The seasons are a-changing. But some things aren't.

Summer is definitely my favorite season, but I have always loved fall almost as much.  Love it when the air feels crisp.  Love jeans-and-sweatshirt weather: not too hot, not too cold.  Makes me a bit nostalgic for high-school football games and homecoming dances. My only complaint is that fall never seems to last long enough, but hey, maybe with the effects of global warming that will change.

I was flipping back through the family scrapbook and came upon the "Summer Manifesto" I wrote about a few months back.  And guess what?  We did pretty good at most of what I wanted to do this summer.  We did play outside a lot and went swimming quite a bit.  Picnics tapered off after June and all the super-hot temperatures, as did the bike rides.  Fall is a good time for bike rides too.  And we saw an awesome concert at the Iowa State Fair: Hank Williams, Jr.  Great show!  Another legend I can cross off my list. 

My summer reading obsession with sequels & variations of  Pride & Prejudice has apparently become not just an obsession, but a way of life.  I would hate to count how many of them I have read by now.  Some are very, very good and a few of them have been very, very bad.  Let's just say I'm doing my part to support the American economy by shopping on amazon. 

Fall is when my life gets very, very busy as the holiday shopping season (aka craft show season) begins in earnest.  It's busy and I love it.  Love, love, love it.  I get to travel around the beautiful state of Iowa a bit and I have the opportunity to talk to lots of nice people.  It's one of the best parts of my job. 

Also new this fall is that you can now find my products at Mohair Pear in beautiful Cedar Falls, Iowa.  They hosted the awesome Pear Fair last Saturday.  You can find pics from Pear Fair on their facebook page and you can check out the store at 2209 College Street in Cedar Falls (open 7 days a week) or online at www.mohairpear.com.  This was my first Pear Fair and I would definitely do it again.  Folks in Cedar Falls are pretty darn nice.  It was a great way to start my autumn. 

If I were going to make a fall manifesto, I think it would look much like my summer one.  I want to ride my bike and play outside, just like I did when I was eight years old.  Some things don't change.  And when I like something, I usually like it for a long time. 

Happy fall to you all. 

I heart Cash.

(Please note: I have NO IDEA why this photo looks funky...I took it with the new phone I got today and there is a long learning curve ahead for me, as is always the case with new technology!)

I love Johnny Cash. 

Ask anyone who's ever ridden in a car with me: nine times out of ten, I've got Cash playing.  Over and over.  And over.  I never get tired of hearing his voice and that distinctive sound.  I remember listening to him with my Grandpa sometimes, either via the car radio or the eight-track player he happened to have in one of his cars.  He got a big kick out of hearing "A Boy Named Sue." 

So this collage is a little tribute to him.  The image in the middle came out of a magnet I bought...somewhere...quite a few years ago.  The magnet broke.  And of course I couldn't throw it away.  Yesterday morning I looked at it and suddenly remembered several sheets of old sheet music I had in my stash.  So I tore up a bit of it and started to glue.  Then I remembered the guitar paper and dug through my big basket to see if I had any left.  Luckily I did, and I snipped out a lone guitar, and thought it looked pretty good.  I flipped open one of my giant dictionaries and found the definition of "legend" and stuck that on there too.  I decided to include the word "forever" rather than "legend".  I added a Hambly transparency I've had for quite a while and this little collage (6 x 6) came together.  I like how it turned out. 

How Time Does Fly.....

Last I checked, it was summer....and now here we are well in to September!  What happened?  Where did the summer go?  No longer am I just the mother of a three-and-a-half year old (not just a three-year-old, it is imperative that everyone know he is three and a HALF!),  but of a pre-schooler.  Yep, my boy started pre-school this week.  The photo above is our September calendar layout, and the photo on the right shows him all ready on the very first day.  His very first first day of school.  Ever.  I took a lot of pictures, yes I did, before we left the house, and before the teachers told us moms to say good-bye and skedaddle.  And yes, he loves it already.  And no, I didn't cry. 

September is historically a very busy month.  I don't recall too many Septembers in my life that haven't been busy and this one is certainly no exception.  As a teenager, I was busy with football games and dances and cheerleading practice and homecoming and all that vitally important stuff that took precedence over sleep.  Now, I'm busy with craft shows and a garage sale and a Day Out With Thomas, and oh yes, keeping up with Project Life!  I've done so well documenting our year that I am determined not to let that get lost in the shuffle despite the fact that I will be busy, busy, busy from now until Christmas.  I have managed to fill my schedule with at least one event every week, and sometimes two, or three, or....

So, my September calendar, when I finally got around to making it (I held off a few days so I could use a first day of preschool photo) was put together in under five minutes.  The striped paper is an old design from BoBunny and this was my last sheet.  Plain red cardstock, and that awesome "THIS" stamp is one I ordered from elisejoy.com earlier this year.  Elise Blaha Cripe is well-known in blogland and I read her blog regularly for inspiration.  She's a multi-talented gal; find her at www.eliseblaha.typepad.com.  Here's a closer look at that stamp (I'm not sure if these are still available, I know she has new stamps soon to be released!):

I've been using this stamp quite a bit in my Project Life layouts (which I may or may not share by the end of the year).  I love it because it is so versatile.  There are millions of rubber stamps available but since I am running out of storage (hence the garage sale this weekend!) I try to buy stamps that I know I can use for lots of different projects.  "THIS" stamp is definitely one of those. 

For now, back to work.  If you're out and about in Des Moines, Iowa this fall, you can find me around town at East Village Sunday Bazaar (Sundays from noon to 4 on East 5th Street) and of course at the next Market Day, coming up on October 6.  Next Saturday I am headed to Cedar Falls for The Pear Fair, a new event for me:  you can get more info on this event, which is put on by Mohair Pear (2209 College Street in C.F.) by liking this event on facebook, of course!  Just search for The Pear Fair D.I.Y. Craft & Design event.

Happy September to you.....