Happy Friday sweet friends! This week was blissfully uneventful. I got a lot of work done but also enjoyed my downtime, embracing all that Autumn has to offer on the lake. We had our first rain of the season and we got almost 3 inches of rain this week! But the in-between time has been lovely and warm and so incredibly quiet and peaceful.
I had three long chats over the phone this week – one with my sister on her birthday, one with my sweet friend Laura after she returned from a trip to California, a nice catch-up with my dad, and a long chat with my mom too! I love it when I get the opportunity to take the time to be invested in a conversation longer than a text or email. It's so lovely to hear my loved ones' voices and know that they are doing well. I'm always in the happiest of moods after our conversations!
On Saturday, we went to our local History Dinner – a fundraiser put on by the Tenmile Lakes Association. Each year, they host a scrumptious dinner with a speaker who talks about the history of the area and/or surrounding areas (like Coos Bay/North Bend/Reedsport). This year, former Lakeside City Mayor James Edwards, spoke about his childhood in Lakeside and what it was like to grow up here. He painted a picture of what the town used to be like and which businesses were replaced by the ones we know now. He also mentioned how much of the "downtown" was still trees and shrubs when he was a child. There were also FIVE gas stations in our one tiny town – can you believe it?? We don't even have a stop-light to this day but back in the 50s and 60s, we had five places to fuel up your car. That cracked me up! Mr. Edwards was such a great storyteller and I really could imagine all of the places he described as he wandered down memory lane.
The dinner at the Lakeshore Lodge was incredible! This was their second year catering the event and they do a spectacular job for such a small business. I had parmesan-crusted halibut with veggies and a baked potato. The other options were prime rib or a chicken breast stuffed with cream cheese and tomatoes. After dinner, they brought out a chocolate mousse cake that was to die for. It was a rich, three-tiered, dark-chocolate dessert-o-rama! The event also featured a silent auction with all sorts of fabulous prizes to win. We arrived a little too late to get a bid in. Next year, we'll be sure to arrive earlier. Last year, I won an octopus chainsaw carving – she's so cool! It's always fun to see friends from the lake at these local events and get the chance to say hello and give them a great big squeeze.
Although our weather here switched to fall at the drop of a dime, it's still been quite lovely temperature-wise. We have only lit the pellet stove once all week so far! Although, I do have a little oil-burning heater upstairs that I run in the mornings and evenings next to my desk while I'm working. And, as planned, we did purchase our supplies for s'mores while we were in town for the history dinner. Now we just need a dry night to sit under the stars and roast our marshmallows to our desired toastiness... I like mine deep brown but not black. How about you? Let me know in the comments!
Yesterday evening might have been perfect for a little warming fire but we took the opportunity for a dry evening hike behind our property. There is a one-and-a-half-mile loop with inclines and declines along the way and three separate streams. I love to walk it and it has been quite hard to make the entire loop with my sciatica but I pushed through and made the through the entire route! The sweetie even offered to run home and get the van to pick me up so that I didn't have to do the last section that was all uphill, but I kept hemming and hawing, unable to make a decision, until we were finally home. It felt good to get out there and we hope to go on that hike more regularly again – we used to go a lot when we first moved here.
The best part of my week has been enjoying all of the pretty blooms in the garden this week. I had forgotten how many things are still blooming this late in the season! My geraniums are still going strong and my fuchsia too. The passion flower my sister brought me during her visit last year is blooming and growing like a wildflower! Next year, I'm going to make it a cute trellis to trail up. It is hooking on to everything around it that it can find. It's absolutely adorable the way it wraps its tiny tendrils around the other flower stems, tomato cages, and the deck railing. I love a plant that is wild and untamed! The coreopsis and rose campion are thriving. I keep dead-heading them and they keep producing flowers. I love those two strong plants. I even have yellow and red snapdragons, gerbera daisies, and hollyhocks – all still blooming. And one tiny, calendula flower – did you know they smell like honey? It's amazing!
Do you have blossoms in your garden this time of year? What is still perking up in your area? I would love to hear!
I hope you all have a peaceful, slow, and lovely Autumn week and I'll chat with you again next Friday!
Check out the adorable new products I added to my boutique this week below...
