New York trip -- another sneak peak

My friend Penny visited from Vancouver last week. Over the weekend I took her to the City. I have lots to report, but here is a sneak peak: some of my loot from the great shops we went to. There are Day of the Dead skulls, plastic goldfish, a scarab beetle in clear plastic, and a few of the fabulous fabrics they had at Purl Soho. (I could have spent days just shopping for beads and fabrics!)

Sneak peak

After many long, hot days over the summer spent scraping, sanding, patching, caulking and painting, the project that began a year ago is done. Our house, which used to be a pale, tired, chalky grey, is now "Pomegranate."

Here is what it looked like Halloween 2009 (blech):

And here is a glimpse of what it looks like now

We also replaced some windows that had failed, and had a mason repair the foundation. It's like a whole new house. I'll post some beauty shots soon -- wait till you see!

First Day of School

It's old news by now, but Teddy started Kindergarten. Once we did the orientation and he got to know his teacher a little bit, he was excited (particularly to ride the bus with his big brother).
I don't know if you can tell in these pictures, but I can: he suddenly had a fever the day before the first day of school, and he's still looking pale and has circles under his eyes here. I thought he was going to miss the first day of school, just like Troy did, but he pulled it off.
The big cone filled with treats is a German tradition. My sister made this one for Troy two years ago.They had school Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, then a long weekend.
On Monday morning when I woke him up he asked "Do I have to go to school AGAIN? How many times do I have to go?!"

Welcome to the real world, little buddy.