Okay, where to start. Maybe  Thanksgiving makes sense.

We went out of town for Thanksgiving, which was fun- but a definite high point was getting to go to Mexico for an afternoon with my husband and his brother and my sister in law. (brother and sister in law? Husband’s brother and wife? How to freaking write that out correctly… feel like there is a more succinct way to write that but it escapes me.)

My favorite part of all Mexico trips is being able to look back at the progression in purchases from reasonable to unreasonable as the trip wears on and the drinks add up.

Literally my husband said (after the 4th margarita he and his brother were brought- on the house from the kind waiter- that everyone looked at with horror because those things are damned strong) “Alright well, let’s go make some poor decisions!” He meant the shopping choices- not like, back alley pharmaceuticals or wondering loudly which cartel has more balls. I stuck to micheladas and beer because someone has to drive home and tequila and I have never been friends.

High point this year was the 3′ embroidered wall hanging of a turkey my sister-in-law got me for an early Christmas gift.

I actually was really happy with everything I got except an embroidered shirt… going to have to take that one in a bit as it’s much too big. Did I beer googles myself in that shirt? Because I think that may have been what happened.

My favorite purchases are two Mexican hearts- one tin and one wooden with milagros. Milagros are small tin charms- with a kinda complex history and use. Can be quasi summed up in they have religious and/or protective and/or luck connotations. This one has among the milagros a right arm and right hand (my right wrist has been bothering me lately) a cat (my poor Wally is really feeling his age), a young girl, a head (no more cluster headaches for the husband ever please, milagro), etc. I just really loved it. I personally LOVE throwing myself down wormholes on Mexican folk art, so can go into it more in another post if anyone is interested. One last thing though- the symbology  of the flame on top of the hearts is to symbolize the sacred heart of God. I so love the tin one as well. (That flame shape! Those colors!)

The worry here is that if people see them in my house that they assume I collect them and then I get inundated with a bunch of them. (That happened back in the day with the alebrije deer I have.) On the things I collect I’m SUPER discriminating- I don’t love all Mexican hearts… I love THESE Mexican hearts, you know? It’s made me more careful when I give gifts to people who collect a certain thing, honestly.

Holy crap is this going to be a long post- okay! On too… the latest craft fair and ice dying!

The craft fair we do in our neighborhood with our talented, mostly all retired neighbors was this Friday. I FURIOUSLY knocked out some more ice dyed scarves because the bottle crafts I had been planning to do over the summer was a bust because turns out I’m a huge weenie about breaking glass. Live and learn.

And here are our tables at the craft fair:

This was by far the busiest show yet- the girls sold out of all the candy (both chocolate and hard candy lollipop in various Christmas shapes), all the acorn crafts, and I sold all my scarves. Heck, I even took the one I was wearing off and hung it up to sell!

And the best thing about it is the girls so enjoy doing it and that they get to interact with a ton of adults who are very talented and nice. The neighbor who taught them candy making this year does sewed purses and wallets for the show, there is a potter, someone who candies jalepenos and does macrame, a knitter, a photographer, a lady who does beadwork, etc. I feel it’s good for them to know people with such varied talents and hobbies.

It is officially a “sip and shop” so there are snacks and wine- of which I had only 3 small glasses over 4 hours and didn’t have any angst about how much I imbibed this year, so that’s a nice change. I’m finding the whole therapy thing is helping with more mindful choices in my life… yet ANOTHER full post for another time on an update on therapy- coming soon. But I will just say here: 10/10, would highly recommend.

Oh my lord, such a long post. And on too… the garden and ripped up backyard!!!

And it may still be teeshirt weather, but the plants know it’s Fall and are putting on a show:

And the color on these blackberry vines gets me every time:

And, as seen in the background in the ice dying shots, my dad brought over his excavator and my husband has been prepping the backyard for the brick patio installation. All the planting beds are still there- the only thing ripped up is the open ground. Though we will actually be uprooting and replanting most of the beds as well, we’re bringing in a few truckloads of dirt to raise those beds and improve drainage. Damn the clay on this side of town!

As I may have mentioned a few times, we’ve been collecting Texas made antique bricks for the patio- which this shot of the collected pile will show a bit of the look we’re going for:

And we’ll wrap up on this slightly pissed off picture of my cat Wallace (Wally).

He’s 14 and a half now, and lately just really seems to be showing his age. So recently, when I wake up all sweaty and gasping for air in the middle of the night because he’s decide to curl his 14 pound self up on my chest, I won’t shove him ungracefully off but will spend a few minutes cuddling before moving him to the side instead of him getting shoved to the floor. I read a poem once about the love for our pets stretching a place in our hearts for their memories… and lately, with him, that seems all just a little closer. May he have at least a few more years even if he’s slowing down. But if not, well, he’s got a nice big spot in my heart ready for him.