Sherri's (Never A Dull Moment) World

A Touch Of Fall...

I really don't know what happened to summer...

We had a chilly spring, which stretched into June and made our summer months feel very short. Usually September in the Pacific Northwest is gorgeous with bright, sunny days and an extension of warm weather which stretches out our summer gardens. Not so this year. September was rainy, rainy, rainy. My garden tomatoes didn't stand a chance for getting ripe in this crazy weather-- instead they all just turned black and died. My only garden successes were a handful of zucchinis, lots of green beans, onions & garlic turned out well, and my pumpkin patch is HUGE.

Now, it feels officially like fall. I picked a handful of Rodgers pumpkins for my front porch:

I changed out my banner so we can get a little excited about Halloween:

Elijah is modeling a new pumpkin fleece hat that I gave him this morning:

I changed my kitchen table for the season, which includes an octopus sporting fall colors (remember, I am a marine biologist) (even my kitchen is "fishy"):

And I remembered to change out my dishes, too. This may sound weird, but I have a secret "thing" for seasonal dishes. (Remember, I get bored easily.) So here is my fall collection:

And who can resist a trio of Rodgers chickens, showing off their pretty feathers? I know I can't...

This is Sugar, Oreo and a Blondie wishing they all could come inside for awhile... Silly chickens!

Though I do LOVE summer, I happen to LIKE fall. And the colors of fall are my favorite. :)

Goodbye, Summer...

and Hello, Fall.

The seeds I planted in June turned into beautiful sunflowers which bloomed in September.

Our plum tree is loaded with plums that are now ripe and juicy.  And they make tasty treats for many squirrels who either stop to eat one...

or take one to go...

I transplanted two pumpkin vines from our fenced garden in July to the new garden addition. My timing could NOT have been any worse-- I did this during our July heatwave (when temperatures were in the upper 90s)! They wilted right away, the leaves died, and Natasha & Bill both said they would never make it. However, I believed in my pumpkin plants! I gave them lots of water and a secret ingredient (we buried a freezer-burned salmon in the soil).... and they turned into THIS!

Pumpkins always remind me of fall...

Another sign of fall is watching the leaves turn-- this is happening already in our backyard.

This change from summer to fall also means shorter days and longer nights. Just ask my chickens! They know how to tuck themselves into the Chick Condo at night (they do not want to be out after dark!). Bedtime is now around 7:30 p.m.....

So I thought I better get with the program and change my sliding glass doors...

I will miss wearing flipflops & shorts. I will miss warm, sunny days and comfortable nights. I will miss the yard being in a constant state of bloom and renewal. I will miss chickens sunbathing on the deck. I will miss berry cobblers and BillBQs. But I am not the only one resisting the end of summer. I found one last honeysuckle bloom tonight, when the rest of my plant has gone to berries. I think it is trying to hang onto summer with me....

Goodbye, sweet summer. I will be waiting for your return... (sigh!)

10 Things I Love Right Now...

Here are 10 random things that I love right now:

1. Fresh veggies from our garden-- right now we are eating both cherry and supergirl tomatoes and I just found a handful of green beans last night!

2. "Big Brother" on CBS-- this is a guilty pleasure/reality TV show that Natasha & I watch every summer. Thirteen people begin living in a Hollywood set "house" without any outside connections for ten weeks. They have competitions for food and luxuries, for head of household and must eliminate one player from the game each week. Our favorite players are Jeff and Jordan and OMG! There has been so much drama in the last few episodes!

3. Chicken feathers-- they are soooo soft and lovely. [explanation coming soon...]

4. Celebrity scrapbookers' blogs-- my favorite blog to read this summer is by Karen Russell. Her photography is amazing, candid, and fun. She writes the best stories about herself & her family. You can find her blog at: karenrussell.typepad.com

5. Favorite music CD (at the moment)-- "The Black-Eyed Peas:  The E.N.D.".  I just love that "Boom Boom POW" and "Tonight's Gonna Be a Good Night".

6. Starbucks treat-- the new marshmallow dream bar. It is basically a rice krispy bar w/ marshmallows, only it is LOADED with soft marshmallows. Come to think of it... I love most anything with marshmallows.

7. Whenever Bill plays with Shadow-- Bill treats Shadow like he is a young pup, instead of an old pup. It makes me laugh every time.

8. The smell of honeysuckle when you walk by it at night.... heavenly.

9.  A new box of Crayola crayons-- so many beautiful colors, so many names. Crayons represent "back to school" time. Crayons represent art in the most simple and elementary form. Crayons represent choices and I LOVE choices...

10. Summer-- I love everything about summer. I love the sunshine and the heat. I love wearing flipflops whenever I am at home. I love cotton sheets on our bed. I love flowers blooming in succession from week to week. I love seeing dragonflies circling around the yard.  I adore summer.

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year...

This is my treasure from the 2009 Anacortes Arts & Crafts Festival.  This is no ordinary street fair-- it is THE STREET FAIR of the region.  It is always scheduled for the first weekend in August, and it is an event that I look forward to all year long.  Sometimes I just can't stand the wait! There are booths of artisans and venders that stretch down the main street of Anacortes, WA for blocks on end.  In any given year, you will see beautiful jewelry, ceramics, blown glass, metal sculpture, photography, watercolor and oil painting, woodworking, garden art, gourmet foods, custom hats and clothing, music and much, much more! It is a rare occasion for me to go home empty-handed.

Bill and I have become experts at street festival shopping. We make sure that we look at everything carefully during our first walk-through. Sometimes we break for lunch and discuss our favorite booths. Then we choose which artisans to return to for our final decisions. Some artists you can negotiate with and others are firm on prices. My favorite booths this year were:

The artists are Darlene and John Johnson from Dog & Pup Studios (Idaho).  I bought my beautiful outdoor mobile here, made of driftwood and turquoise/green blown glass balls.  I loved the blown glass of all different colors and almost bought a desk "beach inside a ball" accessory.

We were fascinated with Sacred Stone Garden Art from California. The artists are a mother & son team, Deborah and Casey Bridges. These unique sculptures are made to be placed outdoors and appear to be purposely eroded.

We also love the jewelry of Elisa Saucy-Davis, who owns "Saucy Jewelry" in Oregon.  We bought silver bracelets from her booth for Natasha & Angela on a previous year. This year we bought Natasha a beautiful silver ring (she loves it!).  We saw wonderful things in so many booths-- if only we were not on a budget! 

Favorite moment: buying my blown glass mobile.

Worst moment: getting scolded by a booth owner for trying to take a picture of her art. Not only did she make a scene but I thought she was going to take my camera!

Funniest moment: we were in a booth admiring metal art where animals were made from welding all kinds of tools and household objects together. An old man said to his wife, "I have this art at home in my garage-- it just isn't assembled yet."