Nativity (and a few extras)

 I have a collection of Nativity scenes. Some are old, some are new, some are very traditional, some are whimsical, one I painted on wood, one is from Ghana, one from The Grotto in Portland, Oregon, one from Israel, one was a "white elephant", All bring back good memories.

Here are a few of them.

 And a few more bits of our Christmas decor.

It's beginning......

Today the Christmas decorating begins.  Nothing big yet, but I have taken down all the fall decor and put up things that I've been working on. 
We're going for a homespun feel this year; starting with a double sided banner between the living room and dining room (burlap and fabric with paper letters); a wreath from torn strips of fabric; and an embroidery hoop collage.

Plus a bit of seasonal potpourri in various places. 
That's it for now, at least until I get the energy
to drag things out of storage and really get to work.

In the yard today.....

 

 

 

In the front yard we have, mums, geraniums,
hydrangeas and begonias.

In the backyard we have lemons, grapefruit, tangerines and tangelos slowly ripening; 

as well as some unexpected fungi.

And everywhere else we have leaves!!
Have I mentioned that we have 9 trees in our front yard and 20 in the back? 
And this is a small lot (.16 acre) with a fairly large house.  We love it!

September - October

In September we "camped" with friends (them in tents, us in a motel);

 We also celebrated our 41st wedding anniversary and my birthday in September.

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In October Fall arrived!


We took a trip to San Diego (Mike was attending a convention) where we saw

Petco Park     -     the Westfield Horton Plaza (below)     -     lovely art deco architecture

and the Convention Center;
looking NW at the older part 

and inside, facing the
newer SE end.

 

We also took a quick tour of the city, Balboa Park and Coronado,

making us want to go back with more time to explore.

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But the most fun this month was a big celebration for Charlie's 30th Birthday!!

in August we...

...went to San Francisco with Kevin and Shannon for Mike's birthday - Farmer's Market, Ferry Building, Imperial Tea Court and Wayfare Tavern - a great day!!

And Downtown Plesanton with Charlie and Sarah to celebrate both Sarah's and Mike's birthdays (sadly I didn't have my camera so borrowed a photo from FB).  Dinner at home; Therapy; The Wine Steward; Domus; and frozen yogurt.  A very fun evening!!

 

now as
we look
forward

to fall...

a glimpse of our Ministry Faire at Church - kicking off the fall quarter.

In the House - Today

dining room table and hutch

between dining room and living room

....the beginning of a new project

 More about August next time.....