Shopping for Things You (Think You) Know About

Unicorns are everywhere. You see them on tee shirts, as stuffies, alongside model horses, in movies and TV shows, as Halloween costumes, as cake toppers and cookie decorations, and so on ad nauseam.

So, when the annual community **Jubilee Christmas approached and our church signed up to sponsor six families' Christmases, I looked through what was needed and decided to purchase the unicorn items that the children of those families were asking for. I may not care for unicorns, but I know where to find them.

I started by ordering one of Breyer's Kids' Holiday Grab Bags. As many unicorns as Breyer puts out, surely there would be some in there plus some extra things that I could use for the grands for gifts or for donations to model horse shows.

This was all I got in the way of unicorns. (Although the other things in the box were really good items - I was pleased with the value I got for my money.)

Time to head to Meijer and see what they had in the way of unicorns. I took a deep breath and prepared to go into unicorn overload.

Except...

Where were they? I found a few horses and one unicorn and doll that were priced way over what I was supposed to spend. Why is it that, when I don't want to find them, there are unicorns everywhere, and when I am looking for them, I can only find the one?

A coloring book and crayons were on one of the unicorn-loving girl's lists, so I bought those and a Barbie (also on her list) and hoped that that would make her smile Christmas morning.

I finished the two older girls' gifts, then began working on the baby girl's list. Easy peasy - this mom of six is a diaper EXPERT and that's all that was on her list. 

Except...

Boy, howdy the choices! The brands! The liners and the crawlers! Those that soothe and those that keep baby extra dry! The snugglers!  The environmentally sound! Is it any wonder that at this point that I texted Craig and said I had a migraine coming on?

I used Google to make my choice, tossed in a box of wipes, and called it a day.

Who'd have thought that unicorns would be so hard to find? Or that I would have difficulty buying diapers? 

I tell you, I am shook! 

**Jubilee Christmas is a lovely tradition in Lafayette and West Lafayette and sponsored through Lafayette Urban Ministries (LUM). LUM invites families who are in need to sign up for help, and then 45 local churches sponsor those families, do their Christmas shopping for them, and provide a Christmas meal. It's a real coming together for the entire community - all are welcome who are in need or who want to serve. 

Another Shirt Done!

I have finished another shirt out of the "Leslie stash." The Leslie stash is a tub of shirts that she had cut out and then set aside probably 15 - 20 years ago. When I started sewing again, she asked if I wanted to stitch them up and then split the profit.

The first order of business was to go through and sort the tub out. There were about thirty shirts in there, but the pieces were not all together. And, some pieces were missing. I'd send her pics of the fabric and she'd look at home for the missing piece or more fabric so I could cut a replacement piece out. But after all the time that had passed, she never could find any of it so in the end there were only about twenty-three viable shirts.

This is the second to the last shirt in the tub so I have made good progress. They sell really well - I sold every one I had made at the Feast. And with Kalamazoo coming up in mid March, I am already working ahead for that. 

Happy Birthday, Sarah!

 Happy Birthday to our firstborn, Sarah.

(Yes, I am wearing my boots to take her for a walk like any good horsey mama would.)

She has had lots of horses in her life (feeding carrots to Amy and Cee here),

Indy (that's Sarah in the middle),

and her own pony, Sugarfoot,

but her animal loves tend toward wildlife, especially bears. 

An accomplished wildlife photographer, she recently won a contest held by Yellowstone National Park and, with two other photographers, was taken back to remote, non-tourist areas of the park by rangers for a week of camping and incredible photo opportunities.

Sarah gifted me a few years ago with a set of photos of the Pryor Mountain Mustangs that she had taken.

She had them framed and they hang in my office.

And when a snowy owl was reported here in Tippecanoe County in 2017, something that had never happened before, she told me to hop into her truck and we'd go find it. And she did.

Have a happy birthday, sweetie. I love you.

Who Dat?

When my children would come to visit, my dad used to say, "Who dat??" and pretend he did not know who was who. (Which would cause them to laugh, argue, and talk over each other trying to explain who they were.) Well, I had a "who dat" moment Black Friday morning before dawn.

It was a little after 4:00 AM and I'd let Pepper out to do her business. She had her nose to the ground and was frantically following the scent of something that had come through our yard. 

The grass was very wet and I had noticed tracks on the driveway from some animal, but after watching Pepper's behavior, I took a second look. Suddenly I realized that the tracks were odd - they were round with no toes showing. And, since they had not yet evaporated, they were fresh. We had just missed whatever had made them.

The question, though, was what animal had left them? I put my foot beside them for perspective and snapped a picture with my phone.

Then I did the same with Pepper's tracks - notice how you can distinctly see her toes.

Finally, I took a photo of the prints together for comparison. Pepper's were slightly smaller than the other animal's.

What on earth had crossed our yard? And makes such round prints? I asked Sarah whose guess was a fox or coyote although she could not explain the roundness. Then I asked Mary Cutler, the Tippecanoe County Naturalist. She was just as puzzled as Sarah and me nor could she explain the roundness.

There is an animal that is in Tippecanoe County, lives near the river and woods, and makes round prints. It has been seen on security cameras, albeit rarely, in Lafayette neighborhoods. One of its most active times is just before dawn which is when Pepper and I were out. A primary food is rabbit, and our neighborhood is a rabbit haven. 

Could it have been a bobcat?

Here are some pictures of bobcat tracks:

Take a look at each photo

and the rounded outline of the paw

that you can see. They are about the same size of those that were on the driveway. (I measured my shoe to get a rough estimate of the diameter of the prints and then compared that to bobcat information online.)

Here is a link to a story in The Journal and Courier about a bobcat caught on a camera in the yard of a Lafayette woman in south Lafayette. 

I can't say definitively that a bobcat made those tracks. But just in case, I am being a little more cautious when I take Pepper out during those early morning hours. Last winter I had a close flyover by a great horned owl; I'd rather not have any close encounters with a bobcat.

(Although it would be sort of cool...)

A Tree? This Early??

Yesterday, Lisa invited us to go to Cassens' Christmas Tree Farm and help her pick out her Christmas tree. We were happy to go, but we did not intend to get one for ourselves - we usually to wait until the week before Christmas or so.

Cassens have one of the most beautiful barns in the county on their property.

And, one of the most beautiful old homes, too. Their farm is just down the road from the barn and depending on the route I take, I drive past them when I head out to visit Abby.

We found a pre-cut tree in the sales barn that Lisa really liked, but she still wanted to walk through the fields and see what was available in the cut-your-own sections.

We took a couple of the obligatory family photos.

Sometimes you find some interesting things when you part the branches of the pine trees - this one was stuffed full of pine cones!

And this one had hosted paper wasps.

At last Lisa found the perfect tree and we all agreed, it was nicer than the one in the barn.

Lisa got down on the ground with the saw and began cutting

and then James finished up the very last bit.

They carried the tree back up to the sales barn

where it was shaken to remove loose needles and then wrapped in netting for transport.

While I was checking out the antique sleigh,

Craig slipped back into the sales barn

and now we have our own Christmas tree! It's the earliest we have ever bought one, but we don't mind - our kids are coming home for Christmas and we have a lot to do to get ready. It made sense to get ours since we were already out there and had found one that we liked.

Check that off the to-do list!

Isenbarger Thanksgivings Across the Country

 Our kids spent the Thanksgiving holiday with their in-laws this year, so unlike last year's three-table affair, this year our holiday was more modest. Having said that, it was still a lovely day. Here's a look at how  the day was spent by the Isenbarger family across the country. 

West Lafayette, Indiana

Craig, Lynn, Lisa, James, my siblings and in-loves, and nephew.

The table set and ready to go with Molly keeping a close eye on it.

Relishes and cheeseballs are always put out around 10:00 and we nibble on them all day long.

Most of dinner is almost ready - four or five more dishes to still set out. We did have a disaster at this point, though. Craig and I were maneuvering a ham and the pan tipped, dumping juice down my shirt, pants, and onto my brand new shoes. I was wearing an apron but my new shoes are ruined. Oh, well...

Waiting for dinner is REALLY hard.

Craig, Jenny, Eric, Cindy, Steve, Leslie, Rick. Grateful Cindy was able to be with us - she is recovering from a stroke and just was released from a rehab center.

James and Lisa.

Lisa insisted on taking one of me - in my second set of clothes!

Still hoping for a bite.

Cornered! How about some of that pie, Rick??

Cuddles on the floor. What a great day it was!

Nashville, Tennessee

Sarah, Todd, JC, and Trinity traveled from Iowa to join Todd's parents and other family for the holiday.

Trinity, Todd, Sarah, and JC in the front; Todd's parents, Pat and Carmen are behind JC.

JC and his Aunt Bev - they were the lucky ones who got the drumsticks!

Todd's parents are like us - they have a "bring your dogs" policy, too!

St. George, Utah

Jessica, Andrew, Cambria, and Titan met Andrew's family three hours south of Santaquin for Thanksgiving.

Cambria and Titan are on the left with their cousins and other grandmother, Laurie.

Jessica and Andrew.

Of course,  Jessica sent me a picture of the relish tray at her Thanksgiving.

Relish trays are an inside family joke because I like pickles and olives at the holidays. But... my relish trays have grown and expanded over time.

Now they look like this spread. (You kind of have to squint to see those pickles and olives anymore!)

St. Augustine, Florida

Kyle, Ashley, Braden, Adelaide, Corinne, Whitney, and Melissa.

After riding through the most recent hurricanes to hit Florida, Kyle and Ashley stayed home to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Braden, Adelaide, Ashley, Melissa, Cory, and Whitney.

They were lucky to have this yummy spread

because their oven died and they could not get it replaced in time!

Lafayette, Indiana

Curt, Vanessa, Ian, Mila, and Lukie.

Lukie looks like he is wielding his drumstick as a club!

Ian, Mila, and Lukie decided to decorate donuts for their Dad. 

The video explains each one, including that missing donut on the right.

Vanessa, Curt (far right, olive shirt), and Vanessa's family. 

Nashville, Tennessee 

Cole, Emily, Julie, Kate, and Susie.

Cole and Emily hosted her family in their home this year.

And since they were in town for several days, Sarah and her crew spent a day with them, too, while they were in Nashville visiting Todd's folks. Cole and Emily also live very clean and healthy lives and they suggested going hiking in a favorite park. Afterward, Sarah wrote on our family Group Me chat:

We did learn that if *SOMEONE* who is blonde, over 30 and has blue eyes, and their name rhymes with "chemically" suggests a "short" hiking route, check that math...

By the way, what are the odds - six siblings scattered across the country, and four of them were paired in two cities yesterday? (Nashville and Lafayette/West Lafayette)?

Happy Thanksgiving!