Wedding Bells!

We went to a wedding on Saturday. A sweet friend got married, and we were so excited to be able to participate. Kristy and her family moved here when she was in the 9th grade, and our families quickly became friends. Over the years, we have enjoyed lots of happy times together. Kristy babysat when the girls were much younger, as did her sister, Alli. Kristy was also the girls' first piano teacher. One of my favorite memories of those days happened one day during Banana's lesson. Kristy's mom and I were sitting in the dining room having our weekly "chat and coffee session" (oh how I miss those!), and listening to the piano "playing" coming from the other room. Suddenly, it got quiet. We listened for a few minutes, but no piano. Finally, we heard Kristy call out, "Banana, you need to come back downstairs. We aren't finished yet." Apparently, Banana had decided she had had enough piano lesson for one day and went upstairs to find Kat and the other kids. Sweet Kristy...she was so patient!

I remember her learning to drive, getting her first real job, playing "Rock Star Queen" with Kat and Anna and her siblings...and the infamous dog bed experience. Long story, you had to be there, but fun memories nonetheless.

So Saturday, she crossed a new milestone. Her wedding was beautiful and sweet. Kat and Anna got to take part, handing out programs to the guests as they entered. They were so happy to share in her special day. Congratulations Kristy and Jonathan! We love you!

Labor Day Labors

Labor Day was, by all accounts, a wash out thanks to Gustav. But that didn't stop us from being productive around here. Thankfully, we were spared any of the bad stuff! So we made the best of it, and got to work. At the top of the priority list was Banana's closet. Only a chosen few of you (actually, maybe only one of you) have ever seen said closet. It was a sight to behold. Banana doesn't believe in wasting any of her precious, abundant energy on housekeeping. The floor is a perfectly acceptable place on which to store one's belongings. There is no need to fully open a drawer to put an item inside. Slightly opening it and stuffing whatever it is inside works just as well...and it doesn't matter if the drawer is the correct drawer for that particular belonging. And beds are for sleeping in. Why bother making it if you are just going to get back in it later? So...you get the picture. Banana's closet was dangerous territory. It was the kind of place that gave me the shakes. It had become a nightly ritual for me to go into her room at bedtime and launch into a high pitched litany of despair.


Many years ago, when the girls were little, we installed a lower clothing rack and shelf in their closets so that they could reach things. In Banana's closet (I suppose because it is slightly longer) we also installed shelves up one side. At the time, I intended for the shelves to be for toys. The last few years, they have been used for shoes. But in reality, they have never worked well. They just encouraged clutter. Shoes, piled on shoes, falling off shelves, mixed up and hopelessly messy. To find a pair of shoes, Banana would dig through all three shelves, then crawl around on the floor looking for the shoe she wanted, then go through the same routine looking for it's mate. Not to mention all of the Barbie stuff and purses and hats and belts that were mixed in. Oh it was just awful...
This picture doesn't really do it justice. I didn't think to go get the camera until she had started.


Yesterday, Banana got to work. She pulled out all of the shoes, purses, hats and other clutter. The shoes got placed side by side, in pairs, so that she could sort them. All those that were too small got moved out. (I, by the way, inherited three really cute pairs of shoes this way.) Here is a picture of the shoes...just call her Imelda...

She worked really hard. She rearranged things, and moved some things, and (shock!) got rid of some things! After Kearsdad did the "dad" job of taking the shelves down, Banana did the rest. I supervised, but she really did all the work. I was quite proud of her. Here is the result.

I wonder how long it will last.