My SWAP ENVIES ARRIVED!

Some days going to the mailbox is pure pleasure. Like today. I opened the door, and riffled through the pile of junk mail, giving all of it a silent "Pffft!", until I came to this:


What is that?! I wondered, and then I remembered the Decorative Envies (envelopes) swap. Oh! Oh, goodness. Sarah's decorated envelopes for me. Do you know what self-restraint I exercised? I turned the letter over, and the back was even better than the front:


And then...and then...sigh. I couldn't open it! I was on my way to pick up Ceili from the dog groomer. Opening the envelope might damage it and I didn't want to risk that before I took pictures. Dang. I put the letter on the front passenger seat, where it sat and lured and tantalized until Ceili and I got home.

And then...more delay. Find a nice background to lay it on... Get the camera... Free up the camera card so I could take it out of the laptop and put it back in the camera...Finally!

See? I get a fabulous envie I can send to someone else, too! I love the row of old cars. Which reminds me, the theme of this swap was Parade. Didn't Sarah do a wonderful job of conveying it?


Those old cars remind me of my childhood, county fairs, drive-in movies with my family, and yes, parades.

Can you tell I spent a good deal of my childhood out in the country? The picture on the back reminded me of all those things, too! (Well, except for the drive-in. Don't think I ever saw a tractor there. Maybe a flatbed truck, though.)


So, thank you, Sarah! My envies are delightful, and my mind is asking, "Who? Who is going to get a note or letter tucked inside?"

I hope Sarah likes the ones I sent her. I can tell I have a ways to go before I reach the level she's at, though!

And on that note, I think I'll go to bed. Smiling.

SMALLTOWN, USA 4th OF JULY

We were in Manzanita, on the Oregon coast, for the 4th of July. They have, as many small towns do, a parade. If your experience of parades is what you get in a city or see on TV, it's easy for forget what small town celebrations are like. They're Real, with a capital "R".

I loved the inclusive feel of this parade. If you wanted to be in it, you were in it. Your float might be a bicycle with ribbons and streamers, but it was your float. Everyone was roundly applauded. Everyone, without exception--war veterans, aged and recently returned from Iraq, floats calling for peace, floats celebrating the Summer of Love, people on horseback, on foot, in costume, in cars, on the backs and tops of pickups, scooters, motorcycles, old beauty queens, babes in strollers--we whooped and hollered and clapped for all of them. It was great. I took a lot of photos, and rather than string them in a long, vertical, line, I'm going to try a slideshow.

And one video. This is the float our son created, with two of our grandkids on it. Son Jeff is driving the pickup, one grandson is standing in the pickup bed, and our granddaughter is the lovely throwing candy from The Black Squirrel. The float was made from cardboard Jeff salvaged from the work site of the house he and DH have been building. (The arm waving, and yelling you'll see and hear, are DH. Do you think maybe he's proud and happy?)


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