Made my day

Black opaque tights, 2 pair for $14.99 at Costco MADE MY DAY.

Elizabeth's quilt

I made this quilt for Elizabeth over the weekend.  It's a tumbler pattern (easy) with Camille Roskelley's fabric.  I love how it turned out.  And obviously Elizabeth loves it too.

Hurricane Sandy: the aftermath

I drove to work today and this was the only SIGN (ha!) of clean-up/fix-up after the hurricane.

Click here to see my friend Kimberly's front yard; I drove by tonight and it still looks like that.  Maybe those two guys can head over to her house tomorrow.  I sent the photo to my brother Chuck and he wrote back that he wished he lived in my ward -- he'd have a lot of fun cutting up that tree with his chainsaw.

Fall photocards for sale

For $15 you can get a set of these 6 Fall photo cards.  Click here to hop over to my Etsy shop (or email me at patton_ellen@hotmail.com).

Surviving the storm

So far, it's been OK.  I went out earlier to dump my trash and took a walk around my building.  It felt good to get some fresh air.  It's very windy and rainy and I still have power which is the best part.

Storm treats

There are 8 condos in my "neighborhood" (hallway/corner of the building) and late last night I left some homemade treats for my neighbors.

My white trash state of emergency

I'm ready for Sandy.

Enjoy these leaves today...

...because there may not be any left on the trees after Sandy hits.

Saints on bikes

I saw Sarah and Chad (they got married this summer) at Stake Conference today and asked if they needed a ride home (I knew they didn't have a car) and they said, "These are our bikes!"  Good for them.

A quiet Saturday

It's rare that I have a Saturday with zero commitments so I'm taking advantage of the time and working on a few sewing projects (the fabric is from here).

TRUNK-OR-TREAT FAVORITES

There are no words.

Adorable Minnie

Cutest Fire Chief

Marlee rocked her costume

Someone told Trent (Mitt) he had the scariest costume on!

Twin elephants

Donuts before candy

Littlest witch

A family of pilots

Franken-Odie

Trunk-or-Treat tonight

This was the last time I dressed up for Halloween (circa early 90's)--I don't even know what type of bird I was; a friend loaned me the costume and I can't even remember who!).  I don't like dressing up.  OK.  I hate it.  I'll go to the Trunk-or-Treat tonight (mostly to see friends, take photos, and maybe have a donut) but I won't (a) be in costume or (b) handing out candy.

Made my day

Seeing my friend Kip Thompson at MIT today while he's in town for a conference MADE MY DAY.

Cousins Club

The cutest lion

He's cute and he's brave and he's ready for Halloween.

Baby Adrick

Renee was a brand new baby when I moved here (24 years ago) and now she HAS a baby.  Weird.  Adrick is adorable.  Seriously adorable.

A portion of LaPierres

Renee (and her baby!  she has a baby!!) and Betsy are in town and I went by tonight to see them.  Good times with the Loppies.

Pasta Fagioli

I made pasta fagioli tonight for the first time--it's easy and inexpensive to make.  I think I put too much pasta in the pasta fagioli but it was still really tasty.

Eden's baptism

Tonight was Eden's baptism.  It was well attended and very nice -- everyone loves this family.  Her grandmothers gave the talks and her dad baptized and confirmed her.  Eden is a very bright and confident girl (she was part of the Girls Club at the ward campout last year) and she's going places.

Walden Pond

Yesterday between getting an ice cream cone (what--no creamsicle after Columbus Day?!?) and buying some apples at a farm stand (6 for $7 -- expen$ive!) I drove past Walden Pond.  Luckily some people were crossing the street so I was stopped and could capture a few shots.  Before it gets too cold I should walk around Walden Pond again.

Another beautiful fall day

I took these photos while rambling around today.  I love love love living in New England; even with hot humid summer days, piles of snow, and five days of spring--the fall makes it all worth it.  Just today I told a friend that one of the best decisions I've ever made was to move to Boston.

UMass v. Bowling Green State University

There wasn't a lot of orange in the stands today at the UMass game.  BYU played (and lost to) Notre Dame today and I'm sure there was more blue in the stands in Indiana.

UMass Amherst football game

I went to the UMass Amherst football game today (they play at Gillette Stadium while their stadium is being rebuilt).  My friend Jenny's son is in the marching band and she got group tickets for $10 each.  It was great entertainment and I spent exactly $10 (parking was free and I avoided buying any food/beverages -- the water was $3.75 a bottle!).  The marching band was fantastic (there are about 400 students in it) and they played "Boogie Wonderland" and "Jai Ho" (from Slumdog Millionaire).    It was really fun to be there.