False fall has come and gone

It's an annual occurrence, the excitement surrounding that first little cool front that pushes through to get us out of triple digit temps. We call it false fall. Actually, we get a lot of these false falls every year because the warmer temps creep right back in. Fortunately for us, our first hint of fall arrived earlier in the week, a bit ahead of its usual schedule. I sat in one of the porch swings at our pool pavilion in the late afternoon to do a bit of reading and didn't break a sweat. It was pretty amazing, y'all.

In honor of fall creeping up on us, I hauled out my new wreaths to put on our front doors. With the kick-off of college football season, I figured this year we'd represent our family's undergraduate institutions with a bit of Gig 'em and Hook 'em decor. Unfortunately for the Aggies, they're not off to as good a start as the Longhorns. But yeah, we'll hang in there and see how it goes.

The anticipation of autumnal weather means it's time to break out the big old soup pot and start looking at some of my favorite recipes. I decided it was still a bit early for chili, and so I whipped up chicken taco soup for me and the husband to enjoy. Broth based, with double the veggies, it's pretty healthy. But then we go and ruin that with the addition of toppings like sour cream, avocado, crumbled tortilla chips and grated cheddar cheese. The yummy tasting stuff is never good for you, lol!

I am the pumpkin queen

My pumpkin decor made its annual September appearance recently. Bin upon bin of pumpkins were distributed all across the first floor of the house. However, it's not just pumpkins. In 2021 I began adding squirrels and turkeys to the mix. Last year I found some pretty vintage ceramic turkey platters for a song on eBay. This year I discovered a couple good deals on a vintage milk glass turkey dish, as well as a glass turkey in the rare blue color I collect. It was very exciting, y'all.

I love how my little grouping of framed fall scenes is oh-so-relevant when the BER months roll around. Cozying up this little book reading corner in the family room only required me to add a fall pillow and voila, it became a seriously seasonal spot. I don't put out all of my pumpkin pillows anymore because the husband or dogs have a tendency to sprawl on the furniture where they're resting, which in turn has pillows flopping over or falling on the floor. So I gave up this year and went with a few less. All in all, I'm happy with the autumnal accents, particularly since I rolled out my apple and pumpkin scented diffusers this morning.

BSF Revelation getting started

Y'all know what time of year it is? Yeah, sure, football games and pumpkin spice everything, which is cool. But this is even better! September heralds that time of year to begin another amazing dive into God's word thanks to Bible Study Fellowship (BSF). I'm so excited to dig deep into the final book of the New Testament for the next nine months, reading Revelation verse-by-verse, to see what our Heavenly Father reveals to me.

As a young Christian, I was always a bit intimidated by Revelation. There's so much vivid imagery and symbolism God showed the Apostle John as it relates to the hope we can have in end times as prophecy is fulfilled. As a more mature Christian, I'm excited to discover what the future holds. Oh sure, I certainly won't understand it all. But that's where faith steps in, right? If I had all of the answers, then there would be no need to trust in the Lord. 

It's not too late to get your study guide and join a local community of believers. Just scoot over to the Bible Study Fellowship website. It's as simple as putting in your city or zip code to find the class that's most conveniently located for you. BSF has been such a blessing to me over the past six studies. I praise God that He sent three people to extol the wonders of BSF to me so I'd give it a try.

 

A spot of fishing

This time when we visited Lake Palestine, we hired a fishing guide to take us out in his boat. A retired military and commercial pilot that turned his hobby into a golden years gig, he seemed to have a handle on all of the good fishin' holes. I've gotta admit, house spotting and landscape viewing from the water is always a lot more enjoyable when you're a passenger instead of driver. The husband and I knew there were several spots where we weren't stump savvy enough on this lake to take out a rental and risk busting the propeller. 

We definitely weren't the only ones out looking to do a spot of fishing that morning. Beneath the bridge, we spied what appeared to be a blue heron looking for his next meal. Not long after we dropped a line in the water, our younger daughter reeled in a catfish or two. We saw a couple in a vintage pontoon pull in a big ol' catfish, while some guy in a fancy fishing boat landed a beautiful bass. It was a refreshing change of pace from our time on Lake LBJ, where weekends meant lots of twits turned loose on jet skis. Plus wake boats everywhere stirring up the water. You can still do those things on this lake. We love that it's big enough to get away from all of the fast driving folks out for a thrill ride when we're just looking to enjoy a leisurely cruise.

Lake real estate

Several weekends ago when the younger daughter finished her internship and was able to accompany us to the lake for a look-see, we got to check out some real estate with her. The husband and I have been watching the land and housing market on and around the lake since early spring. If the perfect retirement nest exists there, we haven't found it yet.

Our preferred real estate agent was out of town, so we were glad her knowledgeable assistant was available to view some properties with us. I honestly felt like Goldilocks, y'all. The first property was a tear down, but we thought the 1.25 acres of land might work for a new build. Unfortunately, the asking price was a bit high since we didn't want the existing 1980s octagon home. After the husband discovered some platting issues in the survey, we crossed it off the list. 

The second home we toured was a temporary option where we could live for a while until we found "the" retirement property. The dock had tons of room, with three separate lifts and storage. Upstairs had been remodeled, so it was fine. However, the downstairs really needed a big overhaul. Since we have no interest in updating for the short term, that house got scratched from the list, too.

 

 

Our final property was the farthest northern location on our preferred west side of the lake to get sunrise views. But that's the stickler, it's more northern address meant it was heading into the top third of the lake that's more shallow fishing water with stumps to navigate. We liked the fact that it's a small gated community. The house on 1.5 ac, though a smaller footprint than we want, is only three years old and would be a great guest house after we built our main residence on the adjoining land. All it needs is a big, beautiful boathouse to enjoy morning sunrises. However, the price was rather high for a smaller home that far north. I guess a homeowner can dream, right? Since it has only been on the market for five weeks, we knew we'd need to wait it out to see if/when the owner would drop the price to a more realistic number for what's on offer.

And so it goes. When you have a small house budget, you dream that one day you'll have a bigger budget to get exactly what you want. It's yet another of the great "If onlys" in life. The thing is, just because you have deeper pockets doesn't mean you'll be able to find that dream home in the blink of an eye. There are so many variables that must be considered, in addition to the price. So here we sit watching the market for new options every week, waiting for the Lord to lead us to our retirement nest where we can dig in to find things like a church family, new friends and volunteer opportunities in our lake community. I know it's out there and God will show it to us in His perfect timing. In the meantime, I pray for patience from our Heavenly Father as I look to the future when I can wear my Lake Hair, Don't Care hat while driving my pontoon boat!