Comfy Cozy Cinema – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

On September 12, 2024September 12, 2024 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized11 Comments

Hello everyone!! Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and I are back to watching and sharing about comfy cozy (and sometimes, chilling) movies for the fall season. Feel free to join in with us!!

This week our movie was The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, with an all star cast. I knew we were in for a treat after seeing this powerhouse of a lineup.

I mentioned the cast, but let’s take a closer look. Bill Nighy, whom I love in everything, Dame Judy Dench, Dame Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson, Celia Imrie, Penelope Wilton – but I will say that the other actors held there own, particularly Dev Patel. He is an award winner himself but just a young actor compared to some of his co-stars.

Anyway, we were really looking forward to this movie. It has been on my to watchlist for ages, but I just never had gotten around to it. When Lisa picked it for our line up, I was pretty excited. Billy and I made a thing of it too, ordering Indian takeout to eat before watching, and it was just a nice little treat to watch the movie with these flavors so fresh in our minds.

The movie is about a group of retirees who through various circumstances find themselves en route to India, to stay at the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, which has been touted as a place for the elderly and the beautiful. The website and brochure photos depict this hotel as a gorgeous vision of a hotel, that is also affordable for those who may be on a fixed income. However, the hotel is truly that – just a vision of the idealistic young man who runs it. It is there, there are rooms, but it is a bit of a shambles.

As I mentioned, the characters are all there for different reasons, and they all settle into the country very differently as well. Some go in with very preconceived ideas of the culture, some with hopes for finding things that were lost, some with hopes for the future, but all coming to terms with the stage of life they find themselves in. It was interesting to watch these characters come to terms with the transition they were in, finding their new place in the world, juxtaposed against the vivid liveliness of India. The music, the almost frenetic energy, the colors, the chatter and noise, the flavors of the food, was just so alive while these characters sorted through some very poignant emotions – and it was probably the best possible place to start a new life, in a place so overflowing with it.

I very much enjoyed this movie, and of course the cast. Dev Patel’s enthusiasm was contagious, and I truly believed in him. Maggie Smith was amazing, as always, and her character might have been my favorite of them all. I don’t want to go too into this sort of analyzation, as I don’t want to reveal anything or give anything away so I should stop here. However, Billy and I really liked this movie, and found it very moving. It was perfect for a warm early fall evening, with a bellyful of Indian food.

If you are interested in linking up with us, here is our linky! This movie is available to stream on Amazon Prime, Apple TV and Fandango at Home, and may be available at your local libraries!

Find Lisa’s post here!

Next up: Somewhere in Time! Post date Sept. 19.

Wednesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On September 11, 2024September 11, 2024 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP, Michigan8 Comments

Hello everyone! I am one tired mama this morning! I keep telling myself I can rest after such and such – and then something else comes up! Lol. Oh well – all too soon we will be deep into winter and not doing anything at all really, so it’s best to get out there and let Wyatt experience as much as possible while we can (and have some myself too)

Last Friday, we kicked off our school season with a field trip to The Henry Ford Museum. Wyatt is starting a big prehistoric unit in science this fall, and I love to try to find a field trip at the beginning of the year that correlates with something we are going to learn about. Lucky for me, we were able to squeak in under the wire for the Dinosaurs exhibit at the museum, two days before it was set to end. I am glad we made it, because we both had a really good time.

The artist who created these, John Payne, welded the metal and steel together to create these huge sculptures. Wyatt and I also talked about this, how art doesn’t have to just be paintings or sketches, it can be these enormous dinosaurs made out of steel, fire and heat. The exhibit is called Dinosaurs in Motion, and it is interactive. Half of the dinosaurs could be moved and manipulated using old fashioned pulley systems, and we could pull ropes, levers, spin wheels -there were all sorts of different ways to activate the pulleys. And let me tell you, those dinosaurs were heavy! Wyatt and I would be pulling or pushing together and sometimes I had to put my whole weight behind it. There was just one dinosaur I couldn’t really budge, and a young twentysomething man asked if we needed some extra oomph! I said yes and he helped Wyatt get that dinosaur really moving!

The other half of the dinosaurs were activated by computer, and you can see Wyatt at the controls in the one photo. All of they exhibits you could press buttons and make the dinosaurs roar, and flash lights like lightning and play storm sound effects; the computer versions you could do that plus use controls to move them around. It was really really cool, and I felt like we were in the movie Jurassic Park. Wyatt could not get over how big that T-Rex was, and kept giving it the side eye. He was a little skeptical of it at first.

The exhibit was a fantastic way to kick off school and I was so glad that we went.

On Saturday, Wyatt had like the perfect Wyatt day. Billy and I also very much enjoyed ourselves, especially the autumn weather that we were having! We took a drive out to Grosse Pointe Park, to a children’s bookstore named Coreanders. It was so whimsical, adorable, and I wanted to spend hours in there. It was not very big, but just big enough. The walls are covered in beautiful murals, including the entire elevator shaft. The elevator to the second floor has a window in the door, so that as you go up or down, you can view a mural on the way. It is spectacularly done. I was also so happy that they were wheelchair accessible!

There is also a cafe/ice cream shop in the back, and we of course had to pop in for coffee and cookies which we ate in the courtyard. It felt like we were in New Orleans, with the wrought iron, the brickwork, the garden. Tucked in and hidden about the garden were little garden statuary, little animals reading or just hiding, and we enjoyed looking at them all and picking our favorites. Also – the cookie was delicious, and was made at a nearby boulangerie, name LeRouge. Wyatt picked out a book, I picked out a book, and also grabbed a few cute bookmarks. I love them – they are designed by Ingrid Press and they are beautiful! I should never have looked up that website because now I want everything!

We walked around the cute little area, wandered through a farmers market that was just closing up but I still managed to buy a bag of loose tea from Outer Realm teas. I bought the Royal Tea and we are going to brew a pot up over the weekend.

When we went home, we painted as we had not managed to fit art in over during the week. Wyatt is studying Charley Harper for a few weeks and I wanted to fit in the first lesson. Then we had game night! I think all three of us crashed out that night!

Sunday was much more relaxed. I went to church in the morning, then we hung out at home for the afternoon, just relaxing and doing whatever. Dinner was an adventure though. We were planning on watching The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for Comfy Cozy Cinema that evening, so we thought it would be fun to get Indian food as well. And goodness, I am so glad that we did. It was fantastic. We ordered from a place called Charminar Biryani House in Detroit and it was delicious. We couldn’t decide what to get, everything looked amazing, so we ordered Butter Chicken and Tandoori chicken, and split it with some buttered naan bread (Wyatt had a different dinner although he seriously missed out).

Needless to say, it was a very packed weekend. This week though, is a much slower pace right now. School, and finishing up some errands and projects for scouts tomorrow night – it will be our first meeting! I am super nervous about it! Tonight I still need to make game paddles for a game we are playing, and put together the little beaded keychain kits for every kit, that they are going to make while learning about the pack laws. (Be kind, etc) Wish us luck everyone!

Here are a few photos from the roll!

And that is it from me today! I hope you all have a wonderful day and do something today that makes you smile!

Top Ten Tuesday – Books That Provide a Much Needed Escape

On September 10, 2024September 8, 2024 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized40 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

This week’s prompt is Books that Provide a Much Needed Escape. At first I wanted to interpret this as just comfort reads, then I realized that sometimes I need different escapes; sometimes I need the warm hug of a familiar, much loved book, sometimes I need an all-consuming thriller, and sometimes I need the solace of a nonfiction nature read.

Let me start with my comfort books. These are beloved books to me, that I have read over and over for one reason or another. Watership Down is my all time favorite book, the Little House series is just one that I have read almost every since I was a child. At Home in Mitford is just such a feel good book, full of good people, and Barbara Michaels – I don’t know what it is about her books but I have read them so much that my copies are literally falling apart.

The thrillers section. This part is more about the author and less about the book. These authors can just write books that completely engross me! And lucky me, I still have so many to read still from their backlist!

And finally, those nonfiction nature reads. I haven’t reached for one in a while, and while researching this post I realized I miss them. I feel like this winter I may be cuddling up with a few that I haven’t read yet.

John Lewis-Stempel is one of my favorites. I have read Meadowland quite a few times, and once I spent a month reading it out loud to Billy and Wyatt after dinner. (Wyatt wasn’t as excited about this as we were) The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating – this is probably one of my most recommended books, I tell everyone to read it. It is very scientific and you will learn a lot about snails, but I also felt there was something so peaceful to be found in its pages. World of Wonders spoke to my heart. I too believe our world is full of wonders and we need to approach them all with that childlike joy we used to. Finally, Braiding Sweetgrass was just such a journey with Kimmerer. Her words and writings are so gorgeous, and I love that she reads her own books for audio. I have read this and listened to it both, and I love the audio just a bit more.

And that is it for me this week! I can’t wait to see everyone else’s choices!

An Overly Ambitious Autumn TBR

On September 9, 2024September 5, 2024 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized39 Comments

Hi everyone! I am so excited about autumn, but if you read here regularly then you probably already know that.

I of course have a loose plan of books I would like to read this fall. I say loose because I am terrible at sticking to a plan of reading. I might want to read something but then absolutely dislike it when I start it. Or I might simply just change my mind. I like to make a list yet give myself the freedom to walk away from it too. The best of both worlds!

September

I feel like I am already behind!

October

This is where it gets messy. I went with more cozy witchy or cozy paranormal romance with one horror this October and there are just so many that I want to read! I do have quite a few middle grade on this list though, so maybe just maybe I can read them all?

November

I want to sort of segue from spooky fall to comfy fall in my reading in November.

I also have a list of bonus books which I am sure I won’t get to but would like to read during the fall. There are just way too many books out there and not enough time!

Are any of these books on your TBR?

My Sunday-Monday Post

On September 8, 2024September 7, 2024 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized33 Comments

My Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

Hello everyone! Last week was a bit nutty at first, but ended very well. We had a very slow start to school, and I am not even calling it our first week. It was more like a practice run, although we did do a little bit of school work.

Read Last Week:

I felt like these two were the perfect transition books from summer to fall and spooky season. I really loved Every Time I Go on Vacation Someone Dies. I thought the narrator was so chatty and fun, and I just really enjoyed it. Haunting License sort of dragged for me a bit, but it was still cute.

Reading This Week:

I am going to start both of these, and we will see if I finish them both. I am thinking, probably not, but here’s hoping!

Posted Last Week:

Hello September!

Top Ten Tuesday – Books About Food (but not Cookbooks)

Book Reviews – A Few Mini Book Reviews

Comfy Cozy Cinema – What We Did on Our Holiday

Friday Morning Coffee Catch Up

Watching and Listening:

We have been watching the American Ghosts tv show, as well as The Great British Pottery Throw Down. We of course also watched our movie for Comfy Cozy Cinema, What We Did on Our Holiday. Tonight we are watching this week’s movie, The Great Exotic Marigold Hotel. I am looking forward to it!

As for YouTubers, Wyatt and I have been watching Liv of Liv’s Library, and Forgotten Way Farms, who is back from a few month hiatus. We also watched Desi of Darling Desi and Dainty Diaries, who had some very sad news to share. Tonight we will watch Morgan Long’s newest. Or maybe Randi Lynn Reed. It will be a tough call! Wyatt calls all these YouTubers our book ladies, and he is not wrong.

Listening wise, we are never too adventurous anymore. We have our favorites and sort of stick with them, which is why I don’t mention music too often here. Lord Huron, The National Parks are usually playing in the background if we have music on., unless we are in the car, where we listen to country. Lol. I did make an Autumn Playlist, and we have been listening to that too.

And that is about it from around here! How are you all doing?

Friday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On September 6, 2024 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP, family, Michigan15 Comments

Hello everyone!! It is a rainy day here today, and I have to admit, it is making me feel all happy inside. I needed a rainy day. Wyatt and I are going to go slow this morning and then later on we are going to the museum to see the dinosaur exhibit before it is gone. When we get home, we are painting. It should be fun!

Where to begin? I will start with Billy’s medical procedure on Tuesday. It was a regular type thing that everyone gets at some point as they age, but it was the first time Billy had ever had anesthesia so it was freaking me out a little. They told me that they were only going to give him just enough for the short procedure, and that most people wake up immediately once back in the room. He spent the day before getting ready for this procedure (I am sure most of you can guess what this was at this point) and Wyatt and I kept busy doing other things which I will talk about next, and then we had to be at the hospital bright and early the next morning. I am all over the place, I apologize. I blame the fact that I am still drinking my first cup of coffee.

We were shown to Billy’s little room and they told me I could stay there while he was having his procedure done. I did take my embroidery with me, and so many nurses came in and looked at it while I was stitching. They all thought it was cute, and mentioned that they had been thinking of doing something like it. One nurse told me that she used to do it with her grandmother when she was little and would like to pick it back up. It was sort of neat how it was a conversation starter. And the anesthesiologist was right on – Billy started to wake up almost immediately when they rolled him back in. He was very groggy and doesn’t remember it but he was up (ish). We got a good report from the doctor and then we were on our way! Wyatt was with his grandma while we were gone and she reported that he did excellent as well – although he refused to eat or sleep while I was gone. So I need to work on that guys! We are just together so much. I don’t have many sitters available and then there is homeschool and his therapy anyway.. but we need to work on this.

So that was Tuesday. Let’s throw it back to the weekend. The Sunday before Labor Day we went to my brother’s for a fire, and it was such a relaxed night. Little Wild Child doesn’t give her parents a break though, she cracks me up. Mermaid Girl was a kid that would sit and color and play for hours in one spot – Wild Child never ever stops moving and running around and getting into everything. And she gives you the most mischievous smile as she does! She is funny. I did get her to sit down for a few minutes. She likes to put things into containers now (at that stage lol) and I took the game Qwirkle with me, which has a million little wooden tiles in a bag. So I dumped the bag and mesmerized her for a few minutes with them. Mermaid Girl was there too – she brought out a whole collection of cat stuffies and toys for me to view. It was cute.

On Monday, Wyatt and I went to Greenfield Village briefly. We were going to ride the train a few times and walk around but the bees and wasps were insane! I am not sure what the problem was but they were just swarming us it felt like. So we rode the train once around and then went to the gift shop instead – which Wyatt told me was his favorite part. Of course. Lol. I don’t even buy this kid stuff everywhere we go, so it is funny to me he likes to shop. He did pick out a sticker for his water bottle while we were there though this time and he was very happy with it.

Wednesday, Wyatt had therapy where he continued to do awesome, then in the evening we went to my mom’s senior apartment building because Elvis was in the house! My mom hasn’t been doing well with her mental health lately and it was nice to get her outside and doing something fun. And honestly, it was really fun. The impersonator did a great job and had many of the residents up and dancing. Wyatt was bopping along to the music, and even Billy and I were singing too. It was a wonderful evening to be outside too, perfect really. It was a nice night.

And now it is Friday! Pizza night! Field trip, art day. Tomorrow is game night and Sunday is when Billy and I watch our movies for Comfy Cozy Cinema – this week is the Great Exotic Marigold Hotel. We may have a few other surprises in store as well for the weekend, we shall see.

And that is that for today! I hope that whatever you do today, you do something that makes you smile!

Comfy Cozy Cinema – What We Did on Our Holiday

On September 5, 2024September 5, 2024 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Comfy Cozy Cinema, Uncategorized10 Comments

Hello everyone!! I am so excited to embark on year 2 of Comfy Cozy Cinema watching with Lisa over at Boondock Ramblings. We had so much fun last year and this year will be even better, I can feel it in my bones. We each chose a few movies, which I love because it makes us watch movies we would maybe never watch on our own. Lisa was my introduction to Cary Grant and so many good movies and I would never have gotten around to them without our buddy watching.

The movie of the week this week is What We Did on Our Holiday, which is a dark comedy starring David Tennant, Rosamund Pike, and Billy Connolly. Rosamund Pike and David Tennant have three children, and are going through a contentious separation. They are always fighting it seems like, and according to the kids, always yelling at each other. Lottie, the oldest, seems to be particularly sensitive to the situation. However, they have to suck it up so that they can travel as a family to visit Doug’s (David Tennant) family in Scotland for Doug’s father’s birthday extravaganza. His father Gordie, played by the delightfully hilarious Billy Connolly, has terminal cancer, and Doug wants his own little family to keep quiet about the separation and divorce proceedings. His brother Gavin (played by Ben Miller who also played Billy’s favorite DI on Death in Paradise) is loaded and is hosting the lavish affair. He is also married and has a teenage son.

Doug and Abi (Pike) arrive with the kids in tow, and we immediately sense that Lottie and her grandfather have a special relationship. It was very sweet to watch, as she seemed like she didn’t have a family member she really fit with until seeing her with Gordie, who seemed to actually listen to her – and give her pretty good if not always the most prudent advice. Billy and I both decided that real life Billy Connolly would be an awesome grandfather to have. As Gordie he was spectacular and was one of those characters you would love to actually hang out with – maybe we just want to hang out with Billy Connolly.

There is an undercurrent of tension and dysfunction between all of the adults in this movie, except for Gordie. Abi, Doug, Gavin, and his wife Margaret all have their issues and also issues with each other, in the case of Doug and Gavin, who do not have the closest relationship.

And this is where the craziness and hijinks begin. To say anymore here would be to completely spoil the movie though and I don’t want to do that.

I thought this movie was so fun – however, there are some heavier moments in this movie that just come at you. Thank goodness the kids add some levity, and dare I say, outshone everyone else in this movie? There were a few times I literally laughed out loud at some of their lines. And of course, at Billy Connolly’s lines.

Billy and I both loved the scene where Gordie has all of his grandchildren in his old truck, and they are heading to the beach. He lets the kids drive, meaning Mickey can toot the horn, while Jess yelled out the window, and Lottie, who is a bit of an overthinker and rule follower, steers. He controls the pedals. It was just really cute, and he tells Lottie “to live more and think less” which is actually really good advice. What a fun moment that had to be even to film for those kids, and had that been real, a fun memory for kids with their grandfather. I remember my own grandfather lived on a mountaintop in Pennsylvania and he had a collection of old cars, like real old, Model T’s and Model A’s. He would take me down the mountain in those cars at breakneck speeds and it was terrifying but also so much fun!! I am sure my parents didn’t think so, but I will remember that feeling and those rides down the mountain forever.

I also loved the way Rosamund Pike dressed in the movie. Is she not seriously so beautiful? These outfits were that quiet elegance and so classic, yet also casual which was perfect for her character in the situations she was wearing them.

This is just a heartwarming movie, and includes vikings and food fights and fiddle playing and it was just a really good watch. I particularly loved the very ending scene!

I am looking forward to the next movie, which is another Lisa pick (actually the first couple are all hers, then some of mine, then they get mixed up together). We will be watching The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and posting about it on the 12th! Feel free to post with us, the linky for each movie will be up for a week starting on the day of posting.

And today’s linky is here! You can find our posts and post your own. If you don’t want to post and just want to comment and read along that is fine as well! Just get cozy at home and enjoy!

A Few Mini Book Reviews

On September 4, 2024August 31, 2024 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn book review, books and reading11 Comments

It’s about time to catch up on some book reviews! I guess they are not really reviews per se, but more my thoughts and feelings on the book. Anyway, I have a few that I would like to talk about today!

I loved this book. It is definitely one of my top favorite books that I have read this year. Can I just say, Valancy is such a kick butt heroine? I love her character’s growth, although it wasn’t a slow steady growth, just a one day out of the blue, I’m done with this crap growth. The scene with her family at the table had me cracking up. She just didn’t give a darn at that point and let them know! And she wasn’t just purely rebellious to be rebellious. She had a mission, and a good one. When she heard that a friend of hers, that she admittedly hadn’t seen or spoken with in a very long time, was ill and that no one was “doing for her” she took matters into her own hands, and moved right in, not giving one hoot about any damage to her reputation. Because what kind of Christian folk would allow someone to lay dying without any help? Like I said, she was awesome. She decided to live life and was going for it. I mean, she did have a bit of a reason to throw all caution to the wind, but I don’t want to reveal it, or reveal anything that happens afterward.

So much of the description was otherworldly, whimsical, ethereal, making me want to see these forests and hollows and swamps and just everything there is to see.

“Frogs, little green wizards of swamp and pool, singing everywhere in the long twilights and long into the nights; islands fairy-like in a green haze; the evanescent beauty of wild young trees in early leaf; frost-like loveliness of the new foliage of juniper trees…”

Doesn’t it just sound so magical?

You guys, this was so adorable! Vera Wong is full of mischief and shenanigans, pokes her nose into things that are not her business, makes food that can change the mind of the strongest holdout, and has really good instincts. This book is full of new and budding friendships that bloom into a found family, that just filled me with goodness and warmth and happy feelings, almost like Vera had prepared one of her specialty teas just for me. She is a bit of a miracle worker, Vera is, and I can’t wait for the next book.

This book had a completely different feel. It was a slow read, introspective, thoughtful. In Korea the genre of this book is “healing fiction” and is meant to be read slowly, and usually centers around one main gathering place – such as the bookshop in this book. Every character we meet in this story is undergoing some sort of change, a moment in their lives that involves them making decisions to improve their lives. It was a book that made me think, and I took my time with it. Also, it talks a lot about coffee, so be prepared to be craving a nice warm cup of your favorite blend while reading!

This was a crazy, twisty, dark and creepy read – and I loved it!! It had some big folk horror vibes, which is one of my favorite subgenres, and had so much intrigue and so many twists and turns that I almost never knew what was coming next. There were so many secrets, so many things to hide. I read way past my bedtime with this one. It is the perfect time of year to read this too, as the book takes place at the end of the summer at a posh resort that had once been a private residence made of stone that towered over the rest of the village. If you have been thinking of reading this, I highly recommend grabbing a copy now!

Have you read any of these? What did you think?

Top Ten Tuesday – Books About Food

On September 3, 2024August 31, 2024 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized46 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

When I read this weeks prompt, books about food, the first thing that leapt to mind were all the picture books Wyatt and I have read that involve food. I love using meals and foods to teach Wyatt about different cultures and countries and even about different states.

We used these for school and enjoyed tasting different foods based on the books or the country. Now I miss doing this so I think I will try to include more of this sort of thing again this year!

In case you are interested here are the links to France and Italy.

Also these were some fun food books that we just read and enjoyed. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is an old favorite of mine, from my childhood that I loved sharing with Wyatt!

Have you read any of these?

Hello September!

On September 2, 2024September 2, 2024 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn autumn, Hello, hygge15 Comments

It’s September! The first of the “ber” months, my favorite months of the year (except for March, Wyatt’s birth month)

September is fall to me. Back to school, fall clothes, comfort meals, cozy mornings and evenings, jeans and sweaters and boots, leaves crunching under foot, cooler nights, crisp air that makes me feel more alive, bonfires, cider… so many good things!

Except..it is not these things immediately, at least not here in Michigan. We are still in shorts, eating our warm weather meals of salads and tomato cheese sandwiches and hamburgers (I love hamburgers, not going to lie), but some things are beginning to seem more like fall. The nights have been cooler, and we are going back to school, so two things on my list! I will take it as a start!

I saw a reel I saw this morning about how in the 90s we would all truck off to school on the first day in boots and jeans and giant sweaters, because they were our “new back to school” clothes and we would all just die and sweat all day from the heat. It made me laugh because I definitely remember doing that!

I love fall and how as nature starts to slow down and rest, we do too. The days are getting shorter, the darkness settles in much earlier, almost whispering to us to settle in as well. To find that cozy blanket and book, and relax and not run around trying to get everything done until you fall exhausted into bed. It’s our reminder that we need to restore ourselves as well. To fill back up after a long summer of doing and going. To play that autumn playlist full of rich songs while we make a flavorful soup or homemade bread on a weekend morning, to indulge in mugs of hot drinks that warm us body and soul, to hole up for a few hours on the couch surrounded by our little comfort piles. It’s time to dim those lights in the evening, and leave the harsh glow of the day behind. To take walks in the crisp air, crunching leaves underfoot, never minding the soft rain that may fall on you. To have warm apple pie for breakfast one day, just for fun.

My squirrel friends have been visiting more often these days, looking for the treats I leave them outside. I watch them eat some, then scurry off with other bits, stashing it somewhere only they know where. Sometimes we have an opossum friend too, who visits wanting apples. Over the summer mama possum was hanging out in our yard with her babies, and while I know they wouldn’t all stay I wish they could have. Like Jerome Kildee is Kildee House (a kids book I read for the first time this year and I wish everyone would read), I would share my space with all the little animals too. Although maybe not in my house. Outside is fine.

We are slowing down, and I try to remember that when making plans for the fall. I want to do so much too, to take Wyatt to all the festivals and camping and Halloween events, but I am mindful to not do too much. I try to pick and choose carefully, to make space between the events for slow days too. Enough to enjoy but not so much as to overwhelm, where everything runs into another thing and dulls the excitement and joy. We are taking a short trip to Cuyahoga Valley National Park this fall, and riding the train which I think will be a lot of fun. Wyatt loves trains and this will be his longest train ride to date – plus I bought tickets for the train car that has a glass ceiling so that we can get huge views of the outdoors as well. I have a few other things planned as well, but also plan to spend some fun days here too, at home.

I made a little graphic to frame and put on my desk, to remind myself to slow down and rest this season. I will link it here in case you want to print it out too, or just save it to your phone or computer.