Random September Thoughts

-We signed up for zip.ca . It's a free month trial. I'll let you know how it goes. The concept: you create a "zip list" of movies you wish to see from an extensive list (they have everything!). They mail you (yes, by post)  a DVD. Once you are done watching it, you mail it back and another is sent to you. There are various packages available and right now the free trial is for 3 dvds at a time. If we enjoy the service, we'll probably drop to 1 at a time. The fun part is that you don't know which movie from your zip list you will receive (they try to send them in order of preference). I know the mailing back and forth of dvds may seem prehistoric to some, but I love receiving mail!

-Yesterday evening I went to a yoga class and all I could think of is: "this is such a beautiful evening, what am I doing cooped up inside when Simon and Margot are off on a stroll? " I wanted to share the warm September breeze with them!

-Last weekend, we had our Women's Bio Book Club meeting. The bio for this season (summer read) was Gloria Steinem. I like belonging to a book club. I look forward to chatting and catching up every three months or so.

-Margot's favorite words these days are "woof woof!" (she sees a lot of dogs around. cats are a different, strange pitch sound...) and bébé (anyone under the age of 16) . It's incredible how much she understands - in both languages!
In this video, she is perusing the Sears Wish Book catalogue. Will she find what she is looking for?Watch and see...

Welcome Autumn!

Here's what I'm looking forward to:
-hikes in the crisp air
-slow cooker meals and weekend soups
-exploring squash possibilities
-wearing sweaters, tuques and scarves

Here's what I'm not looking forward to:
-shorter days
-November
-wearing socks

Here are some pictures taken last autumn:

October hike. Margot doesn't fit in the carrier anymore.

Leaves in Gatineau Park

Indoors costume

Trick or Treat'ing bear costume.

Snow on November 21!

When I first started this blog, I didn't think that I would continue it in the next season. But why not? Just because it's called "naked feet in the summer" doesn't mean I can't have naked feet in the fall or even winter, right? Besides, my feet are always naked indoors.

A musing: I much prefer the word "autumn" to "fall". Perhaps it's because it's more similar to automne. It has a gentle, friendly ring to it.
 

Go Simon Go!

Simon ran his second and last race of the season.
He started the season with the Ottawa Race Weekend in May and capped it off with the Army Race in September. 5 km is his type of race. Which is fantastic for me! I couldn't handle a husband who would train for a half-marathon. 5 km was perfect for him because he could go running with Margot for thirty minutes.

Margot and I enjoy being spectators. We have our cheering spot.

The Army Race was at 8am, so we were home and eating breakfast by 9:30am.

I don't really get running. I've tried. I can see it as meditation in motion, draining the brain after a hard day at work. I have felt its exhilarating effect. And I have to admit that a refreshing shower after a sweaty run feels great!
Just to show you that I'm not that into running: a few days ago I was going to go for my week 5 (out of my 9 weeks to a 5km) second run out of 3. Run 5/Walk 3 x 3.  Ran 3 minutes and headed back home to do a power yoga dvd instead. What's up with that? While running for those 3 minutes, I could only think about doing yoga, so I decided to switch plans. Did I regret it? No.  I needed to feel open and just wanted to do standing forward bends.

Jogging in moderation (i.e. 2 or 3 times a week) is healthy. It gets the body moving, pumps the heart, clears the head - all of those things you can get from yoga. But one thing that you can't get from yoga (or rarely) is being outdoors. I love being outside and jogging allowed me to take advantage of this beautiful September weather. However, I think that jogging in extreme weather and for more than an hour is crazy. That's obsessive.
Perhaps I shouldn't give up my "couch to 5km" training. As long as the weather is good and I find 30 minutes at the end of the day, maybe I should keep at it... hum...

Family Pics

I decided to bring two pictures at work. I have never done this in the past and always thought that those who did were a bit too show-offish of their kids. Not my style.
But you know what I realized? It allows me to glance away from the computer screen or the papers I'm marking and smile. Breathe and smile. A moment just for me.
The pictures that I chose were the one of Margot with her yellow rain suit on a beach in les Iles-de-la-Madeleine (see July post) and this family shot:

Windy and cold day in Souris, PEI. Singing Pebbles Beach

Here's another recent picture of the three of us at the apple orchard:

It's Apple Picking Time!

 
A great activity to welcome a new season!
I know, I know, technically it's still summer, but the air is starting to feel like autumn.
This sunny Sunday morning,our little gang headed off, with Uncle Jason and Cousin Noa, to the closest apple picking orchard we could find.

The sky was blue and the air was slightly brisk. Perfect!

 Needless to say, we ate a lot of apples while picking. Especially this little munchkin...

I love the idea of celebrating seasons and being outdoors is really the best way to do it!
Our next picking adventure? Pumpkins and squash in October.

This is our bushel. We have about 25 lbs. of apples in there. Whoa!
Besides eating them, I plan on making apple crisp, apple pie (don't get too excited, I'm buying the crust) , and perhaps cider (anyone have a good recipe?).
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