A change of seasons

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Granddaughters designing on the quilt wall.
 

Ah, what a glorious week it was; family departed this morning but not before one more round of adventures that sent the granddaughters home in dry socks from my supply stash. We took a walk to the sediment trap, where my daughter did her part in clearing out the small spot in a stream. Shoes were soaked just reaching the creek, so my son-in-law carried his girls, ages seven and four and a half, to the car. We won't see them again for a few months, but awesome memories will sustain us all until again we can be together.

A Halloween quilt and coasters were warmly welcomed, as was a sunny afternoon yesterday after several days of gray skies. Distinctly I noticed how the sun's slant now casts an autumnal mood over the landscape; we are well into a new season and are all grateful for it despite a dearth of precipitation. Hopefully rain will fall soon, though none is in the ten-day forecast. Yet I am pleased for the altered season, even if it's dry. Daylight is indeed lessened, quilts put into good use by all. Evening cups of decaf tea were enjoyed once kids went to bed, adult conversations just as lovely as all I shared with my granddaughters. We ate blackberries, gathered seeds from my wildflower garden, taking long walks and building COUNTLESS Lego items, both from our imaginations and the instruction guides, hehehe. We rebuilt a Lego firetruck and space shuttle more than once for each, working on a car right up until it was time for all to leave. And then there was the pot holder designing, seen above. After clearing my sewing machine table for my daughter to use as a makeshift workspace, a large pile of scraps needed a new home. And more than a few of them landed on the quilt wall, my grandgirls providing me with templates upon which to fashion some new pot holders. I'll get to those soon enough, once I make up a slew of Halloween coasters and ponder yet another novel idea. We'll see what next week holds for the writing, certainly plenty of plots from which to choose.

In the meantime there is laundry to wash, totes of toys to pack away, an ironing board to set up, and mug rugs to arrange. Hedging these activities is the resounding joy from sharing a week with beloveds, renewing bonds and forming stronger ties. As the grandgirls age, their memories will include snippets from various activities, tethered tightly by deep affection. What a blessing is such love, perhaps that needs to be front and center in whatever I write. We'll see what happens, a journey I'm anticipating with about as much excitement as the familial visit that is now past.

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