HOWL-o-WEAN (from sugar, ha!)

I love a holiday honoring spider webs! Negative print made in our paint program, before John goes with big boys to build grandpa's fence. In the rain.

The kids were clever with their costumes this year. Suzu is an anime character she likes, someone from Bleach. Thus the hair.
Stewart used defunct Mathmatica CD's, hot-glued them on a thrift store black hoodie.
Suzu did Roxie's hair and let her borrow a necklace to go with her Snow Queen/Princess.


Sam found a great u-tube Box Man costume, and recreated it.<

Max was singing with Boychoir when we took this photo for the Trunk-or-Treat. His costume is a mystery man...

I'm Loving Profiles

Technically this was shot Thursday evening. We had planned on going down to the temple on Friday, but had a spontaneously free afternoon and went earlier. Not many patrons. Kind of peaceful and quiet.

I kept thinking of our kids there with us! I want all of our children to have the desire to go to the temple, and to return often. I want them to be comfortable inside, and feel like they belong and are loved.

We came home happy and in time to read scriptures with the kids. We use the seminary room while I am painting upstairs in our usual famly reading spot. They all chose the back row along the wall. Except Suzu. She sat where she does in the morning, and I sat in my spot, where I prepare to teach. Comfort zones?

Fire Protection

I had the thought, that BLOGGING PHOTOS is fire protection! There is a copy out there, and not just on our hard-drive at home. If something happened, all these couple photos are available.

This is our front hallway, north wall. Wall quilt, not a snugly one. I am particularly self-impressed with the quilting on this one, kind of a cauliflower-look done on Peggy's big machine, by me!

2,000 Words

Painting Soothes Me

We are trying really hard to not spend any money on dates. Lunch together with stuff we already have at home is our usual plan. Some weeks feel like one big long date with just a few interruptions. If the kids come home and find us sitting on the couch they ask what we have been doing all day...ummm, good thing we are married!

John was a good sport about moving the living room furniture out again so I could re-do the ceiling. The bright blue sky and clouds were competing with the enlarged damask in the dinning room. I have trouble with too many focal points. It is my decorating weakness. And limiting my palette is tough, too. I love so many colors! And I can't decide what style I really like--although I lean towards modern stuff. It just doesn't show yet in my thrift-store purchases and curb-inherited furniture. Just my dream notebooks.


Downstairs in the seminary room. I muted out some of the color in this version.

Salmon Hallway Leading to the Bedrooms

I have textured walls. 1950 red brick rancher interior. Only 3 rooms upstairs have smooth walls--the rest are all bumpy like this. HARD to paint. Takes a lot of paint. This salmon was a left over quart that I had mixed (not an Oops paint) when I first painted the Crother's hutch. I love this color. (It matches my face.)
Yesterday the Ward Employment Specialist gave John a want-ad for a position that matches his interests and background perfectly, even down the to required years of experience. Deadline for applicants is November 20th. Which means a month to wait to find out. But it is a sweet possibility. I am hopeful this morning, but tired. I was dreaming I was teaching seminary when John woke us up a little after 5. That's like dreaming you are already in the bathroom, feeling all reassured you are where you belong.

Roxie took our photos this morning!

The Sillies & Serious Sabbath in the Sunshine

"It's TOO BRIGHT! I can't open them any wider!"

I subbed for nursery today. Fun to play for 2 hours with little friends!

Craft show; HAIR, and WE were interviewed

(Update from craft fair today! It was fun to hang out with friends, but sparsely attended show, not a lot of profits. My cordless HEATING BAGS sold out. Selling to interested locals $5.00=great gifts!)
(THIS is a preview of Suzu's costume, an anime character. She had a costume party last night, so a week before Halloween, we bleached her hair, as per her begging pleas and my in-experienced cooperation.)
(THIS is Roxie's inside out braid from Friday. One of the seminary students helped her with her hair before school.)
(THIS is us Saturday morning--and I know, I am wearing the same shirt from yesterday, it's still clean...we are standing in front of David's boxer paintings and you can preview the living room wall color behind us.)

Emma called. Pre-planned time, so we would both be here, and on our house phones, so all three of us could conference talk.

We talked for 1:40. That's longer than our usual sweet and short bursts of conversations between her classes.

She is writing a paper for her Marriage Prep class, and had some great questions for us. Pertinent stuff. "What kind of advice would we give our kids about intimacy in dating and marriage?"

I immediately thought of my 9th grade English teacher, Verda Mae Christensen. She had a list of 10 things she would tell her own kids, and shared with our class on several occasions, of how to act on a date.

Funny how powerful the influence of a teacher can be, decades later.

And sobering having our oldest be so wise and knowing.

(THIS is my "Mrs. Bennet" sepia version from a very recent photo on Emma's blog.)

The reason one should take more than 10 photos:

I look grumpy/sleepy/hungry/worried. John looks like happy Dad-Guy.

I look more relaxed, sublime. John looks irritated at our photographer.

If we had taken 8 more, maybe we would have gotten one with us both open-eyed, smiling. Or I need to learn how to combine two photos, photo-shop our best faces together?

John is painting again today for contractor neighbor. I am scrambling to get ready for a craft show tomorrow at Bel Air High School 9-3! And company coming to dinner (clean house becomes a priority).

THE REASON ONE SHOULD PRE-TEST PAINT COLORS:

If I could do anything I wanted today--I would paint our living room ceiling.

Again,

I know. Less than a week since I painted it.

Now, it needs to be pink. Hot pink. Actually, 3 values of pink. I want to try a faux-vaulted ceiling, the four corners coming to a point in the center, far triangle lightest/brightest pink, 2 midtones on sides, and darkest closest to window=shadow side. Just to see what it looks like. I can't stop thinking about it. I painted the living room "New Hope Grey" Benjamin Moore, and it is the wrong grey for the "Utah Sky" blue ceiling. Something has to change. And pinks, I have in the basement paint collection. Easy access...

The company coming tonight is a high school buddy of John's, who stopped by last week when I was in the middle of painting the ceiling blue and the walls grey (he couldn't come in the front door because it was blocked with a couch). I could tell something was wrong color-wise then, but it has taken me a week and a conversation with Tiffany yesterday to see what I need to change. Soon.

Or, I could keep the ceiling, but only if I re-paint the walls. Given the choice, I think the ceiling is easier to redo. It is less textured than the walls, and I really like the new wall color...

Maybe I can just pretend that all I do is paint, and it will be normal, sitting in the kitchen elbow to elbow around the island because the couch is in the dinning room and tarps all over the empty living room... This is what it is really like living with a painter/artist.

I will blog-show you a living room picture when I have an after-fixed-the-problem photo to show.

Fall Wearing Flip Flops

We walked the kids the 1/2 mile to school (niece, nephew, and Roxie). Crisp weather, sun is shinning and the leaves are glorious!

Romance!

I love getting comments! My writer-sister, Deb in NY, mentioned our picture Wednesday looked like the cover of a romance book! I did a quick look through our history to see if there were any better ones. And made copies and put them all in one file named "couples" for future reference.

(Note to Emma: the Christmas project we talked about illustrating "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" with family photos may have to wait another year...or turn into a Valentine's gift? I need to see your contributions! In fact, open invitation to any other couples/families that want to participate: send us or blog photos of you doing things that show the principles talked about in the proclamation. Or if you decide to do one on your own, show us how you figured it out!)
Quilt on wall behind us: partial top found in an attic in South Carolina by a friend. I finished adding to the top and quilted it.

I think JenB took this one of us?


In Ocean City at a conference. Yes, we match on purpose. It was a Hawaiian themed dance on the last day.
Emma took this one for a Reflections photo contest. Those daddy eyes are looking at you!


Emma took these last two, at Friend's Park in Forest Hill. We have used this bridge for many family photos.
I liked this one so much I printed it on glow-in-the-dark paper. After we turn out the lights in our room we can still see it! David--pens in the pocket again!

Kissing in the Dining Room

Why do a Series?

My high school art teacher, Harold Petersen, taught us that the first 10 ideas we thumbnailed would be predictable, commonplace. To stretch ourselves, he would encourage us to sketch out at least 20 ideas, before picking one to finish.

Brother Bennion, my ceramic teacher at BYU, assigned us to throw 100 mugs on the wheel, and then had us smash them. He said the 101st might be worth firing, glazing, keeping. Then we had to make 50 worth keeping.

I think there is power in series. The first tries warm you up. Then new ideas filter through. Pushing for something different, creative, and inspiring takes work, rough drafts, practice, experimenting.

I am thankful for a husband who listens to my ideas. He is brave and willing, always trying to make me happy.

I have not yet taken 100 pictures of us. It's been 4 full weeks. I hope we are employed full-time before another 70 days go by...but if not, maybe by picture #101 we will create an incredible photo?

(It would have been an interesting series experiment to stand in the same place every day and take a portrait photo. Flip through them quickly like a movie. See wrinkles emerge. Shadows under the eyes. Hair get longer or shorter.)

Someone asked me if I will keep taking photos of us as a couple after John gets a new job? It has been mostly fun. Some days it is hard. But a reason to celebrate, feel united, show our solidarity. Maybe we will keep doing it at least once a week? Watch us get greyer together?

And HANDS! This is another idea from looking at photography blogs and seeing couples holding hands. What does it say about the couple? Can you even tell which hands are mine, which ones are John's? Fascinating to me to see grey paint on his nails--usually it is me with paint smears! Our neighbor across the street is a contractor and hired John for a day job, painting a 350 year old historic basement.

Copy Cat

Awww. (Sam is our photographer this morning. Background is our newly painted living room ceiling.)
I am looking at other blogs for couple photo ideas. This was one of my favorites, although I am looking for some great empty fields around here (did you Utahans know there are lavender fields 22 miles south of Provo?!)

Steak Sunday

After Stake Conference (big Church meeting, all the geographical units meet together at one building! Max and I sang in the choir, "Take Time to Be Holy" and "Sweet Hour of Prayer." Elder Smith from the 70 spoke to us about standing in holy places) we dropped off Maxwell downtown for a boychoir concert. He took our photo for us. Came home and ate crock-potted sirloin tip roast, gift from a friend cleaning out their freezer before they move.

We are surviving. And still smiling, at least for the photos...

Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;
Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word.
Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak,
Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.
Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
Spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.
Take time to be holy, let Him be thy Guide;
And run not before Him, whatever betide.
In joy or in sorrow, still follow the Lord,
And, looking to Jesus, still trust in His Word.
Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul,
Each thought and each motive beneath His control.
Thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love,
Thou soon shalt be fitted for service above

William Longstaff (public domain)

5-K: They Ran, We Walked!

This rainy Saturday morning we started under the pavilion, gathered to hear the mayor give a short speech, then the county executive present two proclamations for the food bank and thanks to Mr. Klein & Shoprite for the generous 20 million in 10 year sponsorship to end hunger.

We were raising money for "Crop: Stop Hunger" campaign. And doing a little family support-purple-sweatshirt campaigning for Grandma!

It is impressive to see the oldest 3 stretching, warming up together.
They told us they were called down to the office for a yearbook sibling picture. Three teenagers in the same high school!


It was a long walk for Roxie and Sam, but they did it!

I don't remember where I learned this little song, but I sing-songed it to the kids when they were little and wanted them to stay with me as we crossed roads or parking lots...

We gotta walk, walk, walk together
Stick, stick, stick together
Walk, walk, walk together
Hold on tight!
Don't let go!