Two Years In A Row ...

... we'll have Christmas lights on our house!! I LOVE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS. Love 'em! Love 'em! LOVE 'EM!! Considering how much I love them, it's a bit odd that we've never really had Christmas lights before but last year Kevin indulged me and again this year. They look so pretty! Not only are they up but they're ON! I know. It's ridiculously early for Christmas lights but I don't care. I LOVE 'EM!! They make me happy. Why wait for this kind of happiness?

We also paste-waxed our kitchen and dining area floors today! I used to wax them at least twice a year but it's been 2 years now since they've been done. Wax makes such a difference. It's nice to see that old green battleship linoleum shine again. Kevin and I both applied the wax on our hands and knees and then Kevin used the old-school floor polisher to make the floors shine. We had new polishing pads on the machine and the new snaps don't work as good as the old ones, so the pads kept flying off. It was a little frustrating. No point putting a lot of work into the old polisher, though, because hopefully soon we'll have a kitchen reno. Hopefully. Hopefully.

Last week was a little intense and exhausting for work-related reasons. I'm glad the week is over! Friday after work we met Pal and Alan and Carol at the Yard and Flagan for dinner and a drink but I wasn't really in any shape to be anywhere but home in bed. We got home at about 8:00 and I went straight to bed. I was so tired I felt sick. I definitely had a fatigue headache.

I went to Brad's memorial service on Saturday morning. Such a sad loss.

I spent a lovely day with Alanna yesterday. After dropping a truckload of junk off at the dump, we drove out to Hague to see the fabric store there. Joanne told me recently that they have a very nice shop out there. She was right! It's fabulous!! We marvelled at all the fabrics and the quilts on display and I bought a bit of fabric, too. We had dinner and a drink at Las Palapas, and that pretty much did me in. I was again wiped by 8:30. It was really fun reminiscing with Alanna. She brought a photo album with photos from our crazy youth. Pretty funny! I'm going to scan some of them. I don't have many photos from that time in my life. The few I did have disappeared in one of those relationship break-ups years ago.

Thanks Laurel, Sylvia and Norma for the oak tree tips! Kevin and I checked out the locations Norma told us about and sure enough, we found acorn caps at two locations. In front of Kirk Hall on campus and in front of Boffins at Innovation Place. Oak trees without leaves look really gnarly. I don't know what type of oak trees these are but they produce caps with a bit of a hairy edge. They're not quite like the ones I've seen used in the photos or like the three Mom gave me. Nonetheless, I think they might do quite nicely. I washed them up, stuck them in the oven on low heat for a while just to sterilize them a bit. I might try some wood finish on them to make them look a little richer before I stuff them with little felted wool balls. I need to experiment a bit.

I'm also expecting some acorn caps in the mail!! After I posted that I was looking for some acorn caps, I got an email from Lisa of Lil Fish Studios. She noticed that I had posted a link to her Flickr album (for a photo of her woolly acorns) and she offered to send me some acorn caps. Apparently, there are several species of oak in the woods by their home and she's sending me a variety of types and sizes. SWEET!! I am SO TICKLED!! I can't wait until they get here! Between the ones from Lisa and the hairy ones I found, I should be able to make at least a little bowl full of woolly acorns.

By the way, please take a look at Lisa's blog, Lil Fish Studios. It's such a nice blog to follow and I've been reading it for a couple of years at least. It's very nature-focussed and very soothing. I love the many things she makes and the way nature inspires her. You'll find lovely photography there. She also has an Etsy Shop. If you recall, Etsy is the eBay of the handmade world. I love exploring Etsy.