Run Lori Run!

Her Gift

Ah, Caper was a good ol' girl. Her sweet, generous, loving spirit will be missed.

Caper was a pure spirit, full of love and affection. A gift. A blessing.

Gratitude

                   Bert and I, Colleen and Greg

Things I'm thankful for these days:

• Autumn.  I am trying to be outdoors more this season instead of starting my hibernation too early.  I would rather be inside with a cup of hot chocolate and the whole first season of Downton Abbey instead of raking leaves. 
• Friendship. More specifically, the friendships I've developed through blogging. When I decided to start a blog years ago I had no idea how influential and important your friendship would be.  And I had never met any of my blogging buddies in person until I met Colleen and now she is one of my dearest friends. She reminds me of Joseph Campbell because she's an amazing writer (now published!!!) and because she is a voracious learner.   Sara always has spot-on book recommendations for me.  And Tiffany recently reminded me I should be planting garlic NOW.  And thanks to her I heard this beautiful song. (Yes, I know I must be the only person left on the planet who hadn't heard of them...)

             

• My amazing Bean. I think I will always be afraid that my teenage daughter might turn into an alien at some point but right now I am so grateful to have the relationship we do.  It amazes me sometimes how much love you can feel for one little being- a rumpled up combination of confidence and insecurity, interested in everything, deciding her fate, planning her life, charting her course.  Bubble tea, sushi, sketchbooks, music. Kindness. Silliness. Her laughter drifting down the stairs.

What are you thankful for these days?

Autumn

The leaves are turning and it has been a beautiful autumn so far but I'm disappointed that I haven't been out to take more pictures. I'm a fair-weather photographer... We made crockpot applesauce again this year which is an all time favorite: apples and a couple cinnamon sticks on low for about 6 hours and you're good to go. I just core and quarter them leaving the skins on and then use an immersion blender at the end to incorporate them into the sauce later. It's easy and delicious and no sugar is needed.

Hope you're having a lovely week!

Hunger Games Obsession

Does that beard look familiar?

Beanie has been working at her Uncle's restaurant lately, for spring break, and as you can see my girl has again found a way to bring a Sharpie into her work. I think she keeps them in her pocket...

The Hunger Games have officially invaded our house. We have a full-fledged obsession going on over here...

So have you read the books? Are you as obsessed as we are?  What did you think of the movie?  (No spoilers please, I'm only beginning book two!)

Creating Color

We spotted this beauty on the way home the other day and it reminded me of all of the photos like this one:

...that I have collected on Pinterest. And since I will never actually have room in my home for a rainbow library, I decided to make myself my very own rainbow bookshelf.

It's the little things, isn't it?

 And do you want to know what else is making me smile these days? Having my daughter text me photos like this one from art class. You know how you think your kid is pretty talented at something and then they turn a corner and *POW* they are amazing?   

 

What's bringing happiness your way these days?

DIY Holiday

Ever since I saw this post on Ella's blog, I knew this was something Beanie would love. Using this pen she created an awesome gift. Care to give it a try? Look at this for some cool ideas.

We're on a roll over here.

Felt Advent Calendar

I found many cool advent calendars on the internet which inspired me. And I had a bit of help from Olive...

Not Feeling It

Every October we lug the orange plastic bin out of the basement and dutifully string up the pumpkin lights and hang the goulish decorations around the house. Usually, I'm all over it on October 1st. But this year...meh. I'm just not into it.

Eating half of our halloween candy didn't get me in the mood so...

We made severed finger cookies.

They look quite a bit more disgusting than I expected but they taste really good! And they were gleefully received by the Bean who took them to her school's Halloween party: middle schoolers + blood & gore = jumping for joy right? I thought Mom would have scored some points...but, alas, they were too gross and no one ate them.

I Need A Psychic

Dear Blogging Friends,

I need a psychic.

I know many of you may not be paid, professional psychics but... you have children. Tweens. Teenagers. Young adults.  You have been down this parenting road, climbed the mountain, navigated the jungle, scaled the... you know what I mean.

So tell me my future. I have a daughter who is twelve. Middle School. Right now is great- we still talk. She still tells me stuff. I'm still sort of cool despite my apparent need to appear on What Not To Wear.

So...

When does it happen?  When does her head start spinning around and fire start shooting out of her eyes?

Signed,

Your Panic-Stricken Friend

Ollie

Oh, what a week. 

It should be common practice to make sure your cat is not asleep behind your tire when you back out of the driveway.

Or she will come home from the hospital with one fewer legs than she had before.

But she is a trooper, that girl.  Lot's of treats, lots of pain meds that hake her loopy. Lots of love. Lots of guilt. But it could have been a lot worse.

We are just happy she is back home again.