Good Morning

I awoke to a beautiful 40 degrees this morning- just marvelous! Perfect for some good color change, and a perfect mate to a hot cup of coffee. Even better, I'm drinking Kenyan coffee this morning, which is one of my favorites.

I'd also like to say Happy Birthday to my dear sister-in-law, Marghie, on her 30th birthday today. It's official, she's an adult, and I guess old, though I myself don't feel old, and I'm very nearly a whole year older than she. I do wish I was back in OH for just today to be able to celebrate with her, and bake up something delicious to share together.

#2, I'd also like to wish a Happy Birthday to my friend, Suzie, turning 31 yesterday. I know, my turn now. Love ya, Dear!

Joseph and I had a great weekend, being complete homebodies. I have to tell you that Saturday was the absolute perfect day in every way. Here's the run down, which I feel compelled to tell you about, because they don't happen all that often. I woke up about 7:30, and took little Winston for his morning walk. While walking, I decided that the cool air called for some sort of baked good for breakfast, and of course the season called for something pumpkin. So, when I returned, I mixed up some maple oatmeal scones, with pumpkin. They finished baking just as Joseph woke up, perfect timing, and I have to say that it made the house smell marvelous. While we were eating breakfast, we decided that we really needed a pumpkin spice latte also, so we got in the car, and went through the drive-thru at our local Starbucks for our seasonal favorite, complete with Winston in tow. I'm hoping he starts liking them as much as we do... well, actually that's kind of silly, because we don't intend to feed him people food, and I'm way too sensible to spend Starbucks money on my dog. We came back home, and Joe worked at the counter in the kitchen designing a game board that's he's been wanting to do for a while now, and I sat on my favorite chair with Winston drinking my latte, and reading through my favorite magazine, Country Home. Then, as if that wasn't delicious enough, I got to listen to my first Christmas music of the season (you know that starts in October, don't you?)... Chris Botti's December album. It really goes great with a sunny Saturday morning, and a cup of coffee. Eventually, I decided that I should be productive with my day, and started working on cleaning house.

Now, you should know that the house was blanketed in a white dust from having some tile repair work done on Thursday while I was in Oklahoma City for a tradeshow. Joe had mopped the floor twice on Friday to help get this cleaned up, but everything needed a good washing down really, so we got out the old Murphy's Oil Soap (Mom, aren't you so proud?). I spent the majority of the afternoon cleaning, but at a leisurely pace, with no particular time that I had to be finished. (That's a great feeling by the way, not to have a deadline on a Saturday, when there's always a deadline all week long.) We listened to Allison Krauss the whole afternoon, which always puts me in a content mood. I finally got a shower for the day around 5:30... PM. Then, put on some Diana Krall, and started cooking dinner. I made an angel hair pasta with chicken and shrimp sauteed with onions, garlic, fresh oregano, rosemary, basil and tomatoes. Finished it off with a pan sauce made with chardonnay and then parmesan sprinkled on top. It smelled heavenly! We sat down to dinner around 7:30, with candles, and Andrea Bocelli in the background. After dinner and a glass of wine, we took Winston for his evening walk, and then relaxed in front of the TV with a movie. Really, it was a GREAT day. The whole day was marked with peace, and contentment, and no schedule, which was the best part of all. I think everyone deserves a day like that at least once a month. Wow. Wouldn't that be a luxury?

In case you're curious, the latest in Winston news is that he's successfully house trained, sleeping all night long, and has recently figured out what the command Stay means. He's actually sitting, and staying at the back door, until we tell him to come inside, instead of charging the door as though we'll never let him inside again. I'm really very pleased with him, and he's making this experience of having a dog rather enjoyable. Much better than my family's previous attempts at having a beagle puppy named, Mosey. In fact, night and day difference.

Until next post, enjoy the Fall weather!