That pumpkin is fabulous! Just beautiful! Cannot wait to see it after it’s been picked. Will you use it for carving? Or use the meat for pie or both?

I envy your gardens and your zest to preserve summer. I need to learn to can. Especially my salsa.

:o)

Jennifer

I can’t believe how green and blooming you still are. But I guess you’re the Garden City, eh? Your pumpkin is–I cannot help but say–absolutely smashing.

LOVE seeing how much your Ruby is turning into a little girl! My little bean is six weeks older and we are fast approaching her first birthday and I’m trying to lasso together the whole pregnancy-birth-newborn-one-year-old experience, and it’s like trying to lasso a flock of chickens. I don’t think mind-blowing can ever be neatly packaged.

Its much to early in the morning here because my wee babe awoke but has now fallen back to sleepps…

i am officially in love with your stove, and your preserving.. i feel so unorganized with my house – i need to get organized

love the pictures with the dog haha so cute 🙂

ps. what dimensions do you use with your photos in photoshop?

Range Porn. Ha. That made me laugh out loud. Yeah Baby! Where’s the background music?!?

Isn’t it fitting that Ruby has red hair…strongest stone and brilliantly colorful! And your front garden – that rocks…

Have a great hump day.

-Jennifer in Annapolis

Margot’s totally rockin the skull shirt… how cute! And I’m loving Ruby’s chompers; I love that awkward stage inbetween the teeth growing in evenly. So sweet and silly looking. 🙂

Your spider, however, is grossing me out. 😉

I love your new range. What a fun toy..I mean essential item. I live in Alabama where the “window” of fall is forever changing. It means some days summer, some days fall. So on good fall days it is so hard to choose where to spend them..inside , like you said, baking and cooking, or outside enjoying and breathing. I think both is best too.
I love that you love where you live.
Lisa

I totally LOVE this time of year also; Nebraska has the same morning/afternoon extremes in temperature changes. Thanks so much for sharing!!

Aaah! When the nuggs are ready with my coffee? Oh, it’s gonna be a good day. Sliders open and I’m sitting on lanai feelin’ it. Your range is giving me serious stove envy. And that isn’t the spider that was next to your door, is it? Oh, I miss those girls. So much!!

Whenever I read a post of yours I’m just always nodding my head in yes’s…I heart you. haha
We have the same routine here right now…cold morning, by 4 pm back to tanks and flip flops. In and out of the house all day long.
I too, sigh sometimes when my 1 yr old is up before my 3 yr old during my “alone time” and then every time I feel so lucky for the one-on-one time we just had. I don’t know what I thought having a second would be like…like maybe when I was pregnant I thought I wouldn’t be as amazed at everything with it being the second time around…but I’m always amazed at my amazement in her, if that makes sense haha- that everything is still brand new and I’m in awe of everything she does and her unique personality.
Oh and range porn? This was a good batch. I almost spit out my coffee laughing.

There is so much I want to say about this post. Your kids are so adorable. The sunflowers & pumpkin….sweet. The way you so perfectly describe this time of year. It really is a “sweet spot”. We dress in layers, the backseat is full of sweaters & hats..I go out the door in the morning in jeans, teva sandals & a wool hat on my head. My kids think it’s hilarious! Savoring Summers end yet embracing Autumn. 🙂

Triple love!

Oh those teeth! And the curls! Oh my oh my…

*sigh*

babies are delish.

Love those sunflowers! Holy cats! And your range porn? Definitely drool-worthy.

We’re having the back-and-forth weather stuff too, but the changes are in chunks of days rather than chunks of hours in a day. Many perfect fall days in the upper 60s of late. Goodbye, humid-sticky gross! Woot!

Love Ruby’s chompers coming in and her little curls. And Margot’s face standing next to those sunflowers puts a huge smile on my face too. You have gorgeous girls and a gorgeous life!

my favorite tidbits in this sweet post: Ruby’s great smile!, your beautiful sunflowers in front of your ultra cute house, Margot’s resemblance to her Oregonian cousin (second cousin? once removed? however that works?!) in the pumpkin pics, the big green pumpkin itself…and lastly, your great new range!! Fantastic and yay!! take care~

Thank you SO very much for including a photo of lil Ruby wearing my bib! I was absolutely thrilled to see it.

What a sweet post Burb! Your new range should be the “centerfold” in Bon Appetit magazine! I know what you could crank out on your old stove…so everybody stand back and just watch!

Margot~All I can say is WOW, that’s some pumpkin you grew! AND your sunflowers are the Bees Knees! I think my favorite photo(s) in this blog are the ones of you and Alice. There is nothing like a dog for your BFF! I Love You A Bushel & A Peck!

Ruby~Talk about sweet spots, I wanna kiss that sweet spot right behind your ear, next to your curly red locks! Seeing both you and your big sister here makes me want to book a flight TODAY! You Are My Sunshine!

I love you all!
xoxo, Mom/Gram

a sweet life i see. nici, i love coming to visit. i always close the puter with a smile. have a great day. we are in thick fog here this a.m.. but the sun is about to burn it off! lovin these fall days too!

Your new range~she’s a beauty. I’m in love with your sunflower patch. Those crazy cold~ cool~ warm~ hot~ cool~ cold again days~ not here yet for us.

ps..I love tomatoes too. Secretly really, really in love with my tomatoes right now. 🙂

I love the photo of your house and daughter with sunflowers. Reminds me of a postcard I have of Monet’s garden.

I bought 125lbs of tomatoes at the farmers mkt last weekend. Have been making tons of roasted tomatoes with onion, garlic, basil, oregano, parsley. Have been freezing it all, but think I should can some. When you can those quarts of sauce, do you put lemon juice in the bottom as they suggest? I was wondering if it would change the flavor? Do you skin the tomatoes, but leave the seeds? I put some of my roasted tomatoes through the food mill for sauce. Makes great soup too!

Just wondering about your canning method. I still have about 60lbs left. Thanks!

p.s. Made it the to Missoula farmers mkt a couple weekends ago for the peaches. Made peach butter. Delicious! Thank you.

Reading the comments is almost as good as reading the nuggets…So much love your writing inspires all over the big world: babies, food, family, gardens, home, creation, sewing, making, doing, being…you are one heartful agent of love! Hugs to you Big Mama! The world needs more people spreading love around!

I’m laughing at your description of the weather and the piles of clothes. It’s so apt! I just cleaned a heap of clothes of all sizes out of the back seat of my car yesterday. Our closets are migrating like the birds this time of year. But that’s what’s so wonderful about fall – if it starts as a gloomy day it may just finish as a glorious one!

I thought of you this morning whilst showering. Weird, yes, but it’s where I have the biggest window of quiet, so it’s where I do my best thinking.

I love watching your life, which parallels mine in quite a lovely and inspiring fashion. Your life reminds me of the best of mine.

Except for that Hunka Burnin’ Love Range. That’s just plain not fair.

I love, LOVE Ruby’s one-front-tooth grin!

yay for nuggets.

happy wednesday!

so happy you have a new range. the window and oven light are the best for little ones eager for the cookies to be ready . . .xo

Can’t wait to see you little nuggets live and in person.

I’m a relatively new reader to your blog. I’ve been thinking about your last blog post since I read it. My 2nd kiddo had an RSV-like virus at 8 weeks. He’s 5 now, so clearly we lived. But OMG was it awful. I was plagued by HORRIBLE anxiety for a year after and it really took me another 6 months after that to settle down. One part of me will be warped for life. My sister (childless at the time) said to me once “I don’t get why you’re so freaked out. It’s not like he died.” and, just in case you get comments like that too I wanted to say: you have to have been there to understand. I totally get it!

I love the expressions on the girls’ faces, especially as Margot looks at her baby sis…

Good reading here:)

Ditto to all: charming, lovely, *exactly!* and Alice.

And you can never have too many tomatoes, I’m sure of it.

the close ups of ruby are way too cute

That spider is so gross and would not be there anymore if that was my front yard! Sorry… 🙂

Your blog is super cute! Your kids are adorable!

I love your life, your outlook on it, the way you live it, what you’ve been bless with it — you’re so amazing and overwhelming all at the same time! Love your kids, your home, your dog, your talent with EVERYTHING, your stove, your writing, your honesty, your passion, your blog, (in no particular order, by the way) — love, love, love!!

Beautiful photos! Can’t decide which I love best… ruby’s curls or those teeth… both so adorable. But my absolute favs are the 3 of margot & alice. Great shots.
Any chance you would share your tomato sauce procedure? I wanted to can some this year but we ended up eating every last one. Am hoping to “help” my neighbor with the last of her crop. 🙂
happy wednesday
kate

Absolutely beautiful post.
I love the picture of Ruby and her little choppers.

Nici,

That po po spider,hope she’s had those babies by now! Your porn-range descriptions are too funny!
(I don’t even cook and I think she’s beautiful).

Thanks for another great read.

~Julie

hey nici!

love the blog and watching your chicklets grow up! the title of your post reminded me of a song that i love called “sweet spot” by a band named “the rescues”. thought you might enjoy it too 🙂

http://alturl.com/q66so

enjoy the rest of your “falling out of summer” time!

Your boulevard garden is so inspiring and the photo of the sunflowers is amazingly beautiful!

The tomato…oh how I love it so. Could you share your tomato pie recipie?

“Range Porn”….I’m still laughing out loud. In love with your blog!

Loving your blog, your pics and your extraordinary story telling of no ordinary life.
Gets me motivated in this block of time where mine is far less than what I imagined but is still worth living.
Thanks for that. You are a gem.
Digging it in my own way.

Ok so first off I so love your blog and get excited every time I see you put up a new post!

And second I believe you promised an pear applesauce recipe back here: (http://www.digthischickmt.com/2010/09/hump-day-nuggets-equinoxes-and-harvest.html) And it would make my day if you delivered on that, as I have some apples that need to get used up. 🙂

so beautiful!

You have great teeth.