Summer's End and Welcome Autumn!

It's been a very busy Summer.  Last year when we put in 4 new garden boxes and a drip system, I had no idea how it would bless us! And the harvest is STILL coming!  Joe canned more green beans and tomatoes today, and made a big pot of vegetable spaghetti sauce, and there's another pile of tomatoes waiting. I think we'll just pop those into the freezer.

We're heading out to celebrate Autumn Equinox with my youngest son and friends starting Thursday. A friend of ours owns a large piece of property and puts on a fantastic Festival for Fall. This year we decided to vend again. We used to go to festivals and vend some years ago, but since MCS, Cancer, Mom's fall and death, life just got in the way. We have boxes and boxes of stock to sell - so we finally dug it out and signed up to vend at the Fall Equinox Festival. 

I had a deer skull I found in the desert one winter - I decided to paint it and try to sell it.  I saw one at an art show this year and thought, "Hmmmm.... maybe I could do that!"  So I did. Not a great photo, but it's basically painted and decorated with flowers. It's a little creepy, but it IS almost Halloween! Hoping someone will buy it.

I nearly finished up the last of the stone mandalas today - put the shine on them.  I made a few mushroom mandalas. They're cute, like fairy houses.

Tomorrow I put on their felt bottoms and get them packed up. Besides these things, we'll have lots of quartz, citrine, amethyst, flags, and just tons of "stuff" I'd like to get rid of. I'll take a photo of our tables once they're set up.

I washed the van today and tomorrow will be packing day. We'll take a lot of food we've freeze-dried which will make it an easy camping trip.

I got my Autumn garlic in the mail this week from Territorial Seed. I can't plant it until mid-October, so I put it in the cool-house until then.  When we return from our camping trip, it'll be time to start cleaning out the garden beds for the winter.  

I will be leaving mid March to volunteer on the Camino. I had accepted a post on the Primitivo at Grado, but had a change of heart and requested one on the Camino Frances at Najera. I'll go wherever they need me in the end, but hoping to get Najera. It's a larger albergue with 48 beds but it's right on the section of Meseta I want to walk.

I'll volunteer for 2 weeks, then walk the Meseta before picking up my group end of April to walk from St. Jean Pied de Port. I think both Joe and I have wonderful pilgrims in our groups this year, and I'm really looking forward to walking with them and getting to know them.

Health-wise, I'm doing ok. My torn rotator cuffs still hurt, some days more than others. I'm looking forward to a shot of cortisone in October to hopefully calm down the inflammation. If I'm still in pain after the Camino, I'll look into surgery. 

My beautiful Norway Maple is dropping her leaves - I can't believe it. Wasn't it yesterday she was budding? The wild turkeys have decided she's a good roosting place. I enjoy watching their antics, as long as they stay away from my blackberries!  lol!

I guess that's all the news.

I hope you all have a Blessed Autumn Equinox.

Stay safe and happy and warm and loved!

Annie