The smell and wonders of coming Fall.

Fall is by far my most favorite season. Season of cooling air with occasional crisp flying by, a little more clouds in the sky, shortening days, beginning of leaves turning all kinds of bright color, and eventually all the living green things dropping them...Foliage. Dropping what is no longer needed, what no longer provides the reason to live. Dropping, to prepare, eventually, after a long winter sleep and gathering strength, to grow new ones, fresh, a sign of growth and change, again...

It is especially nice season because it bears my birthday, smack in the middle. And this year I am celebrating a big 5-0. I am not afraid of saying that, in fact, I have been saying it for good 2-3 years all along, just couldn't wait. Big half-century behind, I am looking forward to my next chapter, and I have all intention to live another half a century. The day itself was quite ordinary, just as it's supposed to be - a day in the calendar, Wednesday. Wednesday meant a track workout in the dark of the morning, and a yoga class at 9:30 am with my favorite teacher. It is after that when I felt a little more special - Larry took time off work and we drove to check off the list of near-by things to see a Royal Gorge Bridge. Spanning 400 m over the canyon that is 400 m deep, it is a tourist attraction. We weren't too impressed no scared, but it was still a get-away, followed by a nice coffee shop stop and an amazing find of local Thai food restaurant, best we ever tried.

Another great thing that happened that day? It marked a 1 year anniversary of our putting an offer on this house - AND a completion of a 3-months long renovation. I will not be posting photos of it of my own (well, ok, just a couple), because the best way to check it out is on the #thisoldhouse blog that Larry keeps - a much more detailed and thorough description. Highly recommend! We absolutely love how it turned out, even if living through this was pretty nighmarish.

Speaking of anniversaries, we clicked through 10 years of our wedding date in September! To acknowledge that and to get away from the people who kept "hanging out" in our home (a.k.a. contractors), we rented a cabin in the woods near a four pretty popular 14-ers. The cabin and property itself were spectacular (if way overpriced...oh, well, 10 years, we didn't go to Europe or Bahama), but the 14-ers (Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Brass) were blah. Piles of rock, lots of people, and really bad weather - below freezing at the start with winds all morning blowing 20-50 mph. We basically "ran" (as much as we could, anyway) through the link-up of them in 4 hrs, and decided we will neer be those kind of folks who make it a point of their lives to visit "all" 14-ers in CO. If they happen to be on our way - sure. But in general, we LOVE green (trees, grass, anything) that does not grow that high, and we definitely appreciate seclusion (no crowds for us!). Done, and done.

September also measured my 26 years in America - I have officially lived here more than half of my lifetime. I have two, a Home-Land and a Home-State.

There were trail runs, hikes, and a local Porch Festival. Life was full, and presented challenges and good things to smile about.

I went back to Portland, my home-state away from home. Despite living there the least in amount of years, comparing to NY and TX, I lived the most in experiences, emotions and friends while there. My heart forever attached to Oregon. And, of course, my kids are there - a raw love, unconditional, that will draw me for the rest of my life. Plus, my "self-appointed sister" and her family is there as well. Yet another home it is...

The work had picked up since mid-September big time, and I am feeling, again, needed, useful, and a little bit financially helpful for the family unit. We even did a photoshoot! Changing a few things on the website, ordering business cards, spreading the word - all those little things added up, plus, as Dr. Cash, my chiropractor I work for, says: "All we need is to put people on your table, and they will be back". That is what's happening - and I feel blessed. There will be trips to Austin, still, to see my co-workers at Myo and my committed clients (grateful to be able to do so!), but it is good to know I am not lost to the field and can utilize my expertise right here. I added some perks to my massages by purchasing a towel warming cabinet and towels, and that (as always) was a hit with clients.

We got another trip in - to see another kid of ours, Larry's son Harrison. He is a freshman in Texas Tech in Lubbock, and is doing fantastic, all matured, smart and responsible. It was so good to be there for the Parents Weekend and spend some time with him, on and off campus.

The day after my 50th birthday the first cold front arrived - temperatures dropped to teens and snow fell all day Thursday. It was absolutely beautiful, and marked the new beginning. I love the white fluff on the ground, trees covered, bright sunshine, and crisp nippy air for my morning runs. It'll be back to mid-30's at night and mid-60's during a day for a while, but this couple of days gave us a taste of what's coming.

What's coming is more life to live. Bring it!