Outdoor Rooms

As fall enjoys a last hurrah before fading into winter, I'm savoring the little bit of warmth in these overcast days.

How do you like to make the most of this time of year?

In addition to favorite activities--going for walks, hula hooping, and raking leaves--I am savoring the outdoors in my favorite cozy spot: the tent.

Some people have gazebos, studios, barns, sheds, or other special buildings behind their houses. My outdoor room is a sweet little four person tent a friend of mine gave me this year for my birthday. Offering the privacy of being indoors combined with the joys of being outside, this silver and orange haven is perfect for afternoon naps, reading and tea, or late night star-gazing and wine drinking with a close friend.

I know I'll have to pack it up for the season soon, but every time I look out the window and see my tent out under the magnolia tree it makes me smile. So it stays another week. And with the unseasonably pleasant weather of the last few days I've been glad to have it still there.

What do you not want to let go of for the season quite yet? Do you have a seasonal space that lets you enjoy the outside with a little more protection from the elements and privacy from the neighbors?

Good Enough to Eat

New sources of inspiration are like candy that's good for you. I love them. I indulge frequently, enjoying the happy, buzzy, feelings they induce. The best part? No "crash" afterward...

Here are my latest places for a good fix:

Yes and Yes for embracing life.

Dorie Greenspan for delicious food writing.

My Delicious Mornings for gorgeous photographs and text about Bed and Breakfasts in Maine.

Where do you go to get inspired?

Time Flying?

The other day I overheard a conversation at the bank about how much faster time seems to go as we get older. The conversation ended with the comment that it's really a matter of whether or not we are slowing down to notice our daily lives, not a question of age. It surprised me to hear that said outside of a yoga studio--or my office--but the message was a nice reminder and exactly what I needed to hear at that moment.

The rest of the day I found myself thinking about what it is that makes each day seem so long when we're children. It's not necessarily that children have less structure or stress than adults, but that as children we have less awareness of time passing, of the future and the past. When we are more fully present to the moment, as children tend to be, we feel like there is plenty of time for everything we want and need to do. As we gain more awareness of the past and the future, it becomes increasingly difficult to stay in the present moment.

One of my favorite ways to reconnect to the present moment is to be intentionally more child-like. This means more playfulness, curiosity, and permission to take naps as needed. It means more giggling, sit-down snacks, and wide-eyed wonder. It also makes it a lot harder to have anything but a good day. Even when things get rocky, they're easier to handle in a child-like state of mind.

Playing Outside

It is a gorgeous late October day. Warm and sunny, with birds chirping in the backyard, it is especially fulfilling after the preceding rainy, cool days. I chase a woodpecker away from attacking the side of my house. I pick up sticks that will soon be kindling in the fireplace. I look for chipmunks as I head back to the compost bin. And I savor it. It feels good deep in my bones.

But the best part is raking up leaves. The way they crackle and crunch, releasing their delicious scent, full of the promise of the rich soil they will become... the way they unleash memories of scooping them up, filling bushel baskets, jumping into their heaped up piles... the way they skitter across pavement to startle us, making us think we're not alone.

I used to play with leaves for hours. I remember making soups from them in my sand pail as I played in the stream that ran through the neighborhood. I added stones and stirred with a stick and really thought that that was how "stone soup" was made.

In both spring and fall I would chain the maple leaves together to adorn myself with bracelets and necklaces and crowns. As I played, sometimes rustling noises from deep inside a pile of leaves would worry me enough to make me burst into a run.

Today I am using my tiny wheelbarrow that is starting to rust through and squeaks very loudly as we go up and down the yard. I am playing with leaves. I am savoring the beauty of the day. And I am feeling so thankful to be able to play outside.