Fall Festival Schedule

Don't you just love Fall?  I love the colors, the dense and overcast sky, the crunch of leaves, the flavors on our tables.  I love that it's the start of a fresh school year for my children, time to learn new things.  I love that you can wear light layers of clothing that give an ensemble interest without sweltering in the heat and that you don't have to hide your fashion creativity underneath a bulky coat.  Right behind Easter, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  That special time to give thanks to Him who gives us every "good and perfect thing."

I've got more Festivals and Art/Craft Shows coming up before Christmas and I'll let you know as each event becomes more solidified in my schedule (which is at the mercy of Husband and Boys' schedules).  I am a one-woman operation, so I don't have quite the flexibility as most.  As always, I will post directions and a countdown to each event in the sidebar on the right.

A new addition to the Fall Festival Schedule is The City of Wyoming, Ohio's 29th Annual Wyoming Fall Festival on Saturday, October 1, 2011 from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.  The Fesitval takes place on Wyoming Avenue in the Business District and there will be entertainment near the Gazebo at the Village Green Park.  Rain or shine, I"ll be there!

I have loads of new pieces from several price points to chose from, some I haven't even listed in my Etsy Shop.  It's time to start thinking of Christmas gifts for friends, family, co-workers, and those lovely hostesses who prepare their homes for a wonderful holiday party.  I'd love to help you pick out something special for someone important in your life.  Of course, it's always fun to pick out something for yourself to wear to a Christmas party or New Year's Eve.  I've got plenty of sparkle and shine to fill that square!
Sara

Good News

"''Cause I've had enough bad news to last a lifetime." 
~Del Amitri

Good news is always nice, isn't it?  In my many ponderings I have concluded there isn't enough of it in the world anymore.  I think most of our Good News tanks run a little close to empty, so I am happy to help fill yours up a little with a positive update on my technology issues.  This may not be Good News for you, but it is for me so humor me:  Today the man in the big chocolate brown truck delivered my big 'ole laptop back to me cleaned up, fixed, and ready to go. 

We're back in business, baby.

Sara

The Greatest Place on Earth

My family and I are not from the area we currently live in; the closest family is a 7 hour car ride away. Living away from family isn't a new concept to this Navy brat, and my husband's military/education/career has also resulted in his being displaced from kin. So quickly making friends in a new town has always been a top priority for us.

When we moved here 11 years ago and first started attending our current church, I was pregnant with my first child. We didn't know a soul. While other first-time mothers were planning their nurseries with their friends, I made my plans long distance via Sprint with my mom. We didn't even have Skype back then! But then one day the women from our new Sunday School class announced they wanted to throw me a baby shower. I had just assumed I wouldn't have one. I couldn't believe that women I barely knew wanted to do this for me. Christ in action.  I wept.  So we had this wonderful co-ed baby shower at The Bridges Farm complete with a huge cake and magic tricks and received enough baby clothes to last a year and blessings to last a lifetime.

Now I am an indoor girl, but every time I am on this farm what little country I have in me comes out.  It has become one of my favorite places and the family that resides there has treated us as family. We have been included in parties, lovely weddings, and swim play dates on this farm. My kids love to feed the goats, look at the horses and cows, pet the baby chicks in the fall, ride in the hay-filled tractor,  pick out our family's pumpkins every year, and run wild.  Fall wouldn't be complete without a trip to The Pumpkin Patch.

Tomorrow they will be included on a regional Farm Tour of 15 exceptional farms and then their regular Fall Farm Tours begin.  In Small Spectacles will have some pieces in their "Out of Your Gourd" Gift Shop along with handmade candles, crafts, and other fun, but tasteful, gifts.  One of the daughters is a talented artist and photographer and will be on-site to capture your family on film and paint your little ones' faces. 

Y'all stop by if you can;  I guarantee you it's worth the trip!

Sara

Technology Update

*UPDATE TO MY UPDATE*
I am pleased to report Toshiba is going to fix my computer as I still have the original receipt and it's so close to the warranty expiration.  I am pleasantly surprised at such a display of customer service!   But my iPod fritzed out.  Gasket blown.

When last I wrote my camera broke and I had to buy another, which I was not satisfied with;  the pictures just weren't coming out as sharp as I'd like.  I am happy to report a third Nikon has been traded in for ....drum roll please..... another Nikon!  Isn't the definition of insanity "doing the same thing over and over and expecting the same result?"  Fitting as my life motto is "Crazy gets it done."  Actually, Nikon's images and their sharpness really are great if you get the camera that best fits your needs and you are patient. 

I do believe this new camera will work, so now onto other technological issues:  my 1 year old my computer has broken....two days after the warranty expired.  Then my husband's broke....then my printer.  All this in one week and while I was using them.  It's painful, isn't it? 

I got to thinking in my car today that if I was Caroline Ingalls I would probably be happier because I wouldn't be inconvenienced by all the poorly-constructed technology that breaks.  Instead my mind would be focused on washing my family's laundry by hand, living in a house smaller than my garage, suffering Midwest heat without air conditioning, hauling myself to a well for water, using an outhouse, and enduring dental procedures without Novocain and childbirth without epidurals.  And as I turned up my car air conditioning, I determined that for all my complaining I have it pretty darn good and have been blessed immeasurably. 

But if my iPod breaks I swear I'll blow a gasket.

Sara