Coffee Date

If we were meeting for coffee this morning for a little chat and catch-up, I would tell you to just head on over here. I tried a new recipe for banana-nut graham muffins and they are still warm, and very yummy, plus the house smells so good from them. Here is the recipe if you want to try them out.

First, I would ask you if you saw Dexter on Sunday. I think this season is particularly dark...even more so than past seasons which I didn't know was possible. We started Modern Family and have seen the first two episodes so far. Do you watch it? So hilarious. This was one of my favorite moments...the Lion King intro, we were cracking up! There are so many good fall shows on, I am in TV heaven!!

Yesterday was the first day it actually REALLY felt like fall to me. I woke up to the sound and smell of rain from my window. I LOVE rain. LOVE IT. I was the only one awake in the house for hours and it was such a wonderful morning. It was just what I needed... some quiet time to just think and decompress from the weekend. I moved the big armchair over to the sliding door in the kitchen, opened the door so I could smell and watch the rain, let in enough chill for a blanket and sweatshirt, enjoyed a cup of vanilla tea, made a bowl of oatmeal topped with fresh figs from the tree in the backyard, and read Nancy Drew!! It was a perfect way to start the day...and the week.

I have not read those books since I was a kid, and they are so much fun. I love how outdated some of the phrases are, I love the drawings, and I still get lost in the mystery. I love to think how my mom read the series when she was a girl and so did I. I am fascinated by things that transcend generational boundaries. Gilligans Island and I love Lucy were shows I loved as a kid, Nancy Drew and Little House on the Prairie...and all those classics they make you read in school.

Then I would warn you that I need to vent for minute, and apologize for being a Debbie Downer. Then I would tell you that things have been a little rough lately. There was about a 3 week period where my back felt slightly better with no explaination, then about 2 weeks ago it is again at its worst. Sleeping a few hours a night and unable to do much of anything due to the pain, but I guess that's normal. The weekend was tough. Friday I had to drive to a doctor's appointment all the way in Santa Ana, about 45 minutes north. The appointment took TWO hours, and by the time I got home I could barely move. Saturday we had tickets to see Tom Petty in concert. I had been looking forward to that concert for months, and I have wanted to see him in concert ever since I was probably 14. But I felt awful. We had lawn seats, and we were sitting on a very slanted hill - not helping the pain. I was trying so hard to just focus on the music, and I did enjoy seeing Tom Petty, even ZZ Top, who opened, was great. But unfortunately the pain just really put a damper on the whole thing.

Sunday, we went to San Onofre State Beach. Brent and Jordan surfed, I took pictures, and Brent built some rock stacks. Unfortunately, my expensive tri-pod got left behind on the beach. Bummer.

On to happier things...my friend Georgia is hosting a blog swap. Unfamiliar with this? The basic idea is you get matched up with another blogger, you get to know each other a bit, then you send a small package with a few gifts. The theme of this one is Autumn, so the gifts could be a favorite recipe, a type of goodie you can only buy during this season, etc. I have participated in one before and it was SO much fun! If you want more info or want to participate, go here.

Thanks for joining me for coffee...hope you have a great Tuesday!! Find something today that makes you happy and enjoy. For me, it's the rain ♥