Short Story Long

BFJ suggested a few days ago that we spend Saturday at Estes Park. On our way there, we had to stop at my favorite quilt shop, Quilting Hands, in Lyons. They've moved, for anyone (like me) who hasn't been there since last summer. As we entered Estes Park , there were three elk with velvety antlers by the side of the road. I got a couple of pictures of them as we were stopped at a traffic light but they are standing in front of the power plant and it just looks wrong. We passed the water wheel, and many fun shops as we walked through town. If you take little boys, a must-stop shop is the Ore Cart, where you can buy lots of shiny rocks. Luckily, everyboy had earned some spending money this week! There are lots of goodies shops: cookies, candies, etc. I can't recommend this shop (above) as a kid cannot try the Colorado Pebbles without buying 1/4 pound, and that is more money than a seven-year-old has! Sad. We saw lots of cute ornaments and Christmas decorations; lots of...

squash blossom Life is moving along; we are getting used to the school routine pretty well. Zoom's teacher sent home a letter explaining homework grades - a 3 for "met expectations," a 4 for "exceeded expectations." She must have explained this pretty well in class, he has made an effort most afternoons to do extra work. This usually amounts to random math sentences written on the back of the paper, but he wants a 4 . I am so glad he's enjoying it. May God bless Mrs. Miller real good. impromptu nap We have several pumpkins, one that's huge (for us), which is a volunteer, of course. Maybe it will be a jack-o-lantern in a couple months. My cinderella pumpkin seems to have stalled out and there are no ridges at this point, but I guess it would make an interesting addition to the fall mantle. We still have lots of annuals, like the verbena above. Last night, we had roasted chicken with lots of herbs from the garden, and corn on the cob wit...

The world is clear again.

I was given a blue papier-mâché hat to decorate for a church project. I made a couple of yo-yos, found a button, made a band. I love crafty stuff, even something little. I am looking forward to some holiday projects. We've had a packed weekend, including a marginal softball practice. I don't know if I'll stay on the team, I am due to have a conflict in a couple of weeks (beginning knitting.) If you know me personally, you may have to take a minute to get over the shock that I play team sports. I am a woman of many talents, some just shine brighter than others. My weekend just swept away. I am looking forward to Monday routine. The weather is getting nice around here: warm enough during the day to keep the veggies growing, cool enough at night to snuggle up in quilts, if you are lucky enough to have one. I don't, but BFJ shares his with me. (Well, I did make it.) I made several little quilts before I ever got to one big enough for me to snuggle under while I stitched. ...

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!! Aren't they a handsome couple? Last night, some guests arrived at our house. My uncle Burl is having heart surgery, and his family is here from out of state, staying at a hotel. My mom mentioned to me the other day that they were being asked to leave their hotel. Apparently the Democrats are more important than people in town for medical situations. Can you believe that? Here at Short Story Long, we like having visitors. Today, we are blessed to have Aunt Ruthie, and cousins Debra and Phil. It is fun to have relatives you hardly know staying with you. You can stay up late talking and hear all sorts of interesting things, like places other people live, and things your parents did when they were little. And it's fun to know that someone will return the favor someday. Speaking of the DNC, I hear from friends that all the post offices in Denver are closed, and they've removed the mailboxes from the streets . What? I guess if you ...

Or possibly it was the two walks to the school and back, with Mom.