8 Things

Sort of a joke around our house is my “need” to become friends with people I encounter regularly.  When we “stop at the store” the kids will ask if we are really just stopping or if I’m going to have a relationship while I’m in there. 

I met my friend Charlotte several years ago.  She works in the deli at the grocery where I shop every Sunday night of my life barring illness or out of town trips.  Charlotte has quite a following- much because she gives out cookies to the kids, but also because she takes care of her regulars.   Often she sees me in the produce section before I get back to her and by the time I get there, she already has my standing order waiting- a pound of Private Selection mesquite turkey cut on number 3.  

We’ve always chatted- Charlotte is a chatter just like me- and our Sunday night visits have resulted in my knowing some very interesting facts about Charlotte. 

1.  She has over 200 pen pals.  Has had for years and years.  She limits “pals” now, only taking on a new one if they are her “birthday twin” (having the exact same birthday) but she made an exception and took on my youngest daughter for a while, she being way more faithful than my daughter.

2.  Charlotte was reunited with a man who was her teenage sweetheart , and married him several years ago. They each seem to try to outdo the other in doing thoughtful things for each other. 

3.  Charlotte has never driven, and one of the things she loves so much about Tony is that he is such a cheerful and obliging chauffeur. 

4.  Charlotte and Tony like to travel.  Not to just anywhere though- they target certain places.  Like any town named Charlotte or Louisville, and there are way more of those than I ever dreamed.  They’ve been to Hell, Purgatory, and Perdition.  Last week they went to a town in Mississippi to see a cemetery that Charlotte had read about where someone had built a small playhouse on their daughter’s grave.  She has had her hair cut at Floyd’s barber shop in Mayberry, NC.

5.  When they travel, Charlotte gets her picture made in front of the post office of every town they stop in. 

6.  Charlotte buys a Christmas gift for every single one of her pen pals and for every single one of her favorite customers, and usually has them all wrapped long before Thanksgiving.

7.  Her brother died of AIDS years ago, and she has heard that there is a square on the AIDS quilt in his memory, and she dreams of getting to see it.

8.  Charlotte and Tony spent weeks recently making a Monopoly game for our family using family pictures on the board and money.

Charlotte had a birthday recently.  She has asked many times if we could get together for lunch sometime, so I finally got myself in gear, and took her out today for her birthday.  Of course, her chauffeur came along!

Wednesday Link Love

Loving these colors for fall

And isn’t this great fun?!

Oh my, I have a love affair with paper dolls.  Aren’t these wonderful?!

Anybody tried this?  I think I must!

Great idea for an invitation.

Add this to the list of things I would make if I sewed.

I made one of these tonight! Very easy, very fun.

This picture just cracks me up!

Music Monday

I love this video because it shows a lot of footage of Lyle as a baby and as a child and of his parents. Of course, there are also shots of he and his girlfriend.........

Edit, Add, Appreciate

Edit-  On top of Sunday nights being a historically blue point in my week,  I’ve just come back from dropping S back off at college.   I get so so excited when my kids are coming home for the weekend.  I think of it all week long, planning what to cook to send back with them,  thinking of all the things I want to hear about, and it’s all I can do to not sit on the porch waiting (which I actually did this week!!).   DH is usually the one to bring them home, and I get the sad job of taking them back.  This is my second year of doing this, and I STILL feel sad all the way back home.  Will that ever change?  Next year I won’t even have one of them to ride back with me as K will be gone too.  I’d like to find a cure for those Sunday night blues.

Add-  My sweet sweet sister-in-law and her equally sweet daughter came for a visit from Ohio yesterday.  For the greater part of their childhood, she was the chord that held DH’s  fragile life together.  Now that they are adults and even though we don’t see her nearly enough, she remains his anchor.  I am grateful beyond words for her, and for her whole precious family.  Why, oh why,  do we go so long without seeing them?  We need to add in some Ohio time soon.

Appreciate-  Tuesday marks the end of another Farmer’s Market year.  My admiration for the farmers who bring such goodness to that market just grows and grows.   Theirs is hard and honest labor, and the slightest variations of weather can completely set them back.   I am grateful for the life lessons that they, in their resilience, have taught me.

Eight Things

I’ve mostly been absent this week because I’ve been enjoying my evenings around my fire bowl.  The crackle and the smells have brought back some good memories- so today’s 8 things are 8 fires I have made memories around.

1.  Camping as a child- my mother could throw down a mighty fine meal cooked over the fire.

2.  Hayrides at Mr. Stoltz’ farm as a youth.   When I look now at the size of that farm, I realize that he must have just gone in circles to go as long as he did before we got to the campfire, but we never noticed. 

3.  The campfire at Camp Shanituk, my Girl Scout camp.  It was there we could put our hand crafted situpons to good use, and make those foil packets of campfire stew!

4.  Burning the Christmas tree every New Years Eve at Suzanne’s house.

5.  Church retreat at Camp Kavanaugh.   This one is full of traditions.  It follows the talent show.  Earle always goes ahead and gets it ready and has it blazing.  No one ever remembers to look for marshmallow sticks in they daylight so there is a lot of blind searching in the dark for those.  The adults always try to get away with singing Pass It On and KumByYah, just to mortify the kids.

6.  The barrels spewing fire at the haymarket at night when we would go down to pick out a Christmas tree.

7.  Of course,  Camp Loucon.

8.  And now in my own backyard.

Wednesday Link Love

A table or a mantle of these for the dark fall nights, or the Thanksgiving table would be nice.

And one or two (or seven or eight) of these just about any time would be nice.

Oh my! Does this wall spark my interest!

Love love love the vintage bathing suits, especially for a beach house!

While it would be a pretty small collection at our house, this would be fun to have/do.

Ackkkkkkkkk- I love this so much! When my girls were 7 and 8 we came out on Valentines Day to a wonderful huge colorful heart on the sidewalk and a message from our very thoughtful friends Kate and Paul, and I bet they never ever forget that day.

I’m not saying my age, but if I were to pick up this idea this year on my November birthday , I’d be celebrating well into the new year……..

I loved having puppet and finger puppet shows as a child. This looks easy (hah) and fun!

Gotta box? Here are some very fun Halloween costume ideas….

I predict that there may be a bit of booing going on around my neighborhood sometime soon……

Oh, I wish I had done this 10 years ago!

Sorry to give you such an overload, but I couldn’t figure out what to cut. One final thing- I’ve been a blog lover for a very long time, and have followed some of the better known blogs (including Julie’s from Julie and Julia). One that I loved was Stpehanie’s because I love to read about other people’s lives especially other moms. I was following this one when this sweet family went through a horrible ordeal and am watching this amazing woman re-craft a life. It’s worth taking a few moments to have a look. Be sure to watch the video linked in the article.

Music Monday

So, tomorrow is the day!  The release date for Lyle’s latest. 

You can hear a sampling of each song here