Joanne Heim

Time for a confession...

...I really don't like Halloween.

Little kids dressed up in cute animal costumes are one thing, but super scary stuff is an entirely other thing. I do not like to be scared and I don't like it when the commercials on television are too scary to watch. My kids don't like scary stuff either and have come running a lot lately when something "way too scary, Mom!" is on a commerical. Why do they advertise scary movies/tv shows during shows that my kids watch?

We celebrated Halloween for a while when I was a little, but in the midst of moving to Colorado when I was six, it got left behind. (It could be that it's always COLD on Halloween here in Colorado...it's often the first snow...tonight it's about 30 degrees.) I didn't really miss it and so it's just never been part of our family life.

I did buy some emergency candy in case trick or treaters come to the door, but we went out for dinner and only just got home...and now it's time for bed (well, not quite, but time for the kids to go to bed, anyway!).

(I did stay up until 8:30 last night; it would have been later, but Toben came to bed and then fell asleep immediately...sending even more sleepy vibes my way. I couldn't resist and gave in.)

Is it time for bed yet?

Oh I do love falling back for the time change this time of year...it's so much nicer to have it be light outside when it's time to get everyone up in the morning. But when it gets dark at 5 p.m. I am definitely ready for bed.

The girls and I get in bed and read and then I get sleepy and once my jammies are on, I'm down for the count. Last night I fell asleep too early while reading my book, and woke up waaaaaay too early this morning. Four o'clock is just too early--even for me who likes to get up before the rest of the world.

I had some Ginseng Energy tea not too long ago, and I'm hoping that'll keep me up until 9:30! But I've already started yawning...

The girls didn't have school today; we headed to Breckenridge for the day.

The drive was beautiful and Lake Dillon was especially blue today.

Audrey and Emma must have pelted Toben with about a hundred snowballs; somehow I escaped. (Must be because I didn't throw any--I'll have to remind them that "Do unto others..." works!)

We had lunch at Mi Casa (yummy Mexican food--something we haven't found in Denver yet and are missing like crazy) and visited our friend, Jon, at Mountain Wave. Despite a brand-new snowboard I haven't ridden yet, I think I may have to go back to skiing. (I started snowboarding when Toben traded in my skis--without telling me!) The last time I was on a snowboard, I fell and hit my head pretty hard and skiing seems safer. I must be getting old!

The Great Pumpkin

The girls and I have just come upstairs from watching Charlie Brown. We ate popcorn and they sat on my lap and laughed at Snoopy flying on his dog house.

With all the movies we have on DVD and VHS they can watch a movie any time (except, of course, on school days!) in a way I never could as a child. Charlie Brown specials were a bigger deal, as were movies on television. I remember waiting until Thanksgiving to watch The Sound of Music, rather than popping it into the VCR whenever the mood strikes.

I'm not sure which I like better...having great movies on hand, or having to wait for them. I think it's a little of both.

Watching television tonight, I was struck by Linus's absolute belief and faith in the Great Pumpkin and his struggle to remain true to those beliefs when faced with ridicule and doubt. Hmmm...faith lessons from Charlie Brown...

Just as an aside, I managed to stay in my pjs until 11 o'clock this morning. Happy day!

Beef...it's what's gonna be for dinner...for a while

My sister's in-laws come from South Dakota and the extended family raises beef cattle. Being back in Colorado means that we're in on the cow! Last night they delivered our side of beef--I think that's what half a cow is called. Look at all those steaks and roasts and ground beef. We are set! (Needless to say, there was pot roast for dinner tonight!)

Having a full freezer and a fully stocked pantry makes me feel secure. Not quite sure why...we never went hungry when I was small. But knowing that I have everything on hand to make all kinds of meals if we get snowed in makes me feel like the world can come to an end and we'll be okay.

It felt especially good that the beef arrived last night, because this is what my yard looked like this morning...

It kept on snowing until we had at least eight inches. (And not to sound like "crazy weather" broken record, but it was 68 when I picked the kids up from school yesterday afternoon, and it's supposed to be almost 60 tomorrow.)

Hee hee...love laughing gas...hee hee

Here's little Miss Emma at the dentist this morning...four fillings for her. Oh my!

She was fine with going, until we walked into the room. She grabbed my legs and burst into tears, refused to sit in the chair, and wailed. Broke my heart. The dentist gave us some space, I got her into the chair, and we talked about her fears, prayed for courage, remembered that Emily (the newest AG doll) was with her and how brave she was to come to America during WW2, and finally got the "clown nose" on. She breathed deep for a few minutes, and, well, you can see the result.

Hooray for laughing gas!

Because she was so blissed out, they went ahead and did all four fillings (just small ones, no numbing needed) today to save us from coming back next week and going through it all again.

Audrey goes for her fillings (really, my kids do brush their teeth--honest!) in a week or so. I'm hoping that seeing Emma so brave will help big sis to be brave too!

Chivalry isn't dead

Today while I was sitting at a traffic light on the way home from school I saw a teenage couple cross the street and walk down the road. The boyfriend purposely moved around his girlfriend to stand on the side next to the street, putting her safely on the inside.

It made me smile. My dad always made sure he walked next to the street, with Mom or me or Kristen on the inside and away from traffic.

He explained why it was safer and told us it began when people would throw things out their windows to the sidewalks below. Houses in towns like York grow inward over the street, with windows hanging over the sidewalks. (In some places in the Shambles, people in houses across the street could reach out of their upstairs windows and shake hands.) That way if anyone got splashed with dirty water or worse, it was the man.

***

I've just about finished my granny square skirt. I just need to sew in all the yarn ends hanging everywhere on the insde. That, and make the underskirt!

Interviews and reviews

Toben and I started the day by doing a radio interview with a station in New York for our book, Happily Ever After. It's been a while since we'd done an interview, but it all came back--just like riding a bike. We sit in the same room and face each other while we talk on the phone with the interviewer, pointing at each other to indicate who should answer the question. Except for the other person sounding really loud in your ear from being on the same line, it went great.

And I received an email from my publicist letting me know that I got a great review of Living Simply on this website. How nice is that?

We have another radio interview on Thursday afternoon for Happily Ever After--along with a half day of school for the girls, two parent teacher conferences, and Toben flying home from San Diego--all of which happens in about a two-and-a-half hour window. Of course!

American Girl Craftiness

Audrey and Emma love American Girls. Emily, Nellie, Samantha, Kirsten, and Jess all live at our house with us and provide lots of opportunities for craftiness. In fact, I've started my Christmas sewing for the girls--lots and lots of doll clothes.

Earlier in the summer, we talked about making camping gear for the dolls, but with moving we never got around to it. So yesterday, Emma and I created a campfire for the dolls, and the girls and I made marshmallows and hotdogs out of FIMO clay. I'd never worked with the clay before, and--wow!--is it cool! We put the marshmallows and hotdogs on wire "sticks" for the dolls to roast over their new campfire.

(We've started thinking of some other foodstuff we could make. Birthday cakes top the list. And maybe some croissants for breakfast.)

I also got out some fake Christmas trees I have--the perfect size for the dolls. Now if I can only figure out how to make a tent...

I do have a sleeping bag pattern--another Christmas gift on my list to make. Maybe I can use a pattern for a dog or cat tent for the dolls. Hmmm....a trip to the fabric store may be in order to look through pattern books.

Once we get it all together we'll have to have a doll photo shoot. The girls think it'd be fun to send a picture into the magazine in hopes that they'd print it. How cool would that be?

The best part of my day...

At the dinner table, Audrey will often ask, "What was the best part of your day?" We go around and answer, taking turns and asking each other what made the day special.

After school, Audrey and I went to Barnes & Noble, got a snack, and then wandered around looking for a birthday present for her friend. We looked at books, at music, at movies. I love wandering around a bookstore. I could spend hours looking at books.

If I'd been shopping for me, I'd have bought:

The Embroidery Kit (not sure if that's the name, but by the same folks who did the Knit-Knack Kit)
all of Susan Howatch's Church of England novels
Janet Evanovitch's new Stephanie Plum novel--12 something or other
a few knitting books I saw
a complete set of Trixie Belden books

We got the birthday gifts and some magazines for Audrey. Then we came home, snuggled up on the daybed in the loft and took turns reading Ranger Rick. My feet were tucked under the blanket and toasty warm, Audrey snuggled under my arm, Daisy dog sat by my knees, and Joey cat came up to visit from time to time. That was the best part of my day.

But there were some other great parts too. Emma had a playdate at her friend Hayden's house and didn't want me to leave. So I sat at their kitchen table from 9:30 until 2:15 and visited with Hayden's mom, Stephanie. The time flew and it was great to sit and visit with another mom. I'm hoping this is the beginning of a new friendship.

So all in all, today was pretty great.

Post #200

Toben opened the front door this afternoon and nearly tripped over a stack of boxes. Look what was inside!

My book! The first copy was all wrapped up from my publisher--the rest packed in boxes. Even though I've written other books, this is the first book I did all on my own and I'm so excited. I'm feeling a huge sense of accomplishment tonight, holding the finished product in hand.

I've been a little bit lazy about starting my next book; having this one actually in print reminds me of how much I enjoy this process. I need to get busy and get writing again!

~~

On a completely other note...

In the spirit of seizing the moment, I sat down this afternoon and arranged all of my granny squares so I can begin putting them together for my skirt. It took a while to make sure each row had only one of each colored border and that each column didn't have repeated colors too.

I finally came up with this:

And I got the rows sewn together. I now have six long strips, which I'll put together next and then sew up the seam and add the border. I need to decide what color underskirt to make...just something simple to protect my modesty through all those holes!

I can't wait to get this done and wear it. I just love all the bright colors. (You know, I never used to wear colors. Before we moved to California, my wardrobe was black, brown, white, gray, and taupe. Now I wear all kinds of colors. I must be in a happier space...)

Waiting...

Do you every have those days where you feel like you're waiting for something and so nothing gets done? Or at least nothing gets begun? There are days where I wander from this to that, never really accomplishing anything, waiting for something, but I'm not sure what.

Sometimes I think I'm waiting for everything to come together just right--for the right project to align with the right movie, to have the right amount of time without interruptions to acomplish whatever I set out to do. And so I miss all those little moments of time that add up to lots of time to be productive, creative, encouraging to a friend, or whatever else.

It's a restless kind of feeling and I don't like it very much.

Maybe I've been feeling this way lately because my life is strangely empty. Moving to a new place always seems to have that kind of a lull--before friends and activities fill the time, making those snippets of time an absolute necessity for accomplishing everything from laundry and ironing to crafting and reading.

I love the verse about "making the most of every opportunity"--even though I've not been very good at it lately. I really want to seize the moment more, to pick up a project or begin a task or write a letter--even if I don't have the time to finish it all in one sitting.

Snow! (and a few other thoughts)

Believe it or not, we have snow! It started snowing earlier today and there was enough after school for the girls to make a few snowballs. And it's kept on snowing and now we have about 3 inches and the roads are getting slushy. It's 28 degrees and I've turned up the heat.

Emma woke up with a tummy ache, decided not to go to school, then cried because she wanted to go to school, so she got dressed and packed up her backpack. Then she cried some more and drove with me to drop Audrey off and came home again. After about an hour on the couch, she decided she felt better, so we went back to school, but when I dropped her off, she was complaining of another tummy ache. But she stayed and I worried the rest of the day.

But she came home happy and feeling fine (as pictured above!). We had dinner with my parents and then she started to cry again, complaining of another tummy ache. I reminded her that she doesn't have school tomorrow (in case that was what was causing it), but she went to bed with a throw up bucket again.

This is my least favorite part of being a mom. I hate not being able to understand what's wrong and not knowing what to do about it. Emma loves school, is usually fine, and so I don't know if something is really going on and she's coming down with the stomach flu, or if it's something totally other like being worried about something at school.

I'm glad Toben's coming home tomorrow night. It will be nice to have another opinion.

No more time to be sick

Toben left on a business trip this morning--I think he said goodbye at about 4:30 or 5 a.m. So I'm a single mom for the next few days and don't have time to be sick anymore.

Luckily it was kind of a slow day. Both the girls were in school, so I cleaned house, did laundry, and sat down whenever I felt a little shaky. I've made it through the day on only one dose of cold medicine, so I think I really am on the mend. Hallelujah.

Of course, I was reaching across the bathroom sink for something early this afternoon, heard a clicking sound, and a shooting pain ran across my neck and down my shoulder. I stood there for a while, moaning and feeling paralysed, and then took 6 Advil and sat on the couch wtih the heating pad. I can't really turn my head. I must be getting old.

We stopped by Mom's after school and she rubbed some icy/hot into my neck so I can move a bit more tonight. Whatever is pinched is still a little pinched, but between the Advil and the icy/hot I think I'll be okay.

When Toben's gone, it's hard for me to fix normal meals. While Audrey does eat just about everything I cook, I find I need at least one totally appreciative person to cook for. When that person's gone, we eat popcorn and apples, scrambled eggs, ramen noodles, and whatever leftovers are in the fridge. Luckily, Mom invited us for dinner tomorrow night, and then I think I'll see if the girls want to cook something on Wednesday. If they cook it, they tend to be a little more excited about eating it.

Emma's just yelled that her tummy hurts. Uh oh. Kids always get sick when Dad's out of town; why is that? I've tucked the throw up bucket in bed with her, made her demonstrate how to use it, and will keep my fingers crossed.

Sniffle, cough, sneeze

I've been totally out of it the past couple of days, getting over a cold before Toben heads out of town this week. I've sat on the couch in my pj's and watched every Little House DVD I have. And I've finished all 60 granny squares for my skirt.

Much more tomorrow when I've got to be up and running again!

P.S. In a really weird way, it's so nice to be sick when I have the time for it--when Toben's home to take care of everything and I can just lay in bed and blow my nose...

Homebody

I did it. I stayed at home all day! I even wore my slippers all day long. I love my slippers. Sarah knitted them for me for my birthday almost two years ago and they're the best I've ever had--soft and warm and they don't fall off my feet because they were made just for me.

(Okay, so I did leave the house after dinner to go with the family for frozen custard, but I didn't even get out of the car--and I wore my slippers, so I don't think that counts.)

I got the sheets and towels washed, the floors mopped, and the bathrooms cleaned--all in record time. Then I watched a whole lot of Little House, made a bunch of new granny squares for my skirt (I'm more than half done!), and began sewing doll clothes for the girls for Christmas. Hooray!

I've also done some other Christmas crafting, but can't post anything about it here for fear of ruining surprises. And surprises are half the fun, so all I'll say is that I've been crafty. Details to come much later...probably after Christmas.

I did also take a walk this morning, but that doesn't really count as leaving the house since I don't put on makeup for it! I waited until Toben got back from taking the girls to school, so we went on our walk together. Daisy loves the trail behind our house along the creek--as do I--and she's been running around off the leash for the past few days. This morning, she took off after a sassy little squirrel and did something to her leg and spent most of the day hobbling around on three legs. Poor puppy!

It's especially pathetic because Daisy is very, very loyal to me, and always has to lay down right by my feet. So when I was in the basement, she hobbled down the stairs to be with me, and when I had to run upstairs for something, she'd get up and hobble after me--even when I told her I'd be right back. She's finally putting some weight on her leg tonight, so I think she's feeling better. But no walk for her for a couple of days until she's fully recovered.

I've been feeling tired lately (not that I've been particularly active!). It's been hard to get up in the morning and I'm totally ready to fall asleep by 8:30. Not sure what's up. Emma seems to bring home sniffles from school about every 10 days...maybe I'm fighting her school germs. Of course, it could just be that it's dark in the morning, and getting dark earlier at night--and when it's dark my body thinks it's time to sleep. Don't think I could make it in the far north where it's only light for a few hours every day in the winter. I'd have to hibernate and become part bear.

I want to stay at home

All week long I have wanted to stay at home all day long. But I've not quite managed it. Monday I went to the dentist, yesterday was a series of misadventures at the DMV trying to get a Colorado driver's license, today I took Emma to the dentist. Somehow those just-an-hour-or-two things end up taking all day.

There is NOTHING on the calendar for tomorrow. I think I'm going to take the phone off the hook (or at least not answer it if it rings) and spend the day at home. I need to wash the sheets and towels and do a quick mop of the floors, but beyond that I am going to watch a movie and sew and crochet and just be home.

No errands, no quick out to lunch with Toben, no nothing. I'm going to stay home!

Tickets

"I love tickets," or so says Cameron Diaz's character in Charlie's Angels when Luke Wilson's character asks her out on a date.

I love tickets too--especially the ones I got yesterday. Tickets to fly to Phoenix in December to meet some of the women from my Bible study in California. We're going to go to Beth Moore's Living Proof Live.

As a group, we always did a Beth Moore study and I can't recommend them highly enough. She's an incredible teacher and I'd love to meet her someday. She's amazing.

I've really been missing this group of women--especially knowing that they've started Bible study again this fall, and I'm not there. It's so easy for me to picture them sitting around Lori's living room, sipping coffee and munching on M&Ms while learning and sharing and praying and just being together. This group was my lifeline while Toben and I were going through a crisis and learning to deal with his bi-polarity. Their love and support helped get me through such a difficult time.

I love them dearly and can't hardly wait for this trip to roll around.

I've always been a big fan of girl time...in fact, I'm headed up to the mountains in a month for another girl weekend--with a different bunch of friends--to knit and catch up and sit by the fire. Can't wait for that weekend either. This is most of the group of friends I spent my 30th birthday with--in Paris for a week. Now that was a great girl trip! We're talking about New York next year for 35 and then back to Europe--London, maybe?--for 40.

I have to say it's been good to think about my friends here for a little bit. When I feel lonely settling into a new place, I just have to remember that I have lots of friends--they just don't live here.

Time flies

My days are just flying by lately, and I'm not feeling like I'm getting much done. I have an especially hard time when I schedule things in the morning.

Today, I went and got my teeth cleaned at 9:15, so by the time I stopped at the grocery and got home to start the laundry it was almost noon. And then it was time to eat some lunch, clean the house, and carry on with the laundry, which means it didn't get done until about 10 minutes ago (oops! I take that back--there's still a few things in the dryer).

I had visions of sitting with Toben on the couch tonight and watching the Bronco game and working on my granny square skirt, but it's just not happening. Instead, I've run around putting away laundry and recleaning the girls' bathroom which somehow ended up with toothpaste all over the clean mirror.

Have you ever noticed that the person who actually does the laundry has the least amount of clothes in the laundry? I think Audrey must have worn nearly everything she owns this past week. Not sure how that happened...

How can it be Sunday night already?

Even though I don't go to work on Monday mornings (or any morning for that matter), I tend to get the Sunday night blues. Right about 4 o'clock it starts to feel like the weekend is over and I get feeling sad that the weekend is almost over.

At the same time, I feel like Sunday evenings are a little bit sacred...a night to be spent at home. I can't transition into my week too suddenly, and need a slow Sunday night at home to get used to the idea of Monday morning.

When I was little, we'd watch The Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights, munching popcorn. Every once in a while--or often enough that I remember it--we'd spread out the old green Army blanket on the floor, build a fire in the fireplace, and roast hot dogs, eat baked beans, munch on potato chips, and then roast marshmallows for s'mores.

I bet if they re-ran The Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights at 6, just about everyone would tune in. Wouldn't that be great? I'd love for my girls to grow up with memories of Sunday evenings like the ones I had. (Remember the program about the little bear cubs at Yellowstone that got separated from their mother? I seem to remember them getting in the kitchen at the lodge and eating marshmallows...)

I feel like we're still getting our Sundays figured out. I do love Sunday dinner after church--preferably with lots of people. I'd like to add in a walk to the park or around the neighborhood. I'd also like to get back in the habit of Little House on Sunday nights--with popcorn and apples and cheese.

Shoe frustration

While the weather here has been wonderful, some day it's going to snow and I'm going to need practical shoes of some sort. And after looking today, I've decided there are no cute shoes suitable for snow.

The shoes that I liked made Toben say things like, "You'll fall in those and break your neck." Okay, so maybe the heels were a little high for icy sidewalks, but at least I'd look good going down...

Sometimes it's hard to come up with a title...

When I worked in publishing, the hardest thing was titling a book. Meetings lasted way, way too long and the titling committee went round and round.

There are days I sit in front of my computer completely stumped and unable to begin my blog because I don't know what to call my post for the day. Crazy.

I had a perfectly wonderful day all to myself. The painters finished painting the house (it's so pretty; I'll have to take a picture so you can see the before and after), I took Daisy for a nice walk, I sat and made two granny squares for my skirt while watching an episode of Little House on the Prairie on the Hallmark Channel, I hung some pictures, I put up Emma's curtains, I sat and watched more Little House (from the DVD this time) and cut out patterns for American Girl clothes, and...think that's about it.

Tonight I've been helping Audrey with homework--spelling, math flashcards, and Bible verse. Her spelling and Bible verse tests are tomorrow. Needless to say, I've also learned her verse for the week (1 Peter 1:3-5). It's a long one and she's starting to get a little frustrated. I've sent her off to take a break and pick out her clothes for tomorrow--it'll help her and it'll help me to finish typing this too!

Homework is something that I've not quite figured out. Well, I guess I've figured it out, but it's something we struggle with every day. Mostly because I still really need to help her with her homework each night. She does 10 minutes of reading on her own (more like 1/2 hour before bed, really) and she can do her 10 minutes of keyboarding alone too (once I set up the computer). But I really need to help her with the math flashcards, as well as testing her on spelling and Bible. There are also random other worksheets to do--mostly she can do them on her own, but usually has questions.

I'm learning that Audrey really can't do two things at once. If the television is on, she can't do homework. If there's music playing, she can't do homework. She really needs peace and quiet to help her focus because she gets so distracted. I feel like I'm constantly telling her to sit still, to concentrate on what she's doing, to pay attention. I hate being the nag, but do feel like we're making progress. It also helps to study one place, then have her stand up to recite, and then change scenery for the next thing.

Wow, this mother thing is a full time job! There are times I forget that...strange, I know. But it's easy to think that when the kids get older and more independent that there's less for me to do. I guess that I've just switched from changing diapers and feeding them to checking homework and testing spelling words. In some ways, this feels like lots more work than caring for a baby. Maybe because for a while anyway babies stay where you put them and don't talk back!

Time to check all the clothing selections and make sure teeth are brushed and test Audrey on her Bible verse one more time before bed...

Encouragement

Isn't it wonderful to have people encourage you when you're feeling down in the dumps? Just having someone say "I know how you feel" makes all the difference in the world.

So thanks for the encouraging comments and email and pictures and phone calls today; today was a much better day--not quite so blue. (I even watched three episodes of Little House on the Prairie, snuggled up with my girls--which always makes me glad!)

Tomorrow both of the girls are in school, Toben's not home, and I have a whole day free. What to do? My friend Kathryn recently emailed me about a day spent entirely in bed watching movies. I don't have TV in my room anymore, but watching Little House on the couch sounds pretty good. I have some ideas for Christmas presents; so maybe I'll run some Christmas errands. We'll see...

For now, I'm off to take a bath with a good book!

Feeling homesick

Oh I'm feeling homesick tonight. Don't know if it's the weather changing, the fact that my period's supposed to start tomorrow, or Toben being out of town...but I'm feeling blue. Not midnight blue, not sky blue, just a little bit pale blue.

I spent the day with the third grade at the Denver Zoo today. It was great to spend some time getting to know Audrey's friends and I met two moms, but... I couldn't help thinking of how a field trip would be if we were still in California. I'd know all the kids, all the moms, and would have wandered around laughing and having a ball like some of the moms I passed today. Don't get me wrong, I did have fun, but it just made me miss the life we left behind.

We're off to a Girl Scout meeting at school tonight. The girls are in the tub early, and we'll head out in a little bit. It's a meeting to learn more about Scouting at the school and I'm glad for the chance to sign Audrey up for Brownies and to get Emma started in Daisies. But, again, it makes me miss all of my sweet Brownies and the feeling of already belonging.

Part of it too could be that, instead of sleeping soundly without Toben snoring in bed beside me, I laid awake until the wee hours with a sore-ish throat and drain-y sinuses before I remembered I could take some cold medicine. Then I stood in the hallway in the dark and tried to remember the difference between a decongestant and an antihistamine and which would fix me up. After a long while, I decided to take some Alka-Seltzer cold medicine since it has both.

I did finally fall asleep, but then Emma fell out of bed around 4:30 and it took me a while to fall back asleep since I knew the alarm would go off at 5:30. Not a great night. I don't do particularly well on not enough sleep, so add in a fuzzy head from cold medicine and no wonder I'm not feeling up to snuff.

As I mentioned, the weather is changing, and a cold front is moving in. It's rained some and when the wind blows, leaves sail down and my lawn is now speckled with a blanket of red and gold and orange. The high tomorrow is only supposed to be in the low 60s. Think I'll see if Emma's up for a day of watching Little House on the Prairie in front of the fire...

Pictures...

Sewing my apron at Fall Fest on Saturday:

(Just have to say that my necklace is made of Indian corn--a project from last fall. There's actually one necklace, but it wasn't enough so I took the garland I'd hung on my dining room chandelier and added it to the mix. Much better!)

A corner of my apron (the tea towel belonged to my grandmother, and how I love pom-pom fringe!):

(Sorry it's a little blurry...must not have set the camera for up close.)

I also worked on my granny squares for my skirt at Fall Fest, while we watched You've Got Mail (love that movie!):

And just look at this beautiful tree in my backyard today; I love, love, LOVE autumn:

I added some feather trim to my rooster lamp today. Think I'm probably tempting the cat more than he'll be able to bear, but I just love it--so soft. I do think it needs something more too--perhaps a black band around the bottom and top...

And, finally, part of my parents moving to Denver is them cleaning out things they own. Mom gave me these two boxes today--full of embroidery floss, cross stitch patterns, some Advent materials, and all kinds of other little treasures. I sat at the table this afternoon and looked through it and am excited to really spread it all out and look at everything in more detail. Thanks, Mom!

Fabulous, fantastic Fall Fest

Yesterday was Janna's Fall Fest--all day, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. It flew by--and now I have another year to spend looking forward to the next one.

The day was wonderful--from start to finish. We ate breakfast, introduced ourselves, and had a brief devotional. Then we headed downstairs to make aprons and hang out. People wandered in and out, having massages and manicures, and in the afternoon getting eyebrows shaped and brows and lashes tinted. We watched movies, ate and ate and ate and ate, and generally had a ball.

It was such a treat to spend a day in someone else's home. I do love my home, but there's something about sitting on someone else's couch. Maybe it's that I don't notice all the little things to be done like I do in my own house. I loved stretching out, relaxing, and meeting some new friends. (And my apron is pretty darned cute too!)

Pictures coming tomorrow...