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Number 43

respite

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FALL HAS BEEN GLORIOUS on this mountain, where the weather is warm, the colors golden, and the sunrises and sunsets (truly) divine. It is our sixth year here and it is not an exaggeration to say at least once a day Tim and I stare at the views and speak aloud to their ever-new and ever-surprising brilliance. We've never seen that before, and Would you look at that, and How can that possibly, possibly be.
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We are blessed to be here, and we know it.
THIS YEAR, more than ever before, I have let myself settle into the soft, gentle glow of these Autumn mountains. They have held me well, for ever-present is also my worry over the emotional damage being inflicted by the pandemic. Every blog post, each Grace Notes I vow not to mention it, to Let. Covid. Go., and to focus on more cheerful topics. But still the dang thing rises. It makes me think of passages I've been working on as I edit my novel, a story about five people whose lives intersect during the years of the Civil War. The setting is the mountains of Southwest Virginia, my birthplace and that of my ancestors, and as I imagine those scenes I viscerally feel the ground beneath their feet shift as war fights its way into their proud, remote, isolated land. War also leaves it—and them—forever changed.
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It feels the same with this awful pandemic. Get your footing—dare to, friends—and the hateful thing will sweep in and wreak havoc with a new round of chaos. Could be it's COVID itself, or the wake of COVID (supply chain, anyone?). Or something else entirely, but something that, in this environment, takes on overwhelming emotional proportions.
IT IS TOO MUCH.
Anyway. My prayer for you is that you have or you find or you create your own place for retreat. For respite. For its reminder the world is still a beautiful place, and that this truth is never more evident than in glorious, golden October.
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Love, and light, and laughter to you, my friend.

XXOO,
Cathy
BINGE LOVE
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Tim and I devoured (pun most certainly intended) Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy, a CNN series that came to us via HBOMax. First I will come right out and tell you I am a little bit in love with Stanley Tucci per his performance as Paul Child in Julie & Julia. We can say I am heavily predisposed. Still, what's not to love about a deep dive into Italy's regions, their distinct cultures, cuisine and histories? I want to visit every one. I want to taste All The Things. I'm inspired to make my own homemade pasta!

Well, almost ;)
BOOK LOVE
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This book right here. On audio, which you have to get from Audible because it's only available there. SO GOOD. By the author of The Martian, Project Hail Mary is the story of…but wait. I just read the description to summarize here and I would never choose this book based on it so I am not going to describe it. Just know it is smart, funny, engaging—and one of my favorite reads of the year. Tim loved it as much as I did. (It's a wonderful couples listen for a long car trip if that's something you look for.)
LINK LOVE
12 Historic Homes So Stunning, You Won’t Believe They’re Over 100 Years Old
RECIPE LOVE
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photo: Skinnytaste
PASTA WITH BUTTERNUT SQUASH SAUCE, SPICY SAUSAGE AND BABY SPINACH
from Skinnytaste

Promise me you will make this. This week. Promise.
MOST RECENT POST FROM THE DAILY GRACE
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Do you watch the Amazon Prime show Making the Cut? A collection of professional clothing designers is brought together to take on a series of challenges and hopefully win big money. But the competitive part of it is secondary to me, as at the show's core is a study in creative process. In Season Two, mentor Tim Gunn offers an observation that really caught me by surprise.

I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.

— L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
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Have you heard?
I have an acorn obsession.
More to come on that, on The Daily Grace, and I vow to you right here right now when I write that post, I will not mention COVID.
#catsmountain 10.14.21
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