I am the luckiest girl in the world.

Brooke went to New York on business and I got to tag along! Isobel and Jude had a great time here in Greensboro with Brooke's parents, who came down to watch them. Lucky, lucky, lucky!

I haven't spent much time in New York, but I love what I've seen of it. Highlights this time included visiting my friend Claire in Brooklyn, eating incredible French food at Les Halles, hearing Jeffrey Eugenides (a favorite author) read at the 92nd Street Y, and seeing a tiny fraction of the amazingness that is the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was a fantastic trip.

AND I got new boots. Yaaaaay!

RenFest Instagram Photo Dump

Saturday last we did with joye partake in ye olde Carolina Renaissance Festival. Forsooth, the Shiffleren did party like 'twas 1499! Feast thine eyes anon!
























































(ok, a few explanations: Isobel rode the camel with total strangers because we were too cheap to pay another $5 for Brooke or me to ride with her. She was also asked to dance on stage with some rather unenthusiastic child performers who were accompanied by their father on the lute. And she got to hold a very sweet goose or duck or something and pet it. Brooke bought me a stem of beautiful orchids. It was a good time for all.)

October IV: Halloween

For the last few years, we haven't made Jack-o-Lanterns. It makes a mess, it's one more thing to do in a busy afternoon before trick-or-treating, and (this is the main reason) I'm not very good at it. But this year Isobel was old enough to know that pumpkin carving is a part of this holiday, and she really wanted to do it. When I asked what kind of face she wanted to do, she requested "sneaky." So I tried, but we wound up with something that looked kinda like a demented hillbilly baby. The photo above doesn't really capture it. I guess that's one good thing about jack-o-lanterns: I am so clumsy with a knife that I usually wind up with something way weirder-looking (and, hence, creepier) than I intended.

Hope you had a safe and happy Halloween!