The only thing that keeps me coming back to his work is that the stories he comes up with are so cool (once I've figured out what he has to say) that I find them worth hacking through the jungle of his prose to find.
The past ten days reminded me of that book, as Halloween and the Day of the Dead were bracketed for me by wonderful celebrations of life.
Jay and I were invited to a gala for Abria, a pregnancy resource center here in the metro. It was a fun, fancy event featuring singers, speakers, a live auction and awards for both those who work for the center and those who used the center's resources to benefit their babies. Nearly everyone involved are women, giving the lie to the death eaters' insistence that abortion is a universally supported by those of us with uteri. The event also demonstrated the lie that those of us who support life only care about babies until they're born. But we in the Pro life movement have always known those were lies. You can't expect truth from the death cult of Progressivism. Not ever, not on any subject. One you've decided Life isn't worth protecting, abandoning truth is inevitable.
The party was great fun and I had a reason to buy some new, fancy clothes, which is not something my every day life requires.
I ordered a long, velvet dress online. It was very pretty, navy blue, v-necked and it fit. But it was a bit too long, I wasn't crazy about the tulip sleeves and as Jay very diplomatically put it, "wasn't my style". If he had loved it, I'd have taken up the hem a few inches and worn it but he didn't and I agreed with him: it wasn't my style. I sent it back.
At TJMaxx, I found a black, knee length jacket with silver sequin stripes which I wore over a silver silk shell and black silk pants. That's my style. Jay loved it.
The next morning, Katie, Josie and Megan ran in a 10K dressed as Troll Dolls.
The night before Halloween we went to Ty's for dinner and got to see Xena, Babalouie and Kitten in their Halloween costumes. The older kids had been trick or treating at the local churches and their candy stashes were already huge. They generously shared with the rest of us after dinner. Xena had one piece of candy she couldn't give away: a chocolate covered marshmallow rolled in sprinkles. No one wanted it. Ty finally took a bite and declared it every bit as nasty as it sounded.
Monday was Halloween. It's always a tricky holiday here in the great north: we never know if winter coats will be necessary beneath our costumes. This was a warm year. Snow isn't a common threat but when we do get it, we get a lot. The great Halloween Blizzard of '91 dumped nearly three feet of snow on us before it let up. That was Zach's first year of trick or treating (he was dressed as a golf ball on a tee; his perfectly round head sold the illusion) and he loved the snowfall more than the candy or costumes.
Tuesday I spent the morning at work, had lunch with my Mom and then went over to hold #6 while Sara took a nap. It was a great day!
Wednesday was a repeat of Tuesday with a dinner party thrown in for fun. I got to see Hootie and Juliana and their baby, who is nearly 6 months old. He's huge compared to newborn #6. Heidi had steaks, salad, potatoes and all the fixin's. She packed up a lot of leftovers and I brought them to Zach and Sara for dinner the next night.
Thursday was the opening reception for my sister Katie's first ever Art Show!!
It's at the Women's Club of Minneapolis, a gorgeous historic building right off of Loring park, down town. Thursday was a gorgeous day and it didn't cool off too much in the evening. MJ and I had helped Katie deliver the artwork to the club on Monday morning. The folks in charge could not have been nicer to us or more enthusiastic about Katie's work. The show consists of 32 watercolors she's been working on since last spring and the theme of the show was scenes from the twin cities. Lots of boats and water and gorgeous views of footbridges and people enjoying our beautiful city.
The show was a smashing success!
I believe there were at least 100 in attendance (about 20 of which were close relatives) so it was very festive and loud but well behaved. By the end of that first evening, 20 of her pieces had red 'sold' stickers on them! She's also had many orders for prints, so get on her website and order something; the prices of everything will go up as demand allows. Don't miss your chance to own an original McCollow for a reasonable price.
Most importantly, Katie looked fabulous. She ended up wearing a very pretty deep plum silky top over a long black skirt with velvet pointed toe boots. Her hair was swept up and she wore hoop earrings.
After the show, since we were already down town, Jay and I nipped over to Ruth's Criss, where a delightful young man we've known for years (he's practically family) runs the place. He was working and sat us at his favorite table in the bar so we could watch the World Series while we ate one of the best steak dinners on the planet.
Friday, we had Margy and my Mom over for dinner because we could. Jay chopped up a big pot of sausage and peppers. One of our favorite things about the change of seasons is that we all have recipes that are weather-specific. There's nothing bette in colder weather than a hot meal you can eat out of a bowl. Sausage and peppers is exactly what it sounds like: a mix of hot and mild italian sausage, chopped into bite sized pieces and cooked in a wok with onions, garlic and several colors of bell peppers. We like ours with a baguette and a bottle of wine. It's fast, easy and ridiculously delicious.
Saturday was the Baptism of #6.
She was baptized during the 5 O'clock mass with alot of her immediate family in attendance, including 4 first cousins, aunts, an uncle, three grandparents and one great grandma. She was wide awake but didn't make a peep as the priest anointed her head, although she did glare at her Mother, as if to ask 'what is going on?' After mass, we had a party at Zach and Sara's place with pizza, salads and desserts.
It was really the perfect end to a whirl wind of a week that began and ended with celebrating LIFE.
Now I need to go sleep for a few weeks.
Then I'll be ready for Thanksgiving.