Thanksgiving 2013

 "Take care of all your memories ... For you cannot relive them."   Bob Dylan

Mom and Dad hosted Thanksgiving dinner again this year at 968 Audubon. Here is the pretty dinner table set for 10.

Lovely hors d'oeuvres!

Flowers from Patsy and Jim were gorgeous!

Turkey Lurkey attended.

Sam - no doubt smiling at something Nolan was doing. Nolan was the only child this year, so we all enjoyed watching him.

This is me taking a rest from the kitchen. And Gavin never left that spot on the couch all day.

Nolan with his Mommy and Daddy.

Nolan played with his Thomas Trains on the coffee table most of the day.

Nolan enjoyed moving the footstool wherever he wanted it.

I wish I had gotten some group pictures that day. Here's who attended this year: Mom and Dad, Sam and Gavin, Nate, Jess and Nolan, Andrew and Mike, and myself. A lovely time was had by all!

Ethan and Avery had bad coughs and fevers and stayed home with Heather. They were missed!

My Shop On Etsy

Have you heard of the online shop called Etsy? I have set one up called Life Ephemera. I love that word - ephemera. I am selling some of the things I have collected over the years. I am just listing items I can put in a box and ship easily. I have sold one thing so far! It was a cute brown and cream colored mug set that said You and Me on them. I sent them to California! 

So, if you'd like to visit my shop, just click on the Etsy sign above. It will take you directly to my shop and you can see what it's all about. 

Me and Mr. Riley

 Have I mentioned I am working? It's supposed to be part-time, but so far it has been full time. I am working in Greenfield, Indiana, with the Riley Festival organization. After much preparation, the festival was held last weekend. The festival is held in honor of James Whitcomb Riley, the great American poet, who was born in Greenfield, Indiana. It is a three-day event, with two parades, entertainment, craft and food vendors. 

Here is a self portrait of myself and Mr. Riley in the office.

The drive to Greenfield in the morning through the country is a pretty one. I snapped this picture of a cornfield in the morning sun on the drive in one day.

Praying mantis are the neatest things. They are like tiny prehistoric insects. I love to find them in the Fall.

At one of the parades, school children place bouquets of flowers at Mr. Riley's statue in front of the courthouse.

I wandered into an old building one day and discovered a ballroom on the third floor. Loved this sign on the bathroom door.

I happened to see this old light fixture in the hallway.

This picture doesn't do justice to this magnificent stained glass window.

And that's what's been happening in my world lately.

Funny Pics!

I take a lot of pictures, some are better than others. Some are more appropriate than others. Today I want to share some of the ones that make me laugh.

These folks settled on the bench in front of me at the last music festival I went to - the Folky Fish Fest (isn't that a great name?) I just had to get a picture of them. They were much more interested in drinking beer than enjoying the music. The first girl's t-shirt says, "Bare if you Dare." The next guy could not keep his pants up. And the third girl has a big red mark on her arm from wrestling with the guy a few moments before.

Here is another guy at the same festival.  "I got a Gun for my Wife - Good Trade". Really? Not to mention "Burn 1". I bet his mother is so proud.

Total switch here. At Nathan's birthday party, we had party favors. The mustaches were a big hit with the young and the old. (Sorry, Mom!)

Taxidermy exhibit. I don't know why, but they struck my funny bone. They were so proudly displayed at an art festival.

On my trip to San Diego this summer, my sisters and I had a great time on the beach.  These pictures are hilarious! (There are more, sisters!)

Another San Diego beach picture. My sister loves the sunsets on the beach - what's not to love? Here she is in a Zen moment. It's really a pretty good picture, just not your normal pose.

On the 4th of July, my 1 year old grandson pushed this cooler from the back of the house all the way down the driveway. He loves to move furniture, too.

Here is another grandson. I took him to a craft fair called the French Market. I love how he has his pinky up!

Here are my grandkids at a wonderful guitar exhibit at the Eiteljorg Museum. At least, I enjoyed it. I returned from examining the exhibits to find them in this pose on a bench waiting for me.

And finally, we had a luau for my granddaughter's birthday. Here is my son doing the limbo in a pink grass skirt. We all had a great time!

ALOHA!!

Going Gray

It has been 9 weeks since I have colored my hair. I have made a BIG decision. I am going to let my hair go to its natural color. Which is probably white. I have been thinking about doing this for a long time. 

When I started going gray, probably in my late 40's, I started getting root touch-ups. I could not face the thought of losing my beautiful red hair. Yes, I admit to having been vain about my hair all my life. It is my crowning glory! I have always loved being a redhead! 

I inherited my red hair from my mother's father, although I never met him. He died when my mother was 3 years old, and there are only a couple of pictures of him, all in black and white. My youngest brother also had red hair (now faded), and there is a distant cousin who inherited the gene. But all of my other siblings have brown hair. And neither of my children are redheads. I long for a redheaded grandchild, but none so far. See, redheads are rare! So I have hung onto my red hair over the years. 

But lately - I don't know. I haven't liked the way it looks. It almost ages me. It looks fake. My roots grow out too quickly. The dye doesn't "take" very well in areas. It is not my natural color now. I want to see how it really looks. I've got to go for it sometime. 

I have found support in the strangest places. My hairdresser, for one, is very excited to see how it looks. He promises to help me along the way. Both of my sons say, "What's the big deal?" Yeah, they think I'm old anyway. I found a group on Facebook called "Gray and Proud". There are many, many women going through the same process and supporting everyone by telling their stories and posting their pictures. 

This is a picture of my hair about a year ago when it finally started to get long (obviously edited). Color wasn't the issue - length was.

I have found that it is difficult to take a picture of the top of your head. This was taken about two weeks ago. See how the roots are beginning to show?

This is one of the pictures posted on "Gray and Proud". This is how I imagine my hair will look. Eventually.

I love this hair-do.

Another picture from "Gray and Proud". She is half-way there! 

These pictures give me hope. I know it will be a long road, but kind of an adventure too! Just another step into the next phase of my life. Oh my. And in my heart, I will always be a redhead!

My One True Indulgence

I am so far behind in my blogging. But today I am going to blog about my one true indulgence, thrift shopping. I went to the Goodwill Outlet store today. I think I have warned you before - the Goodwill Outlet store is only for the brave and hardy thrifter! But once you get the hang of it, treasures can be found for next to nothing. You put your cart on a scale and pay by the pound. You don't want to buy things like bowling balls, although I did buy one once to put in my garden. I think it cost around $7.00.

One of my favorite shows on PBS is "Lark Rise to Candleford". It is set in England in the 1850's. One of the main characters is the postmistress, who is fond of saying, "It is my one true indulgence!" She says this about a favorite item of clothing or a dessert or a glass of sherry. Everyone exchanges glances as she says it, but she ignores them. It has become my new favorite saying.

So here is my booty today. Tissue paper, a brand new kerchief showing the night sky, a stack of plain paper bags, a navy blue Relic purse, pink fabric printed with ukuleles, a white trash can, a cigar box, a ceramic owl mug, a stovetop percolator coffeepot, a new white lacy tablecloth, a throw rug, an orange sweater, vintage Christmas balls, and some blue and white china plates. Oh, and a wooden and canvas camp stool that I forgot to put in the picture because I was sitting on it. Okay, all this for $8.00.

Picnic, anyone? Here are the tablecloth and the pretty blue and white plates.

Very Autumny looking. 

What's not to love about this mug?

I just went camping last weekend and could have used this!

Here is another "tableau" of my treasures. Oh, I forgot to mention the cute painted letter "K". How could I pass that up?

I know, I know. It's gotta stop! But it's my one true indulgence. 

Butterfly Kaleidoscope

I am so far behind in my blogging. It has been a busy summer so far. I have been taking a lot of pictures and learning to edit on LightRoom. 

The first week of July, my great-niece Sophie came to visit from Arizona. She is 13, going into the 8th grade. One of the days she was here, I took her and two of my grandkids to the Butterfly Kaleidoscope exhibit at the Hilbert Conservatory, which is connected to the Indianapolis Zoo. 

There were beautiful butterflies everywhere!

Sophie was given her first cell phone to take on this trip and she enjoyed it thoroughly!

A view of the Conservatory from the Gardens.

At the zoo, we visited the aviary and saw lots of pretty birds.

Sophie tried for a long time to get this parakeet on her hand ...

and finally succeeded!

It was a fun day!!