While we wait

Look! Look! I made that bassinet skirt and liner!

A kind woman from freecycle came over to teach me how.

It used to be two thift-store sheets and some thread and lace, and now it's pretty!

Bedroom ready for baby

Things are changing.

It's been a week since I rearranged my dresser to make room for baby clothes and things, but I keep opening this drawer expecting to find my socks and being surprised to see diapers instead.

Baby stuff... slowly taking over

Sunset

The sunlight lingers longest in the office. I like to be there in the evening to enjoy it.

It caught our lamp

Evening activities

Many of the people who have visited have commented on the number of candles we have around, especially in the living and dining area. We happen to have a lot of pretty candle holders, so we like to keep them out.

We use the candles pretty often, but the lights are usually on, too. Well, Joe decided to see whether all of the candles together would be enough to read by. So we turned out all the lights, and he read The Raven, Annabel Lee and other selections by Edgar Allen Poe. 

It seemed lighter than this once our eyes adjusted.

It was a great evening.

Coming home to something

In York,  I was so impressed by the old houses with Christmas candles in the window that I got some for own and put them up in my apartment. I was almost never home by dusk, though, so I put them on a timer.

It was so nice to open the apartment door and see a warm glow through the curtains. It made me feel like I was coming home to something, even when I lived by myself. I kept them up all year.

We have them here set up here in La Plata, too. 

They're especially nice on Mondays, when I get back from Bible study late, but while Joe's still out at his Monday evening activities.

A pretty season

Stars above the dining table

Stockings on the bannister

Angels near the front door

Advent wreath situation

When I was home yesterday to see my grandmother, I went toward the woods to look for greenery so I could fix up our advent wreath. We are not getting a Christmas tree this year, so it's our big Christmas decoration.

Yes, that is a ball of tinfoil. It worked fine, but was not so pretty.

Back at the parents' house in Cloverly, I set out toward the woods with clippers. But I didn't even make it to the pine trees there, because my neighbor's compost pile had some big  pine branches lying right on top! I clipped and clipped.

Look!

There was plenty for the Advent wreath.

Much better

Then I made a pine garland.

Whee!

Today Joe and I put it up and added some greenery to the door.

Door

And here are some silly shots Joe took. 

Added later: Maybe next year I will try adding cranberries! But how would one pose with cranberries?

Measure twice, cut once

Joe playing with blocks

He is actually starting to make a compost bin.

Okay, now he is really playing!

Halloween

I did not know I was marrying someone who would want to decorate for Halloween! Here is our front door, all covered in newspapers.

Here is a close up. The poem is by Sir Walter Scott.

We (mostly Joe) also carved this pumpkin. It looks neat when it glows from the inside.

We dressed up and amused ourselves while waiting for trick-or-treaters. Here Joe is pulling an invisible rope.

We had candy, too.

(I am wearing a little of Joe's scary make-up.)

We danced for a while.

(Not really dancing.)

But only four trick-or-treaters came by.

So we ate lots of candy and talked about what what colors we should paint the walls.

(The end.)

Finally got around to it!

At long last! I made my own laundry detergent. Look!

Here is the recipe I used. The ingredients are washing soda, borax, water and a bar of soap. It is yellow because I used yellow-orange "gold soap" from CVS. I might use a different color next time... part of the process involves shaving the soap into a pot of warm water on the stove to melt it, and it looked just like egg drop soup.

Making it was more complicated than it should be because I ran out of room in my bucket. (See the milk jug full of stuff off to the side? There's some more in an old detergent container, too.) As a result, it took me about an hour. I will get a larger bucket or just make a 2/3rd batch next time, which should speed things up considerably.

Also, it is much thicker than I expected -- more a gel than a liquid. Fun and slimy, but I don't think it will pour very easily from my milk jug! Maybe when I get a larger bucket, I will get one with a lid for easy storage.

I am still astounded at the number of people who think taking on such a project makes me certifiably crazy. It's fun! It saves money! And anyone who doesn't want to do it can just go buy some detergent at the store! :~)