I have a new computer.  My old laptop was giving me fits.  I'm certain most of the problem is the ridiculous amount of photos saved on it.  My computer lady said she was surprised I hadn't already lost everything stored on there, so it was past time to update.  I've now entered the Mac world, mostly because photographers and graphic artists seem to go that route.  And because I'm just an Apple girl.  So I've been playing around on my Mac, figuring out what happens when I push this key or that.

Next on my technical agenda is deciding on a photo editing program.  I really enjoy using apps on my iPad to edit photos, so I'm hoping there's a program out there for regular computers that will achieve the same effects.  Wish I was more of a techie in times like these.  

I'd rather spend my time watching wild birds peck at these seed wreaths my nephew and I made this summer...

...or chase rainbows like this one.  

(I snapped this picture from the passenger seat of a moving vehicle,
somewhere between Illinois and Wisconsin!)

...or do some sweet talking to mama deer in order to get shots like this...

I've really been enjoying the Fall season this year.

All summer long I'd been watching the corn grow outside my studio window, and was looking forward to seeing it being harvested.  But it was done on a weekend when we weren't home.

It really takes some getting used to when the corn is gone and the view opens up.

This summer I made a goal to have at least one fresh garden bouquet in the house at all times.

I'll do that every year from now on because I loved everything about it!

Not much makes me happier than being outside messing around with my flowers,

smelling them, picking them, arranging them, taking pictures of them...

This is probably the last fresh flower bouquet of the growing season.

I've been doing quite a few custom jewelry pieces lately, which I love love love.

It's really fun to meet with a client, get to know their style, and then create a sentimental one-of-a-kind jewelry piece.

If my client is local, I have them come to my home studio and look through my beads and baubles.

I recently finished these two custom necklaces, made as a memorial to my client's mother.

She picked out angel wing charms and garnet crystals, her mother's birthstone.

I printed her mother's image on translucent paper for the pendants.

It just warms my heart to make pieces like these, and refuels my energy when I start wondering if what I do 'makes a difference'.

It's time to get busy in the studio again, as I've got a couple events coming up before the holidays.

It's almost that time of year again!

Where does the time go?

I'm kind of ready to hunker down for Fall.

Pretty sure that's the first time I've ever said such a thing...

For me, these last days of summer typically play out with a tinge of sadness.  I guess I've always approached this time of year with a glass-half-empty attitude. The cooler temperatures only mean a frigid winter can't be too far behind.   It sure seems like the things most people look forward to this time of year don't really apply to me.   I'm not a football fan.  At all.  Not even a little bit.  We don't have any kids returning to school after summer vacation.  And oh how I dread having to put on long pants after months of wearing cotton dresses and stretchy swimsuits.  Fall is the time of year I start mentally preparing for my husband to begin the frequent travel required for his career in the snowmobile industry, leaving me dateless most weekends til spring.  And by now my flower garden is wilted and brown, much of the remaining foliage has been chewed on by some bug or other...

But this year it's different.  Possibly due to my recent purchase of bifocal glasses (yikes), I'm seeing things in a new and improved way.  It's actually a darn relief not to have the oppressive heat, humidity and drought that has plagued us here in Wisconsin over the last several months.  This football season I'm looking forward to doing my shopping in town during Packer games, when stores and parking lots are virtually empty.  And have you seen the super cute Fall outfit ideas on Pinterest?  Relieved to see that my favorite boots and sweaters I got in New York City several years ago are still in style.  Our local on-your-honor roadside stands are brimming with gourds and pumpkins (today I bought those cuties in the photo above, arranged on top of the radiator in our house).  Starbucks is now serving Pumpkin Spice Latte, and at home I can brew up Bengal Spice tea with my new electric tea kettle.  Now that it's cool enough to run the ovens in our non-air-conditioned house and cabin, I've really been in the mood to bake...so far I've made two dozen mini loaves of Butternut Squash Bread!  The freezer is now stocked with a variety of cookies, soon to be consumed by my husband and his friends on Opening Day of duck hunting season.  I've got plans to knit some soft cozy neck warmers, using my favorite vintage buttons as closures.  I'm looking forward to blogging about some of the photos I've taken but didn't have a chance to post.  It's time again to put on my old SmartWool socks - the ones you can see right through because they are so worn, but could never replace just yet.  And I'm going to enjoy the upcoming solitude after a ridiculously busy summer.  Yep, I'm ready for Fall.

Winter is another story.