Celebrating September's Eve......

 We are home now having arrived at 5:00 on Monday afternoon.

We took Sunday as an extra day to clean and finish up our projects.

Louis Dean dug this amazing campfire pit made after the fashion of the one at the New Mexico mountain cabin. All I need now is to order my six Adirondack chairs to make it our version - Texas style.

Tuesday was a Mother/Daughter Day with Amber and I loved every single SECOND of our time together! 

We started out with a salad lunch after dropping off the girls hockey skates to be sharpened for their game that night. 

Yes, my daughter is a full fledged hockey mom!

And she is LOVING it!!

SO are the kids.

We ate and shopped and had a Starbucks break and then picked the kids up from school after they had theater tryouts.

Back to the Bell Home for a little puppy loving!

I'm glad I held both Cash and Kona a few weeks ago because they are too big to hold together now.

Sweet puppies!!!

My darling dimpled Amber!

Not only a mom to quads but now a mom to two energetic black lab puppies!!

The excitement never stops at their house between hockey games, new puppies, the kids being in the 5th grade now and her cooking gourmet meals and school lunches that are the envy of the other students as well as the teachers!!

I stayed over until after dinner - it was only the three of us - Harrison, Amber and I - as the girls had a hockey game. I would have stayed longer but Louis Dean called me and said he was lonely and waiting for me to come home. Ahhhhh......I'm so glad he misses me when I'm gone.

I called him when I was leaving and asked how much Damage Control I had. He said, "NONE"

SO not true!

But he was watching this movie and I was able to do the damage control - mostly in the kitchen and it involved oil on the floor, counter and stove. I'm not sure what he cooked but it's usually shrimp!

I finished cleaning up after him as well as finishing up my own scheduled cleaning chores in time to watch the last hour of the movie with him - which is the best part anyway!

So this morning when I woke up - the first thing I thought about was - it's September's EVE!

I've pulled out my Neil Diamond CDs and have them ready to load in the morning.

My pumpkin spice coffee is right by the coffee pot.

I am going to try my hand at homemade pumpkin spice latte - thanks to the research of my friend BJ!

When Louis Dean was in the hospital, one of the nurses shared her version  and I thought I would remember it - but I don't!

Our home is all clean and decorated and ready for September's arrival.

It rained this afternoon and there's magic in real rain.

No matter how much we watered and it was a lot and expensive.....

nothing like real rain from heaven makes the flowers bloom.

Texas sage blooms when there is a change in the weather - and it rained today.

This bank of lantana is going wild and the knock out roses are not far behind.

My white crepe myrtles haven't bloomed all summer but here they are now!

My dear sweet June was admitted to the hospital yesterday. Kimmy has kept me up to date with her condition which seems to be a very bad UTI. June will be 91 on September 25 - one day after my 74th birthday. I went by Aldi this evening and filled a bag with snacks for her and her daughters, Traci and Kimmy, and sister Tommy as I remember how much I appreciated the goodie bags my friends brought us when Louis Dean was in the hospital recently.

I told her Louis Dean would come with me tomorrow evening and I would bring her some freshly baked fruitcake cookies.

It was 9:00 tonight when I started making the dough.

It is not an easy cookie to make since it's so heavy!

I started baking fruitcake cookies 37 years ago and I nearly always make the dough on September's Eve. This year I am making it in my sister's memory. Nita always kept me in supply with the very best cinnamon and vanilla extract. I added the Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum in her honor.

Tomorrow morning I will bake the first season's batch as I sip my pumpkin spice coffee and listen to Neil Diamond sing September Morn on the first of thirty magical mornings.

I truly love September and September First is my favorite day of the entire year.

I will be celebrating and remembering my sister tomorrow along with my dear sister Deanie.

Make it a September to remember!