End of the Season Basil

Here's the last of the basil from my yard this year. I harvested it last night, and this pile yielded three quart-sized bags packed full with leaves. Two are already in the freezer. One's in the fridge and will become pesto this weekend. Yum!

There are rumors that it will frost overnight and that we might even get some snow around the area on Saturday. I need to bring my tomato plants in.

Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Patch by Stampin' Up
Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, and Whisper White

200th Post

Well, Blogger tells me that this is my 200th post. Wow. Another thing to make me smile this Friday. Here are my five on Friday for this week.

1. Today is the birthday of my grandmother, my brother-in-law, and a friend from high school. It is also the anniversary of my cousin, who was expecting a baby due today.

2. My cousin's baby came early, so we now have another little girl in our family. She's a sweetie.

3. Over my lunch break today, I helped create Stone Soup in my girls' classroom. Oh, the joy of 1) working from home and 2) living directly across the street from the school. I used Brussels sprouts as the stones. The kids were totally into it.

4. Sorting through photographs. I love seeing how much the girls have grown.

5. Talking with friends that I haven't heard from in a while. Neither of them uses social media, so I have to make an extra effort to remember to reach out to them.

Another Five on Friday

It's been a rough week around here, so this one took me a little more thought.

1. Putting out my Halloween decorations, like this.

2. Discovering a new, quiet place to have lunch, the Hirshhorn Patio. It's just a few blocks from my office.

3. Showing the girls Dumbo for the first time. They really enjoy it, except for the weird drunken dream scenes.

4. Hayrides and Halloween crafts. (And discovering that L's costume wasn't working, so that we could move on to Plan B.)



5. The continued excitement of the emerging Monarchs at school this week. The big release was Wednesday, despite the wind and the threat of rain.

Five on Friday

It's been a busy week.

1. On October 4, 1991, I met DH for the very first time. It's hard to believe I've known him for 20 years. Reminiscing this week has been fun. And a very happy 20th anniversary for the people who introduced us.

2. On Sunday, I went to an alumnae club event. It was fun to reconnect and talk about my alma mater.

3. You are making me jealous with your pumpkin stitching. I'm enjoying seeing the variety of patterns out there.

4. Sleeping well. The cooler weather has been great. And we're in for a beautiful weekend here in DC. Yeah!

5. The girls have been studying insects in preschool this week. The butterflies are beginning to emerge from their chrysalis, which has the girls all excited. Plus, they're coming home singing the funniest songs. "Head, thorax, abdomen, abdomen..."

That's all. Enjoy the long weekend, for those of you in North America!

Five on Friday

Things that made me smile this week.

1. Watching the girls really enjoy being at a Nationals game.

2. The new baby on the block. (She's a cutie!)

3. Cucumbers (finally) from our garden. The girls ate them before I could get a photo.

4. Learning that a college friend had a brand new baby girl. (Another cutie!)

5. Reading Catching Fire in two nights.

Pay It Forward Gifts

At the beginning of the year, I signed up for a Pay It Forward challenge on Facebook. Here are the first 2 of the 5 handmade gifts I owe to people this year.

Butterfly ornament for Brenda in UT Austin orange (her school).

Zee pillow for the daughter of one of the other participants. I've made 5 of these this year: 2 for my girls, 2 for my nieces, and this one. They whip up pretty quick. I blanket stitched the edges instead of gluing them.