weekend highlights

Weekend highlights:

1. A stop at the mill for some fresh cider. You can watch them at work on Saturday afternoons.

2. My favorite football team, AND J's favorite football team both won their games.

3. I found some fabric I liked (on sale too) and made some seat cushions for the wicker rockers we bought a few weeks ago for our tv area.

4. Rented and watched Monsters vs. Aliens. It was as cute and enjoyable as we had heard. Fun to watch!

5. Added some great new beads to the Etsy shop.

6. Went to church. The church we have been attending in our new community is a bit different from what I've been used to for many years. In our new church (that has wonderful people!), I was spending most of my time focusing on what to do when, and being really nervous I'd do something odd or out of place, that while it was very welcoming, it hadn't been comfortable yet. Probably pretty normal for anything new. Today? It felt like a comfortable routine. I was pretty happy about that.

7. Got to spend an hour on the beach. While the breeze was a bit chilly, the sun was out and for November, it was an especially beautiful day.

8. And I finally talked myself into painting the bathroom. Fun? Well, uh..... Glad to have it done? You better believe it!

thursday

I've always really liked Thursdays, and I don't know why. They tend to be the day of the week I have the most to do--whether it was all the music lessons and rehearsals that happened on Thursdays in middle school, or the longer work days at the bead shop on Thursdays--maybe because Thursdays are full of stuff I like so much? Yesterday was no exception.

The priority was packaging up a bunch of really pretty beads to go to their new homes, and a little package of sterling silver scrap to send to the refinery. I like how they turn a pile of sterling silver head pin ends (a hardware component used in earrings) into a check in my mailbox a week or so later.

And, if I take the correct route, down the street that runs behind the post office, past Tip a Few Tavern, home of some really gigantic and tasty burritos, to the harbor, drive along the channel, I end up at a favorite place.

It was a day to soak up some sun. November has been gentle so far, and people were out soaking in some vitamin D.

This young woman was studying or reading....had the beach to herself. In a hot day in July, there would be thousands of people on this sand.

If you go to the end of the pier (maybe the pier itself is 1/4 - 1/2 mile long?), and look straight down, this is what you'd see on a calm day.

Sun and sand and water.

I joined the ranks of those who enjoyed the sunshine, and perched on a boulder next to the pier for awhile. At first, I thought this guy was fishing--nope--he to was enjoying the warm beams and the soft wavy water.

I spent a few minutes sitting atop a sand dune for a bit too....the breeze was a little cool, and blocked the wind. The sand was warm, the water was sparkling....wow.

a friend

My friend Janelle has a business that offers amazing scrapbooking and papercraft supplies (and my favorite, ribbon!). She inspires and encourages so many people who create beautiful scrapbooks--heirlooms--and other treasures, for their families.

Janelle is a talented businessperson and a heck of an entrepreneur. While she is at it, she finds ways to extend kindness and goodwill wherever she goes. She lives the idea of paying it forward, and she has been a wonderful cheerleader for the key Fobs for the Food Bank project. She is even featuring it on her blog. Click here to check it out.

outgoing

Beads, dressed up and ready to go to their new home. Biz has been keeping me really busy and I'm lovin' it.

autumn

We've had a wonderful run of days in the 50s and 60s. J has been cleaning up leaves for days...there are a lot of trees around here. The yard looks wonderful! The leaf eater mulches them up and they make great mulch for the garden.

A few mums and the parsley are peeking out of the leaves.

The yard and garden are waaaay bigger than we're used to, so the past few months have been a chance for us to settle into a new yard maintenance routine. Going from a postage stamp to nearly 3/4 of an acre, we've just been focusing on routine upkeep.

I'm excited that I'm starting to have some ideas about what I'd like to do with the yard to personalize it a bit. It is a great piece of land, but there is little to stop the eye from going and going and going and going to the first available vertical visual interest. That visual, vertical stopping point is provided by the the tall grass on the vacant lot behind us, and the neighbors brush pile to the south. Perhaps a bit of fence along the outside edge of each garden, and some oranmental grasses to provide some privacy when we sit outside at the table...hmmmm.....

update

It has been a very beady couple of days. The Etsy shop is full of new gemstones, and I just finished placing an order from a favorite west coast wholesaler. Yepper. Good stuff.

fobs for food pantry

The Ice Cream Series: Mint Chocolate Chip (1 available), Blueberry Chocolate (1 available), Strawberry Chocolate (sold out)

Swiss Dots:currently available: light pink on light pink, black on yellow, lime on purple, lime on navy, light pink on royal, yellow on navy

I'll be working on this project through Thanksgiving, and will feature it here on the blog once a week at the most. These key fobs are 3.75 inches long, made from twill or grosgrain ribbon, durable cotton webbing and metal hardware. They make great gifts for teachers, neighbors, friends, dance instructors, mail carriers and more. They are available, along with many other style options, as part of this blog's Fobs for Food project. Please click here to learn more.

Cute as a Bug (sold)

Turkey (2 available)

Peppermint (1 available)


Whoville (one available)



Snowfolks (sold)

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Back to our regularly scheduled blogging tomorrow!