October was supposed to be a blank slate, a respite between “birthday season” and holiday busyness. As it turned out, I had a couple of activities come up each week, shared mostly in the weekly Friday’s Fave Fives. But most of the activities were fun fellowship without a lot of advance preparation, so little to no pressure. And we did have some restful spots here and there.

Though we’re still not experiencing the full color that eastern TN usually provides in the fall, I’ve seen more in the last week than in the whole month before. Unfortunately I wasn’t in a a place where I could park and take pictures. But I tried to look as long as I safely could while driving and soak in the beauty.

We’ve enjoyed some deliciously cool days the last couple of weeks. I haven’t turned on the heat or broken out the winter clothes yet, but we’ve had a couple of oven meals that we haven’t had since last spring because it’s been too hot to turn the oven on.

Timothyisms – cute or funny sayings from my five-year-old grandson

He was trying to put on a pair of well-loved pjs that had lost the tag. He took them off again, and his dad asked why and were they on backwards. Timothy said, “I don’t know. I don’t know.” Then he let out a dramatic sigh and said, “My life is so hard.” I’ve sometimes felt that way over little frustrations, too.

I think I have mentioned before that he loves “balloon men” (also known as air dancers) that you see at car lots and such. His parents had found a couple of small ones they got for him. Then they found some fall inflatables for about $15 at Aldi’s—similar to balloon men. That put him over the moon for a while.

Creating

I made a couple of cards this month, one for a baby shower:

And one for Pastor Appreciation Month:

The sheep were some free clip art I printed from the computer and cut out. I made the borders out of scrapbooking paper with decorative scissors.

Reading is always a favorite pastime. Here’s what I completed this month:

• A Constant Heart by Siri Mitchell. An arranged marriage of two courtiers during Queen Elizabeth’s reign. Quite a picture into those times and the uncertain standing in the lives of courtiers.
• A Flower in Bloom, also by Siri Mitchell. the daughter and main assistant of a botanist feels set aside when her father hires another assistant so she can be free to marry. Her plan to attract a suitor so her father will see what her marriage will mean to him and give up the idea backfires. Though this is a different time and type of people than the above book, Siri wonderfully waves together historical detail from the times with the story of people’s hearts.
• Honey, I Don’t Have a Headache Tonight by Sheila Wray Gregoire. Good resource.
• Loving People: How to Love and Be Loved by John Townsend. Finally finished this! It wasn’t as helpful as I had hoped, but it did give me a few things to ponder.
• Moby Dick by Herman Melville, about Captain Ahab’s obsessive hunt for the white whale that cost him his leg. Thrilling in many places, tedious in others.
• The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay. Just finished this one a couple of days ago. I’m hoping to review it tomorrow.

I’m currently reading:

• On Writing Well by William Zinsser
• Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss
• Jessie’s Hope by Jennifer Hallmark

Blogging

Around the blog, besides the regular the Friday’s Fave Fives, Laudable Linkage, and book reviews, I’ve shared thoughts on:

• Making the Bible Come Alive. We can’t—it IS alive. We’re the ones who need to be made alive by the Word of God.
• “Just Wait: It Gets Harder.” That’s something younger moms hear too often instead of encouragement.
• Do You Want to Be Near God? Results of a short Bible study about drawing near to God.
• Look Up. Like Bunyan’s Muckraker, we can sometimes keep our eyes and thoughts on what’s right in front of us and forget to look up to Him and to the needs of others around us.
• Is It a Sin to Be Rich? Being wealthy isn’t politically correct these days (unless you’re in entertainment or sports—go figure). But what does the Bible say about it?

Writing

I’ve had some good editing sessions on my book, but chafe that I don’t get to it as often as I’d like. Sometimes I’m really excited about it, and it seems not too far from being done. Other times it seems awful or a long way from completion. From what I’ve read, it’s pretty normal for writers to fluctuate between those feelings.

I’m also following some agents’ blogs to get to know them and try to decide which one to approach. About the time I’ve decided to ask one, something changes my mind to consider another. If you feel led, I’d appreciate your prayers for God’s direction in that step.

And that’s my October. How was yours?

(Sharing with Wise Woman, Linda, Let’s Have Coffee, Grace and Truth, Faith on Fire,
Faith ‘n Friends, Create, Bake, Grow, & Gather, Shannan, Senior Salon,
Literary Musing Monday, Happy Now, Hearth and Soul,
InstaEncouragement, Tea and Word, Worth Beyond Rubies)