News Trend Noooo!!!|Actual

On Saturday morning, my adored wooden-wastebasket-turned-planter took a bad turn.

It exploded. There's no other way to say it

I'm assuming that the wooden slats absorbed enough moisture to blow out one of the seams and bust the whole side loose from the base.

Definitely not a pretty sight.

And let's be honest. After going through heaven and earth to,lay my hands on this baby in the first place - go here to read all the twists and turns - it's an understatement to say I grieving this loss.

But I trust that time will heal my wounds.

And now I'm off to find a new home for a certain traumatized cactus. Who knows what pennies from heaven might fall on me this time.

News Trend Naps In The Sunshine|Actual

My boy, Ranger, knows how to enjoy a sunny afternoon. Granted, by five p.M. He will be wound up and anxiously anticipating his daily walk. But more often than not, he is the very picture of relaxation and I admire his ability to make the most out of life on a moment-to-moment basis.

Truth be told, I'm concerned about Ranger these days. At the generous age of twelve years, his good health and youthful energy are gifts that will undoubtedly not last forever, and we are seeing some sad signs that his body is not what it used to be.

He sometimes slips and stumbles on the stairs.

Jumping into the car takes some effort.

Despite a healthy appetite, he is dropping weight.

None of this is good.

But Ranger is oblivious to these downturns. Still as easy-going and eager to please as a sassy little puppy, my good dog continues to live his life with optimism and good cheer. Every moment is an opportunity to celebrate - especially if someone will slip him a dog treat - and each day brings adventure and good fortune even if that's nothing more than a walk around the block.

No matter how many days Ranger has left, he is living each one of them to the fullest. I admire his wisdom and try my best to follow his fine example.

Which means that I am taking naps in the sunshine too.

News Trend A Perfect Autumn Day|Actual

Pumpkins and sandals.

Crisp October mornings where the golden sunlight is still warm enough for bare toes.

This is my idea of a perfect autumn day.

News Trend Badlands National Park|Actual

During our summer road trip, we saw more interesting sights that I could squeeze into my real-time posts. Now that I'm back home and have fished all 548 photos off my devices, I have a few more road trip stories to share.

To catch up on the rest of the trip, starthere.

* * * * *

The story goes that the French fur trappers who wandered through this place bemoaned the lack of water and difficult passage, and deemed these to be "bad lands,"

I fervently disagree.

Granted, I had a cooler full of chilled beverages, Google maps and a team of National Park Rangers to usher me through. But on our half-day tour of Badlands National Park, I found goodness to behold around every corner.

^ Approaching from the east, this canyon land marks the unofficial beginning of the American West, and on those merits alone, fills me with excitement and a spirit of adventure. Take that, you South Dakotan corn fields - here the frontier begins!

^ While the first vistas in the park allow sweeping views of the distant rippling rock formations, the scenic drive soon winds up, in, and among the stone walls. While my family happily took in the sights from within the comfort of the air-conditioned car, my restless spirit demanded that I get out and explore each and every stopping point, at roughly three-minute intervals.

^ Any patch of wilderness tender enough to nurture wildflowers is a softie in my book.

^ I'll admit that the midday sun was scorching, but these picnic shelters went a long way toward providing some comfortable shade. In the interest of full disclosure, I must point out that the seats - made from recycled plastic - bowed in the center, apparently having melted from the heat. Yikes.

^ Continuing our looping westward drive, we noticed storm clouds piling up on the horizon.

^ And sure enough, just a few minutes later, the heavens opened up and the glorious rain poured down. For the rest of our visit, we drove in and out of these squalls, adding to the drama and charm of the landscape.

^ Here and there we discovered areas of soft, flowing table lands, prairie green from summer rain, with just the tips of rocky ranges peeping up far beyond. I just wanted to spread out a blanket in that lush grass and eat my lunch all over again.

^ More rocky ravines. More cloud bursts.

^ More precious clumps of flowers.

^ And a constant wild wind, buffeting my ears and whipping my hair in every direction. It was fierce and lovely.

^ As we edged closer to the western perimeter of the park, the steep, sharply pointed cliffs abruptly gave way to older, rounder formations. Tinged with layers of pink and yellow sediments, these geologic layers date back to the times when this was a sea, and then a jungle, and then a sea once again.

It seems that this land is indeed ever-changing, reinventing itself over the eons, transforming beyond recognition from one age to the next.

So don't let those old fur traders fool you. This may have been a "bad land" in their day and age, but for us, these are very Good Lands indeed.

News Trend Smashing Pumpkins|Actual

Pumpkins, on the outside, are a perfectly pleasing lot.

Geometrically satisfying with their spherical shapes and curious curves, their smooth, vibrant skin is outdone only by their gnarled, knobby stems.

And while each individual pumpkin certainly has its own personality - thus the fun of choosing one - the truth is that every single one of these beauties is more or less as perfect as the next.

But - as anyone who has ever opened up one of these gorgeous gourds can attest - the inside of a pumpkin is a whole 'nother matter.

Pale white flesh lacks the strength and vitality of the outer skin; its fibrous mass quickly breaks down into shapeless shreds.

And the gushy orange guts, cold and stringy, cling defiantly to those fragile fibers to form slippery handfuls of yucky mush.

In comparison to their smooth and sumptuous outer selves, pumpkin innards are messy, complicated and difficult to deal with.

In this way, I suppose that pumpkins are a whole lot like people.

On the outside, we present ourselves as smooth, centered, colorful, and balanced.

But inside, we are oftentimes a mess. Life's circumstances fill each one of our lives with challenges, traumas, hurts and fears, and while we all learn to manage them, one way or another, most of us try to keep the messy and complicated parts of ourselves hidden deep within, where no one else can see.

Hmm. I'm not particularly flattered to be likened to an overgrown gourd in this way but I can't deny that there's some truth in the comparison.

However, there's one more thing on the inside of every pumpkin - seeds.

Seeds represent growth, hope and the blessed assurance that new life is just around the corner.

And in this way, I am perfectly pleased to be a pumpkin.

* * * * *

A song called Hope from Smashing Pumpkins.

And now my metaphor is complete.

News Trend My New Roof|Actual

We also got new gutters. Gorgeous, amirite?

Last week, I bought the second most expensive thing I've ever purchased in my life.

Yes, my house represents the number-one big-ticket item. And ever since the day we signed on the dotted line to become homeowners, I've known that this enormous follow-up expense was unavoidably coming my way.

A new roof.

Blah. How boring is that.

I've been dreading this expenditure for years. I knew the day would come when we would be forced to blow somewhere around $25,000 on this utilitarian and mandatory but mind-blowingly mundane maintenance item and there was no way to cushion the blow.

I mean, we did what we could to stave off the pain.

We kept the first roof as clean as possible.

We replaced worn shakes and repaired small leaks.

We waited as long as we possibly could. And then some.

This summer, my husband and I agreed that the sorrowful day could wait no longer. We met with our roofers to seal the deal, and wrote them a big fat check. Then as I sat glumly by, imagining my hard-earned dollars sprouting wings and flying out of my bank account, a fleet of workers descended upon my home and began ripping my old roof to shreds.

Somewhere around the time that the giant heaps of worn shingles were carted off to the industrial size dumpster in my driveway, and the massive crane arrived to deliver the new shakes to the tippy-top of the now-naked roof, I began to get excited.

My new roof is unexpectedly beautiful, its fresh-cut cedar shakes shimmering in the autumn mist. Architecturally, our roof is a huge feature of our home's street appeal, and those new shakes make the place look like a million bucks.

It never occurred to me how pretty a new roof can be.

But best of all, my new roof is a beautiful metaphor for protection and safety and preservation of all that goes on underneath. I can't help but feel that my  home is now ready for a fresh cycle of life, and I'm excited to see what happens in this new season.

News Trend I Am Not A Leaf|Actual

Autumn is upon us once again, and the scarlet leaves will soon be fluttering down.

So many times in my life this has happened. Summer gives way to fall, the seasons change, the leaves on the trees give way. And as I noticed these changes in the air yesterday, my first reaction, I'm sorry to say, was this.

Yawn

Ho-hum.

I've seen this all before

And I'm not that impressed.

Then, in a snap, I realized that I was a fool.

True, this has all happened before. Leaves change color more or less the same way each year, and the ritual repeats itself in nature's unending cycles.

But here's what's different this fall:

Me.

Now granted, my personality has not completely transformed in the last twelve months.

But I'm definitely not the exact same person I was last year, or the year before. And next year, God willing, I will most certainly be just a little bit different than I am today.

Mother Nature runs round and round in her predictable and pretty circles, but we humans grow on a greater trajectory.

Every year,

every season,

even every day,

life changes me and expands me and - if I'm keeping my head on straight - gives me endless opportunity to make myself more of who I want to be.

And that is an idea that impresses me very much indeed.