the glow

This was just two weeks ago! ... with snow falling yesterday before church, I thought I better put these up before ALL the leaves are gone and the snow finally decides to stick around.

Do you have 'the glow' yet? My favorite parts of the day are taking Mont outside and just breathing deep; the yummy scent of fall is so strong here. OH, I just love it!

little sassafras

best pals

Mont has a best buddy in this house just his size. 

Actually, half his size, but Buckwheat's pretty fluffy.. 

a key story

What a headache keys give us! Always going missing when you need them the most. Well.. never for me. Just Mark. He always misplaces his phone, wallet, or keys. But not me. I'm the key master.

Until today, that is!

Lately I have been leaving my keys in a very easy place so I can keep my hands free while hauling Mont out to the car with my bags and paraphernalia. The only thing is... my car must always be unlocked to get to the keys (know where I keep them yet?) I must be getting too used to this, because when I pulled into my parking spot at the church today, I slipped them back into the key spot, and grabbed everything (thankfully, including Mont), locked the doors by hand (which I never do, to ensure that I don't do what is about to happen), accept some shirts from a friend, put them on my passenger seat, then she shuts the door. The ghost of the thought nearly surfaces regarding the whereabouts of my keys, but I brush it off thinking I always have my keys..


As soon as I get inside the church, the thought finally pushes itself to front and center, so I dig through my bag and proclaim, "my keys are in my car!!"

My friend tells me that the cell phone trick works, so Mark tries it from his work, holding the key up to his phone and me standing with my phone to the lock.... no luck! Inside the building again, a friend says her contractor-husband could easily break in, which I pass on to Mark, then I say, "all these options are sounding costly.."

I ask for a ride home... I don't know why I thought my house would be unlocked.. so as I realize this, a friend says she can jimmy the knob lock open with a credit card. She asks, "it's not the deadbolt, right?" "Right. It's only the handle that I lock."

We all hop into Jodi's car, and we start the drive to my fortress. What was I thinking?? It's only the deadbolt that I lock to avoid locking myself out! We don't use the knob lock because that's so easy to overlook as you shut the door behind you on your way out; the deadbolt on the other hand, you have to do from the inside. I'm such a genius. My fortress doesn't even need a moat to keep me out.

We parade around the house and they praise my work of using dowels and locking the doors from the inside.. what a day to be safe. I have no way to get in! "Do you have a garage door opener?" "Yea, it's in my stroller, inside my car.. with the keys."

Good thing Mark is on his way to the church.  We count cars and start a game, to which we all lose, but that's okay, because now I don't have to make anyone treats. HA. This is where he finds us sitting in the nice warm sunshine (great day to be locked out, thank goodness!).

Mark shows up with a smile (good!), and I start to follow him home. When I pull out of my parking spot, everyone starts to point at the ground. My first thought, did I run over a child?!?! 


No. Oh, good.

But I left my sewing machine, cutting boards, and fabric bag on the asphalt. Jodi says, "You win."

I'm going to make myself a treat tomorrow.