Or one friend in particular, I should say! A friend I went to high school with, Kristina now lives in London (cool!)... I commented on how I loved her scarf she was wearing in a picture, and she sent me one out of the blue! Yay for fun random things like that! I love it, Kristina! Thank-you! In fact, yesterday I was trying to think of what I was going to wear to a non-profit banquet we had to go to that night... and I thought to myself how I wished I had a scarf to wear, because my friend Shiny always wears cute scarfs too. And while its not really cold, it would be nice to have while indoors. So I was thinking this while I was on my way home, and when I got home, I opened the scarf!! So I wore it last night and it was fabulous! :-) Made my day. :-)



Not a lot has been going on, but we've been so busy. It seems like we have something to do literally every night of the week and it drives me crazy. I would rather just stay home. But, that's not really an option most of the time. Last night we went to a fundraising banquet for the Fresno Rescue Mission downtown at the Radisson. It was nice... but really long. :-) I came home and went straight to bed at 9. Tonight we have our small group and I'm hoping to be home by 8, but doubt that will happen... so I'm realistically aiming for 9, once again. Tomorrow I have to go back to the allergist to get more needles poked in my back. Fun. I'm just ready to know ALL that I'm allergic to and start getting the shots that will hopefully make my life a little bit better. Then on Friday, I am going to the eye doctor... I think I've scratched my eye somehow and its really bad, so yay for that. :-/



I was reading this week the book that I mentioned a bit ago, Jesus for President. In it, the author talked about the year of the Sabbath and the Year of Jubilee and I began thinking about this concept... every seven years, the Israelites were commanded to take a break for an entire year from most means of living... mainly agricultural. Anything that grew was free to be picked by anyone, and when the Sabbatical year ended, all debts were considered nullified and forgiven. Every 49th/50th year was the BIG deal... the year of Jubilee....Slaves were set free, working came to a halt, debts were once again erased and the gap between the "haves" and the "have-nots" was narrowed. What a concept! Of course, this would never happen in modern life on a world-wide basis, but the concept is still observed by many Jews today. I was talking to my co-worker about this concept and she told me of a friend who worked for some bio-chemical company. Every year, he was paid 6/7th of his salary... so 1/7th was held back, and his 7th year, he got paid a full salary, but did not work at all. So basically, he got a full year long paid vacation. MAN! I want to work for that company! With the space between the rich and poor in our nation and our world growing at an astonishing pace (and the impending distaster that Obama as president could bring to further this doom) I think that the Sabbath year and Year of Jubilee is a very interesting idea....



Anyways... here's a few pics for good measure :-)
I decorated our guest room this weekend....


I still need a good chair for the vanity....
I love this little vignette.... I am looking for more bird things... I am in LOVE with all things bird.... :-)

This is last night before the banquet. (Note my scarf!!)

As promised.... here's my Friday foto.... this is a yard in my neighborhood, getting ready for Halloween, apparently. These witches are actually permanent statutes, that when not in festive gear, are hideous 5 and 7 feet tall grecian women carved from stone. If this is what they do for Halloween, we can't wait for Christmas!!

I love Fall. It is my all-time favorite season EVER. I love everything about Fall... the smell in the air when night starts to fall sooner in the day... the briskness in my step when the air gets cooler... the crunch of freshly fallen leaves... the rich hues of amber, gold, red and deep burgundy that show up everywhere from the tree tops to store shelves... the smell of Spiced Pumpkin goodness in candles, sprays, and everything else.... I. Love. Fall.







Unfortunately, Fall in California is prety much like the ugly step-child of the seasons. Its forgotten. Neglected. Glanced over. Swept by. Hurriedly pushed aside for Winter. While my Okie friends are enjoying evenings in the 40s and 50s already, we're still cranking away our A/C just to keep the house a 'comfortable' 81 degrees at night. Even Fall in North Carolina was brilliant... the summers were hot, but the Fall came early... and where we lived you could drive and see all kinds of harvest taking place. It was so beautiful. I like the idea of Fall because its the time of year when the fruits of your labor are realized... the harvest... bringing in that which you have planted and nurtured and fed through the hot months, the long summers.... And then after the harvest, a time to start new... to till the ground, refresh the soil. Yes, I love Fall.







Sure, out here we have palm trees and beaches, but lets face it... one can only handle so much sand between your toes before it starts to get old and you start to long for the comforts of the season you've always known, loved and looked forward to. *sigh* Pity party for myself? Maybe. I'll get over it, but for right now, I'm really missing Fall and wishing I were at home in Tulsa... with the windows open and my Yankee Candles lit... decorating my house with leaves and pumpkins and golds and reds. :-/







Here's some pics I took last harvest season in NC. It was so beautiful...