after the break

october is my favorite month - and our busiest month. those two things fight with each other annually, so this year i decided to consciously, intentionally take in as much of those 31 days as i could. no blogging, just being in the days and the moments.

and there were some good moments.

at the beginning of the month, i started an eight-week writing workshop at modernwell in minneapolis, led by new york times bestselling author marya hornbacher. it's been so good to sit in a room of smart, creative women to talk about writing, encourage each other, learn from someone who has been there and has a clear, strong voice to share. the prompts and challenges have re-lit a fire in me, and i've been producing work for the first time in way too long.

elizabeth finally went pink, and loves it so, so much.

and her sweetie-pie bestfriend boyfriend showed up with pink flowers to celebrate.

we decided a week before my parents visited for the first time in two years that it was the perfect time to deconstruct the basement guest room and redo it. bad judgment on our part, as always. someday we will learn.

we took a quick road trip to iowa to cheer on our firstborn at a swim meet.

and then went right back to working on the guest room.

marc and i celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary by doing something i've wanted to do since, literally, the day we got married:

had taken the couple photos we should have gotten on our wedding day, but World's Worst Wedding Photographer failed to do.

 

oh ... and we also went out for french food at my favorite restaurant, st genevieve. that was good, too.

i ran out of paint - twice - while trying to get the guest room done. a day before my parents arrived, i gave up, moved the furniture back in, and left one whole wall taped up and in need of a second coat.

my parents arrived and we had a great, fast two days with them, going to market bbq, which my mom saw on food tv and requested (and we ate outside at a picnic table on a 45 degree day because it was take-out only), the immersive van gogh experience, took a walk on the trail by our house, played games, and just hung out to enjoy the company.

elizabeth made a kick-ass drawing for class ...

i said, "see ya never again" to my 50th pound ...

and the world looked gorgeous.

i took elizabeth to her first concert - courtship and dayglow at first ave, the iconic minneapolis venue.

later that week, henry came home to surprise marc for his birthday, and of course our first stop was sushi.

on marc's birthday, we took him to ifly to do some indoor skydiving.

then went out for lobster rolls.

that night, eliz went to a dungeons & dragons "dress as your character" halloween party, dressed as a plant magic druid on vacation.

and the next day, halloween, marc and i went to a party of our own. the theme was "swords & sorcery," so naturally, jon snow and melisandre seemed appropriate.

and that was it. october was over. nearly on cue, the leaves fell off the trees on november 1st, and we woke to frost.

i truly don't know where 2021 has gone. as long as 2020 felt, this year has made up for it by going warp speed.

now we will look forward to the upcoming holidays, pulling out twinkle lights and christmas decorations, having henry home for longer visits, and cozying up for the cold months.

truth is, the coming months are my favorite, too. bring on the cozying, i say.

 

 

Comments

[Lora Amy Bright]

This looks so fun! My sisters went to the Van Gogh exhibit and loved it.

Also, those couple photos are awesome.

[Nolwenn]

WOOOOOW that is a hell of an amazing month you had! woot woot <3

[Sue Blott]

What a delightful month you've had! Love love love all your photos, especially the wedding ones! <3