"String too short to use"

10) Great Green Greasy Gobs of Goo! I have had the worst cold of my life this past week. Yuk! That’s what happens when you have a little one in the house. Liam brought it home from day care and he and I have been suffering all week.

9) My creative juices are flowing along with my nose this week. The United Methodist Church in a little town south of here asked me to create paraments for the Advent season for their sanctuary. The unbelievably appropriate piece of fabric I found on ebay came in the mail yesterday so this afternoon I cut and assembled the altar cloth. This is my spiritual gift. It is what I do. It is how I become God’s instrument. I will post pictures when all are complete. They are lovely.

8) I got a new bag today. I have eight or more in the closet, but this one is fantastic. It is not huge, but it is substantial. It is made of a very shiny leather with brass accents. It has all the appropriate pockets, zippers, but NO flaps. I have discovered after much trial and error, I hate flaps on purses. The best part about this new bag is . . . it is plum! A very deep, dark plum color that almost looks black. Way cool!

7) Christmas is right around the corner. I am not done shopping, but I have a pretty good idea about who I am getting what. Not shipping much this year. Postage is outrageous, just like everything else, so if you don’t live close enough for me to put a gift in your hand, please enjoy the greeting cards sent your way, and rest assured donations to the local soup kitchen will be helping out the needy in our town. Best I can do.

6) Whew! We had a houseful of visitors November 1-3, and we all survived. Several guests even admitted they had a good time! It was a little crowded, and I would have preferred to have it after the election, but, oh well! We got through the weekend with all limbs intact and no fatalities.

5) We are working hard to get things winterized around here. We have sprinklers to blow out and antifreeze levels to check in the vehicles. I have some iris bulbs a friend gave me to plant and about a million other things needing to be done. I sometimes wonder why I like autumn so much. It is a lot of work. But, I love the smell and colors of fallen leaves. I love the crisp air and how the sky becomes a deeper blue in the fall. I love attending the football and soccer games at the high school where Chris teaches. I love this time of preparation before the holidays . . . the list goes on.

4) If you could go back to high school to relive one event as you wish it had been, what would it be?

3) Why is it when cats prepare to hurl they run to the nearest stretch of carpet or rug to do it. Do cats have a fear of puking on tile? It would make cat sick so much easier to clean up if they could just get past this unreasonable phobia. Hoarking onto tile is a good thing, why are cats not smart enough to know this? Course if I could get them to run for the toilet or ask for a bucket, that would be even better.

2) Little boys are delightful, or at least, mine is. He is starting to let go of things and stand. He even stood up all by himself in the middle of the family room a couple days ago. He has discovered that if he gets in behind the lace drapes in my office he is now tall enough to peek out the window, and of course, he loves to play in the drapes while he’s at it. So far he hasn’t destroyed anything significant, though he made quite the disaster of a piece of lemon cake last night, I have no doubt one of these days something I hold dear will be found in pieces in Liam’s wake.

1) Because Dad served in the Air Force, they presented my mother with an American flag at his memorial service, all folded neatly into a triangle by two dress marines while Taps was playing in the background. Yes. I cried. We all did. My question is this: I would like to get my mother a flag case to put it in, but I am unsure if this would be an appropriate Christmas gift or if I should give it to her now just because she is my mom and she would like to have it even though she doesn’t know it yet?