September Angel

 Hello Angel Pie!  Thank you for all the birthday wishes!  I had such a lovely day. We had dinner with our four kids.  I missed their spouses and all the grands, but it was special to dine with the four and Bill!

Don't they have the nicest smiles?

 I had a little photo shoot with Plum Cake the white angel today!

 Aw, those cheeks and rosy lips!  Take a look at her lovely little arms and her precious feet!  

 I found a polka dot blanket at the grocery store for $5.99.  Yay!

 Last weekend, the blackbirds came.  I knew they wouldn't stay long.  They made quite a racket!  

Soon it will be October and the air will cool, sending the maple leaves dancing toward the ground.  It seems like everyone who bakes is baking pumpkin treats.  I had a birthday lunch at school of homemade crockpot macaroni and cheese.  We drank hot apple cider.  I'm making a nice oniony pot roast for dinner tomorrow night.  
Tomorrow is the first day of SPIRIT Week at school.  It's Fashion Disaster Day!  I can't wait!  It shouldn't be too hard to put an outfit together.
Good bye, sweet September!  

Cake Day!

 Yay!  It's CAKE DAY!  It's my birthday and I am a fine 55 years old.  

I love so many things and I love YOU for popping in to check on me like you do!  Have some cake!

Neat and Tidy

 Lizzy turned one year old!  She liked sharing her cake with sister Sam.  Doesn't she match this Eloise Wilkin art?

 There is a Eloise Wilkin group over at Flickr.  You can look at all her artwork (almost).  I especially love the way she draws interiors.  Everything looks neat and cozy, as if a mother who loves her calling purposed to serve her family. 

 The color the cupboards are painted is brilliant, don't you think?  This is from We Help Mommy all those years ago!

Eloise Wilkin's  art has blessed so many children and mamas for such a long time.  Her work sends an invitation that says, "Come home."  I like to fluff up our bed and get it ready for us to climb into.  I like to arrange surfaces so they look cared for (I also am quick to let my arranging become scattered again, I must say).  I admire people who have a way of tidying and straightening that results in simple beauty.  I had a friend, a long time ago, that had such neat and tidy ways.  She could make towels behind a curtained cupboard front look pretty.  She built white shelves in her kitchen and the way she placed her useful things on those shelves was masterful.  My granny's kitchen drawers, with dishtowels neatly folded, made an imprint in my childish mind all those years ago.  Sometimes simply seeing these careful arrangements of useful things makes the observer feel assured, someone wanted to prepare a place.  There is a marked difference between "checking things off the list" and sincerely enjoying the work.
So, off I hustle to school.  I am going to clean the desks, staple the papers, finish a few charts, and try to send that message to my students.  
Have you done any arranging lately?  What have you tidied?  What have you folded?  Sometimes simply wiping surfaces can give a feeling of sweet satisfaction.

Later in the Garden

 I am so pleased with my nasturtiums.  Our friends, Matt and Stephanie, told Bill that they are considered weeds in New Zealand.  Ha!  I'm glad they aren't weeds here or I might not love them.  They like water, so the drip/spray system we have now really nourishes them. 

 This is not my favorite zinnia.  It's flame-colored and vibrant, though.  I do like THAT.

 This is my favorite zinnia.  

 We still have hotties in the garden.

 The morning glories REALLY ARE glorious!

 These volunteer hollyhocks will be soaring to the sky next year.  

 Here is all the clobber at the back door.  It's time to tidy.

 Toadstools are popping up everywhere, inside the house.

 The gnomes found a place to perch, too.

 Don't you love Cath Kidston?  I wish I could visit a CK shop.  We can order online, but I have only done so once.  

By the way, the 4 by 6 cards were fun to do!  The students were not all smiles.  It's hard to sit in a circle and hear about all your unfinished work.  
I'm glad it's the weekend.  I'm about to take a hot bath (lavender) and get myself situated for the day.  Even though Plum Cake is coming over for a few hours, I think this might be a sleepy Saturday.
What are your conditions for the perfect nap?