Book Page Leaf Wreath

I made it 32 years, one month and 16 days before losing my first grandparent--I think that's a pretty good run, don't you?  My paternal grandfather passed away last Wednesday as we were driving home from our visit to Utah. I'm so lucky that I had 32 years, one month and 16 days of my life to know him. Monday morning we loaded up the car again (didn't even bother to put the suitcases away from the Utah trip) and drove four hours to southern Colorado for the funeral events.

My Papa with a teeny-tiny newborn Maren

His passing was bittersweet for us all: I'm sad at the knowledge that I won't get to see my Papa Morgan again in this life--it will feel strange to go to my grandparent's house and not find him there with a big hug, smile and kind words for me. At the same time, he lived nearly 87 years, has children, grandchildren and even a few great-grandchildren; he lived a long, full life and he deserved to rest. His viewing was Monday evening and the funeral services were Tuesday around mid-day. Every single one of his descendants was there, and I can think of no greater way to honor him than the fact that we had a genuinely good time being together, despite the circumstances.

The Mister had to be back for work on Wednesday morning, so unfortunately our trip was a quick one and we returned home late Tuesday night--there wasn't even time for small-town thrifting at my favorite haunts or a guacamole tostada & tall Dr. Pepper at our favorite little hole-in-the-wall Mexican food joint. Yesterday I ignored the piles of laundry & suitcases and met some friends at the science museum for several hours so the kids could play, which meant today I finally had time to begin to get this house back into some semblance of order. I've still got work to do but I think I can finally think about blogging again now that we have some clean clothes and the kitchen table isn't piled six inches deep with mail and newspapers.

All the long hours in the car recently means that I've gotten to read a lot of magazines. In the October Martha Stewart Living there was an ad for this wreath:

It was created by Emily Morris and is the winning entry in a contest put on by Martha & The UPS Store and honestly, I thought it was the most interesting thing in the whole magazine! (Usually the October MSL is my favorite but this one was a total snooze). There are step-by-step instructions over here on Martha's website, as well as a leaf template so you can make your own. I've already made two different book page wreaths this year and this one might have to be #3! I'm going to be good and make myself wait until the rest of the laundry is done and we have some groceries, though!