What I love about Autumn

Last week I wasn't ready. I couldn't throw in the towel on summer. It was too soon to give up the warm nights and fireflies. I couldn't think why everyone was ready for fall. What I was really doing was dreading what comes after fall. Cold, snow, sleet, short days, grey. Well, I just can't think about that right now, why? Because I finally remember why Fall is so grand. Color!
Rich Gold, Deep velvet red, a thousand shades of green. Rich, vibrant, exhuberant color!

And what better place to find it than the farmers market? Who can resist a small pittance for an armload of this beauty? Don't you want it all? I do! Click on the pictures to enlarge, you're in for a treat:>)

Uh huh, glorious!

I got some of these pansies to refresh my window boxes on the front porch, the deep red ones.

And of course I had to have some of the zinnias. Of course. Earl bought these for me, isn't he the best?

While I'm here I need to acknowledge an award given to me by the lovely Karen Harvey Cox.

This is such an affirming and sweet award. Just a simple "I love your blog", but that kind of says it all doesn't it? By the way, we are a mutual admiration society because I love hers too. It's one of my every day visits.

And Jan at Jan and Tom's place, tagged me to tell seven interesting things about myself. Goodness! I am sure I could find a zillion boring thngs about myself, but interesting? Hmmm. I've done this a couple times before so excuse me if I repeat myself, there just isn't that much interesting stuff to choose from...

1. I can pick up things with my toes. Not just easy things, teeny things. My toes are practically prehensile. My husband finds this endlessly fascinating. He is either easily bored or there really isn't a whole lot of other things that are interesting about me.

2. While many of you have moved numerous times (Jan has moved 43 times since 1982!!) I have moved only 4 times in my 50 years and have never moved outside of Michigan. We have been in this little home for 27 years. (I am really reaching, did you find that interesting?)

3. I have always loved little animals and sometimes they come to me. Like the 4 baby squirrels that ran up to me and climbed in my lap when I sat down, or the baby chickadee that flew into the basement window while I was painting a picture and landed on my knee. Really. I had a pet racoon when I was a kid and when I was 5 I climbed into grandpa's hayloft and sat for the longest time just waiting to hear where the new kittens were hidden. I found them too!

4. I hate to wear shoes. My feet feel smothered, and it makes it too hard to pick up things with my toes:>) Earl's grandpa used to call me "hillbilly" when we went over to visit, usually while he was barefoot too and with a big smile on his face. He loved me, bless his soul:>) I have been known to go barefoot in the snow. Not for long, but it has been done. Should this list be called seven strange things about me?

5. I love flowers. I love my gardens but I hate weeding. Weeding is a necessary evil and I will force myself to do it at least once a year, whether the garden needs it or not. Unfortunately, it usually needs it.

6. I never thought I would use my sewing skills to make money! My grandmother taught me to sew when I was little, about 7 or 8 and the first thing I sewed she made me rip out and fix the mistakes!!! She was teaching me the importance of getting it right, a lesson I wasn't too thrilled with at the time. For years I didn't sew at all. I picked it back up when my girls were small and it was so much fun to make all those little dresses. Now, I use it to make goodies for my etsy shop. In fact, I plan to do some more sewing tonight.

7. I don't do those emails where you send me 10 names to send a recipe to and I will eventually end up with 147,596 recipes sent to me. I. hate. those. things! Or the ones where if you are a real Christian you will pass this on? Aaarrrgh! God doesn't require spam as a sign of devotion! I'm sure of it! How fascinating was that? Have you had enough? Are you glad I didnt have to come up with 10 interesting things? Me too, you can see I was really reaching with that last one. It is more of a pet peeve. Now if you wanted 10 of those I bet I could come up with them.... but you really don't want to go there.

I hope everyone has a brilliant weekend:>)