Moonshine Junkyard

We're at it again! Carved more pumpkins last night by a nice fire while watching Sleepy Hollow (SO GOOD!) So we're pretty much ready for Halloween. Problem is, Darin is much better at being spooky than me. It seems I can only carve pumpkins into cats now. Darin, on the other hand, had the creativity and presence of mind to do a cyclops. And play dead by it...

going with darin and dad to the neighbors' farm and picking out some pumpkins. and enjoying the leaves and colors with my pops at his house. then having friends over for a cozy fire in the woodstove, wine, conversation and games: and best of all, snuggling with cats by the fire: what do you like to do to enjoy these cozy fall days?

Last night was QUITE A NIGHT. Spontaneously, a big group of us decided to drive down to The City (does everyone call San Francisco THE city or is that a northern california thing?) to watch a show. I drove NINE unruly people down through the valley in my van: my sister Addie and her husband Art, my brother Joey and his gal Emily, our friends Maya and Gabe Sady, and our friends Stan and Lesley. It was one hell of a wild ride. Most famously, we GOT STUCK ON THE BROKEN BAY BRIDGE !!! We made it across in the nick of time after being stuck for almost an hour after the cable broke. Now the bridge is indefinitely closed. The only reason we made it across was because we had flown past miles upon miles of crowded city traffic in the carpool/bus lane in our big black jalopy van Isis, singing along to dorky old mixed cassette tapes and laughing the whole way! In case you couldn't tell, here are Addie and Emily singing along to the Bangles "Eternal Flame" at the top of their lungs:

So here's the story. Saturday I had the hardest day. First of all, I was fighting off a nasty cold and on top of that I had to arise at the godawful hour of 5 a.m. to work my waitressing job. Then, wouldn't you know it, I had to call the cops on a self-proclaimed psychopath at 6 a.m. when it was still dark out and I was alone in my restaurant. And to top it all off, I proceeded to work a TEN HOUR SHIFT. If you have never been a server, let me just tell you that is WAY TOO LONG to waitress on any given day. Needless to say, after work I felt like a literal zombie. So imagine my pleasure and surprise to get home to a beautiful package of treasures in the mail! My ETSY ORDER HAD ARRIVED. HA! Very funny, universe, what a cute little trick up your sleeve. Well, guess what? It worked. This package made me very very happy. Here's why: I special ordered this 9-pocket bag from the amazing and talented Lauren B. Yes, NINE (9)POCKETS including a heart shaped one and a felted wool o

Yesterday was a most important day. Amy's Birthday. Amy Eileen Smith Beatty: the radiant, the good, the wonderful, the wise. I so love this girl that my brother chose to blissfully wed about eight years ago. Amy, if I could mail you a pet llama I would or, I'd paint your sky gold I'd present you with a mermaid's trunk of sea pearls, build you a swimming pool, make you earrings out of found butterfly wings. I'd like to design a swingy, folksy dress in your honor, tell secrets with you until four am, with popcorn and pillows and soda pop. I'd like to name a mountain for you, full of rivers and pine trees and sunlight. I wish I could make you a patchwork quilt out of every good memory I have with you. Build you a castle treehouse with trapdoors and a tower. Have ten little babies to play with yours. And sing songs for you from across three states. Happy birthday to a country girl, an adventure mama and a comedienne. You inspire me always!

Last night was movie night with friends. Stan even came in his pajamas with a pot full of fresh popcorn. We watched this incredible movie: Which kills my heart and soul. If you've never listened to Townes Van Zandt's heart achingly beautiful country/folk songs, I highly recommend them. And I also highly recommend watching this fascinating documentary about his crazy life. Kinda makes you want to take a horse out into the hills of Colorado and wander a while.

WE GOT WOOD! Almost a cord of beautiful fresh cedarwood delivered to our driveway yesterday. An important day in country life! I love the mossy pieces: Way too much fun... I love how it looks stacked out front: But most of all, I love how this feels:

Monday my sister Addie and her husband Artie moved from my house where they'd been temporarily staying to their ADORABLE NEW FOREST CABIN in Grass Valley, California. I got to drive Art's Volvo station wagon and listen to nostalgic old homemade tapes the whole way there on a drizzly afternoon, following the caravan of moving-day helpers (aka Dad, Joey, Nick, Addie, Art). Turning onto Rattlesnake Road out in the country with the pine trees and yellow leaves stark against the swirly gray sky, deep into the forest with red mud underfoot and smoke creeping up from chimneys, tired little porches and weathered wooden cottages, with the heater on and listening to old Tori Amos songs, well I almost cried at the cozy sweetness of that drive. Then to see their new red house nestled up to the woods, with the smell of woodsmoke and rainy earth and the slight countryish smell of harvesttime, my heart sang for them as they get to explore and nest in their new home. Moving is not such a f

As far as garage sales go, mine (i must admit) was sort of a grand fiesta of junkyard treasures! If I may say so myself. Me, Momma and Addie pose amongst my kooky clothes. Although none of our visitors seemed so overly excited as I may have anticipated, I still maintain that if it were ME walking up to this garage sale, I'd freak out and start grabbing stuff left and right! I mean, the books, the books alone! A table full of weird and wonderful books! What could be better?! See what I mean, Darin found a good one! Zack and Sylvan were quick to dive into the old Jurassic Park play set. Making old toys come alive again! (yes, i'm a sap, it sort of makes me nostalgic...) Most of all it turned into sort of a family reunion hang out. Both our families were around for the day and we got a lot accomplished around the house. We may not have made a whole lot of money, but we sure cleaned out some superfluous stuff and made some lonely junk gatherers happy! At the end of the day I wa

Our dear lovely friends Jorden and Becky Mingle (of velvet leaf fame) hosted the cutest pumpkin carving contest Friday night. They had their little grape arbor all strung with lights and decorated for fall with craft paper and tools set out for some full-on pumpkin creativity. Jorden and Becky are the adorable couple on the left while my artsy hub is hard at work on the right. Joey and Emily creating their masterpiece. that's their twisted tree-scape on the left there, and greg's (ultimately) first-place-winning lotus flower design on the right! don't they all look lovely and haunting lit up! I'll admit I was a tiny bit proud of this pert little cat-o-lantern that I whipped up. posing with my creation: our hilarious friend daniel trudeau tried to make a corporate advertisement jack-o-lantern and ended up accidentally creating our new favorite ridiculous slogan, MY SACE dot com. right next to jorden's super spooky old tree. let the JUDGING begin! jorden announces