Cider donuts and quotes

Imagine my excitement when I got this message from my son and daughter-in-law! Every fall they go to Edwards Apple Orchard in Illinois and get freshly made cider donuts. This year Keith packed up a dozen on Saturday and they arrived still fresh on my doorstep on Monday. I finished the last one today, dunking it in my coffee.

Outside, the lengthening morning shadows in my yard indicate that we're tilting toward winter and the dark, rainy season. I must make the most of every sunny, crisp fall day.

Now for some quotes. I'm working hard at these first two in the ongoing creation of my new life as a single woman.

But I think I need to incorporate this last one into my plan.

Have a colorful day

Colors of Spokane

The first thing that greeted me when I got to my daughter's house in Spokane this week for a short visit was an array of special snacks with a heavy emphasis on chocolate! Up above was a most colorful fish mobile. (She gets her love of chocolate and color from me.)

Then I went straight to the living room, where Julia settled me on the couch with a couple of rabbits. They are so snuggly and affectionate, I could've stayed there for hours. In fact, much of the visit was spent snuggling with the bunnies.

The next morning I awoke in a very colorful bedroom, complete with vintage sheets on the bed and my tiny house quilt on the wall. She also has a hot pink shower curtain (with pompoms) in the bathroom, which casts a warm pink glow throughout the room when the sun shines in.

The next day, we set off for a drive in the rolling countryside with a stop at a pumpkin farm. There is an association of farms there called Green Bluff Growers, and a lot of them are geared up for fall activities.

I had a bag of warm pumpkin donuts and coffee and Julia had some herbal tea out on the patio at one of the farms. It was chilly, and with the sun going in and out of the clouds it felt very fall like.

That night we had pizzas at one of our standard stops, Allie's Vegan Pizzeria and Cafe. We started with vegan, gluten-free (for Julia) breadsticks dipped in a delicious garlic sauce, followed up by my Italian pizza and her mushroom one. It was all topped off with mouth watering fall spice cupcakes, but I forgot to get a photo.

The fall colors continued at the Quilting Bee, where I scooped up some fat quarters of Grunge fabric in red, orange and gold. And, of course, I had to get some yellow-green because that's my favorite color.

Last but not least, she put together two of our photos from the past, her at age 15 and me at 25. See any similarities?

Now I'm back home and ready to face the rainy season with a new quilting project, a pumpkin by the front door and the ingredients to make pumpkin chocolate chip bread this weekend.

Have a colorful day

Colors of Port Gamble

Not only did I get to enjoy Paula's garden last weekend (see previous post), but the next day I went to Port Gamble and saw its gorgeous dahlia garden. The closeups show the incredible designs of these flowers, and the rain drops were an added bonus.

The garden is maintained by the Kitsap County Dahlia Society. Here are just a few more flowers.

There were also some cheerful yellow flowers outside of the quilt shop, The Quilted Strait. The shop is in an old stable building.

I'm working on this starry winter night quilt right now, but I might leave out all but one house and put in more trees.

I bought a little pile of splashy floral prints plus some text fabric. The black and white print on the bottom will be the sky in the winter quilt.

And I finally found Kathy Doughty's latest book, "Organic Applique." When I saw her in person at the Gossypium quilt shop last year (field-trip-gossypium-kathy-doughty-and.html) I asked about her applique process and she said it would all be explained in her new book, so I'm excited to have it.

And you know me, there has to be some food involved. So after we hit the quilt shop and dahlia garden, my friend Sherry and I headed over to have lunch at the Butcher and Baker. The baked goods are incredible! I got a large piece of apple slab pie to take home, and Sherry got a chocolate mint brownie.

For lunch, I had a grilled veggie sandwich and potato salad that was enough for two full meals. Sherry had a big salad.

Have a colorful day

"Fall"-ing Into Paula's Garden

I love this lady in Paula's yard.

Happy Fall!

I got in a visit to Paula's garden over the weekend and thought it would be the perfect blog post for this first day of fall. She is a superb gardener. She paints her world with beautiful flowers and textures for every season. Here's a glimpse:

She also grows mountains of vegetables, including these funny looking Mad Hatter peppers and a rainbow of tomatoes (shown here with curry powder).

She roasted the tomatoes and turned them into a tasty galette. Here she is in action, shaping a golden turmeric crust. She's also a fabulous cook.

It came out of the oven bursting with tomatoes, carmelized onions and cheese. Yum!

After lunch, we went for a lazy turn around the lake in their boat with hubby Duane at the helm. Paula's son, Nathan, kicked back while his son, Teddy, sprang into action.

I'm always relaxed and happy on their boat, except for once when the wind whipped off my brand new orange prescription sunglasses and they disappeared forever into the depths of the lake.

Back home, my fall decor

focuses on the bunnies.

Have a colorful day

A little humor, a little coziness

Facebook had some good spousal humor today. I'm celebrating not having to deal with this stuff anymore, especially the one about being constantly interrupted when trying to read.

And earlier this week, there were pictures of both of my kids on Facebook snuggling with their furry children. Keith's wife posted the picture of him with the dog, and I'm sure he would be embarrassed if he saw it -- but he's one of those rare Millennials who's not on Facebook so he won't know.

And here is Julia with two of her super snuggly bunny babies. I miss them. I'm planning a road trip next month to see them all.

I'l end with a quote that I pulled from Instagram this morning. It's been my goal this year. Sometimes I slip up and cry, but I'm getting way better overall.

 Have a colorful day