Sweet September

Here's Leila in some crazy-leg striped pants, wondering, "Mom, why do you dress me like this?"

Answer: "Because I can. Wa-ha-ha-ha!"

Leila still has her cold, but it's more of a nuisance than a true ailment now. Lots of nose-wiping, and if I don't keep her nose clean enough, Daddy starts looking for the q-tips (scary-- hide, Leila!).

Friday morning, as soon as the kids left for school, Leila and I headed for Eau Claire and the big children's consignment sale we go to twice a year. I was able to buy a baby swing, bibs, a boppy (a crescent-shaped pillow that can be used for breast-feeding or to help a baby sit up), some baby "board" books, a play mat, and clothes for all three kids.

When I came home from the sale I found a package in the mail, for Leila-- fun! It's always exciting to see something in the mailbox other than bills and junk. This was a big envelope filled with tissue paper and something soft, from Great Aunt Pat.

Pat is one of Grandma Jane's sisters (I mentioned her recently in an earlier blog). Anyway, she knit Leila this gorgeous hat, sending along a photocopy of the magazine cover that the pattern came from. Along with it was a note explaining that Grandma Jane had knit the same hat for Jon's sister Ann when Ann was a baby. Pat borrowed the pattern from Jane to knit a modern incarnation of the hat for Leila.

Isn't it remarkable that the original pattern and magazine has remained in use all these years, carefully preserved? What a contrast with today's throw-away culture, where things are cheaply made and discarded just as fast, so we can buy more cheap stuff (we even get tax rebates from the government, in hopes that we do our patriotic duty and buy more stuff).

Anyway, the knitted bonnet is BEAUTIFUL. Leila (and the other kids, as well) will have a treasury of home-made and precious items from family members. I will try to pin things with a note explaining who the maker was and keep a picture of her wearing or using the items along with them, before putting them into storage. Meanwhile, we'll use and appreciate these wonderful hand-crafted items we receive. We have quilts, afghans, sweaters, clothing and dolls hand-made by family members. What a precious legacy.

Speaking of gifts, someone had given us the above photo magnet, and I finally got around to inserting the photos and getting it displayed. It seems like this has become a recurrent theme for me lately, as I age and change (and observe the passage of time in the faces of our children and parents): "Family faces are magic mirrors where we see the past, present & future." I really get what that means, now. And I don't think it's depressing; I think it's wonderful, though a little sad when you consider the generations that came before us (and are no longer here) and the ones we'll never meet.

Mom and Dad came over Saturday, for lunch and a visit. This time there were no unpleasant surprises (you may recall our flat tire syndrome of the previous week). Dad was able to relax and even nap some.

We had a seasonal lunch of squash soup, home-made bread, and blackberry pie on the big "new" table off our patio (this time we used the two leaves, and found there's plenty of room for the fully-opened table in that spot).

There was beautiful weather here this weekend, and we were outside as much as possible. Mom and Dad got out and walked on our trail, and after they left we had a bonfire. We got rid of some scrap wood around the yard and let the kids roast marshmallows. Leila enjoyed the fire from her perch in the new baby swing.

Yesterday afternoon Michael and Emma attended a birthday party in Eau Claire-- their first time going to "Action City". The birthday boy's parents provided the transportation, so Jon and I kicked back with Leila for awhile-- him with football, me with a crossword puzzle. Then Jon mowed the lawn and I washed the outside windows.

I used newspaper to wipe the windows off, rather than a rag-- a little trick I picked up from Jon's sister Ann. It does the job without leaving any fibers on the windows. I used a ladder for most of the windows, but even so these windows were much easier to wash than the ones at our Eau Claire house. Leila supervised me from below, in her stroller.

Tonight there's a "family fun" night at the kids' school, and we all plan on going. Jon's home the next couple of days to (hopefully) finish that big lawn job he's been working on in his "spare" time (before the effort leads to his early demise). He also hopes to get to the doctor and have his knee looked at.

Anyway, enjoy what's left of September! Here's a parting shot of the fall decor on our mantle...

and of my miniature family carving a jack-o'lantern in the dollhouse kitchen.

Would you say the effect is spooky, creepy, or really, really strange?

Wa-ha-ha-ha!