September Through the Years

 I've been thinking about how many years I've been writing nonsense on this blog and how much I enjoy looking back and seeing what's happened over these 17 years.  Since September is always a new-start kind of month for me, I had an idea of going back and picking at least one picture from September to post here in one place.  When I lived in the South, we didn't have a lot of pretty fall scenes until maybe October, but I did like to get out my favorite things and start celebrating the end of the year.  I just have 8 days to get in 17 years' worth of pictures.  

2009

In this year, I had just started writing down my daily doings and was living in Montgomery with Mama, Darby the dog, and 3 or more cats between us.  Mike was in his first - and we thought only - year in Texas.  I started writing to keep him up with what was going on at home and getting contributions from him and other friends and family members.  It seems like much of September's posts were of a trip to Lubbock and back but nothing indicative of the change of seasons.

This is the picture I chose, not because it's so pretty or interesting but because it reminds me of how I just enjoyed life more then and let fails roll off me without worry.

I loved this kitchen window.  Even though it looked across to our neighbors house, I could see their kitchen window too, and it was comforting to know they were there and doing all their things.  Sometimes a cat would be sitting there looking in, and the crepe myrtle tree was in full bloom several months of the year along with a beautiful large wisteria up the street.  

The wreath was kind of wonky and old, but I hung it there anyway on a suction cup probably.  It kept falling down into the sink, so I had just propped it up.  The little wooden houses and trees we picked up in New England are still around, and I thought they just added a little hominess to the scene. 

2010:

This month it seems I was always hoping for rain, which is strange to think about now with an overabundance of the wet stuff.

I found two pictures of parents that I liked.

This was a day when we went to Target, I think, to get Mama's flu shot. She was 87 at the time.  It's funny to think that it never crossed my mind to take one myself, but now it's one of the first things I think about in the fall.  Getting old will do that to you! She always loved an outing - to the doctor, to buy groceries, just to ride around town or push the shopping cart through Wal-Mart.  And talk to people.  I guess there wasn't much excitement around the house with me working most of the day and having just the pets to talk to.

We usually finished up our outings with lunch at Chic-Fil-A on Fridays to celebrate getting her hair done for the week and home for a nap.  For her.  I think I started work at 3 p.m. Sometimes we would go into the fabric shop.  I don't think we ever came out empty-handed, even if it was just a skein of yarn or a spool of thread.  She could sit at the pattern counter and just browse through the pattern books forever.

And then this was the month Mike's dad Roy published his 3rd book, Uncle Fuddy-Duddy and the Big Bad Bear.  The local newspaper did a nice write-up about it, and I imagine everyone in Andalusia had a copy of at least one of the books.

He loved writing about the stories he used to tell our children when they were little.  He would gather them in his lap when they came for a visit and just start making things up.  They usually involved Uncle Fuddy-Duddy and his adventures and misadventures and always had a moral.  He got so much satisfaction from doing that and loved going to local schools and libraries and reading to the children.