Project 365, September Edition, Part 1

Here we go again, desperately trying to catch up with Project 365. And once again I confess I have not been doing a good job taking the requisite photo-a-day which is the whole point of Project 365. But in the spirit of documenting our year in photos, I'm sharing what we do have, starting with this photo of my favorite store...

On my second trip to IKEA I picked up curtains and silicone pot holders. Definitely the best prices around, on those and plenty of other household items. Yay IKEA!

We stopped there on our way to Lapeer where we stayed with a couple who have a lovely home next to a pond. On their garage was a Monarch butterfly cocoon. It's like a tiny jewel box!

It's the first time we've ever been featured on a sign like this, so I had to snap a picture :)

On the way home we stopped here...

Recognize it? It's simply one of thousands -- all of them part of our beloved Rest Area system. I don't know if there's anything comparable anywhere else in the world. With ALL THE TRAVELING, we've stopped at a number of these :)

Ivan was playing around with GoogleEarth and found the house in Sta. Rosa. Fun to see the view from above:

I've been going through things we left behind when we moved, as well as things we've picked up this trip and chosen not to take with us, and decided to put a few things up for sale on eBay. This was one of them:

We like the retro, mid-century modern look and you know how I feel about anything aqua. Looks like someone else felt the same way, since it sold! I also sold a few old books; not many, but a few. Altogether I sold enough to pay for a new plastic cover for my computer.

We've been trying to have different friends over for a meal whenever we're "home" in Jonesville. Unfortunately that hasn't been often enough to get together with everyone we wanted to, but we have managed to connect with a few. Including my dear friend, Pam, her husband and half their kids.

On a walk around the neighborhood a couple weeks ago we saw the trees are beginning to change. I love this time of year!

Trying to enjoy autumn as much as possible because it will probably be our last in the U.S. In the future we'll be doing shorter furloughs (or "home ministries" as they're now called) over the summer months.

We hadn't been to Hillsdale College at all this year so decided to go grab a cup of coffee one afternoon in the new student center. One of the college newspapers was laying around and had an article about a student from Italy who makes and sells homemade bread on campus. Included in the article was his basic recipe which inspired Ivan to come home and try it.

Didn't he do a great job?! He's made several loaves since then and every one has been delicious!

Kyle had a men's retreat the last weekend of September so Tina came up and spent Saturday night with us. There was a new art exhibit at the college featuring business-related graphic designs, plus they were hosting a lecture by the design company CEO so we went to that, followed by a stop for coffee.

That morning I had finished the sewing project that I hinted at a while back. It was a quilt for friends who were expecting their first child. They had decided not to know the gender of the child ahead of time, so I chose fabrics I felt would work for a boy or a girl. I just loved the green/aqua/white combo in these fresh prints by Moda!

The polka dot border is from a sheet I found at a thrift store; I couldn't believe how perfectly it worked with the Moda fabrics! And I had another fabric with these adorable little elephants that I thought would work well as appliqués:

Dan and Jen had a little boy on September 18th so while Tina was here we went to visit and take the quilt. This little guy didn't want to open his eyes but we still enjoyed seeing his perfect little features...

...including the biggest feet I've ever seen on a newborn! He'll be a very tall guy if he grows into them :)

That last weekend of September also marked the start of our county fair, the "Most Popular Fair on Earth"! I prefer going that first Sunday, before they've started the rides (and the noise) so there aren't as many people, and it's easier to get around and see the exhibits. Plus, if you take your bulletin from church, you get in free that day!

The men's retreat ended that morning so Kyle was able to drive over and join us for the afternoon. We had a good time visiting the small animal barns...

...as well as the vegetable displays. Something new since the last time we went is the ginormous pumpkin carving. This guy was really into it...

...and before it was over he'd carved several large pumpkins like this:

Of course we also enjoyed typical fair food, including Fiske fries with plenty of vinegar, fresh lemonade, a funnel cake with chocolate milk, and a juicy sausage sandwich with homemade potato chips. Back in the day we would have each gotten our own, but these days we can't eat like we used to, so we shared. Even at that, we were so stuffed by the end!

Oh, and I wanted to share this screen shot I took today. One of my photos (from the iReport I mentioned in the last post) was picked up and used in this CNN special photo report. Woot!

So ends Part 1 of the September Edition of Project 365. I'll be back later in the day with Part 2 featuring the final week of the month, with lots and lots of photos from Epworth!