... holding on to summer, seeing that which I overlook, and cookies...

Beauty surrounds us,

but usually we need to be walking in a garden to know it.

~Rumi

With my wedding pumpkins happily growing in my backyard, Halloween in many of the stores, my house smelling like Halloween Yankee candles, and tomorrow being the first day of academic classes it’s almost easy to forget that it’s SUMMER!

The Virginia weather doesn’t let us forget too easily though. It was a pretty hot and humid day. Tonight, after a day of prepping for the week (groceries, picking up my meds from the pharmacy, posting my syllabus and making my course available via the course website, prepping my lunches for the week, dying my hair, doing my nails, etc.) I was sure to get in a pretty long walk.

I walked around town trying to notice that which I don’t always notice. I often focus on gardens or architecture. This evening I focused on paths… one of which led me to the newest bakery in town.  A little over a month ago, I posted about why I say “Monkey” and then earlier this month when I thought my fella needed a little pick-me-up, I bought these adorable monkey cookies at Sugar Fix Bakery for him. I’m totally going to order some decorative Halloween cookies from them! Tonight I was really drawn to the quotes in the window. One of the things that I love about shopping (even window shopping) are the store windows.  

Another thing I noticed was this beautiful urn that is at a street corner. I’ve walked by it a zillion times and tonight I noticed it. So part of loving where you live, is noticing the place… what’s new; what has disappeared; what has been altered. Often on these walks I find that I am the one who is altered.

My fella and I also went to an open house today for a Victorian home built in 1901 that has been renovated and that has been on the market for well over a year and a half. It was a huge house with 3708 sqft. I liked that it had some of its original charm and that we felt lost going from room to room. It also had an acre backyard which I could dream into a fabulous garden space. I mostly liked the idea that I could end up being that crazy old lady that lives down the street in the haunted mansion. But there were lots of issues with it and at the end of the day it didn’t whisper to me in the way that a house should. We keep looking as we gather information. 

For now we love our town home and the little town where we reside. I love walking everywhere… I just want to be a bit closer to the center of the Center of the Universe especially because some locals are gathering together to create some elaborate Halloween-related events including a Monster Walk (as opposed to the Zombie walks that large cities have… why compete when we can be original, right?!?) and a Haunted Car Show! I’ll keep you posted. This year is going to be Spooktacular! But for now, I'm going to live in the moment and enjoy the last weeks of summer, and I'm going to love where I am.