This & That

Spooky

Happy Halloween to all!  We've got the pumpkins gathered in and the carving done, so I guess all that's left is the trick-or-treating. 

The blog challenge this week at Scrap Addict is to tell about handed-down talents or hobbies.  In my case, I was handed-down a love for music from my dad.  I remember sitting next to him on the piano bench when I was tiny as he played and sang.  Music has been a huge gift in my life.  From my mom, I got extensive sewing training.  She's a wonderful seamstress and passed the basics on to me.  She grumbles at me now because I spend more time scrapping than sewing but does appreciate that I'm trying to get the family history together.  She also taught me how to can produce.  It's a lost art, I think.  I can't count the quarts of fruits and bottles of jam I've done over the years. Great gifts from both sides.

Invictus

Sneak peek for you of a November Scrap Addict kit.  Love the colors and papers for this kit and got some help altering the photo. It made me think of one of my favorite poems.  Not that I have a great repertoire of poetry, but this one is so powerful.....all about personal responsibility and taking your own fate in your hands.  I used the last stanza for the journaling for this layout. 

Invictus by William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate;

I am the captain of my soul.

For Fun....

Not much happening this week.  It's fairly quiet, which is a nice change and a good thing so I've gotten some scrapping done.  Catching up a bit, too.

This Little Piggy, Part Deux

Had my x-ray yesterday afternoon.  The exact word the Dr. used was "shattered".  Yep, as in eggshell.  I did a dandy job on it.  So three weeks of taping and wearing the amazingly stylish boot-thing.  Cuts into my morning walking, but since I can't get a shoe on yet anyway, I won't complain.

This Little Piggy

....is a radiant shade of purple.  And aches a bit.  I honestly don't think that anything is broken, but will head in tomorrow for an x-ray just to be sure.  I thought maybe it was going to fall off today when DH accidently stepped on it, but it's gotten better. 

Blog challenge this week on Scrap Addict is to talk about your sanity saver.....what keeps me sane when life gets too crazy.  Here it is ________________.  That's it.......silence.  When I get to that point, I just need to head somewhere very quiet so I can puzzle out my next move.  I need to concentrate, to itemize, to list, to just work it all through in my head and then I can start again.  So when the walls start to shake, just let me have a little quiet so I can figure out what the next step is.

Stupid Stuff

Ever do something and realize it's just, plain stupid?  I've had a weekend like that culminating in an after-hours trip to the orthopedic doc's office tonight.  DH has been hunting and called this evening to say he was headed home.  I ran to get the phone and caught the corner of the door with my pinky toe....we've all done that, right?  And after I got done saying a few choice things, I looked down and noticed said toe was, well, not pointing in the same direction as all the other little piggies on that foot.  Tears follow as DH puts in a call to the MD who ends up taping my toes and scheduling me to come back for an x-ray on Monday.  My loving husband's assessment is, "Well if you wore shoes in the house this wouldn't have happened...."  Thanks for the sympathy, hon.  Can you get me some more ice?  Stupid stuff.

Save Me from Pre-Adolescent Girls!

I know now why I was blessed with five sons and only one daughter.  My darling daughter who I very rarely have disagreements with has started in with a little attitude.  She's 11.  We seem to be snarking at each other more and more.  I wonder if there's validity to the whole "moods swinging at the same time" theory.  I mean this morning it's 32 degrees outside and we're arguing about whether she should wear her coat or not.  She's thinking a hoodie will be sufficient.  *Groan*

Over and Done, Amen.

The run is over and we closed with a bang.  Sold out closing night.  My mom and all my siblings and their families surprised me by traveling up from Utah to watch.  I had no idea and in fact was feeling a little blue that no one had expressed any interest in going.  They pulled off a good one, calling the director and making arrangements for tickets weeks in advance.  My little nephew didn't recognize me and wouldn't talk to me while I was in costume.  The sweetest thing was that a little girl came up to me and asked me for my autograph!  LOL!  I have mixed feelings about it being over.  I'll miss the singing and the people, but at the same time, I'll be glad to have that time back.  So, Bless you, my children!

Leaves are Falling

We are the lucky recipients of gorgeous fall weather.  The leaves have started to fall and swirl around in the breezes.  I keep thinking I need to get a broom or rake out and get rid of the evidence, but I just love sort of swishing through the leaves when they're on the ground, so that's going to have to wait for another day. 

I've finished my assigned kits for November forScrap Addict....fun stuff.  Taking a breather before jumping feet first into December's assignments.  So I rummaged in my pile of partial kits that I haven't gotten around to polishing off.  I think I'll do a few of those...finish them off totally.  I've had the pictures pulled for this layout for a year or more and I'm glad I finally got it put together.  Side by side photos of my eldest boy and I at similar ages. 

A Much Needed Breather

Yep, after doing the Sound of Music in reahearsal or performance every day for the past week, I'm ready to take a day off.  Things are going pretty well although the sound guy was way off with the effects yesterday which made things kind of crazy.  Although the show director affectionately calls Sunday matinee performances  "Blue Hair Sunday".  The audience seemed to be made up of a large portion of older people.....and I think they slept through most of it.  We have no performances or rehearsals until Thursday night, so maybe I won't be reciting lines as I fall asleep.

The menfolk have arrived home from the Wyoming hunt and are madly trying to get ready for another two-day Idaho jaunt.  They have things strung out drying from the back door, down the hall, into the dining room and kitchen.  You cannot imagine the smell of damp, campfire, sweaty clothes.  Eeeeeeewwwww!!  So it will be just the girl and I for another couple of days.