Back to School

No, I'm not heading back to school.
Thank goodness, but
tomorrow the school bells will be ringing

to signal the first day of school here in Fort Collins.

I haven't had time to work 

on my projects and do any sewing this past week.

Instead I've been helping my daughter, Jessica 

get her fourth grade classroom set up.

She's switching grade levels
and has tons of things to do.

 

 She'll be working with the "big kids" now,
4th graders.

If you've ever been a classroom teacher,

or know somebody who is,

than you realize the time and effort and $

that most teachers put into their job.

 

The classroom environment 

sets the stage for motivation and learning

 and for good behavior.

Creating a warm, inviting
and well run room doesn't just happen.
It takes a lot of thought and planning to have

a colorful,

Interesting,

Functional,
and

 Engaging

start to the new school year.
I know of some lucky 4th graders
who are going to have a terrific year!

Until Next Time-

Never Fear

 I may be in a new location today,

but

never fear....

I'm still connected!

 Until Next Time-

Count Your Blessings

What a week it's been in 

Northern Colorado.

The rain just wouldn't stop and

the flood waters roared down the canyons

 (Photo courtesy channel 7 news)

taking everything with it

 as they

continued out onto the plains

flooding farm and pasture lands

leaving debris

and broken homes.

My move was only slightly

dampened by the rain,

but my home wasn't swept away by raging water

or flooded and ruined like so many others.

A few wet boxes is nothing like what others

have had to endure. 

My boxes will be unpacked and 

things will be put away,

but I am reminded continually

throughout the day as the

National Guard helicopters fly overhead

 searching and rescuing stranded families

 how blessed I am.

Until Next Time-

Change

Aristotle said.
Change in all things is sweet.

And
Heraclitus said,
There is nothing permanent except change.

I have a full disclosure to make:
There's a SOLD sign in my front yard.

Not quite what I was planning,
but through the course of many
events it's happening.

It's still a sense of disbelief,

but as the days move on
it's a feeling that I am now embracing.

This kind of change is
quite disruptive to the normal

ebb and flow of life.

It basically entails touching

every single object you have acquired in your home.

 Looking at all those things,

  and making a decision to keep
or discard.

Slowly, the disorder

becomes order as objects are packed

or dispensed to other happy recipients.

The hard part will be disconnecting

with this sweet house on the lake.

But we know
change brings opportunities.

And we're ready to make

those new discoveries.

Well, maybe once all these
blooming boxes are packed.

And our move is only about
5 miles away.

Until Next Time-

Don't Leave Home Without It

 Waiting is always hard.

Depending on what's going on,

even a few seconds can seem like an eternity.

I had to take the car into a tire repair place.

Have you been to one recently?

It's the happen' place.

There were 29 people waiting in the 

waiting area at 10 am on a Friday morning.

Even with the appointment that I made on line,

my wait was going to be about 1 1/2 hours.

Pity the poor folks who didn't make an appointment,

their wait time was about 3 hours.

Fortunately,

I always have some handwork to grab and go.

 These funny pumpkins made me smile

even while I had to wait.

The good news was that 

I was out and back on the road

 in 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Until Next Time-

Howling Coyotes

 One thing I was looking forward

to on our mini retreat was

a full night's sleep.

But it was not to be.

What do crying babies

have in common 

with

 howling coyotes?

They both think

3:00 am

 is a good time to start.

They are both very good at a long

continuous howl.

And they both seem to do it

for no apparent reason.

 As I laid in bed listening

to the coyotes,

I smiled and knew the same thing

was probably happening in

Denver.

 Until Next Time-

It's Friday

The week has gone from
 being able to do this

 to wearing

winter hats

Unfortunately, the week

included this

 Until Next Time-

Keep On Spinning

This week is my official week 

of starting to watch both of my grand kiddos.

 Sanford 10 1/2 months

 Everdeen 12 weeks 

Did you ever watch the Ed Sullivan show

and be enthralled by the guys who would do the 

plate spinning acts?

With a few substitutions

that will be me.

 

 Keep on Spinning!

Until Next time-

A Little Bit of Football

I'm not what you would call athletic.

 I don't watch a lot of sports on TV 

or rarely go to a live athletic event.

But this past weekend was

full of surprises.

  It was football

and Ag Days at 

  Colorado State University.

CSU was a land grand college

founded in 1870 so agriculture was key and still is.

 To commemorate that part of the university

you can sample

Colorado agriculture products 

 during Ag Days

and if you're lucky,

you can enjoy the company

of the former dean of the 

School of Natural Resources.

 There was beef, lamb, pork, beans and tators and more.

I discovered that the original colors of the college

were pumpkin and alfalfa.

Fortunately, the color scheme was changed  to

Green and Gold.

 And from Aggies to Rams.

The best part was that during the game 

we were guests in one of the sky boxes.

with a bird's eye view

and comfy seats

and good munchies.

I did watch a little bit of the game.

 Unfortunately,

 I didn't bring them good luck.

But, it was fun anyway.

Until Next time- 

Bag Lady

Every weekend I travel from Denver to Fort Collins. 

And then back again.

I've become a Bag Lady.

I'm not very stylish when I travel

back and forth.

Just toss it in a recycle grocery bag,

and off I go.

This week

you'll find in my bags,

some fall clothes,

vanilla bean paste,

powdered sugar

camera,

some hand stitching, 

and a chuck roast.

Not to worry,

that's in my cooler.

 Until Next Time-

A Few Random Thoughts

 I'm glad I was able to
work on a few of the
Just Takes Two blocks
that I had previously cut out.

 ****

  It's funny how a nickname can stick.

I never really had one as a kid.

But I can show you why

I call Ed,

"the Running Man."

****

Two special little
babies that make me smile.

Sanford
8 months

Everdeen

2 weeks

****

I'm blessed.

Until Next Time-