a golden path)

Good Morning Monday, Let's Reflect on Sunday

 Fall festival time at the Dallas Arboretum. This place is beyond fabulous.
Yes, we are blocking the mums - Evelyn, me, and Linda T

 Ray said we're the thorns - Ev, Erica, Linda, and yours truly

 Tons and tons of pumpkins everywhere.

 Gorgeous rose

Fall melange of colors.

October glory finally arrived with "cooler" temps and a touch of crispness in the air.

Have a good week everyone

Wordless Wednesday

Fall/Halloween spirit in the back yard. Glad these aren't real spiders!

Happy Wednesday.......and yes, I'm ready for the weekend already............

Senior Tales

Here's my Dad. My brother, David, took the picture probably after yelling at Dad to stop raking the leaves. David was there to mow and mulch. Ultimately in December, a service comes to suck up the balance and haul them away. Trust me, it's a lot of leaves and you can't burn them anymore.

I can report that Dad's in pretty good shape. Slowing down a bit at 83, but keeps a clean house. Frankly he runs a darn good Bed and Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner/plus Snack place.

His clutter piles are arranged. There's plenty that should be discarded but it's not hoarder status. His fridge is filled with tons of deli cartons. His freezer is full of goodies given to him from family events. He has soups, Italian foods, etc. The man can't starve. The fridge looks like it's filled for a family of six at least.

He falls asleep at the drop of a hat and the TV is LOUD.  I told Ray that no matter what - make sure Dad is NOT grasping the remote.  His head drops and you find yourself trying to ease the remote from his hand like the Grinch easing the candy canes from the littlest Who kids in Whoville.  Ray did witness this event.

Had a super visit, and I'll report a few more goodies in another post this week. I'm catching up now - did grocery shop, laundry is churning, and of course I have shows DVR'd to watch.

Reality bites but I survived first day back at work. Life is far more fun with the senior! 

Love ya Dad

Philly Fall

 I am headed to my Dad's in PA for a long weekend - Friday thru Monday. Ray's going too - we got a super cheap airfare. It's good to check in with the senior. We've had lots of emails back and forth. Today he was cleaning the guest bedroom and putting flannel sheets on the bed. I told him we could do that, but no..........

 Yes, this house still has an old rotary dial phone. He doesn't want to remove it, because it would leave a weird spot on the wall and he does not want to have to paint the kitchen. (Makes sense)

Here's a picture from a few years ago - some remnants of leaves stuck in bushes. Not sure if we'll be raking or not. He actually does pay for a service in December, but it drives him crazy to not rake every weekend. I remember, as a kid, when we burned leaves in the street. The neighborhood was a hazy smoky mirage.

If you wonder what we're doing this weekend, most of the time we sit at the kitchen table and talk, and eat, and snack, and talk some more. So, have a good weekend, and I'll be back soon with at least one good senior tale.

A New Poem: Fall Fancy

 Fall Fancy

feathery clouds
layered afternoon sky
dusk loomed as sun's final rays
streamed. Highlighted
autumn glory. Golden leaves,
burnt orange, and rust reds
glowed. Wind rustled.
created rippled shadows
apple crisp breeze
teased hot cocoa nights

              Joanne Faries

Oak Tree Poem

Necessary murder

by Joanne Faries

ninety-two feet tall

massive oak tree

shed gnarled limbs

huge suicidal branches

plunged

through the roof

family reclined on the couch

clicked between football

and Discovery

reality lumberjack show

oak shadow loomed

until slain by an arborist

firewood stacked

by back door

Harvest Heat Poem

Harvest Heat

by Joanne Faries

burning leaf memory

inhaled, nose tingled

deep in my blood,

smoke oozed from pores

seeped into hair

airy ash wisps encircled my head

erie figures drifted in haze

rakes in hand swooshed

crimson, orange, yellow leaves

southwestern fall

air-conditioner whir at six

wheezes until midnight

dollars fly about the room

distills humidity, cools tepid air

I sweat

grass crunches

wind chimes silent

slack flag droops oppressed

scurry indoors

soul compresses

yearn for fire reds, golden hues

drab leaves herald October

pumpkins will explode

melt into pumpkin pie

not glow with Halloween candles

Contemplating Autumn

Fall officially begins this Saturday 9/22/12. Oh, the Texas mornings are crisper. We are in the sixties, but still rapidly heating up during the day, soaring toward ninety degrees. That's too hot. I yearn for jacket weather. Browns, crimsons, and golds. This postcard represents fall perfection
I realize that on the other side of fall winter looms. Nonetheless, I'm ready for mums in bloom, pumpkins on the stoop, and a harvest moon. Here's a poem I wrote in contemplation of autumn.

Meditation Walk

leaves crunch underfoot

acorns plunk, squirrels rustle

wrestle nuts to hide as

mockingbirds cackle

German shepherds behind fences

growl warnings as I pass

calm, tranquil, I stride the

neighborhood route

mindful of peace

aware of nature’s din



Philly (suburbs) Fall Frolic

In the name of God, stop a moment, cease your work, look around you (Leo Tolstoy) I did plenty of that in North Wales, PA for Thanksgiving at my Dad's. No work, lots of putzing, plenty of laughs, tons of food, and some observations. I didn't write much, but words churn in my brain and material will erupt from my time with family and friends.

Goethe wrote One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.

Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to get leisure. I think Ben Franklin's goal was to rock on my father's front porch and watch the leaves swirl like snow.

Look up, look down, seek that surprise splash of color.

Bushes are at eye level and trap leaves. Stand still and listen for the rustle, inhale the fragrant evergreen, revel in the crisp air, and then contemplate a cup of cocoa. Winter bleakness knocks at the door. We're not answering ...yet.

Fall Fables

Need to get out the thesaurus to come up with better words or colors for a poem or ode to the arboretum. Plus a fall setting to start a book is upbeat and then we encounter the first hardship - winter. Fix a cup of tea and stir the pot or plot.

Plucky purple. Surely I can incorporate a description of this bounty into my November NaNoWriMo - that's National Novel Writing Month
and I'm using October to jot some notes and rev the engines. Last year I started writing with no clue and I'm still writing the end to the darn mess. However, for this next novel, I have a plan.

Yeah, and maybe there'll be a wedding in my book. I just attended a fall wedding and the colors, table decor, and leaf motif were splendid. I was also inspired by the tasty spice cake. Plenty of fall fables to tell, and perhaps a cake to bake.

Fall Take Away

First day of fall, and I've been back a week from PA. I escaped in time. These lovely green leaves on the 90 plus feet tall oak trees will slowly turn colors and then drop like crazy. Layers of crimson and gold. Tons of crunchy acorns. All underfoot awaiting a rake.

Browsing through a copy of Traditional Home (October 2009), a quote caught my eye courtesy of French author Antoine de Saint-Exupery. "A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add but when there is nothing to take away."

Definitely true words when editing a story or plucking at a poem. Or for my father, when the last leaf drifts from the tree, is raked up, and snow blankets the bare limbs.

Joanne

FYI- upon perusing the magazine, the color green is IN. Plus coax quiet rooms to speak up with color. That could also be said of many paragraphs I wrote this morning. Back to the drawing board.