It's fall, y'all!

It's fall. Time for pumpkins...



and mums...



and leaves...

lots of leaves.



We raked and mulched last Saturday. I took this photo this morning. I guess we get to do it all again.

It is kinda pretty, in its own way.



I did get to use some of my artistic qualities to make "art with natural media".



In other news... my husband was surprised that the grass under the tire swing was getting killed off. Silly man.



The kids around here love this thing. We don't need no stinkin' swing set. Just a flat tire and some rope.

Conversations with my son

Actual conversation in the car on the way to school this morning.

Him: Can I have a flare gun?
Me: No.

BBQ Samich

I'm making this again today.

I was whining the other day about not having any good BBQ since I've been up here so I went on Tasty Kitchen and found this recipe.

It. Was. So. Good.

I'm not going to add as much water this time because it was a little runny, but everything else was tasty!

Enjoy!

Tangy BBQ Samich

•3 pounds Beef Roast Of Choice
•1 cup Onion, Sliced
•1 cup Ketchup
•1 cup Favorite BBQ Sauce
•1 cup Water
•2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
•2 Tablespoons Vinegar Of Choice
•2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
•2 cloves Garlic, Minced
•1 teaspoon Chili Powder
•1 teaspoon Sea Salt
•½ teaspoons Black Pepper, Cracked


1. Dump all of the ingredients in your slow cooker.
2. Cook on High for 6-7 hours. At that point, pull out the roast and shred meat using two forks. Then put the meat back into the crock and let it sit a bit to allow the juice to saturate meat.
3. Pile the meat into a good bun such as Bolilo or Telara and top with cheese if you choose.
4. If you don’t eat it on the way to the oven, you can broil the cheese and buttered bun until golden and crispy.

Come on cold!

What a crazy fall we are having up here.

This time last year, we had more than an inch of snow. Temps have been in the 80s the last few days and the Asian Beetles are going strong.





I thought they were cute, little ladybugs, but, boy was I wrong! These suckers bite! They come in yellow, orange and red, with or without spots. And they invade like nobody's business. We've had a bunch come in the house and collect up in the corners. The Commander had to get a broom handle and knock them down. And they stink when you smush them. Yick.

There are some other bugs that are everywhere as well. People call them No-See-Ums, but when I looked at photos on the web, that isn't what these bugs look like. They are tiny, black things and they excrete an enzyme that burns.

The Boy's scout leader said to wipe Listerine on you to keep them away. We looked at him like he was crazy and ended up joking about wiping Jack Daniels on you and swigging the rest of it down!



The mosquitos are still trying to carry off young children. We just need a good hard freeze!

_____

Harvest is slowing coming to an end. Thank goodness. The dust and stuff in the air is causing a bunch of folks to be coughing, sneezing and gacking. Hopefully we can get a good rain (before the freeze!) and get some of this stuff settled down.

_____

In other news...

Someone joined the band.

Conversations with my son.

Me: Did you get a cough drop?
Him: No.
Me: Go get one.
Him: Not right now. My program is on.
Me: Your program is on? What are you? 87?
Him: Well, if you multiply my age by eight and add seven, then yes.

Friday Fill-In

1. I'm going _____.

2. Laughter _______.

3. Perhaps today you can make it a point _____.

4. It's hard to know how much ________.

5. Compassion is _____

6. _____ no matter how difficult.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _____, tomorrow my plans include _____ and Sunday, I want to _____!

**********

1. I'm going to attempt to make a quilt. I won't be one of those fancy quilts with the stars, barns or Sunbonnet Sues, but it will be mine! I love the quilt my Granny made for me and I would like to pass a little something like that down to the kids.

2. Laughter is a wonderful thing. I miss my Oklahomies. They made me laugh like crazy.

3. Perhaps today you could make it a point to do some laundry?

4. It's hard to know how much is too much? I don't know! This one is hard.

5. Compassion is getting to be a sparce commodity. Parents are teaching their children.

6. I'm going to try to start exercising again no matter how difficult. I wish I had a treadmill. That would make it easier.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to watching Avatar, tomorrow my plans include a trip to the cities for in-laws' birthdays and The Science Museum and Sunday, I want to just hang out with the fam!