Alas, this morning when I wanted to sleep a little late, I woke up with a clogged nose. James had woken up sneezing violently as well. I'm wondering if it's keeping the windows open, since numerous neighbors are burning leaves.

Well, since I couldn't sleep, I could get up and have breakfast, and then skedaddle off to JoAnn. It was a chilly but beautifully sunny day; the trees, whether bright or dull, made a picture against the vivid blue of the sky.

I haven't been in a craft store since way before vacation, and was not surprised to see that all the autumn things had been whisked away. I was delighted in JoAnn's line of red and white decorations this year; it's very Swedish. They even have matching scarves and hats! (Incidentally, I've never seen more "Jayne hats" than I did in JoAnn today, in all colors.) They also have a very varied line of figural glass ornaments this year, including ethnic Santas, themed ornaments (like Paris or ballerinas), and items I've never seen as ornaments before, like a fortune cookie.

Well, I wasn't really satisfied with the craft item I had to pick up to finish my project, but that's all they had and I don't know any other source for it. I can make it work; it just wasn't what I wanted. I did pick up something to use as a gift, and fixings to make another gift.

I stopped at Michaels next door because they had a 25 percent off entire purchase coupon. Not much I wanted, but I did find something to add to the first gift I bought at JoAnn. Usually I find some stocking stuffers in the dollar bins (which are now $1.50), but it was pretty sparse. I did get a little cross-stitch kit.

Also stopped in Hobby Lobby to get a few small fall picks to put into the china cabinet to give it an autumn flair, and a very pretty garland for the stair rail. It is shiny silver with a matte muted gold mixed in, very distinctive. It was all on sale, so a very reasonable purchase.

Then I turned toward Barnes & Noble, where I did find the November British "Country Living" as well as the Christmas "Victorian Homes," always a favorite, and the January "Cooks Country" for James.

I stopped at Hallmark because I thought there was a new piece of the "Peanuts" jazz band out this week. Turns out it is next Thursday. So I headed for home through the edge of Kennesaw National Battlefield Park, a lovely day to do so. When the trees started turning this year, they were really quite dull, but the ones that turned later often turned out to be spectacular. Near the Michaels there was a quintet of trees that should have accompanied the definition of crimson in an illustrated dictionary, a dark, rich red with undertones of purple. On the way through the park, before I passed all the business buildings on the left, there was reddish-orange tree, really more red than orange, but with enough orange undertones that it looked afire. The rest of the ride, though the old homes lining Kennesaw Avenue, was duller but very pleasant.

Once at home I had some leftover soup and some goat cheese with crackers for lunch while watching a Rick Steves DVD, Austria and the Alps. I let it run all afternoon while I was giving the table a good cleaning for game night tomorrow, washing it down and giving it a little mineral oil treatment, and also ironed the runner.

James was home early, in the midst of what looked like a full blown allergy attack! He had hot chili for dinner, hoping it would help unstuff his nose, and I had more soup. Afterwards we tidied up the living room and I got together the last of the things to go to electronics recycling tomorrow. Finally it was time to watch Flying Wild Alaska! Look at all that snow! I love this series.

Labels: autumn, chores, crafts, magazines, shopping, weather

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