Tales of a Shoebox Princess

I've spent most of the day by myself. Hayley ditched me for friends and shopping, and Jim and Matt went on a bike ride in Wisconsin. The trail was an old rail line that had been converted to a bike path. They went 22 miles on it from Elroy to Sparta. The weather was perfect for a long bike ride. The trees were decked out in their finest fall colors. They went through two tunnels, one a half mile, and the second was nearly a mile. Jim says you could see the dot of the light at the other end, but it was a LONG tunnel, you think you'd walked a long way, and then you'd look back and the entrance behind you was still closer than the one you were walking to. To make it even more challenging, it was dark. There were no lights in these tunnels and they had to walk the bikes the entire length. Jim brought a couple of headlamps along which was a good thing because some of the kids didn't bring flashlights. The other thing about the tunnels was that they were surprisingly cold a...

And all over my rooms, appeared pumpkins, and witches astride their wood brooms. It's that time of year, I've looked forward with glee to putting out decorations for All Hallow's Eve! Jim got the box down this morning (and I think there is another box still to bring in) and I'm going to be preparing the house for the onslaught of orange and black, which means I have to remove the clutter from tabletops and piano tops and half walls and shelves, and then dust all horizontal surfaces that will be hosting decorative ornaments of the Halloween variety. New this year to the Halloween menagerie are: Ceramic pumpkins that Jim bought for me while vacationing in Cali. The purple one might make an appearance at Kate's MN reception. Keep an eye out for it. Halloween subway print a friend gave me A vinyl sticker I expertly applied to a pre-painted board A candy corn dish from my mother who knows I love candy corn. It has already held two bags of disappe...

(The title is based on the favorite movie of 18-year-old me. I still like the movie but I haven't watched it in ages because I would have to avert my eyes from the scene at the pond. These days, I don't feel like averting my eyes. PS two actresses in A Room with a View were in the Harry Potter movies)(Another bit of trivia that I find interesting: I just looked up A Room with a View on IMDb, and the younger brother of Lucy Honeychurch--played by Helena Bonham Carter--was played by Rupert Graves, who has recently played Lestrade in the BBC production of Sherlock.  !!) I took a short break from work today to look for a dress. Long story short: Don't I look happy? The white ankle socks will not be part of the outfit. Now for jewelry and shoes. Do I go with black shoes? The other wedding color is silver, but I'm not sure silver would go with this dress since the beading is all purple. I think black shoes and black jewelry would be best. Opinions?

We're 8 days into the school year, and Matt has already had a band concert. I thought Matt was joking when he said he had a concert, but he kept insisting and then I got an email from the band teacher. The 8th grade bands from both middle schools played together at the high school for the Fall Community Fest. They stood outside the high school in a marching formation (without the actual marching). I realize Matt has been growing up, but I can't tell you how weird it was to see him waving to GIRLS. And they waved back! I managed to take a few pictures. Ignore the cheesy smile. He was being goofy. He's not so short anymore. He is almost average. Please ignore the fact that his trombone sleeve is on upside down. He even tried to fix it, but it didn't work. He insists he got an upside down sleeve. Dimple! Sidenote: Matt is really looking A LOT like his oldest brother.

I was sitting here at the table at my laptop and I reached out to put my hand on the mouse. I moved it around, but the cursor didn't move. I was perplexed for a nanosecond, then I realized that A) the mouse didn't feel like a regular mouse, and B) I don't have a mouse for the laptop, and C) I had my hand on my cell phone. Aside from the fact that it proves I might have lost a couple of marbles, I had a good laugh. Jim was standing next to me and I told him what happened. He said, "That's next--an app that will turn a cell phone into a mouse." What a great idea! I wonder if anyone else has thought of it? It's too bad I'm not proficient at programming, otherwise, I'd be figuring out how to make the idea reality.

...after being a single parent for a week, teaching seminary, and working. Oh yeah, and in the middle of planning for a wedding. 1. I like eggplant only as a color. There is a lot of the color eggplant going on in my head right now since that is the color Kate wants (along with silver) as a decorative theme for this wedding of hers. 2. I will never ever ever eat eggplant ever. I don't like tomatoes either, but I will eat chili, spaghetti sauce, ketchup and the occasional slice on a Wendy's single with no cheese. If ketchup, chili, or spaghetti sauce were made with eggplant, I would not eat them.  3. Ever. 4. The TV is on in my room. I am not in my room. I am wasting electricity. Mom used to charge us a nickel every time she walked into the basement room I shared with my sister and the light was left on and we weren't in the room. I'd be destitute if mother did that now at my house. Not only do I leave lights on when I leave a room, sometimes even when I leave th...

Jim and I had a mini vacation Friday and Saturday. We drove all the way up to Canada, but weren't able to cross the border. One of these days we have to get passports. We went to the edge of Voyager's National Park, but again, didn't go in. This time, lack of a boat and camping supplies kept us from entering. We saw childhood homes of two famous people during our trip--Judy Garland and Bob Dylan. The Dylan house is a regular residence where someone lives and we felt like we had to be secretive about taking a picture. Some pics from our trip: I allowed myself to be photographed. That way you know I'm a real person. Bob Dylan's childhood home. There was a street sign near it that said "Bob Dylan Drive." Other than that, there isn't any signage that this is the house. We looked it up on the internet and drove around until we found it. A giant inflatable loon on a lake in the city of Virginia. Why is it there? I don't know. Sculptur...