I’ll admit it: Ever since deadline, I’ve been avoiding my computer. This issue was grueling for me. I’ve needed all week just to get my house back in order, tame my wild children, and feed my half-starved man.

To catch up a bit–the dress I started a few weeks ago to wear to the Marine Corps Ball is still hanging, partially completed, in my sewing room. The pattern is lovely, but the dress just needed “something” and I didn’t have time to think about it or work on it during deadline. So instead, I looked thru my closet and found this dress I made a couple years ago (for a Ball we ended up not attending) that just needed a little finishing work. I finished it, we looked fabulous, I forgot my camera. Sorry.

The yellow/gold dress will still go on to become a real, finished dress, just maybe not one fancy enough to wear to next year’s Ball.

Right now my children and husband are all napping, so I’m taking a bit of a break. I starched some linens earlier, to use on Thanksgiving Day. We’re expecting to feed a few of the younger Marines in Erik’s unit, so I’m planning to cook for an army, as they say… though that’s really not right, because you’d never say an army of Marines… But anyway, we’re going to stick to the basics this year, just lots of them: turkey, cranberry sauce, rolls, greenbeans, yams, pumpkin pie (Jackie Clay’s recipe is the - best - ever!), stuffing, and some good brewski.