The Fire Is So Delightful

My favorite feature of my whole house is my fireplace. And my favorite thing to do----sit in front of the fireplace with a throw over me and knitting needles in my lap!!!

The temperatures have dropped in the last couple of days and it's quite chilly when I take my morning walk. In fact, it's been cold enough that I need to wear gloves and a headband to cover my ears. The weather has been beautiful, but as it cooled down again late this afternoon, I brought in firewood and lit the logs for the first time this season. As relaxing as it is for me, it is taking a bit of time for Emmi to get used to the new "thing" by the hearth. She barked and glared and tried her best to protect me, but her eight pound body was no competition for that crackling noise and glowing light. She finally calmed down after a while when I put her up in my chair with me and has been quietly resting here ever since.

When I put up the Christmas tree this year, I wonder if she'll remember her arch enemy Christmas ornament from last year---the wooden Santa?

Stories In Hand

Well, today began the online course I'm taking at JessicaSprague.com . I've never done anything like this before, so it will be interesting to say the least. This "Stories In Hand" class will hopefully spark some good ideas for scrapbooking and even blogging. We'll see. This afternoon, I printed out the first sets of worksheets to go in a binder, but haven't yet trimmed them or punched holes in them. (that is NOT mine pictured above) I guess that means that even though it's the first day, I'm already behind. Not a good sign!

Here is the Church, and Here is the Steeple . . . .

As a child, my parents took me to church on a regular basis. We generally went to the "early service" and sat in our regular spot up in the balcony. We pretty much went to church every Sunday, unless we were sick or out of town. We lived on the complete opposite side of town from the church and the effort it took to go there was great in those days. As an extremely bashful, introverted teenager, I sometimes longed to go to a church in my neighborhood where my school-mates were----somewhere I already had friends and didn't have to work so hard to "fit in".

But, through the years, I stuck it out. With my mother's encouragement, particularly, I tried inviting friends from my neighborhood to go with me on Sunday nights----giving me the courage to be there and someone to talk to when everyone else segregated themselves into school groups.

As I got older, went to college, got married and then had children, I went through periods of time that I didn't go to church very regularly and even visited other churches. I wanted to be sure that the church I chose was "my church" and not just the church of my parent's choosing. But, over and over again, I found that I had a feeling of "home" each time I came back to Noel and a sense that it was where I was to be. And it has become that---a place I belong and where I can worship and serve the way I was born to.

Once a parent, I followed that same example set forth by my parents. The girls and I attended church every Sunday and they were involved in Sunday School, youth group and mission trips.
While I used to consider my life quite boring by most standards, I have to admit that there have been some particularly rough spots---times that I never dreamed I would have to face and certainly never wanted my children to have to go through! Yet, through them all, my church family has been there for us, surrounding us with love, prayers and support and reminding me of the Greater Love. I honestly do not know how people make it through life without that kind of support system and pray that each of my girls experience that same kind of love and spiritual support.

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to visit church with Jana for the first time. I'd met (and immediately liked) her pastor at their wedding, but this was the first opportunity I'd had to attend worship with her. She's been a member there for just a couple of years at most and has become involved in many aspects of church activities and leadership.

While I've always known what an amazing person Jana is, to see the connections she has with these people (who are strangers to me), filled me with such joy and warmth. They love her and respect her and support her. She has found "her place" and I know that she has formed ties there that will never be broken.

Home Sweet Home

Last weekend, I had a great time visiting Jana and Rob in Atlanta, GA. As luck would have it, they closed on their new house the day before I arrived, so I was one of the first people to get to see it! Jana attended a teaching job fair Saturday morning and then I rode up to Buford with Don and Sally to get the grand tour. I don't really know how large a place Buford is because we never went into "town", but Mill Creek subdivision is far enough out of the bustle of the city that it felt like we were in the middle of the country. Upon entering the subdivision, the streets were lined with maple trees that were ablaze in red!! It was beautiful and something that I certainly never see in Louisiana!
It seems that they got an amazing deal on the place----the house is only a couple of years old with plenty of room for a young family. Their lot backs up to open farmland, which adds to the rural feel. After church on Sunday, Jana and I hit a few fabric stores and IKEA (by the way, the Joann's in Duluth is AMAZING!!) and came away with the makings of new curtains and pillows. The living room curtains were completed that night and hung the next morning. We also made a stop at Michael's where I purchased about $10 worth of autumn flowers and ribbon to re-furbish the "tired" wreath that had been hanging on the front door. This is the new and improved version:We moved the sewing machine up to the new house and spent all day Monday working on bedroom and kitchen window coverings. All that sewing got my creative juices flowing and made me wish I could stick around to help her finish things. I even packed as much of the fabric as possible in my suitcase, so maybe I'll get a few more projects finished for them before they come here for Thanksgiving!

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!!