Funny.

Lindsey just did the "what European city" thing, and got Dublin. Not a surprise, either, since the kid likes to eliminate all non-Irish portions of his heritage. :)

Swap lovin', part deux...

And secondly, from Jeannie. Naturally, in a box covered with polka dots. This piece of the swap, friends, is a funny story. I thought it was a hat. Like a party hat, with the ribbon serving as the chin strap. The bat kept flapping down, and I thought, oh, the glue didn't stick, I'll have to put some more on. I WAS WALKING TO GET THE GLUE, when I turned it the OTHER way, and realized it was supposed to hang from the string. DUH. I felt dumb, and now I'm sharing that with you. This coolness looks perfecto on the front door, don't you think?




This cool cone, complete with fuzzy ball fringe & a jewel, was filled with delicious chocolate treats. Clearly, Jean Knee is a chocolate connoisseur. The Devilish Delight tag on the bony licorice stick is a trip. I put it right over a chair, but no one went running & screaming during the party. Apparently, it wasn't frightening enough. Sigh.... I'm thinking I might use the cone not just at Halloween, as long as I take out the hand? This thing is serious, by the way, Jeannie is a professional cone-maker, I think.





Mr. Friendly Skeleton, in his clowny jester outfit, gets to hang out with the festive muffin tins. He's quite funny, I think. The card (paper bag fabulousness) has an iron-on pumpkin that will have to get made into something here shortly. And I love the black kitty cat, of course. I think this one conveys the spirit of our cat immediately after the administration of flea medicine. Nice, huh?
Jean Knee rocks. This was awesome, and I get to keep having her as a partner for two more months! Whoo-hoo! Sweet goodness = fun stuff.

Swap lovin'...

Firstly, from Heidi:

The box came with the CUTEST witch graphic, but I don't know enough photo editing to show you that without showing you both of our addresses. And I refuse to gain a stalker, and I don't want to give Heidi a stalker who isn't named me. Thank you. :)



Inside, I found this mysterious package, which turned out to be a Happy Halloween swag, complete with ruffled crepe paper! Heidi was considerate enough to label the ends "right" & "left," which is important if you're spatially challenged like me. She even sent push-pins for attaching it to the wall! You can also see the soldered Scrabble tile necklace - she's getting very good at these. Check out her blog to see just how far she's come....





The swag, unfurled, on the mantel. It really pulls everything together, I think. And, we managed to hang it high enough to stay out of the reach of little hands during the par-tay last night. Lindsey helped me hang this, and was very impressed. I tried to use it to leverage a new (functional) printer, but I was not successful. Yet.



And, this, the magnificent swap container! Holy cow! The pieces of fabric on the handle are stamped with "trick or treat." Inside, Heidi sent a cool ghost cookie cutter, candy, Halloween sprinkles, treat bags, & muffin cups! She absolutely spoiled me, and I am very grateful for the hard work she put into this swap! Thanks also to Amy, for hosting this! YAY.

Ode to the Henley.

So we don't actually OWN this henley. But we do own about 4 just like it, waffle-weave, in a variety of colors (namely: red, charcoal, light blue, & hunter green). If decorum & the clothing rules of my workplace permitted it, you'd see me in one of these, jeans, hiking socks, & potato shoes pretty much every day all fall. (Winter, naturally, requires cable-knit sweaters, ideally of the turtle-necked variety, but that's another post for another day.)

The current ones in rotation are actually all "Lindsey's." Or, they were, until I confiscated them for my own personal use. I look better in them, anyway.

I actually left my wonderfully-chilly house (57 according to the thermometer - whoo-hoo! - I am my mother's daughter - why should you be able to feel your fingers & your nose?) for the Value Village to attempt to thrift some more, but apparently another henley-fan beat me to the punch, because I couldn't find ANY.

In case you can't tell, this personal style is clearly the result of being 13 in the midst of the Seattle-rock grunge era - thank goodness I've quit wearing flannel shirts OVER the henleys, right Mom? (hahah)

I gave up the henleys for a while, but they're back with a vengeance now.


Now, I promise, I am actually going to begin cooking for the par-tay tomorrow evening. Right.

Help needed, s'il vous plait.

#1) Let's take a moment, fellow Georgians, and be grateful for this rain.

#2) Anyone know where to find a LOT of buttons at a CHEAP price? As much as I *love* Etsy, I'm not paying $3.00 + shipping for 12 buttons! I need orange, green, and maybe brown. I tried google, failure ensued, and Ebay is too daunting. HELP!

#3) My swap packages are in the mail. That's a relief. I had some serious swap angst this go-round, and then a technical disaster in my trick or treat swap that had to be overcome.

#4) Lindsey is at church, which means I am about to whip up my very favorite bad-for-you processed food: Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, original version. Or, if you are Canadian, you call them Kraft Dinners, apparently. As usual, ignore the video (the car isn't even a Chrysler!), and listen while you surf.



When I saw BNL in New Orleans during my freshman year of college, they had boxes at all the entrances for the macaroni & cheese that people like to throw during this song. They asked that you deposit your box of mac & cheese for donation to a food bank rather than wasting it all over the arena. When I saw them later at Lakewood (sigh...it will NEVER be HiFiBuys to me), they didn't have the boxes. WHAT HAPPENED? People quit being hungry? I think not. I still love the band. Call me a loser.

Hmpf.

This is what we call, not a shocker.

Thanks, Lennye, and by the way, you SHOULD give everyone a copy of The Family Under the Bridge. It is magical.

You Belong in Paris

You enjoy all that life has to offer, and you can appreciate the fine tastes and sites of Paris. You're the perfect person to wander the streets of Paris aimlessly, enjoying architecture and a crepe.

What European City Do You Belong In?

Weather.

Weather never comes when we need it. I think it's always been that way - read the Bible, or Little House on the Prairie. We have rain, and we need it desperately, but they need it in California, too. Barb, who hosts the Purse Project, lives in San Diego.

This is what weather can do:

I'm totally co-opting my friend Barrett's personal tragedy to make a philosophical point. It's all just stuff, right, Bear?

This is the result of Katrina, and the failure of a canal floodwall. Those, in case you don't know, are managed by the same Army Corps of Engineers that seems powerless to do anything to mitigate the effects of our drought. In both New Orleans and Atlanta, there is definitely an argument to be made that we've tried too hard to control the environment for our own purposes, and now its fighting back.

Nonetheless, at this point, the damage is done. We need to figure out more sustainable solutions for the long term, but we also need to plan for what the next few months will bring.

Can you tell I've been alone in the dark & dreary weather all afternoon? It's uplifting, isn't it?

This was all inspired by an NPR piece on the San Diego fires. They interviewed one lady, who was telling the few things she'd taken from her house at 4:30 this morning when she was told to evacuate. She listed the Bible, some pictures, clothes, jewelry, and get this - her grade book. That, friends, is dedication to the profession.

Not bright.

In a number of ways.

1) I've procrastinated on a presentation, and now I have to do it.
2) It was foggy all day - and we don't live in San Francisco!
3) I forgot to take pictures this afternoon, so you still can't see the crafty area, AND I have to go out of town tomorrow.

So, to brighten YOUR day, I think you should head over to the blog of my radical trick or treat swap partner, Heidi, and check out what she's been up to with her crafty self. I've very jealous of her newest talent, and you could actually benefit from it! Wowza, I tell you. Go! Go now! :)