afternoons and evenings
because it has been so hot i have forgotten how much i love fall afternoons. the weather. the way the sun shines just so. making everything golden and bright. it is probably a lot like the very early morning. but i have never been a morning person so i don’t always appreciate its’ beauty.
today, captivated by that beauty i vowed to bring the kids outside every day around 3. no matter what they are doing they have to bring it outside. we have plenty of chairs and a table.
do you like how the jack-o-lantern doubles as a place to collect nature treasures we find on our walks. we started out with just a plastic mummy who came along for the ride. but as you can see we had quite a haul by the time we were done. we were especially on the look out for twigs as my girl is working on some twig furniture for her fairies.
the only creative thing i had time for were a few simple little ghosts. i have been told our house is not spooky enough. too many pumpkins. so i am hoping between the spider webs and the ghosts we are progressing to a higher level of “spooky”.
i started dinner really early again today. i am never sorry when i do. it makes our afternoons and evenings so much smoother. i browned two roasts in a little bit of olive oil and spices. marinated them in soy sauce, garlic and red wine. 2 buck chuck from trader joes. and let them cook slowly for about 2 1/2 hours. while we were outside i kept getting little whiffs and they smelled so yummy. i also made rice and a lentil stew. just lentils, carrots, onions, butter and olive oil. have you noticed i put butter in every thing? really i do. and i always try to justify it by adding olive oil too.
it is evening now. everyone is in pajamas and ready for bed. but i hear cutting. and drawing. and now someone just slipped me a note. it is really a picture. it is me and him. on a magic carpet ride he says. i could really go for one of those about now. but there is still so much to do around here. so at least for now i think we’ll stay put. and with that, i will say goodnite.
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I once asked an elderly southern neighbor why everything he made always tasted so good–even if it was just white beans or potatoes. He said, “Jest put a quarter pound of butter in everything yew make, hon.”
Your roast sound yummy. Today would have to be Friday…
And if you like lentils, Milehimama at Mama Says has the simplest, yummiest lentil enchilada recipe!
We have not enjoyed the outdoors enough this October either. Need to stop and smell some roses — or leaf piles. I think it’s going to rain today and we’ll probably lose most of our leaves. Maybe Peach will feel well enough to walk with an umbrella. Love the collection buckets — they do love to collect. My kids told me our house was not scary either — I picked up some spider webs on sale at JoAnn. They are still in their bags — mama does not like scary.
OH I am so glad you had a sweet day. Sounds wonderful.
If you ever do find a magic carpet fly on over and give me a ride too!
Have a super duper weekend with your family!
I never buy anything but butter for baking and cooking. I really do detest all the artificial ‘butters’ and margarines. If people only knew what they really looked like without all the additives. Fats in butter are not evil. Horror of horrors, our family only drinks whole milk, too.
Our fall weather hasn’t been as enjoyable. No dry areas for collecting leaves and twigs. And, it’s too cold for splashing in the abundant puddles.
I switched to butter about a year and an half ago.
I’d take a lift on that magic carpet!
What a good idea to use the jack-o-lanterns as collection buckets! I have one girl in particular who *loves* to collect … She’s my pack rat =) Drives me crazy, but it’s so cute, too … I so love to get little notes, too. They are precious. I wish I could keep them all, but I already have so many. I still haven’t figured out a good system for all their drawings and school papers … Have a blessed weekend, Regan. I hope you have beautiful weather to enjoy.
everything tastes better with butter.
twig furniture for the fairies. i’m almost afraid to ask. but we soooo love fairies. post pictures, will you? i know my girl would love to get started on some.
What beautiful pictures to draw people into. But I don’t recall my stint in CA as being that beautiful… must have been the Mojave Desert that surrounded me (heehee). That stew sounds wonderful too.
May I be so humble to admit I’m glad I’m not the only one that seems frazzled or a bit bummed about science experiments and such? I want my kids to love science as much as I do but they don’t seem to “get it” when they have experiments that are dull. But getting outside MORE than makes up for it! 🙂
God bless you in this upcoming week!