Fall-ing into Domesticity

Just had to catch those images before they fell to the ground.  I've missed much of the fall grandeur around here because of my trip to Colorado.

Over the weekend, I noticed that many of the deciduous trees have already dropped their 2012 load of leaves.

Still, the oak and the red maple leaves in the yard are hanging in there, literally. 

So, in between all the newfound domesticity, I took a few minutes yesterday to walk around with the camera.

Those oak leaves will take their time dropping.  If they go according to schedule, some will still be hanging from the limbs next spring when it's time for a new crop to burst onto the scene.

I'll be raking up the red maple pile within the next couple of weeks.  

In the meantime, the rain and cloudy weather has driven me indoors for more hours than I prefer.

As one who can't spend a lot of time sitting, I've kept myself unusually busy with indoor projects. 

Yesterday morning, the garden window above the kitchen sink received its annual cleansing and reorganization.  

Just couldn't stand looking at the hodgepodge of "stuff" sitting on the two shelves.  We seem to have a couple of dozen pill bottles for arthritic, headache and cold purposes.

Most of them had a layer of dust from sitting there idle for so long.  And, of course, a small army of houseflies had come in to die in various spots.

All dusty clutter and fly corpses came off the shelves.  I grabbed a kitchen chair, stood on it,  and with a wet rag,  wiped both surfaces clean.

This morning's first trip to the sink to fill the coffee pot was much more pleasant than usual as I admired that tidy and clean garden window.

I wondered how long it would be before I tackled that project again. 

Today I'm thinking of an all-out assault on the ever-growing pile of old mail sitting on the counter to the left of the sink.  Some it's been there for two years.

Maybe, if I tackle one such project a day,  by Christmas, the house, as a whole,  could be more presentable.

The weather also put me in a cooking mood.  

After spending Saturday morning engaged in a sundry of outdoor projects, I spent most of Saturday afternoon, gathering lettuce,  chard, carrots and ripening tomatoes for a nice salad.

Then, came the vegetable dinner:  hamburger from either the Taylors next door or Roxane's beef from Forest Siding mixed with new potatoes, new carrots and this year's frozen garden peas and beans.  

I had to dump in a lot of onion salt since our onion crop completely disappeared with the cold moisture of early summer. 

I also baked a small batch of brownies. 

It was fun when Bill came home from cutting wood to show him the dinner spread, all of which 'cept the brownies came from our place or the neighborhood.  

Plus, it all tasted good. 

Yesterday, the food projects continued as I picked apples from the north tree and dumped a bunch in a kettle to simmer and soften for a batch of jelly.  I'll probably finish up that project today.  

I went to town to buy some canning jars and picked up more ingredients for some quiches. 

Chard, bacon, eggs, green pepper, swiss cheese and cheddar went into those pies.  Of course, I sampled a small slice before preparing them for the freezer.

Heck, the domesticity even continued into the night when little Mr. Foster appeared at the door, almost unrecognizable and muddied from head to toe.

I gathered up towels and a bottle of shampoo.  Then, I gathered up Foster and put him in the utility sink in the laundry room.

He stood almost perfectly still for the soakdown, rubdown and rinse.  The only complaints came when the water was a little too hot or a little too cold.  

Foster likes his bath water just right.

He didn't even mind the hair dryer.

Now, as I type, Foster's outside getting muddy all over again.  

Since I'm not planning to be domestic for very long, the little pup  may have to endure a few drying-out periods in the garage before future entries into the house.

Rainy weather does bring out the domestic side of me---for a while.  I figure on taking advantage of it as long as it lasts.  

Who knows:  maybe the house will be clean long before Christmas.

Then, I'll have to start all over. 

Happy Monday.