Showing posts with label autumn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label autumn. Show all posts

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Summer-it's a wrap!

Labor Day weekend is the official end of summer, I suppose. Oh, and what a summer it's been! It began with a wedding that led to a courtship that has led to a certain member of our family moving into a different Time Zone. (Not nationally recognized, but philosophically termed "Lovers' Time") This makes coordinating the simplest events rather difficult because this certain member doesn't need food or drink when he has the conversation of his "belovedid," to quote Ernest T. Bass. I am half-jesting. It has been such a blessing to see Daniel and Abigail's courtship flourishing. :)


The summer continued with a visit to the harbor to see a fleet of tall-ships and an unexpected departure to Georgia which took up five weeks! I turned 20 while down in Georgia and came back just in time to see baby saying his first words and celebrating his first birthday, and Sarah and Leah to turn 18 and 15, respectively. Life waltzed along in a at a comparatively slow pace to that I'd learned to cope with during the campaign.
Levi took his first official steps, and the girls were introduced to Smash-booking. We attended a surprise party for a dear friend, and we lived through many a day of rain for--contrary to the rest of the nation--it's been an exceptionally wet summer.


We planted berry  bushes and played volleyball. I worked on my books and lived the Cossack Uprising vicariously through With Fire and Sword. We made matches and discussed hopes and dreams. There's been laughter and joy and heartache all mingled together into the goblet of this summertime. Old ways we were fond of have gradually been effaced by a new regime of blessings that will prove to be sweeter than we'd ever have dreamed. At present they may rub now and again like a new pair of boots, but we'd never trade them back.
We've sent letters and received letters, we've sung songs and watched movies. We've danced to Ella Fitzgerald and memorized songs from Wicked and Les Miserables. We've even gained a taste for country music!


We've fallen in love with Sherlock and reminded ourselves that our tastes have grown much more refined since the days of Spy Kids and Inspector Gadget. We've made birthday cakes and eaten them, we've walked in the historic towns nearby and had a picnic or two to boot.


It's been a long, full, summer, and one I can truly say I'll never forget. So many memories, so many lessons learned...so much life. I can only look forward with breathless, eager anticipation to see what the fall will bring.
Autumn! Fire of my heart and love of my being...I come alive when the trees kindle and the breeze carries that gypsy-chill on its breath. When the blood rushes with spices and the very leaves are blushing with pure exhilaration...


I can see some of the adventures that might be lurking around the corner, and I know there will be some that take me by surprise. Graduations, dances, birthdays, camp, visiting missionaries and plots for Romania. Campaigns and bonfires and more!


 I don't know which things will come to pass and which will be replaced by something better. But I can say with full assurance that it will not be a dull autumn by any stretch of the imagination!

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

close to falling.



It's nearly fall.
And I'm getting excited about all the fallish things I love so much.
For instance:
Fall fashion. In the cooler seasons you get to don your boots, layers, scarves, and all the pretty accessories that are more for looks than warmth. ;)

Comfortable hoodies...
And the next big one being the food! :D I absolutely love all the comfort foods and treats that you only get when the wind is blowing and then leaves are falling. :)
(my personal favorite, apple cider doughnuts!)
And freshly made apple cider is one thing that cannot be beaten. 
CARAMEL!!!!
Windy days
All the brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows.
Ah.....I'm getting myself in the mood for all of the above! 
What are some of your favorite things about autumn? :)

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Is it "kahr-mul" or "kar-uh-mel" ?


It's the time of year for things like....

.Caramel!!!!

car·a·mel 

noun   

\ˈkär-məl; ˈker-ə-məl, ˈka-rə-, -ˌmel\

-a firm chewy usually caramel-flavored candy
 I pronunce it more like "kar-uh-mel".










*sigh* I have to say, this candy is one of my favorites in the fall! What about you all? What things remind you of this season? :)
-Sarah

p.s. If you haven't entered the Movie Quotes contest, please click here and enter!

Friday, September 23, 2011

Just Wanted to Say.....

Happy Autumn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have to say, once again, that the fall is pretty much my favorite season of them all! Thank you Lord for the beautiful change of seasons. :)
~Sarah
p.s. What do you guys think of the new look? :)

Monday, August 15, 2011

Whether the weather is cold, or whether the weather is not...

Mmmm....I can't wait for the autumn and winter! The present break from the heat belies the fact that despite the best of August's scorching temperatures, the fall will come before too long...I can't wait for the time for rambles in the quiet woods...

Visiting the Maidenhair Mirror....

Seeing the ethereal blue of the sky uncrowded by leaves...



Look! I really think that's frost! FROST? Yes, summer. Frost is coming, and I'm waiting with open arms... :)




Benjamin and Sarah accompanied me this trip into the woods. :)
I cannot take credit for any of these pictures. I believe they are all Sarah's. :)


The haunting beauty of the Maidenhair Mirror is unrivalled. :) See the dark moss on the bottoms of the trunks?
That's where the water comes up in the wet season. :) And all that brush around the edge? In the summertime (I haven't had time to visit it this summer. :[ ) That's all waist-high maiden-hair ferns! :)




Me and Benjamin in a "friendship tree" :) *smiles at Abigail Taylor*


Pine trees! Gotta love our Virginian woods. We just can't get rid of them. :P


Doth my eyes deceive me, or is that the White Tree of Gondor? ;)
No, it's just one of the prettiest fields on our road. :)


And another view of the same field... I like to think it looks rather BBC-ish...I wish I could show you a full view of it all.
It's rather one of my favorite walking spots.

So there you have it: My longing for the cold weather presented in only a few pictures. It might be unseasonable, but summer has had her reign. I'm looking forward to cute jackets and skirts with boots, pumpkin bread and hot cups of tea. Oh yes. It's coming.
~Rachel
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Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Autumn and My Gypsy Wind


"Sumer is a'coomin in"....so goes an extremely old song. Think...midievil times. That old. But I've edited the song to fit my present mood. I'll change into a long, swishy, gown, I'll let down my hair, and if I had any inkling how to play some little twangy intrument, I'd stand outside and warble: "SUMER IS A'GOING OUT!" ;) I'm kidding! But I am truly excited about the change of seasons. This summer has fried us. Or steamed us. I can't decide which. Maybe both equally! :P It has been a good summer nevertheless, but give me Autumn any time! :) Daniel agrees. You can't deny that that picture up there thrills you to the very core, and involuntarily turns your mind to apple cider! :) There is just something about the fall that makes me feel alive! I can already see the change out of doors. The light has changed to be more clear and almost liquid. It is fast loosing Summer's heavy golden look. The landscape across the field is beginning to show just the faintest hints of it's Autumn garb. The breezes are cooler, and more playful. The other day I actually saw a brilliant patch of goldenrod! Any day now I am expecting to feel my Gypsy Wind! Yes, I have named a particular wind. Don't laugh at me! :) It is a certain wind, during the late part of summer, about through October, and it makes you feel that summer is truly over. Haven't you felt it? It's that sort of grown-up-breeze that cavorts by and makes you glance up and notice a crimson-painted tree, or the deep azure of the sky, and makes you think of firesides, and shawls, and the Blue Ridge Mountains. This particular wind also makes me want to go "A-gypsy-ing" which merely means, a sort of restless feeling that makes you want to ramble through field and forest, or go traveling, or do anything except stay inside and do ordinary things! :) Please tell me you know what I'm talking about! Sarah just smiles at me! But she is just as eager as I for the fall and all it brings! :) Do try to see if you have a Gypsy Wind anywhere about your home! I can't imagine that it would merely be a breeze peculiar to our land, for I've felt it at all three of the homes I've ever lived in! Be on the look-out for my Gypsy Wind this fall, and let me know if you've felt it! :) It is one of the biggest blessings of the end-of-summer! I like that verse in Psalms: "Fire and hail, snow, and cloud, stormy winds fulfilling His word.." and I often think of the Gypsy Wind in that way. It seems like a bit of a promise of God to remind me of the beautiful, riotous, Autumn coming. Try to notice it! We have become so focused indoors, (most of us) that we never stop to notice the transitions between seasons. They are nearly as important to me as the real seasons themselves. Like anticipating some special event! I don't know. Maybe I'm just strange that way! Hope not!-Rachel