warmth

It is cold here, and wet. My fingers went numb all through when taking these pictures. But I get all warm and glowy feeling when I look at these.

Holding on to a latte is helpful toward that end, too.

I hope you are all warm and safe ... peace to you!!

busy busy busy

Whew, has it been a week already? Where does the time go? My guess is that it's hanging out with all the lost socks of the world, wherever those may be.

The lost socks (unfortunately) are on their own. I'm frying some bigger fish.

On top of working, exercising, sleeping, eating, and attempting to avoid H1N1 (as well as any dramatic media coverage of H1N1), we've had quite a few other things on our plates as well.

On Monday nights, we have RCIA. James is kind enough to come with me and is learning lots too (he was baptized Catholic and thus does not need the rites of initiation again). In addition to our time shared there with other catechumens and candidates, we have weekly readings from the Catechism and other publications that explain in detail various aspects of the faith. Speaking of which ... I'm behind on my reading. Ack!!

This experience (and the lengthy as-yet-untold tale leading up to how we arrived here at all) is something I hope to write about in more detail soon, but as the title of this post would suggest, I just haven't had the time to sit down and place my thoughts in anything remotely resembling a logical manner.

They're in there, I promise, bumping up against the sides of my skull. Sometimes it just hurts that good.

On Tuesdays, we meet with a church group to watch and discuss The Truth Project. This is my second time going through the series and it's still bending my noodle like you wouldn't believe. Our discussions are robust and often go into the later hours of the evening ... not so good for the girl whose alarm goes off at 4:15 am. Yep, you read that right. It is not a typo. Believe me, I wish it was.

I've also been working hard on my photography. In addition to taking copious amounts of pictures of autumn scenes, I've been embarking on another endeavor. About a month ago, I challenged myself to engage in a 365-day self-portrait challenge. It's amazing how bored I can get with myself and how challenging it is to come up with new and creative means of self expression. But I'm doing it because if I'm going to be a photographer, I believe that I need to get on the other side of the camera every now and then and become the subject. And hopefully soon, all this experimenting will help me with the goal of making my photography a way I can supplement our income.

And writing? Yeah. I have hopes for developing that, too ... but I have to squeeze sleeping in somewhere.

Other than that, we're reading and studying a lot, primarily about things related to our faith, things that I simultaneously crave and that overwhelm me. We've watched a few movies, gone on a few walks, and always have time to smooch and take silly pictures.

And just what are you up to this fine autumn season?

oh, sweet autumn!!

I love summer: the warmth, the long days. But honestly ... who could resist these delicious autumn colors?

See more of my autumn photos here.

welcome, autumn

Crisp dark mornings. Spiced cider. Pumpkin patches. Trees bedecked in jewel tones, dropping their airy gems. Wind and rain and cinnamon.

It is here.

cemetery walks in autumn

It's not often that we get crisp autumn days and sun around here. Because I had some new photo-editing software demanding that I play with it, I was compelled to go for a walk with my camera yesterday.

Happy autumn!

P.S. This is post #200 on lattes & rainy days. Whoo-hoo!!

cemetery/autumn photos by kirsten.michelle