The Things We Keep

My darling Grant likes to label people by the things they keep. Now, the wording of that makes him sound judgmental or something, and that isn't what I am trying to get at. Here, let me explain...
I am a worryer, and I worry and stress about all kinds of things. When I am sleeping, I often wake up before dawn and am unable to get back to sleep because I am stressing about work, school, whatever. This issue (or, rather, its negative effect on my sleep schedule) is a concern for us, and Grant has taken to calling me "the keeper of the stress."
Then, there is my cat, Abercrombie. She has lots of beautiful, soft, long fur. Her appearance is really quite extraordinary. Grant likes to call her "the keeper of the long hair." LOL
This habit of his has me thinking... what are the things we "keep," the things that define us? Can we be defined by mostly good things, or are our traits and habits mostly negative? I think we would all much rather be the keepers of the humor, or the tasty cookies, or the beautiful prose than to be the keepers of the smoker's cough, or the anger, or, perhaps worst of all, the keepers of the old, dusty baggage from the past.
I think we would all do well to remember the things we are keeping. Let's all take a moment to unpack the negative to leave room for all the great things we could be keeping!

Autumn has Arrived!

Autumn is my favorite season of the year, always has been. I remember around 12 years old being insanely jealous of a girl I knew whose birthday was the first day of autumn. We got a new rake this weekend, and a big group of us went into the yard and cleaned up old leaves and pine needles. (more on this in my next entry!)
Autumn is full of beautiful colors that can be found in nature on the trees and in all the stores as cold weather fashion becomes necessary. The leaves are so bright and beautiful. I would really like to take a drive one day to see some autumn foliage, maybe through the lovely area north of Donner Lake, whose name escapes me at the moment. (Anyone know what I'm talking about? It's really beautiful there...)
And who can beat the delicious food?! Autumn food is just the best food there is. Hand's down. Not just Thanksgiving dinner, but all autumn long, all I want to eat is Shepherd's Pie, mashed potatoes, apples, soup, et cetera. And anything pumpkin. I just found some neat pumpkin recipes in a magazine that I can't wait to try out and report back on. Pumpkin custard, pancakes, bisque and brownies. Yippee!
Another great thing about autumn is the CLOTHES. Oh my gosh the clothes. Sweaters and tights and scarves and hats! Usually in autumn-appropriate colors, but occasionally in an expected, beautiful color like bright pink. And it isn't too cold yet, so you can still wear your lighter clothes with some layering without worry. For example, I attended a wedding just last week. It was chilly outside and I wore a strappy summer dress with a long sleeved t-shirt under it and a pair of nylons. No big deal. I looked good and was warm.
Speaking of clothes, HALLOWEEN! This was always my favorite holiday. I love to get creative and put together a great costume. A lot of times I employ the thrift stores, but they have failed me this year and I am going to try my hand at partially making my own costume as Little Red Riding Hood. Grant is going as the Big Bad Wolf and I think everyone will get a laugh at his costume, so I won't give away the spin he is adding to it.

Readers, what do you like about autumn? What are you dressing as for Halloween? Let's discuss this wonderful season together!