On the lawn there arose a sound

A few nights ago while Italian worked late, Little Clover and I settled in for a movie night. Getting into the Halloween spirit, we decided to watch a classic, Monster Squad. The setting inside was perfect. We turned the lights off and popped some popcorn. At one point, I got the creepy feeling one feels of eyes watching or someone being present who shouldn't be. I looked at Spot, happily grooming himself at our feet. He usually can sense when something is out of the ordinary. Then I looked at the door and noticed shadows on our porch, people shaped shadows, and an unlocked door. I tiptoed to the door, bolted the lock, and flipped on the porch light. The shadows scattered and I jumped back to catch my breathe. Peeking out of the window, I saw a maroon truck speed by and honk. Looking further, I noticed shadows in the trees. I opened the door and burst out laughing. We had been TP! Toliet paper streamed from our trees, covered our bushes, showered down from my car! I had interrupted the pranksters while they were in the middle of covering our porch.

From Irish Clover

Little Clover and I stepped out and admired the quality workmanship and had a big laugh. We walked back in and settled back into the movie. After a few minutes, I bolted up and yelled, "The sheep!" Running back outside, we found him.

From Irish Clover

He had been mummified!

We did find out who the skilled pranksters were, but we aren't suppose to know. A few girls from Little Clover's class were having a sleep over when they decided to roll our house. Trust me when I saw we feel honored! The best part of it, one of the moms was the driver for the girls. I love his classmates.

In Silence

There is much activity

So much activity, in fact, that the blog has been silent for almost two months. What's been going on, you ask (or don't ask because you are no longer reading)? Well, pull up a chair and pour a brew and I'll tell you.

I started a new job, sorta. I still work for the same company, in the same department, but I'm now on a new team and I've switched from being an "individual contributor," as we call it, to a manager. The switch took place while we were in Ireland and became official when we returned. Work greeted me with a new team, new responsibilities, and two weeks of backlog. I'm finally feeling somewhat back in control, but I still have plenty of days when I feel as if I have no idea what I'm doing and someone is going to walk into my office, ask if I had fun, and tell me it's time to go back to my old job now. I'm also still trying to figure out what being a manger means, so if any of you have any pointers, please, please, please send them my way. Fortunately for me, my team is extremely patient and kind and they are taking good care of me. They even gave me a card for Boss's Day!

In addition to starting a new job, Little Clover and I turned another year older. This is the last (gulp) pre-teen year for us. Already, Little Clover is meeting up with friends at the movies, with the expectation Italian and I will just drop him off. We're all working through this. I'll let you know how it goes. He is also asking for his own phone. I asked who he would call and text. He repsonded with his "You know, my friends." He's been practicing his texting skills with Mrs. Soprano's phone, texting away with his uncle and me, his mama.

For my birthday, my family spoiled me yet again by chipping in for this:

From Irish Clover

It is the Schacht Sidekick traveling wheel, and it is awesome. It's like my very own transformer and I don't have to share her. She does spin very well and her bobbins are interchangeable with the Matchless, making her a perfect companion. With some luck, she'll rack up a couple of frequent flyer miles sometime in the future.

Next to the wheel is our very own sheep. We've named him Shaun. Shaun has quite a few adventures. He wanders across our yard, grazing from spot to spot. When I walk out in the morning, I'm never sure where he's going to be. One day, he even broke free from the pasture and made it all the way to the driveway. Another day, we returned from a weekend trip and he was in the flowerbeds. The neighborhood dogs have finally become accustomed to him and no longer growl when they walk by. The neighborhood kids, still pop out to check his location. His biggest adventure occured one night when Little Clover and I were home alone.

Tune in tomorrow to hear about Shaun's biggest adventure.