Crisis Averted----revisted

Well, this morning certainly was a Monday! I began the day by starting my car and finding an ominous light on the dashboard. Remembering my oldest daughter's experience a week or so ago, I wasn't too worried. After all, this was the same light she'd seen and it only indicated changes in the tire pressure due to the new fall weather. Given the fact that a cold front had moved into our area, I was sure that I had nothing to fear. And so I went about business as usual.

After visiting three different schools this morning, I decided to stop by the car dealership to double-check the warning light. And while Rountree is a very pleasant place to visit, they are not known for their speed. So after waiting for almost an hour, the service manager came out to tell me that there was a nail in my tire and they had been able to repair it. I guess I was lucky after driving around on the nail for a while before getting it checked.

By the way, I think that's why the instruction manual says to "get it checked immediately".

Ornament Swap

For the past couple of years, both Jana and I have participated in a great ornament swap hosted by Freshly Blended and Cake + Pie. We had a lot of fun and got some great things from people all over the world.

This year, we've decided to try something new--an ornament swap between family members. We decided to begin with members of the Shaffer and Houston families---my parents' family. I sent out an email to a few of them yesterday and already have received several responses. After hearing from everyone, I will divide the names into swap groups and everyone can begin crafting. Actually, even those that aren't into crafts can participate by exchanging homemade ornaments that they've purchased.

I hope that this is fun for all and that we get to know some family members that we didn't know so well before! If you are planning to participate, let me know, and we can send you a badge like the one at the right (compliments of my graphic designing daughter, Jana) to place on your own blog.

I Came. . . I Saw. . . I Junked!

"One person's junk is another person's treasure!" --Unknown

What a beautiful weekend! The weather was incredible and I spent most of it outdoors. Not that I was doing anything athletic like hiking or camping. Instead, I spent most of the weekend at Canton, TX with one of my best friends. Valine drove up Thursday night with several friends from South Louisiana who'd never been to the Trade Days before. Seeing it all through their eyes was great fun and they just couldn't seem to get enough!

I don't know if it was the beautiful weather or the hint of Christmas shopping in the air, but I've never seen such crowds of people before. In the pavilions, the shoppers were so thick that it was difficult to walk. So that meant that Valine and I soon left the covered areas to go "junkin' ". Now, that's our favorite part anyway, but we often spend time in the Trade Center or Arbors looking for gifts for our family and co-workers.

Out in the open air booths, you literally might see anything!








From tables of garage sale junk

to rows upon rows of antique furniture
waiting for new life.

There's the unusual---springy, jumping shoes or a bucket full of old arrows.

And there's the usual:

antique china, quilts and flatware.

And then there's the "hidden treasure",
in this case, Valine's vintage TAB carton!

On Saturday, we met for an early lunch (a wise choice after waiting in long lines the day before). Meeting us there were our usual Canton & Round Top buddies, Valine's Aunt Pam, Sandy and Pam. As we parked our carts we even ran into Lisa and her mother, so we posed for a quick picture. My favorite purchases included cotton pajamas, scraps of chenille, yards of grosgrain ribbon and a squirrel figurine (which ended up being a shared joke---but, I DIDN'T buy any birds this time, though tempted several times!) Of course, I was also able to pick up a few "stocking stuffers" for my favorite daughters!! Maybe some pictures of my purchases later . . . As for now--how about a nap!!