Felt My Heart Right Pierced By A Pin

Mr. Purl was in Viva Las Vegas. Again. This time for 10 looooong days. Oy, was my heart aching and dreading this.

So, the first day he's gone, I got me some flowers. Aww. Sweet, sweet Mr. Purl. And then I got flowers the next day. And the day after that. Y'all, he sent me flowers for 5 straight days. Then he had a bad dream in which I leave him for Sarah Jessica Parker (huh?) and she sent me flowers with a note that said, "Thanks for last night! Sarah Jessica Parker"

Sweetie, if you're going to have dreams like that about me, can you make my co-star Colin Meloy? Or Colin Firth? You know how I feel about Colins. Thank you, darling husband. You're such a romantic.

And My Eyes Got Hooked On That Beautiful Morning Sun

Mmmmm. Tastes like hope.

It's a brand new day!

Talk to Me, So you Can See, What's Going On..

No.
This is just unconstitutional. We just cannot allow religious education to be subsidized. Why isn't more money being spent on our public schools, making them better?
This quote nails it for me:
"Parents who make private choices to educate their children outside the public system are no less responsible for all children than are child-free people. High quality free education for all is our obligation in a democracy."

Please keep the line between church and state clear!

Le Bonheur Ca Se Trouve Pas En Ligot, Mais En P'tite Monnaie!

Ahhh, oui. Le Brioche. Mon amie, Julie shared this recipe with me. It turned out le delicious. In fact, he first loaf was eaten within 2 hours after in came out of the oven. By me. Okay, The Captain, Fish and two of their friends helped. My girl, Mrs. Brown was there, but she says she didn't eat any of it. I think she's lying. I saw some jam on the corner of her mouth when she left. It was so tres bien, I have another 2 loaves rising right now. Merci, Julie! I would make some for you, but I am le tired.

For those who don't parlez-vous, the title means, "Happiness doesn't come from bars of gold, but from small change." Roughly. It describes how I feel about baking bread...and eating it. The title came from a little french song about Sunday afternoon lunches, spent with family and the pleasure we get from such simple things. Watching our kids grow, seeing our parents smile at them, telling stories and laughing, good food, good friends, good times.

This weekend, as per Team Tradition, (Traditiooooon! TRADITION!) we watched the UT-OU game and then picked pumpkins at a pumpkin patch. Our usual pumpkin place was the fantastic South 47 Farm, in Redmond, WA. Since that is about 2,400 miles away, we went to the Elgin Christmas Tree Farm...which also is a pumpkin patch in the fall. It was certainly a respectable pumpkin patch, but it is Texas in October. Which means it was 90 degrees out. Not very fallish. The Captain had a great time, though, what with the hayride and all. The rest of us, not so much. Fish was displeased with the heat, and Mr. Purl frowns upon holiday festivities and the like. (He says it's because he's dead inside.) It was just hot. And we had to pay for admission. Then we told The Captain to pick any pumpkin he liked, so he chose a really big one out of the $9 pile. So we stood in line to pay, with Fish shaking his tiny, angry fists at us, got to the front of the line to hear the cashier say, "That will be $18, please.". Mr. Purl looks at me with that look, and I say to the cashier, "But it was in the $9 pile!!"
She says, very sweetly, "I am so sorry, we charge by weight. That one should not have been in the pile."

The Captain starts wailing, "NOOO! This is the best pumpkin in the world! We can't put it back!", Fish has gone from just shaking his tiny, angry fists, to growling and shaking them, and there are about seven thousand people behind us in line. Mr. Purl, pulls out a twenty, gives me that look, and pays the nice lady. I heart him.
So, we drive home and I announce it's family nap time. Sigh. I miss you, Pacific Northwest. But I am learning to love you again, Texas, for what you are.

..In My Life, I've Loved Them All...

Please welcome a new/old member of our family. Bailey was our first baby, when we were first married. He lived with my mom while we were living in Hong Kong and now he's back with us. The Captain and the Fish adore him and Bailey is happy to have some kids to chase. It's like having another kid, but one who doesn't need a college education or a car. He doesn't talk back, either. Welcome, sweet Bailey Dog!!

Et Aussi, quest que c'est?

Vous verrez ajourd hui!

So Fill Me To The Parting Glass, Good Night And Joy Be With You All

Tomorrow night is the VP debates. Did you watch the Presidential debates? Mr. Purl and I discovered a drinking game on the internets after the debates had ended. It sounded fun, so I thought maybe we could have one for the VP debates! It's pretty simple, not too many rules. Every time Sarah Palin opens her mouth, cringe, open a bottle of hooch and down it to drown out her fall back talking points and word salad.

On a lighter note, today marks the start of SOCKTOBERFEST! I have some lovely Lorna's Laces Shepherd sock yarn in edgewater. I haven't picked a pattern yet, but I have some in mind. I'll decide tonight, cast on and show you tomorrow. I am aware of my indecisive nature.

Sigh....Mr. Purl is out of town in Viva Las Vegas. I miss him desperately! He is so appreciated here, and when he's gone, there's a big hole left empty. Come home soon, we love you!
Ta ta, all.

...and frolicked in the autumn mist, in a land called Honalee...

One of my favorite things about elementary school was getting the Scholastic book order forms and poring over them, trying to decide what book I would order. Half the fun was just looking! Captain Max got his first order form and we went through that ritual of looking and yesterday, we got the books!
In his backpack were 2 fine gems of storytelling. Puff the Magic Dragon (nostalgia, anyone?) and Zen Shorts by Jon J. Muth. We sat on the floor, cuddled up and dug in. Zen Shorts is brilliant and calming with wonderful, soft illustrations. Instant Favorite. Then we read Puff....or I sang it and we looked at the pictures. (Don't you feel silly reading words to a song?) When we got to the part, "One gray night it happened, Jackie Paper came no more...", the Captain's lip was quivering and eyes were welling up with tears. (You know that part, right? When Jackie grows up and is too old for imagining a giant magic dragon?) I completely remember that reaction in myself, every time I read that book when I was a kid. (I had the book that came with a record (I'm OLD.) that played a bell sound every time you were supposed to turn the page.) Well, I don't exactly recall what happened after "Jackie Paper came no more" in my story, but in Max's new book, it ended with a nice suprise that dried up both of our tears and made us smile. I just love that sensitive little Captain! He really has such a wonderful heart.

Both of these books are worth a read. Beautiful illustrations and timeless stories.

In other news, here's a work in progress. A scarf for my girl C. It's knit in Lion Brand Nature's Choice Organic Cotton, which I am LOVING. It's a simple chevron pattern from Barbara Walker's treasury. I love the scalloped edge of a chevron pattern. I made one last week for my sister's birthday in a wool-soy blend. I didn't get a pic, but I will ask her to send me one.

And last but not least, check out Baby Fish. Isn't he a big boy? Helping with the laundry? He really just loves to open and close the door to the washing machine and dryer. I can't wait until he's old enough to make my laundry folding slave. The Captain is my dishwasher unloading slave. We all know the real reason for having kids is indentured servitude.

..Even children get older, I'm getting older, too...

This weekend, we celebrated the first birthday of Baby Fish. There was cake, pizza, goldfish crackers, balloons, family and friends. Captain Max said, "So, he's not a baby now, right?" I have been thinking about that all week long. My babiest baby is past the newborn, infant, totally dependent stage. He's trying to walk, communicate with us (in our language!), and learning to find his own way. I see it every day, in everything he does, his independence growing.
I'm so proud of these two little boys, full of spirit, fire and determintaion. I hope that they will find some time in their busy days to curl up on my laps and be my babies now and then.