Il pleut des cordes

Rain today, which is better than cold. I hate the cold.

Nesting

A friend of mine told me he is going to Russia and that made me think of these matryoshka dolls that sit in my living room. The front set was given to Anna by Leah, the Russian woman who took care of her when she was little. (Thanks to Leah, Anna could understand Russian and say a few words by the time she was two years old.) The back set was mine as a little girl – a gift from Aunt Dot who traveled everywhere and had a magical room in her house, full of treasures from around the world.

Kiss

"The happiness of life is made up of minute fractions - the little, soon forgotten charities of a kiss or a smile..."
-Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Round up

The girls and I played a game with the camera on the playground after school. Our assignment: take pictures of circles. This is what we found.

Dutch treat

Anna had a new friend from school to lunch so we decided to set a pretty table. We used these trinkets -- candle sticks and a little house -- from Amsterdam. I used to work for a company that had a Dutch office and we would send cultural care packages back and forth. I'm sure none of my Dutch former colleagues display whatever horrible American artifacts we sent over (Boston baked bean pot?) but I love my blue-and-white imititation delft house and candlesticks. They always inspire happy memories of my trips to Amsterdam.

Pump it up

Couldn't let October go by without a post featuring pumpkins and spooky creatures found at the garden shop.

Love a parade

Marching bands from across the country came to town this weekend for the 3rd annual Honkfest. On Saturday they played all over Davis Square. On Sunday, they closed down Mass Ave. for a parade and we marched behind the fabulous MarchFourth all the way from Davis Square to Harvard Square. My parents were there, our kids were there, our friends and neighbors were there, and we all danced our way along what's normally a bustling street full of cars. I looked up at the sky as we walked under a huge traffic light and thought about what a magical moment it was. One of my neighbors said, "With all the bad things that are happening in the world, it feels so good to be out here dancing to free music in the sunshine." I couldn't agree more.

Photos: MarchFourth Web site