How do these things happen to me?

So I was going to go pick up the kids. My mother drops them off, I pick them up. I had to reset my seat because Husband Big-Legs had driven my car last, and then I headed on out. As I took the last corner of the driveway and pulled to a stop at the street, I heard something in back of me go Scriiiiiiitch..rattle..rattle..thump. My husband had last taken this car to the dump. I figured he left a can or something in the back. No sweat. I pulled out.

Screeech-rattle-rattle-thump-sliiiiide-rattle-thump. I saw something drop off the roof from my rearview mirror and lie still on the road behind me. I hit the brakes. I looked at the little huddle again. "Oh, God. I've killed a cat."

The thing stayed there and I stayed there wondering what to do. "I'd better check it out." So I put the car into reverse and backed up to it. "Is that a cat?" In the increased light from the car being in reverse, I wasn't sure anymore. So I put it in park, put on my flashers, and got out of the car to investigate.

It was a chicken.

"Uh oh, I've killed one of my sister's chickens." But the head was moving about. "Broken both legs, I bet," I thought, and approached the bird, one of two Rhode Island reds in my sister's brood. It rose to its feet and started wandering away. I picked up my pace. It picked up its pace. I tried to grab it, but it ran off into the trees. I stood there, again weighing my options, and finally got back in the car. I had to pick up those kids.

They were out, of course, and came walking right up to the car as I pulled into place. "Sorry I'm late, guys," I said. "I've got a really good reason." My brother looked up as he opened the car door.
"Did you know that you've got... a lot... of frozen bird crap... on your roof?"
"Uh, yeah..." I said wryly, "I figured I might."

Fashion Bugs

Women claim to dress for men. Men claim that women dress for other women. When you put your clothes on in the morning, for whom are you dressing?

Oh, plenty of women like me (homemaker bloggers) will talk about modesty, and I'm sure everyone's got their tips. Personally, it seem to me that some outfits are immodest for all women, while others are immodest for some and not others depending on body shape and size. Each woman has to develop her own awareness of what she should and should not wear. I'd like to introduce a method to figuring this out, and the main idea behind the method is to consider for whom you are dressing.

This came to my mind because today, this Sunday morning, I am dressing for a small group of 10-year-old girls.

I didn't make this dress for them, I made it for me. I used this pattern, a Simplicity costume pattern.



My particular gown is made up like the yellow flowered dress, only my material is a lavender muslin overlaid with lavender eyelet. The lace trimmings are white eyelet, like the picture, and the trim ribbon is dark purple. I made it because it's pretty and comfortable and I love long skirts and close-fitting bodices.

As I was walking through the church after the morning service one day, I realized that I'd caught the attention of a group of girls. I turned and smiled at them, and their 'leader' told me what they'd all apparently been whispering about.

"We love your dress. We think it's beautiful. It reminds us of 'Felicity'."

Felicity is one of the "American Girl" dolls, her story set in colonial times. I suppose I can see the resemblance.






I did a curtsey and thanked them. :) To me, that was a compliment. They were thrilled, and I hear them every time I wear this dress to church. "Oh! You're wearing your 'Felicity dress'!"

When you're dressing for a small group of 10-year-old girls, you don't wear low-cut shirts or skin-tight jeans. You don't wear skirts with slits up to mid-thigh. What pleases them most is your best princess look, the lovely dresses they so adore filled out as only their Barbies can. And it makes such a good impression on them to see women daring to do so.

Lest you think I'm a skirts-only person, I own and wear jeans and sweatpants as well. I have several t-shirts, including my "shocking" black Epica bandshirt and a few tank tops for summertime. My closet is quite eclectic. But I do love those vintage dresses.