New Fall Design

Since I'm really in the mood for Fall...the weather here in Illinois is changing to cooler evenings and mornings...I have drawn up a Fall-themed rug and am ready to start color selection.  The design is inspired by Kelley Belfast's great cat/pumpkin drawings, but the rug is my composition and drawing.  I just hope the finished rug will be as primitive as her wonderful rugs and punch needle creations.  Here is a picture of the rug:

I don't know if I've mentioned this in a past post or not, but I won't be babysitting my grandchildren this school year.  My granddaughters will both be in school all day and my grandson will be going to a friend's house to be around other children more, since he will be attending pre-school a year from now.  I will have much more time to spend hooking rugs and designing (I hope).  I'll really miss spending the days with Olivia, Allison and Kale, but look forward to being home and having some free time.  We live 5 minutes from my son and daughter-in-law, so we will still be able to see them often.

A school friend and former neighbor from the small town that I grew up in phoned me out of the blue last night.  I haven't seen her or heard from her for nearly 35 years.  She had just come home from visiting her elderly parents who still live in that small town,  and the evening was clear, cool and moonlit-reminding her of the summer nights that she and my three sisters and I would walk around town and talk and "hang out."  We would sit on the front porch and talk for hours about friends, school, and boys.  She is a couple of years older than I and she was feeling a little nostalgic about her youth, I guess.  Anyway, she told me how much she appreciated the feeling of belonging to our family during those years.  She said that she thought of us as the sisters that she never had (she had two younger brothers.)  It was a nice time of catching up on the paths our lives have taken since high school, children, grandchildren, jobs, etc.  We talked for an hour! 

The really strange part of the story is that I had just mentioned to Rachel (my daughter) during a recent gentle summer rain that it reminded me of the times during my teen years when our neighbor (the lady who called me) and we would walk around town during the summer rains and just talk and enjoy the rain.  I can't remember the last time I actually walked in the rain!!  It was a wonderful time in my life, and I have decided the next time it rains,  I'm going to go for a walk!

I hope you all have a wonderful week!
Linda