It must be fall.

The Yule log is burning at Acklen Flats.

Wishes.

We found this fresh stump to wish upon. I won't say what we wished for but you might be able to guess shhh Go Cubs!

Scary face.

Pumpkin carving at its finest. The boy made some kind of horned dinosaur. Pretty clever, I thought. Cool weather is upon us. Fall!

Cubbies win! Hey Hey!

At Groveland Grade School back in the 1970s, you had to decide who you were for: the  Cubs or the Cardinals. It was a question that came up on the playground as often as, "Who are you for - Carter or Ford?" (yes, I'm old).

I made my choice and have been rooting for the Cubs ever since. Having grown up in central Illinois, attended college near Chicago and lived in the suburbs several years after graduation, I have strong loyalty to the Windy City and happy memories at Wrigley Field.

So proud the Cubs have won the NLDS. On to the playoffs! Go Cubs!

glimpses in black and white.

the living room is slowly coming together.

some herbs bring a bit of color.

Revelator Coffee has opened downstairs.

So has Arcade Nashville children's shop.

Aertson Midtown continues to rise (the view from my office).

thankful.

I was feeling nostalgic and bought this platter over the weekend. It reminds me so much of my childhood working and playing on my grandparents' turkey farm.

My grandmother had what seems like a dozen enormous turkey platters arranged on a shelf that went along one wall of her kitchen.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, even if I no longer partake of the bird.

a birthday on the beach.

the boy turned 10 and we celebrated in the florida panhandle. can't believe he's double-digits! our beach trip was magical and relaxing and perfect. so glad we got this in before summer ended!

9/11: Where were you?

Five years ago, for the 10th anniversary of 9/11, I has the privilege of interviewing several Vanderbilt co-workers and students for a story on where they were on Sep. 11, 2001.

Some watched the towers fall on TV, others watched from their apartment windows, some were in the thick of it, running for their lives. 

Read the story and watch the video here.

summer fun.

the best part of granny camp, well, one of the best parts, is going to dragonland pool with our co-bro's (cousin-brothers).

there are slides and floats and waterfalls.

it's endless fun, really. and the kids look forward to it every year.

of course my twinnie can't help looking glamorous where ever she goes.

summer, where did you go?

country roads, take me home.

this is the road i grew up on. until i went to college, it was a gravel road with no name. it was about a mile and a half long and connected two larger (relatively speaking) roads with hundreds of acres of corn crops in between.

there were two houses on this road, including ours. neighbors were few, solitude was plentiful.

i am missing home today.

first day of fourth grade.

no nerves. no tears. no weeping and gnashing of teeth. And the boy also was fine. hurray for the first day of fourth grade!

See previous first days here:

third grade

second grade

first grade

kindergarten

twinspiration.

we are back from the heartland and i am already missing my twin. not to mention the fresh sweet corn and tomatoes, the low humidity, the Rack-O tournaments, the three-day Monopoly game and the thrift store shopping.

I miss my people.

I miss the corn fields and the flat land and freshly painted barns. i miss my late night twin-chats talking about who we want to be and where we are going and how we want to change the world.

i miss hugs from my mom, and hearing my dad chuckle while he watches a movie with his grandsons.

i miss reading hardy boys out loud and bursting spontaneously into the Illinois state song.

I miss my people. I really do.

a lot has happened.

first off, it rained. and rained. and rained. and rained.

and then it rained some more.

and little league games were rained out. five times in a row.

and then we had to cancel our vacation to florida because the baseball tournament wasn't over.

but then the sun came out.

and we played ball.

and it was glorious.

the boy's all star team went farther than the teams before them have gone in league history in this particular tournament.

so it was super exciting and i was so proud to watch my little nugget play.

and then we had ice cream. mango lassi sorbet at jeni's.

and then i got a kidney stone.

but i lived.

and now the sun is out and we have half the summer left.

let's hope for lots and lots of good things to come.

giving.

we dropped off canned goods at the boy's school today, collected by us and our friends at BUMC.

so glad our amazing teachers deliver food to hungry classmates all summer long, and so happy we could help.

room with a view, a storm and a ufo sighting.

i'm learning to use the time lapse photography functions on my iphone. can u guess what the ufo really is?

summer = baseball.

it was a blockbuster weekend of baseball. Five days of practices followed by tournament games friday, saturday and sunday in the scorching heat. 

and you know what? i loved every minute of it.

the boy did well. his team got second place in the tourney.

we have practices all week and another tournament this weekend. then we are off to the beach.

ah, summer.

ps Go 'dores.

my kid is an all-star. but then, we already knew that.

yes, the boy made the all star team. his rowdy band of special snowflakes have a brutal schedule of daily practices and two weekends of tournament play. the first game is tonight. let me know how the 'dores are faring, cuz i'll be at my little all-star's game, cheering him on as only a true little league mama can do. loving it (and him) so much.

TBT: because why not.

if we are doing a throw-back thursday, it's gotta be this and only this.

the absolute cutest child ever on the face of the planet.

milk mustache and all.

not happy. happy.

 

 not happy: jeni's splendid ice creams did not open as planned in my building.

 

jeni's, please get well soon.

(image property of Vanderbilt University)

happy: the reigning 2014 college world series champions, the vanderbilt commodores, are back in omaha. Go 'dores!

summer pleasures.

this is one of many summer pleasures: the peach truck. now appearing every thursday at the Vanderbilt farmers' market.