sunny

*It was crazy warm for the end of November here today. SUNSHINE.

*The kids' Thanksgiving craft was a favorite of mine from childhood that somehow I've missed doing with the girls. Crayon shavings ironed between layers of waxed paper. We spent the holiday with good friends in Maryland and I loved seeing the row of little girls shaving away at crayons. One had a proper sharpener, one a vegetable peeler, and one a butter knife to make their waxy curls and scraps. We set the timer for 3 minutes, and then they had to trade. It was good stuff. Lesson learned: it takes much less crayon than you might think. Thinner wax is lovelier & more translucent.

*I'm reading Anne Lamott's Traveling Mercies: Thoughts on Faith and love it so. She's such a marvelous writer; I fell in love when I read Operating Instructions, pregnant, and this second book of hers has not disappointed. She has a wry, poignant way of sharing the truths about life that we both, in the intimacy of our author and reader friendship, recognize. It has made me very happy this weekend. Though of course the sunshine has helped and all of those other good things about my life.

*Like a very favorite family of ours coming home from a 9-month sabbatical in South Africa TODAY and showing up at our door a couple of days before we expected them. We were mad at them for leaving us, but now crushing all over again because they are marvelous and now forgiven. So much good squealing.

*Speaking of great evenings, please do come project this Thursday night again, if you're a local. The last Christmas Elves workshop was marvelous; everyone brought their own projects and we just sat around the table and talked and stitched or glued or wrapped or just talked. E-mail me if you're coming; you're welcome anytime for any part of 7:30-11:00.

*The Reu and I are hospital bound tomorrow morning (regular scheduled chemo) & will be back on Thursday morning. He is suddenly a walker and I'm not sure how we're going to survive this tethered-to-a-pole-in-the-little-room-for-3-days thing together. Together, I suppose :). We had a bit of a scare about enhancement on the MRI he had a couple of weeks ago, but last week's surgeon visit was encouraging. It looks like we're just seeing post-surgical healing & "normal" tissue regrowth--scar tissue & such, not tumor growth. So we're just blithely assuming all is well until we hold our breaths waiting for the results of the next one in a couple of weeks. Stupid cancer. Awesome little boy.

Have a great week.