A Summer of Adventure

We may not have reached the autumnal equinox that marks the end of summer and the beginning of fall, but summer is over for most of us. And what a grand season it was.

Starting in June and ending in mid-August, the office where I work closes on Friday. There simply isn't enough foot traffic during the warmer months to warrant my presence. No worries, it was my idea. I work at a church, and I couldn't stand the thought of tithes being wasted on my sitting at a desk reading, studying, and knitting, so I asked my boss to cut back those hours. The church saves money, my guilt is assuaged, and I have an extra day off. Everyone wins.

My husband and I took advantage of that extra time this year. As I mentioned in previous posts, we spent nearly two weeks at the beginning of June in England. Beginning in July, we started taking shorter excursions around the Carolinas and Virginia. We spent Independence Day in Edenton, went to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA, and visited family in the Blue Ridge Mountains when the Turks Cap lilies were in bloom. We finished the summer with our annual birthday/anniversary celebration. In two days, we fit in trips to Manassas, Arlington National Cemetery, the National Mall in D.C., Mount Vernon, and the battlefield at Fredericksburg. All were amazing, and I couldn't take enough photos. I'll be covering some of what I learned in future posts.

So in the midst of all this, how have I been doing with my 2019 goals? I'm still studying French. My flute playing has dropped off, but I'll start practicing when the Christmas music arrives. Decluttering has gone well. Our house looks and feels cleaner. It's a pleasure to sit back and relax now.

Not a goal but it happened anyway...we acquired another family member. It wasn't our intention to get a third cat, but someone threw this little guy and his siblings from a car window when he was just a few weeks old. Sadly, his siblings didn't survive, but fortunately, our friends found him before he was hit. After some discussion, we named him Simon. My girls call him Simon Meowell after Simon Cowell. We call him Simon the Cat.

Simon

He's settling in nicely. Our oldest cat, shown in the photo with Simon, has begrudgingly taken on the role of big brother. The cat who had been the youngest and is now the middle child, has a bad case of displacement syndrome. Simon is slowing winning him over though.

Having a kitten in the house has been a little trying, but also fun. He's sweet and loves everything and everyone. I'm sure you'll read more about him in the future.

And since I mentioned it at the beginning of this post...the autumnal equinox will occur on September 23rd. Y'all, Christmas is right around the corner. Yikes.