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! :)

Non-Ikea-ness.

Because I'm not 100% satisfied with the crafty area yet, you're going to have to be patient. To encourage patience, I've decided to show off our newly Halloweenish mantel. It's a mix of things we've bought, I've made, and gifts from my Mom, who's as into decorating for holidays as I am. Gee, wonder where it came from?
Lindsey thought it was quite funny that I left the wedding pictures up. He's threatening to tell people that we got married in October, just so it'll make sense. I guess that's better than telling people that our wedding was scary! (ha!) Towards the middle you can see two muffin tins that I gussied up for the season. I'm thinking about leaving them up through Christmas, & just changing out what's inside them. I bought them because they each have 8 cups instead of the usual 6 or 12. (See the close-up below...)


This is my "yard dog," straight from New Orleans. It came in very useful in the classroom, where my kids ALWAYS could remember the greater than & less than symbols. He also served as a very cool reward for good behavior. I've been told more than once that it's cruel to own this thing, but remember that alligator meat IS widely eaten in Louisiana, and using the head is WAY better than just throwing it away. Now, of course, he's outfitted for the season, courtesy of some creative cutting suggested by Lindsey. (I really hadn't planned to include him on the mantel.)

Some very productive scouring of the Value Village Halloween shelves resulted in these two lamps. The one on the right has a flickering bulb! They definitely crack me up. Who in the world invented them? They're crazy fun. It's like the plug-in candles you put in your window at Christmas - only for Halloween? People will buy anything! ;)

Anyway, that's enough showing off for one evening. Hope everyone is having a great start to the week!

Heureusement, IKEA est la!

Massive trippage to the IKEA. Massive. All in the name of getting this house ready for people to see it. Some results will be visible this evening. Stay tuned. All I'm telling you is that there is now a craft space. mwahahahahahah.

Wowza!

My very cool Holiday Sister Swap partner, Miss Jeannie (or Jean Knee, if you read her hysterical blog), sent me this happening card over the weekend. It is made out of a paper bag, and it rocks. At first, I decided I was going to send one of these to everyone I know. I was so determined on this front that I actually picked up a paper bag that had been carelessly tossed on the sidewalk while Lindsey & I were walking last night. (It did not, contrary to his expectations, contain any kind of illegal substance, or even smell like pot. So there.)

Then, I woke up, and looked around this extremely messy house, & realized that in order to have the Halloween party of the century on October 27th, I'd probably be better off cleaning that making cute cards.

In lieu of actually receiving a card, you can just admire this one, and maybe be inspired to make some of your own. (That's for those of you down in Jackson, enjoying your fall break...)

It's sitting on top of a very cool galvanized tub, that will be in action on the 27th, as well.

In case you haven't figured it out, this post serves only 2 purposes:
1) to thank Jeannie for this great card
and
2) to issue a save-the-date for the Halloween party of the century, on Saturday, October 27th, at 6:00 pm, chez nous. (Evite is forthcoming later in the week.)

Swap?

I signed up for my former swap partner Amy's Trick or Treat Swap - and you can, too! Sign-ups close today, if you're interested. :)

Head over to Crafting by Candlelight.

Contrasts

As you may recall, I joined Torrence on Sunday to see the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's live recording of La Bohème. (I'd like to apologize to all French speakers for the lack of accent grave over the first "e." Blogger won't let me. Hmpf.) (ETA: My own personal computer geek, Barrett, sent me the html to get the accent. He's really something.) It was wonderful, particularly this aria. Listen to it first, then read the subtitles. Hysterical, really, how gorgeous it sounds till you realize what she's saying! Torrence & I were talking about how hard it is to read & listen simultaneously. I, being a gigantic dork, also am trying to pick out words that are the same in French & Italian.

On the way out of Symphony Hall, two guys were discussing whether or not this was superior to RENT. RENT is (loosely) based on La Boheme, and ends equally darkly. I cried at the end of both, surprise, surprise from the girl who cries at butter commercials. Anyway, I'll leave the final judgment up to you. Here is my favorite song from RENT. Does it stack up?

PSA: Ignore both videos. They detract from the music. Click on the links, & listen while you continue wasting time on the Internet. ;)

In other world news, it seems like maybe there won't be a revolution in Burma. It really seemed like they had a chance this time. If you haven't read the amazing story of Aung San Suu Kyi, you really should. It's inspiring. She basically redefines perseverance.

Locally, a small measure of success was achieved for the Metro environment by some angry folks. Stone Mountain, in the midst of the worst drought in a century, was using 38 gallons of water PER MINUTE to make enough ice to create a snow hill for this winter. They were stopped today by some quality AJC reporting, and angry citizens. Gives you a little faith in our country.

8 things I learned today:

1) Just because it's fall doesn't mean you can leave your car windows down overnight. Some kind individual will come by, ransack your car (you won't BELIEVE how much junk hides in your glove compartment), and take all your loose change. Fortunately, if you have recently stopped living out of your car, it's all they can take.

2) People who go through other people's cars do not like Norah Jones or 10,000 Maniacs. They leave those CDs alone.

3) When you think your cat has adjusted to being an indoor cat, she will stalk the door, waiting on you to open it, and then escape outside. Once outside, she will act as if she has no idea who you are, until you scare her back in the door.

4) Should you decide to go to the zoo to escape the very bad day you are having, you may encounter rude people, who shove their cameras in front of you in order to take a picture of an animal they can see equally well from their portion of the fence.

BUT:

5) Baby pandas take extremely precious naps at about 4:00 in the afternoon. They collapse over horizontal poles, with their legs dangling. Amazing. (The picture up there is a not-very-close approximation.)

6) Meerkats like to watch people. Particularly if one meerkat is on guard, and the others are combing their hair.

7) Girl lions chase & antagonize boy lions, who in turn play hard to get.

8) Elephants dance! Really! They wave their ears back & forth & shift their weight. Very cool for something that weighs 14,000 pounds.

I've decided that I came out ahead on the lessons front, particularly in regards to the car. I am actually quite famous for leaving the window down, but before my only consequence has been a car seat wet from dew (or rain). Maybe now I'll remember?