Leaves and The Sound of Music

When I was working on getting ready for my arts and crafts show, I had a moment of panic. I thought 'Oh no! I am going to miss all of the autumn leaves.'  Well, I didn't miss them all but there sure are a lot of them falling today. The wind is quite strong. It makes me a little sad to see the trees starting to look bare and the leaves all piled on the ground.

On Thursday, the weather kept changing. It was raining and then it wasn't. Back and forth. Meeko doesn't enjoy the rain so much any more. When he was a puppy, he didn't mind any kind of weather. So I waited for a gap in the rain to go for a walk with him. When I got out on our front steps, I had to run back in for my camera. The leaves on the front porch all had these gorgeous, big fat water droplets on them. It was a moment of magic.

As I was taking these photos, I found myself singing out loud. I was singing 'My Favorite Things' from the Sound of Music. Isn't that funny? (And what do the neighbors think, I wonder?)  Raindrops on leaves might not be raindrops on roses but, to me, they are just as beautiful.

That last photo is my favorite.

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I am celebrating an anniversary this weekend. Today is the 2nd anniversary of my shop opening on Etsy! It feels longer than that somehow. To show my thanks to all of my customers and supporters, I am offering 20% off today and tomorrow on anything in my shop (October 20th and 21st). Just use the coupon code 2THANKYOU at checkout.

❤ A big thank you to you all! ❤

Giving Thanks

Meeko was telling me that I haven't been focusing on him enough lately. True. I've been working very hard the past few weeks, both on a commissioned painting and preparations for an autumn arts and crafts show.  He has been getting less chin scratches and sofa cuddles from me. Our walks have sometimes been at a faster pace than usual (that part he doesn't really mind). Sometimes they have been later in the day than normal and he has had to work harder and harder to get my attention (sock stealing, sighing, stalking my every move, quiet but heart-wrenching crying beside me).

This is the Thanksgiving weekend in Canada. The weather is absolutely beautiful. It is a time for looking around us and giving thanks. My nephew and his girlfriend are visiting, so I was forced to stop working and pay attention to other things. I did some housecleaning this morning. As I was cleaning the kitchen table, I noticed that the chrysanthemums in the pots on the back porch weren't looking great. I went out and started deadheading them. It was methodical, soothing work and they look beautiful again. As I was looking after them, it hit me that I hadn't worked in the garden since early September. I realized that today was the first day in weeks that I haven't either been working on a painting, my Etsy shop or my show preparations. (You can see some of what I've been up to on my Instagram page.)

Meeko accompanied me outside and I gathered flowers and leaves from the garden and filled several vases. So now, autumn is outside and inside.

Our guests have arrived and Meeko is very happily entertaining them.

This weekend, I am giving thanks for being forced to slow down a little, for the beauty of nature, for my garden and its gifts, for family, friends and my sweet and patient furry boy.