Not quite the way I planned...

Change of plans
I sure was in for some fun times indeed: I was going to spend four nights in our old hometown where I was to attend a book fair two days (including theatre visit, lunch dates with friends etc.), spend time with my first born and then be accompanied by hubs and boy and go with our friends to an amusement park.
After that we were to have dinner with our friends and spend a night with them.

Well, two (!) flues got in the way: a stomach flu and a regular flu at the same time.
I was knocked out in the middle of the fair, surrounded by thousands of people.

Good anyway!
But, you know what? I loved the trip anyway!
I managed to squeeze some gems out of it, no matter what.

I spent an evening with my son (before I knew I was sick) and then we went to a nice restaurant and after he made us drinks and we just watched TV and talked a whole lot.
And boy, how I laughed!!!
My son is a very funny young man, he has a gift for pointing out the fun things in everyday life and since I love him so totally dearly, my laughs begin in my heart.
I love those laughs most in the world.
I love him utterly.

So, here I lie in bed. Being sick and ill.
I've not taken many photos this week and today I have no strength to upload any of them. I therefore give you some instagrams:

Frequent instagram celebrity!

After school chilling.

We're having a café kind of autumn.

Plum pie.

Our town is autumn gorgeous right now.

So is our home!

My boys, my wonder.

Monday snuggle: The Boy giving me a chance to choose a movie.

A waffle evening was tasty!

Evening sky in our fort.

Morning sky.

Blue sky meets grey, going to work in the morning.

Still color rich in the garden.

Another ghost in this blog?

(actually a towel hanging above me!)

Going to see my son and visit the book fair.

Enjoying dinner with my son. Bless his soul.

Going to his apartment.

No words are enough.... I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE.

So happy to see him. It kills me to leave...

Look what he made for his mom!!

Having to go back home, before time. 

Breakfast (tea for me) with that son <3

He sure does take good care of those genes... ;-)

Being on the train with stomach flue and a fever - not so much fun!

Back home. And as weird as it may sound: I also LOVE LOVE being here.

LOVE LOVE the life we have here.

This little one was crazily happy seeing me!

Guarding me throughout the illness.

So often in life, things do not work out the way we think

I mean: I mourned moving away from my son, it was a shock and a mourning process. Yet, I couldn't possibly understand what it would be like. I always lack him. Every single day.

But I couldn't have guessed, either, that he would have such a strength to go out and find an apartment, find jobs, excel in those very jobs and above all: give testament to how good he feels about himself.

I'm just so thankful.

Little did I know that a 100 percent social prolonged weekend would turn into sickness and illness in bed.

At the fair, however, I got to listen to my all time favorite author - heck I even got to talk to him! - and I managed a few minutes at my favorite scene there. I also had time to spend time with a co-worker, which I think she liked.

So, both on the private level and the professional level I kinda got the job done, despite it all.

On arrival home, the hubs even bought that long overdue TV for the bedroom, so I could watch a little TV, while ill.

I had a good weekend. 

Summer meets fall!

It's a kind of magic
Right now summer meets fall, in my country, and unlike Miami (that has degrees of summer all year) we really get seasons here. When summer's gone, it's gone. When autumn's here it's here to stay.
For a while.
I have never before realized that it actually is a kind of magic, being in the zone where summer actually modifies into autumn. It's still a little warm, it gets dark a lot earlier and the winds are blowing kind of hard.
Still sun shows a whole lot and I never pick up The Boy and walk home in darkness.

Still holding on to summer: roses!

Wild flowers trying hard to keep summer.

The Boy rides his bike in his summer jacket.

Cheering autumn on: these bushes that marvel with their coloring.

Green and yellow trees.

Wild and strong Daisies.

An impromptu walk, Saturday, where The Boy got to practice his bicycling was a wonderful way to capture this magical time when we feel and see summer aswell as autumn.

It was a good walk: The Boy was cheerful and hubs and I held hands. Simple as that, baby!

Romantic: someone had carved their initials in this tree in a park.

This bench is waiting for a summer-celebrating person to have an ice cream. 

I think not.

A nice café lured us in.

How will I be able to choose?!

What I'd never want to have to do without

Being all summer loving it dawned on me what it is that I absolutely LOVE about autumn (among other things): sneaking into all those cosy cafés and just sitting there with lit candles sipping coffee, eating a cake with my loved ones!

If the beach is summer, cafés are autumn, to me. And boy, do I love it!

I couldn't do without the different seasons, for sure.

A soccer loving café - they have the country's best soccer player on the wall!

We sank down in a sofa - and enjoyed the calmness of the Saturday.

I think the hubster had kind of forgotten also - we love these café visits in fall...

Cosy atmosphere.

A content lady, enjoying herself to the max!!!

Outside: a summer reminder.

On that bike again!

We stopped for a while, to listen to a talented choir. 

Geese flying south. Great, powerful birds.

The Boy will probably enter this school one day. His great grandfather went there back in the twenties.

How about those fall like reds?

Yep, The Boy used some more of his money!!

He thought the air was clear and bright, he said. Bless that boy.

The winter was loooooooong this year and spring was kind of short. Summer was quite long, I think, but many summer days rained away. Folks in this country are busy booking exotic journeys as we speak, since they were disappointed with the weather this summer.

Thanks to this blog I KNOW we had many sunny days, we had lots of butterflies and bees and there were ample opportunities to sit outside and have a cup of coffee.

'Cuz, honey, I did!

Now fall is here to stay. Summer gave it a good match today but there's no hope to be found: summer lost the fight!

Let's all embrace the loveliness of autumn instead of fight it. See the leaves, smell the remaining roses and breathe in that fresh air - fill your lungs with it and you'll feel it going straight to your brain!

It is Friday again. Take the opportunity this weekend - the opportunity to love autumn!