changes.

303/365 - welcome fall
Originally uploaded by mere2007

...I looked back through my 365 photos last night. amazed and awed (and yes, a bit emotional, too) at the changes this year has brought. lifetime milestones for my family and my friends, travel, transitions, and woven through all of it - the comforting repitition of the seasons.

one of my favorite things about living where I live is that we have seasons. four of them. very distinct. all so good in their own ways. I love watching the changes and looking for the signs that the new season is coming - or here.

today. wet leaves blowing all over the place. definitely fall. (welcome!)

comfort food.

299/365 - comfort food
Originally uploaded by mere2007

...sara was appalled by the tide box. but it fit the hot food perfectly. (I hope it's safe!) tonight was my turn to make dinner for the newest baby-family... he was born five weeks ago and my neighborhood does this awesome thing where we cook dinners so the new moms can just...be new moms.

five weeks into this, I'm guessing most of the really good stuff has been done already ... but who cares. I toyed with the baked ziti (my sister's recipe, but since she doesn't live in the neighborhood and our "friends" don't always overlap, I figure I might be able to make this one work!), but my heart wasn't in it. my family knows roasted chicken is my go-to comfort food. add tiny green beans, roasted fingerling potatoes (oh my - LOVE that they have variety bags at costco!)...and the warm mushroom salad from my mom. done. done and done!

p.s. added a loaf of potato rosemary bread and a bottle of the king estate pinot gris which my mom says is the best ever. i'm sure she's right.

p.p.s. I am SUPER glad we're having this for dinner, too!! (minus the pinot gris - we're red wine here!)

only 69 days left.

...in 2009 - time for another check-in on my goals.

For DONE!, I've run/walked 661 miles, learned enough french to navigate paris, finished 14 knitting projects, documented three trips and helped katie move to nyc. I really undershot the mileage and the knitting and will have to adjust my expectations for next year!

For on track!, I'm 297 days into photo 365 and still going (not sure if I'm still going strong, most days it's just "going"), well into my job transition, about done nagging sara about her georgia tech application (it's due november 1 and she reports it's almost ready), and - I modified toe-up socks to be one-piece sweaters - making good progress on learning different techniques to avoid seaming sweater pieces. I've made four top-down sweaters and am working through my first bottom-up. I think I'll be "done" after that fifth sweater.

...and then there's jane austen. sadly, I haven't read even one book. and I'm not going to count watching two versions of pride & prejudice on DVD, right? I still do want to do this, but admitting it might be next year. we'll see....

beginnings.

...I really do believe the world is divided into morning people and "not" morning people. me? a full-fledged member of the morning crew. have been for years. not that I don't love a beautiful sunset. but I am much more intrigued by the sunrise. I think because it marks the beginning of the day. coming alive with possibilities.

I lucked out early in the 365 project to capture a sunrise/moonset together. hard to best that one (although I've taken three more, plus an alternate!), but today's sunrise was pretty enough for me to keep the lights off in my office. and I didn't even see the movement of the clouds until I downloaded the photo - can't you see the clouds moving across the sky?

but the real "beginning" for today was my visit to It's the Journey - the not for profit organization that sponsors the 2-day walk to raise money for breast cancer treatment, prevention and support in the Atlanta area. I had a lovely conversation with the development director and the office manager... and learned that my HA Foundation experience might actually be of use - in addition to my enthusiasm for what they do. this will be fun!

another surprise.

...for marc's birthday. his boss decorated his office in fabulous 50 style!!

photo opportunities.

...a surprise* visit from katie. marc's birthday dinner. an afternoon off work. I had my camera out for all of it. and managed to capture a few of the best** moments.



(photos on flickr - click to see more details)

*katie made plans to attend georgia tech's homecoming weeks ago. it was sara's idea for her to make a surprise visit on sunday for an early celebration of marc's birthday. he was truly surprised (evidenced by getting home from golf about two hours past his normal time...full from a lunch out with the guys). and touched. sara made an amazing dinner of pork tenderloin, roasted vegetables, caesar salad and cheesecake (marc had two pieces) - the photo from a few days back? that's the dinner he planned for himself for tomorrow...

**I know my family will likely be unhappy with me for the family time shot. truly unposed. but truly what family time at its best is like, I think. you can tell everyone's caught up with what they're doing...together. and I loved watching it happen.

victory.

290/365 - a big win
Originally uploaded by mere2007

...it was fun to watch - really, the jackets looked good against #4 virginia tech. as I write this, marc is reading aloud blog posts from the ajc blog, savoring the win, and commenting again that tech really gets no respect. will be interesting to see how the rankings react to the win.

and I am very glad we ended up watching on tv, from the relative warmth of our living room and kitchen - the crowd shots with everyone wearing coats and hats and generally just looking very cold was more like a big 10 or big east game, than atlanta in the middle of october!

finding fall.

...seems a little bit earlier this year than in previous years. maybe it's the chilly nights (46 degrees outside right now!).

...see photos here

ooohhhh, it's sweater weather!!

happy birthday.

...to my dad. I've just realized that over the past few years, he's spent much more time taking pictures of all of us (like this one from last thanksgiving!) than posing himself. So I have not even one photo of him by himself - and I'm sure he likes it that way, but it makes it hard to do a proper birthday tribute!

daddy, wishing you apple pie and much fun today!

love, mary

celebrating.

...we did it in real style. sue's home in hilton head is simply lovely - and so comfortable, even for a group of seven women!

it was sometimes hard to get a word in. but the conversations we had were so good. filled with the meaning of years of friendships, growing up (and older!) together, loving the familiarity of feeling close, even when we live far apart. good food, plenty of laughter (and wine), and the beauty of friendship. I am truly blessed to have each of these women in my life. and truly grateful to have shared the last few days with them. thank you all!

(see all of the photos are here).

good things.

...october has been filled with them so far.

♥ karen and I participated in the atlanta 2-day walk. and with the help of friends and family raised over $2,800 (wow!!!)


(click to see all the photos)

♥ for the first time, my body handled the 30 miles. whew! it felt really good to be back in heels at work on tuesday.

♥ pears are in season.

♥ last night's sunset was beautiful.

already?

274/365 - november issues
Originally uploaded by mere2007

...I guess so - the arrival of the thanksgiving cooking issues surely signals "it's fall". our weather has taken a cool-ish turn this week (morning lows in the 50's and afternoon highs not even to 80), but it's really the magazine covers with beautiful roasted turkeys (the cook's illustrated has pomegranates) that must be best indicator that the season has changed.

A few years back, this stressed me out. "what!!! thanksgiving is almost here???!!!" but lately, I've really enjoyed the time to look forward to my family's favorite holiday. we have almost EIGHT whole weeks to plan (and re-plan and re-plan) the perfect menu. we do try to incorporate one or two new dishes each year - usually in the dessert category. and these magazines are so much fun...even the words sound good ("harvest pear crisp", "bourbon pecan tart", "pumpkin pie with brown sugar topping"...and even a brussels sprout slaw that might be a contender for that extra vegetable dish).

*mouth watering* just thinking about thinking about it. I do love fall!