This Perfectly Imperfect Life

I hope you've all had a delightfully spooky day regardless of the weather! Pumpkin Blessings to one and all!

#GardenWalk now has its own home and can be found here ! I've wanted to do this for quite some time and I'm thrilled to finally have it up and running! Please bear with me though, as it's a work in progress while I get the kinks worked out. When I return from vacation next week, I'm going to kick things off with a #GardenWalk Celebrates Autumn Round-Up! Of course you can still and always will find the Archives for #GardenWalk here at The Portable Homestead here  or find it under the Pages listing on the top left corner of the home page. 

These are some of the photos I took locally, post Hurricane Sandy, last October and November.  I have so many more, but, despite a year having passed, I'm not at the point where I want to go back through the disc I downloaded them to. And maybe I never will be. I am so, so, so very thankful (every day) we and our families made it through okay. Most of our friends did too, but there were some who weren't as lucky. Love, hugs and prayers to all of us who were in her path, especially those who suffered her terrifying destruction first hand.

These are some of the photos I took locally, post Hurricane Sandy, last October and November.  I have so many more, but, despite a year having passed, I'm not at the point where I want to go back through the disc I downloaded them to. And maybe I never will be. I am so, so, so very thankful (every day) we and our families made it through okay. Most of our friends did too, but there were some who weren't as lucky. Love, hugs and prayers to all of us who were in her path, especially those who suffered her terrifying destruction first hand.

Thanks to a coupon and K's Cash, I was able to pick up a few fun things to today! Oh stop, y'all know how I have a tradition of buying Christmas ornaments before Halloween :-)  It's fun for me. Our weather has finally turned cold, normal Autumnal weather for these parts, and I for one am loving it!  Seeing the trees all decorated and so pretty today only added to my happy mood! What are some of your favorite things from this week?

(One of my favorites from this batch - more in slideshow below!) More on my favorite shots from this batch coming soon to The Portable Homestead !

A section of a street in the town I was born & raised. That Victorian house in the background, (a restaurant for decades upon decades, but I think it was also a funeral home way back, I'll have to check with Mom) is rumored to be haunted. I can tell you the rumors are true! Sent from my iPhone

First day of Kindergarten, 1980.

Tonight, I witnessed the most stunning sunset I think I've ever seen here from our coastal home! We're down in a valley, so we don't often get to see sunsets as they happen.  Everything turned pink! Everything!  It was Incredible. Witnessing sunsets (and sunrises, though I don't see those as often), to me is such a blessing and this one last night was a blessing indeed! (Sorry the bottom photo is blurry, with the dim lighting everywhere but in the sky, it was hard to keep the camera focused).

Louisa May Alcott. Beloved author who created Jo March, my all time favorite character of any book I've ever read, who inspired me to become a writer at the age of 11. I often find myself seeking Louisa out.  Trying to find Louisa.  I'm not entirely sure what that means myself, it's a feeling I can't quite explain, that comes and goes throughout the year, but especially as the seasons change or when I am struggling with my own writing. Recently I began trying to explore this feeling (via writing, privately). I was so excited and overcome the first (and only) time I visited Orchard House, her most famous home, I was on the verge of tears from the moment we pulled up until well after leaving the house and later the cemetery where she is buried. Because I first visited Autumn (of 2008), I find myself wanting to make another pilgrimage north to the stunning Autumn of Concord, MA to visit her again each Autumn. Not possible in the literal sense, unfortunately, so I wil

Wicked weather is on the way.

Taken January, 2011, near our Northwestern NJ home. I rediscovered this photo this morning. Sent from my iPhone

Sent from my iPhone

Sent from my iPhone