Glory days

I'm going to try to write something every day this week.

We spent last week with the Grandparents Pate and had our usual delightful time, even though we didn't get to play outside much because of the Plague of Mosquitoes (which, I think, comes right after locusts and just before frogs) that had descended upon Port Neches. Harper and I went to the homecoming pep rally (or 'pepperoni' as Harper pronounces it) at my old high school on Friday. I got a little choked up when the drums started pounding out the first beats of the fight song to get things started. It wasn't that I was nostalgic, per se-- my life now is so much richer and deeper than it was then. I just can't wrap my head around the reality of so much time having passed. It's been twenty-one YEARS--and I still remember all of the words to the songs and all of the steps to the dances (though the back-handsprings and splits would, if I attempted them today, land me in the ICU). Will the next 21 years go as quickly?

Harper decided a few weeks ago that she wanted a stuffed star. And she thought it should be pink, because that is her favorite color. She kept bringing it up instead of forgetting about it, as she does with many of her whims of fancy. So, I tried in vain to find a stuffed pink star, found none, and decided I would make one myself. I don't have a sewing machine so I sewed it by hand and had her stuff it. His name is Twinkle.I'll try to post a picture of the finished product tomorrow. Twinkle is already beloved by Harper, who doesn't seem to mind his uneven points and crooked stitched smile. She's sweet that way.


I finished Peace Like a River and it is a good yarn, well-told. The character development is exquisite and subtle and just what it ought to be.

We are finally having some coolish (and by 'coolish' I mean still wearing shorts but not sweating quite as much) fall weather for doing this:We spent this morning celebrating our friend Abby's third birthday at the park:
Harper, as you can see, is in a celebratory mood. Hudson, as you can see, has even fluffier hair when the humidity dips below 90%. Helena, as you can't see, wore jeans for the first time.