My Favorite Things, Fall 2018

Now that fall is officially here, and it’s almost October, I’m thinking of my favorite things, both old and new, that I’m ready for.

Music:

One of my favorite pieces of classical music is Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saens. Nothing says October to me like this piece. I’m pretty sure there is an old cartoon of skeletons dancing to this music somewhere and I can totally see it. (There is. I found it on youtube – it’s from the 80’s.) I also love The Village soundtrack around this time of year. It’s beautiful and haunting.

Perfume:

I am loving James by Rosie Jane. It’s supposed to be inspired by fall and I believe it. The scent is fig and gardenia, but I get a lot of fig when I wear it and to me it just screams jumping into a pile leaves.

As it gets a little colder, I have some more chocolate fragrances to play around with, including my favorite: Guerlain’s Elixir Charnel Gourmand Coquin. I don’t know why, but I like them best in Fall/Winter.

Books:

A few years ago I started reading books specifically for Halloween and I think it’s a fun tradition to continue. I have Wilkie Collins’ The Woman in White on my list for sure.  I finished The Moonstone a few months ago and I really liked it so TWiW is a must read. I’m also debating on 2 other classics: Dracula or A Picture of Dorian Gray. Of course, I’ve got a bunch of mysteries of all sorts sitting on my bookshelves and I have an urge to throw in a little paranormal romance to round things off.  

Movies:

October is a great month for old horror movies too. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), The Birds (1963), The Bat (1959), and multiple other Vincent Price movies will all be watched.

Podcasts:

And of course, I will get out and walk a lot more now that it is cooling down. Walking means I listen to podcasts. I need to catch up on a few of my favorites: By the Book for comedy, Women Who Travel and Extra Pack of Peanuts for travel, Stuff you Missed in History Class, and You Must Remember This for random history, along with a few book podcasts.

It looks like it will be a busy October. I’ve still got work, friends and family, and theater to do also. I can’t wait.

Fall is Here

Yay! It’s officially fall. Even though it is still in the 80’s and everything is dry and we’re still on fire, it will get better. I’m praying for rain. We need it. Plus, it won’t feel like fall until it gets cooler and a little wetter. I’m dying to get outside to walk on my lunch breaks though. It’s almost cool enough.  I’ve got some books lined up for October. :) I’m going to savor this time of year. I’ve been trying to cut back on the sugar so I’m trying to decide what to do about my hot cocoa drinking. Maybe I can find something decent tasting with less sugar in it. Or I’ll get my favorite kind and not drink it as often. Decisions, decisions....

Post Labor Day

Woohoo! September is here. Finally. I spent Labor Day weekend doing things around my house and cleaning it. Read a book. Nothing too crazy. It was a nice break from work though. Now I’ve got a busy month ahead with some work travel and fun travel. I’m sure it will be over before I know it.  

For the first time ever, I’m heading down to the Utah Shakespeare Festival. I’ve never been and I’m excited. I’m actually not seeing any of the Shakespeare, but what can I say?  I’m seeing two comedies though and I think it will be fun. I’m not an expert, but doing comedy on stage requires real talent and timing.  Plus, I just bought tickets to see Sweeney Todd at the Pioneer Theater. I’m super excited about seeing that one on stage. So, a little travel and a lot of theater in the future.

Hey, August

August is halfway over and I, for one, can’t wait until September. I really can’t complain. It’s been a good summer and has gone by so fast. I’m just ready for fall weather. I want to wear long sleeve shirts and eat lots of homemade soup. Plus, between the heat and the wildfire smoke in the air, it’s kind of been a nasty couple of weeks for being outside.  

My kitchen is in complete disarray right now. I had a little gas leak and ended up having to get a new range. Well, that or find parts and someone to fix the old one. So while I was buying appliances, I got a new dishwasher too. LOL – I really should have paid for installation, but my sister was with me and she’s cheap and believes in doing things for yourself. Which is a very good way to be, I’m not knocking that. It’s just that I’m terrible at that type of stuff and don’t have the tools so I would rather pay someone to do it for me. Anyway, between my schedule and hers my new appliances are waiting for me and it will probably be this weekend before I get everything hooked up completely.  

I did have fun last weekend taking my 5 yr old nephew to the Weber county fair. I couldn’t get any of the other kids to go with me. He had a blast in the big bubble.

I managed to talk my 12 yr old niece into entering some of her artwork into the Box Elder county fair so I guess I’ll be going to that one also just to see it hanging there. It will be a good way to end the summer and I am sooooo looking forward to September through December.

Happy 4th

I don’t know why, but it finally feels like I’m having a summer. Since yesterday (Wednesday) was a holiday, on Tuesday night I went to the drive in movie with Vanessa, Lizzie, Kiana, and a few of Kiana’s friends. It was pretty fun, even if I didn’t get to bed until 3:00 am. I slept in and then went to Perry to my sister’s house and we had Navajo tacos and Lizzie put fake 4^th of July tattoos on my arms. Then we put the sprinkler under the trampoline and I jumped a lot and was running around with the kids. I could feel it a little bit last night, but today it hurts to move. LOL – I’m so old. My knees can’t take it.  It was a good holiday, even if I’m going to be taking it easy for a day or so. Totally worth it.

Living In The Moment

Not very long ago I was listening to a podcast…and I can’t remember which one. It was about traveling. They were talking about taking photos and how sometimes you should just put the camera down and be there in the moment instead of trying to take the perfect picture. I didn’t think much of it because I usually snap the pictures and put the camera down because I am not a very good photographer. But then I thought about how sometimes I look at a place and think about the picture it could be and even I can get caught up in the picture instead of the moment.

Anyway, on Saturday when I was in Yellowstone, I saw this concept in action. We made it back from our geyser walk just in time to see Old Faithful erupt. We were to the side and had a great view and did not have to be packed into the main crowd. Everybody was standing there with their phones up and ready. Once it erupted, I took a few pictures and then put my phone in my pocket. We watched for a bit and then started to walk away and I noticed that almost everybody was watching the geyser erupt through the screen on their phone. What? We were watching this amazing part of the earth and they saw it through a lens instead of being there watching it live. Some of them were using the video function and just held their phone and looked around it but I still seems like they were not really focusing on what was happening and instead on getting it recorded.

My goal is to make sure I see things and enjoy them in the moment. There is nothing wrong with taking the picture, but I need to make sure that’s not all I’m doing. I still remember my trip to the Louvre and how there are only a few things where I stopped and actually saw them. The rest of the time I was snapping pictures. If I ever get the chance to go back, I will remember to leave the camera in my bag.

A Little Roadtrip

I took Friday off work and my mom and I did an impromptu trip up north. She wanted to go to Jackson, WY so that’s where we stayed. That part of the trip we had kind of planned out beforehand. I didn’t let her leave super early in the morning so we got there and checked in the hotel in the afternoon and then walked around the touristy town square.

Castle Geyser

 Saturday morning we got up and went to breakfast and then started driving towards Grand Teton National Park. Those mountains are so beautiful. But since we had a full day and we were so close we headed up to Yellowstone instead. I haven’t been there since I was a kid. We decided to do Old Faithful and walked around the geysers there. It was fun. And crowded.

Old Faithful

Lewis Falls

Then we drove back to the Tetons and saw a few of the lakes. Jenny lake was so crowded people were parking on the highway so we skipped that one and went and saw Menor’s Ferry historical sites and then drove over to Mormon Row, which is some old barns and houses still standing from an old Mormon settlement.

Grand Tetons and Jackson Lake

Sunday morning we got up and got ready to leave and stopped for donuts and went back up to Jenny lake.  It was a little cold that morning and I was the idiot who forgot my jacket. Most people there that early were there to hike and they were all dressed up in coats and hats. LOL I had a t-shirt and sandals on. I’m glad I didn’t miss it though. It was so nice. 

Jenny Lake

Grand Teton

We are thinking it might be fun to do a family trip up there one year instead of the Oregon coast.  My mom actually has a national parks pass that she’s never used. Dad had her get one, maybe thinking they would go somewhere, but they never did. She had it with her so it was nice to get into the parks with the pass, especially since we could go back the next day when things got crowded.