The Beauty of Letting Go: Lessons from Autumn and Hospice 🍁

 

Hello my dear lovely Friends ~

Happy Friday and yay for the weekend ahead! It's supposed to be an unseasonably warm and lovely one - so we may try to get in a last pontoon ride here on our bay. Do you have fun plans this weekend?

I know you have heard me often exclaim my love for Fall. The beauty of the colorful leaves. The smell of woodsmoke in the air on long walks in crisp air. The crunch of leaves under my feet (I just love that sound so much!). The way the geese fly over the bay so low I can hear their wings flapping. The wearing of warm soft sweaters and sipping hot tea to warm up after being out in the weather. 

And I think Autumn is also such a time of slowing down. Here in the northwoods it's the beginning of hibernation season that we know is right around the corner.  This time of year makes me slow down. And because of that, I take in the beauty more with each year that passes. 

I also think volunteering in hospice has helped me see this season through a different lens. I remember reading the saying: Fall has a way of showing us there is a beauty in letting go. 

I think we often put a big focus on beginnings. Much like the Spring - the first warmth of real sunshine, first blooming of flowers and things growing in the garden. 🌻

But Autumn helps to remind us that endings are also part of a beautiful life story. Being in hospice I feel the privilege of walking alongside patients and families during that part of their journey. And I often say that the hospice house is like sacred ground to me. It brings me closer to my faith with every bit of time I spend there. I see it all as such a gift. Just like the gorgeous leaves outside.

I think of the trees and how they don't lose their beauty when they begin to change. Instead, often their most breathtaking display comes just before the leaves gently fall. What a lovely reminder for us all - don't you think?

My faith reminds me that God is present in every season. In the joyful beginnings, in the uncertain transitions, and even in the sacred moments of goodbye. 

"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven."  ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1

I find such comfort in those words, don't you?

So this Autumn I will watch the leaves gracefully fall in colorful showers outside my window, but I will be reminded of what a changing season can represent and I will hold my loved ones a little closer. I will work to connect with them even more and treasure the gifts they are in my life. 

❤️🍁🧡

Thank you for letting me share from my heart Friends. I thought I would share a few Autumn pics I took recently. The first few are from the windows of the hospice house where I work (& the long driveway leading to it). And I captured the misty bay and a bunny munching leaves from our deck this morning. Lastly, a few pinterest photos that just say cozy Fall to me. 

I treasure this time with you always Friends. 

Blessings

xoxo

Cooking & Crafting Thursday: Puppy Chow & Monster Cookies and some Progress

 

Hello gorgeous Friends!

How are things looking in your area of the world? Here it is sunny and low 70's and so pleasant out. Little breezes and there are bits of plants and trees just starting to turn colors for Fall. I had an appointment this morning and while I was waiting I saw so many monarch butterflies go by the window. And I looked it up and it's prime migration time for them to begin here in the north. So I got an unexpected bit of beauty in this day. God is so cool. 💗

I thought for some recipes today I would share the 2 sweet treats I made for the lake last weekend. They both turned out so yummy and so, if they are something you'd enjoy, I'd definitely recommend them. And they were both nice to have on hand for the long holiday weekend as they lasted the whole time through and are good for grazing. Taking a cookie here and there...or a handful of puppy chow (some call them muddy buddies) whenever the mood or appetite struck. 

And then I also thought I'd show you the quick progress I've been making on my current embroidery project (I'm addicted)...and a sneak peek at some Autumn decorations as I've slowly been cleaning and putting them up around the house. 

First up, I thought I'd share the 2 recipes. The puppy chow recipe is on my pinterest you can find here. And the monster cookies I found on the site www.tastesbetterfromscratch.com They are both straight forward recipes and I will share photos of each and the recipes. The only changes I made was with the monster cookies in that I used chocolate chunks instead of chips, and also added some butterscotch chips...cuz of course I had to be extra. Lol 

I joked to Matt that this cookie even looked like a monster with his green m&m eyes and chocolate chunk teeth.👹

I actually have a whole pinterest board called "mud buds" for muddy buddies because there are so many different flavor profile recipes. This is the O.G. recipe but next time I think I'll try something new for fun.

And then for the crafting portion of this post I thought I'd share that I have started decorating for Fall. Yay! It's my absolute favorite time of the year and the colors fit our home so well that I think I love how our home looks the most in Autumn. 

I saw this adorable tic tac toe with black cats and had to pick it up for this year. Bubba came over to inspect and I think he was asking me to play it with him 🖤

And I got a few new garlands this year: a leafy one and a felted pumpkin one - I love how they look together. 

So cozy 🍁🎃🧡

And here is the progress I have made just since last week on my embroidery project. I think then I had only completed the spider? I'm learning so many stitches: back stitch, satin stitch, leaf stitch, french knots, and the next stitch I'm going to try is the long and short. I enjoy this so much and work on it some nights when we watch a show. I like that there are different stitches so it's not so repetitive, like cross stitch (which I still like too). I got a cute kit with 4 of these Fall/Halloween themes and I picked the 2 cutest ones to do for each of my gf's Fall birthdays. :) Maybe the next time I'm able to share, I'll be done with this one! I also have a pretty diamond art piece that has a Christmas theme I want to do as a gift ...and will share once I begin. 

Have you been working on any crafting projects? Anything on your bucket list? I still want to get better at crochet and need to give that some real time...eventually. 😂 Not enough hours in the day! Lol

And I'm curious do you call that snack puppy chow? or Muddy buddies? 

Blessings on your weekend ahead. And if you make any of the recipes I hope you enjoy! 

xoxo

Happy Homemaker Monday

Happy Monday to you Friends😊

It seems like we are flying with lightening speed through yet another month! This past weekend we celebrated some birthdays. My son's was last week and my Dad's is this week. My son came up to stay with us this weekend (his partner Jill was out of town with friends). So we celebrated both bdays together this past weekend. To me, their birthdays are always a sign of how late into summer we are - and how close September is coming. 

It has been such a dry summer so we are also already seeing moments of leaves changing color around our area. And the geese have been flying over, or gathering on the bay, in abundance. More signs of Autumn in the air. 🍁

I have the windows open today as it's only in the high 60's and partly overcast with a nice breeze. It feels heavenly! I was cleaning up from our birthday party fun from the weekend this morning. And doing my morning workout. Now that my back is feeling better I've been back to it (gently). And it sure feels wonderful to feel back to myself. And I know many kiddos started back to school this week. Including my Annie away at college. I think the local public schools here start right after Labor Day as well. So there is that back-to-school feeling in the stores and everywhere now too. I just sent Annie a fun goodie box to wish her a happy new school year and to send a few cute things for her new apartment. I always loved this time of year as a kiddo myself and I still embrace that  fresh start feeling in everyday life. I've been organizing some things in my bathroom and office. And the next job I will tackle will be our pantry cabinets in the kitchen. I guess that's my version of jumping into the start of a new season. 🍎❤️

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE THIS MORNING:

 

I fasted this AM and just had iced coffee

ON MY TO DO LIST THIS WEEK:

errands, run things to my Mom & help her with Fall decorations, lunch and walking with a friend, groceries, cleaning projects, hospice work

THINKING ABOUT: 

how fun it was to catch up with my Aaron and how I hope Annie has an amazing school year ahead

THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY:

sitting outside on the rocking glider with a cool breeze reading my book and hearing geese fly over

CURRENTLY READING

I still need to finish my latest book but not sure what I'm going to dive into next?

 

ON THE TV TODAY:

Big Brother, Ted Lasso, I am watching Sanditon I never watched it when it was on PBS, we may start Widows Bay in the future? we still need to go back and finish this season of House of the Dragon though too

ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:

    MONDAY - french onion soup and leftover pasta salad & veggies from the weekend

TUESDAY - fried eggs with chili crunch on toast or protein pancakes, berries

WEDNESDAY - slow cooker honey garlic chicken (new recipe) with jasmine rice, green beans from the garden & broccoli

THURSDAY - sesame ginger chicken crumbles over cauliflower rice, veggie spring rolls

FRIDAY - out for dinner or leftovers

TO RELAX THIS WEEK I WILL:

work on holiday projects, read 

TIPS OR SOMETHING TO SHARE:

 

FROM THE CAMERA:

It's been fun picking things out of our little garden to add to our dishes. The green beans are really coming in and we have had several meals with them as our side dish already. I pick a handful like this almost every couple of days. One night we had a yummy garlic & herb pork roast and with it some zucchini & the garden green beans sauteed with garlic and oregano from our garden too. Also, roasted potatoes that included rosemary from our garden. Love that part of this time of year. :)💚

We set the table for our birthday celebration and my Dad and step Mom came over. We started with some appetizers and then Matt grilled steaks, burgers, & corn on the cob... and we had veggie pasta salad, and melon too.

the card I got for my Dad (gnomes always remind me of him)

I made Ghiradelli brownies for Aaron and I made these apple dessert bars for my Dad. I made a short bread crust and baked it a little, then apples I tossed with sugar and cinnamon etc on top of that... and then I added a streusel topping and baked the bars until they were done. I topped them off with salted caramel sauce before serving. They were a hit! I will share the recipe in the future.

I follow a gal on social media that makes the best overnight oats recipes and she recently made a peach cobbler one - so I made that today to have tomorrow. They look &smell so good! I will share that recipe in the future too. Basically I cut up a peach and sauteed it in a tiny bit of butter with a tsp of maple syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon & nutmeg. And the oats have vanilla protein powder, milk, greek yogurt, chia seeds & a tiny bit of maple syrup, cinnamon & nutmeg too. 😋 Tomorrow I will stir it up and top with a little bit of granola or crushed graham cracker.

pretty late summer on the bay:

PRAYER LIST:

 For an end to the conflicts all over the world and anyone living in war & fear, especially everything going on in the middle east right now. For peace and unity in this country, especially from hate and shootings or violence.  For anyone sick, suffering, in pain, fear, loneliness etc ... that God bring them comfort and peace. For a friend that recently went through a break up :(

For the Lord's love and peace to fill all ❤️'s.

For Christ's Light and Love to cast out the darkness everywhere and help the world find its way to loving our neighbors as ourselves. 🙏🏻

PRAYER, INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OR DEVOTIONAL:

I wish for you many of those wonderful unexpected moments my Friends. 

I'm sharing this with Sandra of Diary of a SAHM for Happy Homemaker Monday.

Happy Homemaker Monday

Hi there Friends! 

Happy new week to you.

For those in the States I hope you had a lovely Independence Day weekend. 

We went to the lake to spend it with Matt's folks and Annie came with us. They love when kiddos come and especially love the fact that my kids have embraced Matt's folks as other grandparents to them. 💗 Matt and I love that too! 

The weather was a little rainy/stormy on Saturday. But we had fun playing games, watching a movie, and then later it cleared enough that we could watch some of the fireworks across the lake. 

Then Sunday was gorgeous out and we got in a pontoon ride before lunch and then heading back home. 

Another lovely July 4th in the books ❤️🇺🇸

I know my fellow Autumn loving Friends feel the same way I do though. That once July 4th comes and goes we allow ourselves to let in a little Fall thought here and there. Lol In the northwoods July is the epitome of summer and then August becomes pre-Fall so it's easy for me to think that way. 

But don't worry my Summer loving Friends. I am still all in on Summer vibes. I still have a lot of flowers and garden to love, walks to be had, iced coffee to be sipped, golf to be golfed, BBQ's to be grilled, sunsets to be watched by a fire, swimming to be swam in the lake, and pontoon time to be relaxed upon. I just needed to be honest for a moment about who I am and that I do enjoy the allowance of an Autumn thought because it's always in my heart. As well as, I plan on some Christmas in July to be shopped and celebrated too. 😉❤️💚

But that's another story....

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE THIS MORNING:

ice protein coffee, whole grain toast with a little natural peanut butter

ON MY TO DO LIST THIS WEEK:

errands & groceries, getting ready for an Aunt to visit that is having surgery in the area and will convalesce here overnight (need to work on menu as she has a gluten allergy), check in with my Mom, projects, yard work, hospice work

THINKING ABOUT: 

As a Taylor fan (my daughter & I saw her in concert before and she was amazing!) - I'm glad she got her happy ending and that she had her big wedding with Travis over the weekend. It will be fun to see photos when they release pics of the big day. 

THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY:

fun bonding chats with my Annie boo

CURRENTLY READING

I'm happy to report I'm back to the book I was reading a month ago and making a dent on finishing it. Then I can dive into my new pile. (still finishing it 🙈)

 

ON THE TV TODAY:

  Jeopardy, old seasons of big brother Castle Impossible (we have several yet to watch), AGT, Sweet Magnolias (I need to finish this one), new Big Brother starts this week!

ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:

    MONDAY - green goddess pasta salad (for Annie & I), Matt will probably have a turkey sandwich too as he doesn't like to eat only vegetarian Lol😂

TUESDAY - maybe breakfast for dinner? (eggs, breakfast potatoes, I will make pancakes if Annie wants, fruit)

WEDNESDAY -  chicken salad low carb wraps

THURSDAY -  grilled chicken, roasted regular or sweet potatoes, romaine salad with fruit veggies & feta with balsamic viniagrette, gluten free rice krispies bars

FRIDAY - out for dinner?

TO RELAX THIS WEEK I WILL:

projects, maybe read, work on a craft for a future Christmas gift

TIPS OR SOMETHING TO SHARE:

 

FROM THE CAMERA:

A few shots from around home - including my goofy Hubby's humor. He put this monster plant in my garden for me to find. Lol Also some pics of the pretty glow at night. I love solar lanterns everywhere. 

Some pics from July 4th weekend at the lake. Crazy clouds before it got stormy. And the July 4th tradition Matt loves is to watch and see if Joey Chestnut can defend his hot dog eating contest title each year. I made some patriotic goodies for the weekend including chocolate covered strawberries. And this cream cheese berry french toast bake that was SO good. I will share the recipe this week. 

Sue (my MIL) wanted to take a pic of all of us to send to her Bestie back in AZ who always sends pics of her grandkids to Sue. I love that we always need take 2 because in the 1st one Matt is always being such a dork. That's my goofy Hubby. ::sigh:: It's never dull. 😂 

Also, you gotta love that I always look like I'm standing in a hole because I'm so short compared to everyone else. Lol 🙈

The weather cleared up enough to give us a pretty sunset and allow for us to watch some fireworks going off across the lake. 

Then Sunday was nothing but blue skies and a lovely day to take a ride on the pontoon. I love the last pic of a Mama Loon we came across that had a baby on her back:

PRAYER LIST:

 For an end to the conflicts all over the world and anyone living in war & fear, especially everything going on in the middle east right now. For peace and unity in this country, especially from hate and shootings or violence.  For anyone sick, suffering, in pain, fear, loneliness etc ... that God bring them comfort and peace. For healing for my Mom. For my Aunt's surgery this week to go well.

For the Lord's love and peace to fill 2026. ❤️ 

For Christ's Light and Love to cast out the darkness everywhere and help the world find its way to loving our neighbors as ourselves. 🙏🏻

PRAYER, INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OR DEVOTIONAL:

See, still mostly iced coffee and summer thoughts around here. 💗 Blessings on your week ahead. 

I'm sharing this with Sandra of Diary of a SAHM for Happy Homemaker Monday.