Fall Favorites

Today I am sprawled out belly down on the office floor, with my planner, a cookbook, my shopping list, my iPad, and a lemon shake-up in a Mason quart jar beside me.

I love this position, more so now that I can seldom work this way. I now have a little crawler—who is currently napping—who can get into things faster than I can stop him.

This morning I sent Mr. N this text:

“Cleaning when Z’s awake is approximately 157 times harder.”

It’s true. He had a hard morning when I kept telling him “no” to eating each of my houseplants. He must’ve felt like the whole world was off-limits. So then when I started sweeping and scrubbing the downstairs floors, I didn’t have the heart to give him a bunch more “nos” (besides, then I must have the time and energy to follow through if he disobeys). This certainly made things complicated when I cleaned the kitchen. Who knew that it could be so tempting to eat onion skins?

Everything is oral these days, and that can be scary when we live in a shop.

Stink bugs? Meh, why not?

I spent the morning cleaning up after and around a little man who finally learned the art of crawling and found myself almost wishing for his immobility again.

But I am horribly proud of this little man, especially when he looks so pleased as he uses all of his appendages to come to me.

Yesterday he discovered the printer for the first time. It resides on the floor by my desk and has a fascinating on/off switch that causes the machine to whir and calibrate. It intrigues Little Z to no end. Since this discovery, my printer has been rebooted at least fifty times.

That little ornery grin is one of my favorite things these days.

But it’s not my only favorite thing. Not by a long shot.

Some of my other favorites include:

Pottery. I’ve been super excited about getting my very own kiln. Still trying to decide if I should invest in a pottery wheel or not. I’m not very good at hand-building yet, but I have hardly had time to practice it lately, so who knows?

This raglan sleeve pattern shirt. I made two in one day last week and I’m now sold on raglan sleeve shirts in addition to the traditional sleeves. I have at least two types of fabrics waiting for me even as I write.

Getting Mr. N involved in a good movie and spending long evenings side by side on the couch.

Charcuterie boards. Thankfully, this also happens to be one of Mr. N’s favorite things. About a year ago, we randomly bought this rose hip jelly that Mr N insisted was high in Vitamin C. For the longest time, I had no idea how to use it. But it turns out that the combination of Wheat Thins, smoked Gouda, and rose hip jelly is possibly the single greatest combination in the history of charcuterie boards. I will often make a board for a simple Sunday evening supper if we’re home.

Learning to make pie. I love that Mr. N likes pie, but I have very seldom made one from scratch. Until recently. I have now made two pies in two weeks. I have no regrets, especially since I have practiced self-discipline and didn’t eat any (!).

This book, which I’m listening to on Hoopla. I have read at least one of this author’s books when I was younger, and I loved her then. I’m pleased to say that I still love her. One of my favorite things is how she makes the “bad people” still have personalities.

Canning pizza sauce with my mom. Somehow, the cans are more likely to seal when she’s there. She’s like my very own good luck charm. Plus, she enjoys reading to Little Z when he starts to get into everything.

The colors on our hill. The goldenrod is blooming and the yellow wildflowers that I don’t know the name of, along with some pretty little white flowers. And the purple switchgrass has been impressive all year long. I’ve been wanting for a week or more to go pick a bouquet to put it in my thrift store white pitcher, which also happens to be one of my favorite things. Perhaps this afternoon.

Cooking food that I grew myself. I made tomato basil soup this morning for tonight’s supper. It took tomatoes, a bell pepper, and basil from my garden along with an onion from Mom’s.

A chance to sprawl out like this on a clean rug while the little man sleeps.

Clean sheets and the anticipation of crawling under them in five or six hours.

Tomato soup and cheese sandwiches for supper.

A (sort of) clean desk. I spent a good chunk of yesterday going through the papers that had gathered on my desk, and I finally got it whittled down to about two small stacks. Yes, I know I should be keeping up with it better than that. But somehow things just pile up when I have my back turned.

To do lists with all but the fun stuff crossed off.

A dish drainer that actually got emptied (I know, I know).

This battery adapter which prolongs the life of my handheld cordless vacuum without adding much weight at all. My little Dyson has been run through the mill, especially each spray season, so it’s no fault of its own that the battery has degraded. But this makes it more fun to use again.

Weather that’s chilly enough to enjoy a campfire, long sleeves, and soup.

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How has your fall been? Staying busy like me? Or finding yourself in a season of rest? (If so, come visit me! Little Z can find things for you to do!) What have been your absolute favorites so far this fall?

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