Post-everything catchup

OK, we went on vacation for a week, then we came home and did a ton of laundry and it was Andy's birthday and then Halloween and yesterday was the big Twelve by Twelve reveal day and today is—hmmm—Tuesday. Tuesday. Is that it? I think that's it. Good. Now, where was I?

I think I was making a mermaid costume. That turned out pretty well. I took it along on our trip for some last minute adjustments and it was ready for prime time when we got home.

I went with my daughter's family, on Saturday, to a Halloween event near our home, sponsored by the local Parks and Recreation department. This was Sofia's second wearing of the mermaid duds. The first was the Halloween party at her Day Care on Friday. Saturday was a cold and rainy day, so she wore jeans, a long-sleeved shirt and sturdy shoes under the costume. The Project Runway judges might have criticized the "styling" but I think this is what real mermaids wear when the ocean is cold, don't you?

As you can see, Sofia loved it. I had to shorten it after I made it because the tail fins drug on the ground. I added some netting inside to pouf them out more, but you can see they are still a little draggy. The head piece is a plastic headband with the big flower and some real seashells and tiny sea stars glued to it. It turned out really pretty, but quite heavy and it kept falling off her head. I added ribbons to the ends to tie under her hair in the back, which helped, but it was still a bit of a problem. I should have concocted some kind of paper or foam shells and stuff.

P.S. Sofia's favorite part of her costume is the purple "jewel" on the bodice. It was among a bag of costume jewelry given to me by my friend Gale and it was perfect! Thanks Gale. You can't imagine how wowed Sofia was by that gorgeous pin!

The Halloween event on Saturday was great. It was designed for little kids and perfect for Sofia. The venue is a property owned by the Tualatin Hills Parks and Recreation called The Jenkins Estate—an old horse farm, actually, with a beautiful large 1912 house and rolling lawns and a large stable, where there were games and crafts and face painting.

Sofia's face was painted with a sea shell, that looked a bit more like a tulip to me, but Sofi loved it.

After the games we bought a hotdog and drink at the estate house and had lunch on the big porch.

Then we went on a short hayride to the pumpkin patch where Sofia picked out a pumpkin to take home. Fun day. Sofia got a lot of use out of the costume and she seemed to love it, so I am very happy. She may be able to wear it as a costume again, or it may be part of her "dress-up" collection.

I really love the Jenkins Estate. I have been to a wedding there and several years ago our quilt guild had a quilt show in the stable. Here is a view of the stable from the porch.

You can probably see that it was raining and I didn't get a photo of the house, but you can see it here. It is actually quite near where we live now. I remember when we had our quilt show there I thought it was way out in the country!