farewell tomatoes, and a bit of writing inspiration

I spent some time out in the rain this weekend harvesting the last of the tomatoes and peppers. Most of the remaining fruit was rotting and slug laden, (the chickens had a tasty snack!) but there were a few left to salvage.

There were just enough tomatoes to make a batch for drying.  The dehydrator is running now, filling the house with tomato-ee aroma. By morning, (about 12 hours) they'll be all dried and ready for storage.  They're great for quiche, polenta, and anything that calls for sun-dried tomatoes.

 I also saved a few green tomatoes to ripen inside.

The tomato plants are piled high waiting to be chopped and added to the compost bin.

And inside, we've been inspired by Kathy's post about vision and values and purpose and collaging. I had forgotten all about making collages, and thought cutting up magazines might be a fun mother-daughter project. I bought my daughter some scissors for very little hands, and she loves cutting magazine pages into little bits (with some help and supervision still at this point). I saved the glue and Mod Podge for nap time, though, and made myself a happy little inspirational collage.

When I was a kid, my most frequent answer to the what-do-you-want-to-be-when-you-grow-up question was, "a writer." I wrote daily in a journal for years, but with marriage and motherhood, that habit slipped away. Lately, though, the urge to get words down on paper has been sneaking back, and it seemed worthwhile to listen to that desire and give it a little attention. So I checked out one of my favorite books on writing, Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott, bought a sketchbook at the 50% off sale at Michael's, and added a personal touch with the cover collage--just like high school and college days. Now I have a blank journal all ready to be filled with dreams and observations, thoughts and ponderings. We'll see if this bit of attention will help to nurture that tiny writing spark into a nice warming fire. And next on the writing book re-read list are Writing Down the Bones, by Natalie Goldberg, and On Writing Well, by William Zinsser.

What about you? Do you have old ambitions you'd like to give a little attention? Have you found inspiration to pursue an old dream?