It happened all of a sudden. I swear, just within the last week.
She got older.
I can’t explain it. It just is.
Maybe it was the new hoodie, which she wore, hood up, like so many teenagers these days.
Or how she scooped out her pumpkin tonight, impossibly long arms at work. Sleeves pushed up, never asking for help.
Or maybe her posture made that slight shift. Made her a bit taller, a bit straighter, a bit more sure of herself.
And just like that, she’s not so little anymore.
Neko was home sick today. She and Ellery couldn’t decide if they wanted to play together or play seperately. I tried to convince Neko to plant herself on the couch under a blanket, which is nearly impossible when she never…
stops…
moving.
About mid-day, the mail truck arrived. With it was brought Ellery’s halloween costume! Hooray! A happy diversion!
Ellery squealed with delight. She pranced. She donned a crown. All was right with the world.
And then a chicken pooped ALL OVER the front of her dress.
Keep in mind, the chickens rarely poop on people, and when they do, it’s pretty minor. I’ve never seen such a chicken poop incident in all our chicken owning days.
I think things around here are keeping me more than on my toes. I think I might be levitating.
Despite the fact that everyone looks grouchy, they actually had a spectacular time in the corn maze. Neko grabbed the map and took the lead, as I nervously told Tom to make sure we knew where we were going. I am one of those people that could be stuck in a corn maze for weeks. Even with a map.
Neko grew tired of leadership halfway, and instead puttered on about the litter she found. “I can’t believe they just left it here in the middle of this field. And it’s even STYROFOAM!”
We passed on the whole picking experience, and went straight to the farm shop where the kids picked out absurdly big pumpkins. I have no idea how we’re going to carve them. (I’ll think about it tomorrow, Rhett!)
And then they all got what they declared their very first caramel apples. Is that possible? Have we really been that restrictive?
Okat, it might be possible. Dig in, kids.
Neko found a cat costume in the American Girl catalog about a week ago. And then she decided she wanted to be a cat herself. But then, quite suddenly, it occurred to her that she didn’t have any money saved to buy a costume for Chrissa.
Much sobbing and sadness followed.
And then a compromise—I would attempt to sew one in exchange for no complaining and five dollars for materials.
Neko’s cat costume will be a modified sweatsuit, so I decided to head that direction for Chrissa. If you don’t look too closely, it’s pretty impressive. And there really is a tail on the back.
Thank you internet for making this costume possible.
Clearly we all need to be getting a little more sleep. One 30 minute drive, and two of the five us were out cold.
There would have been two more, but some of us were being “responsible adults.”
I got a new camera for my purse, but I haven’t quite all the controls figured out.
When Ellery and I had to put on these glasses at Otto’s laser therapy session (don’t ask), I really wanted a photo, but I realized my settings were all off, and I had no idea how to fix them
I sort of feel like it was meant to happen that way.
And really, how many times a week do you get to talk about lasers?
Thanks to friends with extra tickets, Tom and I each got to see the Dalai Lama today. (Hooray Lisa! Hooray Glenn!) Chalk another one up for this tiny town. We’ve got culture, people!
Highlights included his wearing of the school visor to avoid the bright lights. Continuing to talk through the removal of his shoes, “Ah! More comfortable!” And at the very end, telling everyone if what he said doesn’t appeal them, then just forget it. (Which, said with an accent, sounded like something much less Dalai Lama-like.)
It is somewhat breathtaking to think that the man sitting on that couch has been sitting in the midst of history since he was two years old. And now, at 75, he sits comfortably on a couch, 100 feet away, and says his peace.
What a treat.
Shep is completely obsessed with old school video games at the moment. In an effort to lure him away from spending too much time in front of a screen, we’ve been devising ways to channel his obsession into other avenues.
One night I had this realization as we were playing with Fuse Beads that each bead could easily represent a pixel, and before I knew it, we were on our way to recreating the Namco collection, all crafty-like.
I have one excited five-year-old on my hands.
It wasn’t a big garden this year, but it has been bountiful. Despite far too much neglect, the basil, tomatoes, and peppers have been thriving. We tried onions for the first time this year, and could not be more excited.
(One thing that got demolished by pests—broccoli. Will be investigating floating row covers next time.)
The high tunnel is still under construction, but we hope to finish soon and to try a few things this winter.
This gardening thing? It’s like the Fourth of July fireworks. You spend a whole lot of time spreading out your blanket and finding a good seat, and then, all of a sudden, things explode into color.
