The perfect gift.

My 6 year old daughter has a knack for making first impressions. For her first day of kindergarten she told her teacher that "he was a good teacher and she had a great day but didn't know if she was coming back tomorrow, she would have to ask her mom." It was his first day of teaching and this little girl was putting him in his place in a matter of fact way. He told me he will always remember that moment, not so much the words, but how this little girl said it. So very sure of herself and happy. 

A couple days before first grade started, Quinn and her daddy, made a necklace together. It was  a snail shell they found together and put on a string. Honestly, it was quite ugly, and it smelled. So she decided the morning of school that it was the perfect gift for her new teacher. I tried to protest but my daughter, true to form, could not be persuaded to do otherwise. So she marched off to school with her "gift" and a sense of contentment that I can only wistfully dream of feeling. To her that necklace was special and it was obviously the perfect gift for any teacher of hers. I know it will make an impression. How could it not?

It's not the gift itself that she is giving her teacher, it's a little piece of her. Her wonder and curiosity that she feels everyone (even teachers) should have. To Quinn that snail shell is a part of nature that is beautiful and mysterious. Ugly and stinky though it may be, viewing nature to her is special and something to be shared. I don't think anyone at the receiving end of these gifts will ever be able to truly appreciate it the same way she does. Not the way I do watching her give these gifts. 

Well meant schedules and Caramel apples...

Can you feel it? Fall is slowly creeping up on us like a ghost in the night. I love it. Nothing makes me feel more alive than the cooler days and the beautiful colors en robing the trees before they sleep. The geese honking across the sky towards the south for winter. Hot cocoa and pumpkins. How can you not feel alive?

My daughter is starting first grade on Monday. Another sign of fall. She is excited. I should be too because it saves me a lot of money on summer camp fees! I decided that this year I will try something a little different. This year, I made a schedule. An honest to goodness schedule. It lists everything from wake up, work, free time etc. I even went a step further and started planning all of the meals for the week on Friday night and shopping on Saturday. No more daily trips to the grocery store. I figure it will help save money and time. In particular, MY time. I feel like I'm starting a new school year. Of course, when I was a kid I always started the year gun ho and ready to get my act together only to fizzle out less than half-way through the year. So we shall see!

I listed my Autumn Magic Soap on artfire today. I also poured a whole bunch of caramel apple soy tarts. Did I mention that fall is my favorite time of year??

The Luna Moth

We've seen a couple rare glimpses of these beautiful giant moths this year. I've lived here for 15 years and this year was the first time I've actually seen one. They are a really cool species of moth.