Pumpkin Time!

Oh, my boys could hardly wait to carve their "prize" pumpkin; the biggest one that we grew in our garden this year.  I was surprised how many big seeds were inside!  The boys didn't like the slime, but they loved the little sculpting saws and took turns cutting.  I liked hearing the familiar hollow scrape scrape of the metal spoon on the inside edges; making everything light golden and clean.  The boys helped separate the seeds from the slime and we toasted them with garlic salt.  Then we cut Donovan's design into the side.  It's on our front porch now with a candle in it, 'cause there's no use waiting for Halloween.  The sky outside started to match our glowing jack-o-lantern by giving us an orange glow on the incoming clouds, lying low with the warm Chinook we experienced today.  What a fun parallel.  God likes orange.  It started out all peachy and swoopy, like Northern lights Dave said, and he was right.  But by the time Donovan hit the bath the sky was on fire.

I look at Weston sometimes and I realize he's become his own person with his own thoughts and ideas.  I'm so proud of him.  He keeps asking how many days until Christmas.

Donovan is still twitchy when I we ask him to help, but I hope he will find realms of freedom within his responsibilities.  It must be a lot to be away from home for 8 1/2 hours a day.  Humm....  I'll look forward to my last few Thursday/Friday/Saturday nights with him this week.  Coming soon I will be doing shows during those times. 

It was a fine day in rehearsal, a bit short.  My voice wasn't delivering the way I'd love, but I didn't complain.  I'm pretty sure it's my lack of sleep and new antibiotics to blame, they make my mouth dry as cotton, even after three glasses of water!

Tomorrow we're in the theatre for the first time and we have press shots.  Here's hoping Kendra and I can get my hair done right, and in good time.  I'll wear my vibrant green costume, which'll be interesting because I've never seen it. -- I've only tried on a mock muslin one three times before they cut the expensive silk.

That's all for now.  Like the candle in the pumpkin and the intense color in the sky, moments of brilliance are fleeting.  And so will be my night and next day.

The Urge to Purge

I pruned the tomatoes quite severely today.  It was terribly warm and beautiful.  A sunny fall day makes for some of the most beautiful colors: the bright blue sky behind all the gold, green and orange leaves -- stunning.  We had a picnic outside with Weston, and then I just laid down and dosed in the sun for a bit.  I can't remember when I did that last...  After a while an ant kept tickling my back and I couldn't stand it.  (Out here sometimes they bite.)  So I got up and went and cleaned out most of the garden.  I wonder... is there an innate urge to work --to harvest at this time?  When the weather is fair and I have a speck of time, I find this hunger to work with my hands --to get outside and provide somehow or create, before something changes.  Maybe before the cold settles in for good.

We're risking keeping the tomatoes on the vine right now.  The days are promised to be warm and clear, but the nights may drop near freezing.  We almost pulled in the "prize" pumpkin as well, but Dave wants to see if it will get any bigger first.  --Here's hoping everything makes it through the night.  (Or we could go blanket again, even with all our tiredness and just-wanting-to-vegness.)

I also went through all of Weston's crayons today.  I sorted out the Crayolas from the want-to-be Crayolas and then I separated the pens from the glue sticks and the colored pencils.  Later I went on to sort through the boys' pajama/longjohn drawers.  Of course Weston vetoed almost everything I put in the give-away pile insisting that he wasn't ready to let go of that yet, and promised he would still wear it, even if it didn't cover his belly button anymore!  Ugh.  My boys are growing.  Donovan just pulled out another tooth tonight.  What is that #6? Sheesh.