there's no place like gnome.

I particularly enjoyed about today:

1. The cutest little three year old came to Sunday School for the first time today.  He joined the group eagerly and Grandma watched on for a few minutes before walking away to wait in the nursery for Sunday School to be over.  She didn’t want to go too far; she wanted him to know that she was close as he adjusted.  Well, that didn’t end up being a problem because later, Grandma came back to pick up her grandson and he didn’t want to leave.  He loved Sunday School!  I love that he loved Sunday School.

2.  Like days of old, Paige and I met up this afternoon for a movie.  We saw The Way, Way Back.  I laughed.  I cried.  I leaned over at the end and told Paige that it easily was a top ten movie for me.  I want to see it again and again.  If you can, go.  It’s delightful, funny, endearing, lovely and … I’ll just stop.  I can’t say enough good things.

3.  I grabbed a sandwich from Jimmy John’s for a quick dinner on the ride home.  The drive-up window man was quite a talker tonight.  It’s probably the longest conversation I’ve had with a drive-up employee.  Probably the flirtiest too.  I enjoyed it.  *cliche winky face*

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post.  I spent $11 at the church auction on Saturday and I’m going to  tell you what I have to show for it.  Tomorrow.

Throw-back Thursday OR

Signs that Lindsay was always destined to be a blogger.

I was recently going through a couple totes of things from my school years.  There were lots of goodies – Solo and Ensemble medals, a plaque signifying that all the work I’d put into graduating with a 4.0 paid off, crayon pictures, and penmanship practice from kindergarten.  And then there were my first published works – books written and illustrated by me, published by the Rascal Publishing House [aka laminated and spiral bound at the elementary school].

My first book was about my cats.  The second was about our family cabin.  What I want to share with you is the author biography at the back of both of these books:

Foregoing that attention to cats, it’s funny how even in first and second grade there is evidence of the person I would become over two decades later.  Reading, publishing books, and PENMANSHIP.  What second grader says that?

It’s safe to say that already by age 8 I was on this path to life with a heavy, loved emphasis on reading and writing and books.  That whole “Lindsay likes to draw when she’s at home” though?  That never really materialized.  And even as a first grader, I can’t say it was that great, as seen in this scene from My Cats –

Cats?  Beavers?  I can hardly tell.  They are nice, but sometimes they aren’t.

Four years ago, on this very day, I wrote my first post.  [Click on the archives tab at the top right if you want that blast from the past.]  It was about moving to Dawson for internship.  Can it really be four years ago already?

Obviously, as I’m nearly 1,000 posts in, gnomepreacher still gives me joy and an outlet, both creative and sometimes [okay, quite often] emotional.  It brings me joy that you read it too.  So many of you are so kind to send emails, post comments, and let me know that you enjoy reading.  Thank you for that.

How will I celebrate, you wonder.  Well, I’m about to eat some cantaloupe.   I’ll probably read … quilt a little.  But mostly I’m celebrating by writing this post.  Happy 4th birthday, gnomepreacher!  You’re my sanity blog and my fun place to tell stories.  I think I’ll keep you around for another four.

Here are some favorites:

One of my weekend projects is to organize my home office.  It’s currently a dumping ground for anything and everything.  As I organize, I’m thinking this is pretty cool – clipboards hung on the wall.  It’s a clipboard inspiration wall!

I do love pancakes an awful lot.  These sound delicious – overnight oatmeal cinnamon pancakes.  And apparently they’re famous.

I have a new impulse buy item that amazon helps none with – quilting books.  This is a candidate for my next impulsive buy – Quilting Happiness.

Speaking of quilting, I’m leaping into a major hexagon project.  *deep breath*  Over 500 hand basted and then hand-sewn hexagons.  I’m currently cutting paper templates and fabric squares so it can be my little on-the-go or while-watching-television quilting kit.  I’m excited about it but it will be a lo-o-ng project …  The finished quilt is the British flag – the union jack – but in funky, scrappy colors and patterns [which seems to be my favorite style of late] and ALL hexagons except the border.  Click this link and scroll down for a photo of what I’m attempting!  It’s major.

I made an awesome risotto this past week.  Not wanting to turn on my oven in the heat, I decided to stand over the stove and stir for 30 minutes.  In the end, it didn’t make a whole lot of sense.  But it was delicious.  Iowa Girl Eats blogged this great farmer’s market risotto and it was delicious.  I then tweeted the link to a friend, and Iowa Girl Eats [a fairly well known Midwest food blogger] tweeted me back!  I was a little starstruck for a moment.  But seriously – need another go-to blog for recipes?  Hers is it.

One last thing –

I don’t blame Disney for my high expectations of men … I blame Tolkien.

//

Way back in May, a couple of my siblings, cousins, and I returned to my Grandpa’s house.  To clean it out.  I blogged about it way back when but I haven’t shared with you one of the greatest treasures I received on that day.

I brought a quilt home with me that day.  It’s a quilt of scrappy squares, tied with yarn.  And I love it.  As I packed it up that day, I asked my Aunt Peggy what the story of the quilt was.  [Every quilt has a story.]  She said my Grandma Vera – her mother – made it.  I never knew my Grandma Vera to sew or quilt!  [What I remember most about my Grandma Vera, who died when I was 16, was her encouragement to me as a young girl not to chew my fingernails.  She bribed me with the possibility of her painting them when they got long enough.  Sadly, Grandma, I’ve started chewing my nails again.  I blame the stress of adulthood and boredom on long drives.]

My grandma made this quilt that I now have in my possession and that makes it even better.  Not to mention it is the HEAVIEST quilt ever.  I feel wrapped up tight when I use it.  I can’t wait to curl up under it when cooler weather comes.  It’s so fun to look at too, because every time I use it or fold it or wash it, I spot a fabric I hadn’t see before.  There are some great [read: odd] scrappy fabrics.  It makes me wonder where they came from … worn out clothes?  Other quilts?  Tablecloths?

It’s a treasure.

I’m not even going to apologize anymore.  Blogging just hasn’t been happening in the past week.  Here’s what has been happening –

The moon was bright.  This was on one of Mabel’s walks late at night, post-meetings at church.

The trusty old dusty odometer turned to 111111.  I made five million wishes.

I went to an “antique” store.  It’s near where I live and I just had never been in there.  I’m in the market for something specific so I figured it was worth a shot.  That’s what I found.  Needless to say, they had not what I wanted.

I met friends at Chatterbox in St.Paul for dinner and games.  Paige met my college friends, Adam and Kara.  Then we went to Patina, one of the best stores ever.  Kara became a unicorn for a brief moment.

And then we ate Izzy’s ice cream because a few of us had never been.  It’s been voted the best ice cream in the Cities many times over. [Izzy’s is known for its Izzy scoop – a second flavor baby scoop on top of your cone or dish.]  It was while eating ice cream outside that a fly attacked my eye and Paige won’t let me forget it.  [Or my reaction.]

That’s what’s been happening.  Well, that and an ever-so-quick trip home yesterday for a family party.  [Birthday shout outs!  Happy birthday, Grandma!  Happy birthday, cousin Marissa!  Happy birthday – soon – to sister Emma!]  I was home for less than 24 hours but it was good.  It was a good reminder that I need to go home more often … I also got to make a hospital visit while I was home.  Krissy, a Banana, has been in the hospital for many days with likely many days still to come.  Ever heard of a spinal headache?  I hadn’t until now but uffda.  Nasty stuff.  I hope the coloring books and crayons I took her make the pain  just a little bit more bearable for even a minute or two .