O September, my September! How I love thee. Getting so close to fall, my favorite. Trying to put on the brakes and really savor it, but it's hard to slow down with another school year starting in earnest and two patterns on my table. I'm one of those naysayers who thinks it should be illegal to put up Christmas decorations before December first. Let me have my autumn, people! *waving cane*
There's already been a subtle change in the light and air here. Yes, yes, we are in Atlanta, so there will still be plenty of sweaty armpit days and it sure ain't time to break out the boots and scarves (no really, random citizens. It isn't), but we've had a couple of preview days with cooler temps and breezes.
The photo. Like my dreamy new fall
shoes? I was a goner the moment I put them on. They
might be a cross between Howard's End and Soul Train, but I love them hard. So comfortable. (That now being my number one concern. Welcome to middle age.) And they go with practically everything in my wardrobe! I was sashaying around the house in them the other day in my pajamas (rolled to the knee), trying them with different coats and doing a fashion show for my two girls. They remained unimpressed. What do they know?
Both the school carts are already overloaded and disorganized after one week of school. I should have enjoyed that initial five minutes they looked nice and neat. I still get a huge thrill out of new school supplies.
Home schooling will be a bit different for us this year as both my girls are enrolled in an excellent academy that partners with home schoolers in my area. They'll be attending classes a couple days a week. The rest of the days will be at home with their
favorite teacher. haha. My husband and I think it's important as they get older to learn to be accountable to other teachers besides myself (and excellent teachers too!) and to really stretch themselves and get comfortable with giving presentations and being part of a classroom setting. Our first year with the academy was last year and it was fantastic.
We are trying origami. It's nice to take a break from academics to sit and fold paper and add goofy faces. The girls have never really tried it and I'm not very experienced. We are finding this book to be a great starter:
Speaking of home schooling, Angry Chicken just posted a great list of home schooling links
here, and That Artist Woman has an excellent post about her favorite school art supplies
here. And my friend Laura recommended a great
site for math practice. Both my right-brained children need to get quicker with mental math and this makes a nice break from flash cards. I think it's great! The girls complain loudly, but that's how I know they are learning.
In crafty news, I've jumped right from
Gold Ring to developing the
Early Bird/Night Owl pillow pattern. This one's ready to stuff. Ugh. My least favorite step. I
hate to stuff things, but now I realize this may be because I've been using the worst possible stuffing available. I didn't think there were many differences but after seeing this timely
post I'm game to try the stuffing that Wendi Gratz recommends so highly. I think I'll be making a special trip to the store this afternoon so I can get some.
My local craft stores love to see me coming during pattern development. I shop with a scatter gun mentality. Even if I have a pretty good idea of what I need for the samples I'm making, I'm always plagued with doubts and end up getting some of everything in every color. It usually pays off.
I hope you are having a lovely September, and happy Labor Day to my fellow Americans!