summer, fall and artfest registration!

I'm so excited for fall to get here. I LOVE our seasons and it always seems as one is wrapping itself up, the eagerness for the next in line gets stronger. I love summer too but it is so fast paced as us seattleites feel as if we need to cram half a year into 3 little months of sun because if we don't, we won't get any more. Here is what I loved about summer and what I am anticipating for fall:

Summer: farmer's markets, growing cherry tomatoes & herbs, hiking, picking wild blackberries in my own yard, swimming, eating meals on the patio, smelling a bbq from next door, hearing kids playing outside my office window, laying in the hot sun, long summer nights, fairs & festivals (well sorta...too many people), having all the windows down in the car, the lush vegetation all around, campfires in the backyard (along with hobo dinners*), warm wind blowing through our house and making the curtains sway gently, picnics...

Fall: more farmer's markets (yay!), hiking in cooler weather (ah!), crunchy leaves, making soup, snuggling in, shorter days, kids back at college, full moons, the swath of warm colors (yellow to red) all over the hills around the valley we live in, candy corn at halloween, leaves whooshing up as you drive down the road, crisp air, more reading, slower pace, more art making...

Fall also means it is ARTFEST REGISTRATION TIME. Sept. 5th is the date to mail those puppies in. if you haven't seen it yet, look at the Artfest line-up on www.teeshamoore.com. It's amazing and the teachers are really jazzed.

*hobo dinners are made using heavy foil and forming packets. Simply add a chunk of ground beef (naturally raised, of course!), grated carrots, grated potatoes, onions, (all organic from the farmers market!!) salt and pepper, close the foil packet up and cook it in the fire. It's so good. But the fun part is letting everyone make their own the way they want to. Me- I mix it all together like a meatloaf then spread it into a patty (to cook faster) and add worcestershire sauce, garlic and other spices. Tracy adds beer to his to add flavor and steam. Trista (who is vegetarian) uses a boca burger. Tiffany adds ketchup, mustard, hot sauce, and a plethora of stuff. Much better than hot dogs and just as easy.