Lots o' Reasons to Smile

Here's a download dump of unrelated images for the months of September and October. What's the one thing these pics have in common? They all make me smile. 

Snuggly kitty-boys and a terrific teenaged daughter (almost!) always bring a smile to my face. 

 How 'bout a little friendly competition?

September provided a bountiful harvest of visitors and veggies.

 Take homegrown goodness -- from Washington and Texas gardens,

 add homemade pappardelle (Perniconi style) noodles...

 ...and what do you get? A bowl full of yum and yet another reason to smile.

We were sorry to see our September visitors leave, but they left some fresh Italian noodles in our freezer. And they'll be back in November! More smiles.

We had never tried pitaya until a few days ago. I had never even heard of it before. There are so many exotic and unique fruits and veggies to try, but the problem is knowing how to serve or prepare them. Hooray for Google! This one was easy: slice and eat. Pitaya (or dragonfruit) reminded me of kiwi fruit (similar texture), yet it tastes different. We will definitely buy this one again.

 Prov 13:24: "He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes (diligently)."

After 20+ years, I had to tosseth the rod in the trash. The spatula head had gotten all gummy and sticky. Mr. Smith and I purchased this monstrous tool at a kitchen shop in downtown Spokane, when our son was a tiny baby boy. We had been out on a date to eat dinner at Clinkerdagger, and we did a little shopping in The Flour Mill before going home. They used to have a really neat kitchen store there. I think I've always felt a little guilty about this purchase. Oh, well!  Although we love kitchen gadgets, this spatula was never once used in the kitchen. Nor was it used all that much for chastising our young'uns. It was more of a visual aid. And it worked quite well. 

You put your right foot in, you put your right foot out, you put your right foot in and you shake it all about... and then you take a picture. 

Wait! Those are not the right lyrics.

We three Smith girls had to snap a shot of us wearing our Scandalous Designs sandals. Texas-style Swarovski bling makes for happy feet.

Yay!!! Fall color is starting to be seen in my backyard, and that makes me smile!

This makes me smile, too. Thanksgiving must be just around the corner. There appears to be a gigantic turkey hovering over the Lone Star State.

I do not quite know what to say about this. Again, I am smiling. No! I am laughing; out loud, even.

I had never seen anything like this before -- until we moved to Texas. I made my husband stop the car so I could take this photo. I do hope that the owners of this beaut didn't mind, but I just HAD to. (There are oh, so many possibilities for captions for this image. Any suggestions?)

Millie is going to be needing a set of wheels next year. Hmmmm...