early september slice of life

September is a beautiful month weather-wise, here in northeast Illinois. The coneflowers and Black-eyed Susan in my butterfly garden are still prolific, which makes my summer heart happy. Beautiful wildflowers dot the roadside. The evening Golden hour casts amazing light on the trees. Sunsets at the neighborhood lake are stunning.

I harvested the last of our rhubarb, cut it into chunks, and put it in the freezer to use later in baked goods. The last of the cherry tomatoes were gathered; plus, I picked up more at the local farm stand. I then slow-roasted the tomatoes with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper until soft and caramelized. Those were packed into freezer bags to use all fall and winter in soups and chili. 

My cousin and her daughter (I call her my Little Nugget) were in town on Labor Day weekend from Tacoma, Washington. I've always dreamed about having a ladies generational family photo taken, as we have every decade through the 80's represented, except for a teen. I finally got my wish! The only decade missing in our family photo is someone in their 20's. I have two nieces in their 20's, but neither were at this gathering. Sooo...we have in the front, my Little Nugget portraying the childhood years, then from left to right...my second cousin representing 30, my cousin from Tacoma revealing 40, another cousin symbolizing 50, me defining 60, my aunt presenting 70, and my mom reflecting 80. 

More Labor Day weekend family fun...spent the day in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin with my Tacoma sweeties. The area is rather touristy and filled with shops, but we didn't go into a single one. We played on a playground, had lunch, played in the water, and had ice cream.  Everywhere we walked, my Little Nugget held my hand. And wanted us to run ahead of everyone so we'd be first to get to our destination. By the time we took a boat ride around the lake, my Little Nugget was passed out. In the evening when we got back to my house, she spent her time building a playhouse for Clementine. Isn't that precious? It's been so long since I've had a little one in my house, or had a child's hand in mine, or got to stroke the silky hair of a sweet child...I ate it all up. 

Have a beautiful week!

💖