WHOSE FEET ARE THOSE?

Judging from this picture it won't be long before I have to give her those shoes I promised.

WILL SHE REMEMBER

how much she loved to come over and play in my closet, try on my shoes and hats and admire herself in the full length mirror? I hope she will remember, I know I will! One day she asked if she could have a certain pair of shoes when her feet were bigger. I told her yes and that she could probably have it all. She said, "well, you can't give me this house." I told her that I could if I wanted to. And she responded, "then I'll miss you 'cause you'll be dead." Then, the smart girl that she is, she said she'd rather have me!

TWENTY NINE YEARS

No, I'm not 29 years old but on August 25th Jim and I celebrated our 29th anniversary. We had a quiet evening at home without any big fanfare. I believe two things about special occassions. I may be high maintenance when it comes to facials, pedicures and massages but I am very low maintenance on birthdays and anniversarys. I don't want waste money on cards or flowers. Infact, instead of buying each other cards we often go to Wal Mart and just read the cards there and save the $5.00 That started out as a joke but we thought it was fun so we continue. And secondly, I don't want to celebrate important life events just one day a year but rather celebrate
everyday. Jim was sweet, he said he would marry me all over again. And of course I would marry him again with perhaps a few minor contract changes. Seriously, he is a sweetheart and I did good with this one!

I CAN"T BELIEVE I ATE

a footlong corndog and drank rootbeer from a plastic jug! But I did. That's what you do when you go to the fair. For the last 28 years with only missing a couple of years Jim and I have gone to the Ozarks Empire Fair. This year we took Grace and that meant that the rides were a big part of the evening. She has an adventurous spirit and is not afraid of anything. She was ready for any ride they would let her on. We rode the farris wheel together and then she the others by herself. She decided I was a liability when she realized that every time I rode with her it took more of her ride tickets!

A PILLOWCASE FOR GRACE

I made Grace a new nightgown from a beautiful old embroidered pillowcase. I originally intended to made her a little summer dress but didn't do it soon enough and now she is too old for that look. It made cute nightgown and she seems to like it especially with my shoes, heels of course!

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Why does "Natalie Portman vegan shoes" sound like a more appealing purchase than a "pvc handbag"?

NEW LIFESTYLE

A few weeks ago on her blog my sister, Catherine asked what everyone was doing to save money with the high gas prices. There were lots of good ideas and as I thought about it from a $ saving standpoint I realized that these changes also provided a means to change my life so that I could start living it instead of just maintaining it. So I wanted to share what I have been doing.

I have always been interested in healthy eating and lately I have become more and more concerned about chemicals and additives in food. So we are now reaping the harvest from our garden. We are eating lots of squash and peppers and our first tomatoes will be ready this week. I made pesto today from my very own basil. And we made a couple of trips to the farmer's market this week for corn and peaches which I put in the freezer. I can't speek for Jim but I only ate out once this week.

I also made a huge sacrifice yesterday in name of conservation. Jim and I went to town together --in the same car to run errands. This meant that I spent the afternoon listening to his commentary on everything from high gas prices, traffic in Springfield, crazy drivers, why the city doesn't do something about ..various topics and the legalities of cameras at traffic lights. There may also have been some important remarks about the Cardinals but by this point I was pretty much tuned out.

Two of our errands also promoted my other goals. I took my espresso machine and my Rowenta iron to a small appliance repair shop instead of trashing them and getting new. Interestingly, there is only one shop in town that does repair. We are definitely a disposable society. ( I also checked prices on a new espresso machine --about $600.00 so I saved!) My new life requires a new thought process too so when I got home last night after buying new red wine glasses I decided to take them back. My current wine glasses can be used for red or white so why do I need more? I answered that question differently at the Coach store. It is not like my friends are going to refuse a nice merlot just because of the glass!

However, I do refuse to share bath water as a means of conservation. We can both pee in the new water saving toilet before flushing but that is as far as I am willing to go.