Well, we’re home alright.  Good thing I pushed so hard to get everything relatively clean before we left because no sooner did we get in the door than all the suitcases and bags exploded all over.  Not only that, but Emily and Neve got their teacher assignments and supply lists for school (hello $200 worth of stuff….as if we can all afford it) so yesterday we spent the day all over town acquiring said accoutrements of kindergarten and 4th grade.  And while we were at it, we replenished our food supply, which was dangerously close to becoming extinct.  So now there are exploded bags and suitcases and boxes of stuff from Sam’s Club and Target.  I have a big job ahead of me today, if this weather induced dizzy spell (impending rain equals sinus pressure equals dizziness and crapitude) allows it.

And speaking of exploding, my garden is doing its best impression of The Blob That Ate Everything. The gourd and pumpkin plants spilled out of the raised bed, into the grass and across the lawn at an alarming rate while we were gone, and now it threatens mankind itself.  Well…….it has at least made us rethink where to plant it next year.  We have plans to clear out the trees behind the house right down tho the stream.  Most of them are those awful scrub pines that seem to fall if you look at them cross – eyed and just never look nice anyway.  There are a few wild dogwoods and even what looks like a big beech tree (can’t tell through the aforementioned crappy pine thicket) that we will save, and Emily is happy that I discovered several sweet gum trees as well.  But mostly it will open up a large amount of land that I think I should be able to claim part of for a proper pumpkin / squash garden.

The good news is that my short time in New England sparked a creative burst and I have had idea after idea since.  I have plans for the craft room, plans for Emily’s room, plans for the pumpkin room (the dining room, which we don;t use as a dining room, but it’s painted a pumpkin color and that’s how we refer to it now to avoid confusion)……etc.  Then there’s the clothing ideas for the girls……with fall around the corner my creative energy is ready to bust loose and take over the place.  Too bad I have no money!!!!  I need paint and fabric.  BAD.