Magical Manzanita Moments

Hello!

 Finally!  Friday had arrived which is the gateway day to...THE WEEKEND!  I had dreamed about a trip to the coast to be spent with Nate and SANS furry family for quite some time.  I think I heard from someone somewhere that all great writers get inspiration from the dynamics of being in close proximity to the ocean? Okay, so maybe I am not a great writer, however I was willing to be close enough to the surf and sand to test out that theory even if it was just a myth.

Manzanita, Oregon  is a small...like no traffic lights at all small, coast town.  It has one or two espresso places so that made it big enough for my tastes.
We booked two nights at the Inn at Manzanita with one of the nights thoughtfully given as a combo birthday/mothers day/thanks for b-sitting gift.
Our room was called the Starseeker and had the coolest little unicorn door knocker on it.  It also had all sorts of treasures in the room for aficionados, such as ourselves, of the Heavens, including a way cool sky-night-view-light above the sleeping alcove.
We arrived around 4:30 p.m. with just enough time to unload our, for lack of a better word, "stuff" and then head down to the beach to say "Hello".

Good Night!

When I lived in Seaside, Oregon several years back, I was lucky enough to be able to live a lifestyle that allowed me to stop whatever I was doing each evening to find my way down to the beach to say "Good Night" and rate the sunset.  (they were all on a scale of 1-10 at least 8's in my book!)
Naturally it seemed logical to say a proper Hello and then Good Night to the ocean before setting out to find a (hopefully Paleo diet friendly) place to eat.

One of our stops on our way out of town and towards our beach location was to the library to pick up a book I had been waiting for that was on hold.  It was the sixth (and final) of a YA series (the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel) by Michael Scott titled The Enchantress. Between beach combing, eating, meeting up with good friends and having coffee PLUS reading, my weekend could not of been any better!

Wanda's Cafe (and YES that IS a magical lamp!)

There really is alot to be said to having a mini escape.  And it doesn't even have to be a whole weekend at the beach.  Finding an inviting spot in your own community or home to enjoy a latte,  watch a sunset or witness squirrels as they gather nesting material (and peanuts) for winter can be enough to turn around a mood.  It all boils down to being able to focus on the moment and treasure it instead of allowing your thoughts to go backward or forward.

I feel much gratitude to have just spent a whole weekend overflowing with magical moments.

IT Has Arrived.

IT being the first rain of the Autumn season!  This simple act of nature marks the official reminder that it will not be too long before I will actually miss my daily battles with the hose.
So, today I am re-joicing!  Welcoming the changing of the season with an open heart and thoughts of all the time I will spend INSIDE next to this keyboard looking OUT at the Seedy Cafe instead of actually mucking around with the weeding, the mowing, and all that STUFF.
Hey, I just had to water the day before yesterday so this is a whole new ballgame.  Receiving a little bit of help with the chores from Mother Nature rocks in my book.  Especially since it just happens. I have to be one of the worlds worst "ask for any kind of help" type of person.  

Ask me how I will feel about the rain in ten days, (it's looking like daily precipitation for at least that), or after I have wiped the muddy paw prints off of the floor from Kona our dog for the kazillioned time or worse, not catching her early enough thusly allowing her to shake the mud-rain all over the white kitchen cabinets.

Today is Today and I REFUSE to go there in thought.  I am choosing instead to celebrate the changing of the season and all that that means!
Like...hanging up ghosts on my front door.
Or visiting a pumpkin patch.
Sipping hot spiced apple cider (with whip cream on top)
Watching leaves as they scuttle across the road riding a wild burst of wind.
Enjoying the Spiced Chestnut scent of a candle burning.
And.
Adopting a non-procrastinating approach to my writing.

My excuses for being "too busy" run mighty thin as the changing of the seasons requires less presence from me outside.  There is only so many chores a person can come up with when the trees and the plants all go into hibernation mode.   
I also have that "how do I want to wind up the year" mentality running through my brain.
So, today I am re-joicing!
I will gratefully approach this season of Thanks-Giving by lighting my delightfully scented candles, turning on the furnace if need be and allowing myself the time to creatively dance with the written word.