Here it is almost ten o’clock on Sunday night and I don’t feel like I even had a weekend. I don’t know where all the hours went. When I got up this morning I was delighted to see what a gorgeous day it was outside, and I had visions of washing loads and loads of laundry to hang on the line, and of a long walk with Olof and the kids, and of getting the yard raked and cleaned up in preparation for winter. As it turned out, the only one of those things that happened was a half-hearted attempt at yardwork that lasted for about twenty minutes or so before Tage and I complained of the cold and we went inside. Ah, well …

Lydia took out the Halloween decorations this afternoon and set to work getting our “big room” all ready for the party she’s planning. She did a pretty good job getting organized in there (she has a great eye for detail), but there are a few too many things in dog- and baby-reach, so I think I’ll have to move a few things around tomorrow while she’s at school. That’s always a tricky business, because I don’t want to take over her project or make her feel as though there were something wrong with what she did, but I also don’t want the dogs or the baby to destroy the decorations, or worse, get hurt. I’ve tried in the past to make Helpful Suggestions, but those rarely go over as well as I intend them.