Long-distance Grammie

Long-distance Grammie-ing is NOT for the faint of heart! I happened to catch Spencer at the computer recently when he called me and coerced him into sending me some photos of Riley. It has been nearly 6 months since I saw them in April!

So here are some of my favorites of Mr. Riley... what a funny boy (and so like his daddy).

* Vintage Frames by Katie Pertiet

Cinnamon Gumdrops

Arriving home from a short errand I was surprised to see that Mother Nature had hung cinnamon gumdrops in my trees! I don't remember ever seeing a tree turn color in this fashion before. Instead of the tops being kissed with red it looked as if she'd hung large cinnamon gumdrops, Christmas ornament fashion, from my Bradford Pear and Elkhorn Sumac trees.


Have previous falls been this beautiful? I don't feel like I go through life with blinders on where nature is concerned but this year just seems better, nicer, more colorful than years past.





Each day is a treat for my eyes.

Maple Mountain

Fall is here! And, I love it. I love the cooler days (although we did have a few too warm days this last week) and the chilly nights. But I think the thing I love best about fall are the changing colors. I love the spilled paintbox look on the mountains and the dancing leaves in the streets.

Maple Mountain as seen from Hwy 89 between Springville and Spanish Fork, Ut
(color pop action by PSEFrank)

This year our local mountains have been particularly beautiful. Friday afternoon after running some errands the light was just right so I came home, grabbed my camera and set off in search of the perfect shot of Maple Mountain. I meandered along all the back roads from here clear down to Spanish Fork Canyon and then back again. I found that the best photos were the ones from further away instead of up close.

This very picturesque barn caught my eye. When I got home I had to play a little bit.

New red barn
(color pop and lomo actions by PSEFrank)

But the sweetest part of Maple Mountain is that I am able to see her from my bedroom window. I enjoy watching her change her clothes with the seasons and love her whether clad in her autumnal robes of gold and scarlet or in her white ermine coat for winter.

Captured this evening at sunset from my bedroom window
(color pop action by PSEFrank)

De-Lor-Ee-Ous

Last weekend DeLoris and I took our fourth annual Alpine Loop drive. I love traditions.

HEY-Little Joanie

This was a hard one for me... but I felt compelled to complete this assignment and post it because it bears such strong testimony of the power of God's love and caring for me.



Perhaps by sharing, others can believe in His love too.

The Things You Say

Autumn Day

I love this quote-

It accurately describes how I feel about my writing this week. I don't think I am writing as much as I would like too, or perhaps, should. But it seems that just thinking about it and doing it has improved my ability to get what I want onto paper.










Friday's free-write was on Today- a day in my normal life. At this retirement-phase of my life my normal day is so different from what it was 5 or 10 years ago! And I like that! I am so grateful for these changing times and seasons of my life.

The thought occurred to me that I wanted to write about this Autumn Day in my life. (But now that I analyze it I suppose that it's not only true in the sense that it is now autumn here in the Rocky Mountains but I am entering the autumn of my life.)

I sat down here in my lovely upstairs, corner, workroom that has ample windows to enjoy the sights and sounds of my neighborhood. The words just flowed out of the ends of my fingers onto the keyboard. When I finished I was stunned! What a gift! I don't know that I've ever been able to just sit and write exactly what I wanted without editing involved.



My next task was to go capture the images from my thoughts.


Saturday's assignment was to put all of it together in a wonderful scrapbook layout. (Can I just say, I really enjoy this class?) I love to be able to manipulate digital papers, auditioning until I find just the right combination! I really enjoy this facet of digital scrapbooking, no waste! I when I "cut" into that favorite piece of delicious paper it isn't all used up! I still have it to use as many times as I want! What a lovely perk!

In the midst of this process the words of one of my favorite Primary songs came floating into my mind and I had to add those them to my layout as well. I am fairly sure that this is one of the songs that was changed between the time I learned it, ages ago, and when the current Children's Hymn Book was printed. I didn't have room to fit all the words to the song on the LO so I will include them here.

Autumn Day, bright and gay, God gives richest gifts today.
Look on ev'ry side and see pleasant things for you and me.
Apples red and apples yellow, round and juicy, sweet and mellow.
Load the trees till they bend over and their branches brush the clover.
Child, be glad with all that lives, but forget not God, who gives
Words & Music A. B. Ponsonby

Monkey-Stomped

Sometimes there is only one way to describe a situation, but I don't think this is it!

How about:

• Monkey-Stomped
  
• Humiliated
• Whooped
• Routed
• Spanked
• Decimated
• Annihilated
• Trounced
  
• Smashed
• Disgraced
• Wasted
  
• Pounded
• Thrashed
• Flogged
• Pulverized
  
• Laid bare
  
• ...Treated very badly!! (wink)

All of those adjectives and any others you can think of pretty much describe what the BYU Cougars just did to the UCLA Bruins. This is the 3rd match-up between these two teams in the last 370 days. The Cougars bested the Bruins in the last two games... but, well, today's game was a thing of beauty!

Am I a Cougar fan? Oh, you betcha! Rah-rah-rah-rah-rah! Gooooooooooooo... COUGARS!

Journaling (with stress)...

I have to admit that my new Type + Writer class is not without stress. As I've participated in the "free-write" I've analyzed some of my feelings about this. I'm happy with my style of writing and capturing on paper what I have in my heart. BUT then when the "free-write" has rules I start to panic. I am right back in high school (or elementary school) and struggling with my undiagnosed dyslexia and just feeling plain ol' dumb! I have to remind myself that it's ok to be me AND learn new and exciting ways to communicate, but it doesn't come without the accompanying stress.

I've always been drawn to fonts and I love the look of a well set title. I love the way it pulls you into the page. I love the flourish of beautiful fonts or penmanship (something I never perfected).



I love the quote that I've used on the 20 small things layout. I found it when I was looking for quotes for my Quotes Album (still to be completed). It speaks to my heart about the road I've traveled. I am so grateful that is the case.



This road trip layout is actually the 1st assignment. The writing prompt was to make a list of our last adventure, and I LOVE bulleted lists!!! It was so easy and fun to bullet thoughts that described our latest road trip. I loved the list so much that I used it as an overlay on the background paper to capture all of my thoughts.

Type+Writer

I'd totally forgotten that my newest JS class started today. What a surprise to open my email and find that class started today and I'm just now!! looking at my email (2:28 pm).

I've allowed myself one of those rare mornings where I have laid in bed reading until now. I love those kinds of days and I haven't done it for... I don't know how long!

This newest class has me excited because it is about journaling. The quote at the beginning of today's email is:



I had to stop, right now! and write about this... it so well describes how I feel about why I journal. More later...

HE started it!!

Tonight since the time I got home the dog, Harley, has been trying to get me to play with him. When Stuart takes the bait on this account he always says, "HE started it!"

Like I said, Harley started it! (Sorry folks, no photos, but go to my last post about him if you want visuals). He'd taunted me with empty chip bags, made bombing runs on me every time I walk around the bed (with him trying to mouth me). I'd finally had enough and got out my ultimate weapon... (dun, dun, dun) yes, the Sonic drink cup with lid and straw! All I had to do was stand at the top of the stairs and squeak it and he started running laps in the family room complete with flying leaps off the back of the love seat. This always amuses me, so I followed him downstairs for more action... just in time to hear Gordon say on the phone, "Yes, we always know when we are in the presence of genius!"

I lost it... fits of hysteria... falling down laughing... the more I laughed the funnier it got.

But you know the best part? Gordon just kept on his conversation with his brother like his idiot wife wasn't even there... now I call that genius!