What did you do? Saw a "katydid"!…among other things

We've been up to several things, lately, but one of the funnest things was seeing a katydid for the very first time for me (Chandra).  They're more commonly called "leaf bugs".  They are an amazing testimony to God's creativity.  Amazing that their bodies are perfectly camouflaged as leaves with veins!  This one was right on the brick wall next to our front door on Saturday morning.  He was quite large.

Good nature study!  And we are enjoying a second round of our roses, even though I've neglected them all summer long.  Here are a few photos.

I've been pretty busy getting ready for my garage sale.  The first day I made at least enough to pay our aeration guy who's supposed to come next weekend.  But, on Saturday I didn't sell one thing.  Well, I guess I'm meant to sell it on E-Bay and get more money for the items that our left.  Some will go as a tax write off at the local thrift store.

Well, the good part was that I got rid of some stuff and got my garage cleaned out.  One step closer to when we'll need it all cleaned out for a graduation party next year.  I've already started having nightmares about that.  The other night, I dreamt that I had forgotten to give the guests any drinks and forgot to make a cake for the party.  Ha!

Actually, homeschooling is going well and Penny continues enjoying making art work.  Here is this week's project.  She's been learning about Medieval Art, such as the Book of Kells.  So, here is her own "Book of Kell": (sorry, for some reason I can't figure out how to rotate this picture)

Yesterday we enjoyed getting together with our little Japanese bible fellowship group in the Denver area.  Penny had fun playing with the little kids.  Here's a picture of them riding on a "choo-choo" train.

The other exciting things around here were just cleaning up after the garage sale.  I figured out a way to keep my shoes from falling off the silly stand I have for them.  They were always slipping off, because they sit on slippery metal bars that are at an angle.  So, I covered them with yarn, to give them more traction and so far it seems to be helping.  Here is a picture of our "mud room". 

 Well, since we don't have one, our own genkan (Japanese for entryway), I decided to designate the space in front of my car as our entryway/mudroom.  Doesn't it just make more sense to remove your shoes before entering the house?  I like this Japanese custom.

And speaking of our house, we had an unexpected surprise this evening.  The utility room had water backing up from the pipes.  We have a feeling there are tree roots in the pipes.  So, we're having someone coming out tomorrow to take a look and clean them out.  I just pray that the pipes aren't broken.

We're thankful to God for His many gifts and surprises, like a very generous unexpected gift from a friend to help Penny out with some homeschool curriculum and some clothes from a family at church.  So good to see how He takes care of us, His kids.  May God bless you all this week!