Oh, there’s so much to write about and not nearly enough time before bed to get it all in!

Well, first of all I need to thank my lovely friend Molly because the other day I heard the sound of boots running up the stairs and the thud of something heavy against the door and I just knew I had a package! So, I peeked onto the landing, and there was a HUGE box from Crate and Barrel. This is what was inside:

Isn’t it pretty? And it came just in time too because I picked all of those lovely apples off the tree at my parents’ house the day before and wanted someplace to show them all off. Thank you Molly! You should go to her website here because she has lots of cute stories about the children she’s student teaching – and soon she’ll be off to teach in Spain!

 I’m so glad that fall is here now! I just love the thick, gray skies, rain dripping off golden leaves, and 8 million reasons to drink a hot cup of tea. I was disappointed that it wasn’t pouring down rain when I ventured outdoors this afternoon because I wanted to get out my umbrella, but I very much enjoyed breathing the cold air just as deeply as I could.

This is what it looked like yesterday.

This is what it looked like yesterday.

Anyway, while I was out, I ran into the elderly man who lives on the first floor (actually, I ran into his friendly, gigantic dog). We’ve tried numerous times to speak to the man or even just get him to smile, but he always ignores us. Well, not today because suddenly we were talking about his dog and the weather and which floor he lives on (because I didn’t know yet). I was SO, SO, SO excited at how happy he seemed! I wish that I would have invited him up for a cup of tea or hot chocolate.

 
In the spirit of doing nice things though, I think it’s high time I share the list of “make a difference” websites I’ve been collecting in my favorites folder. I’m well aware that there are probably thousands of websites that I’m missing, so please feel free to add anything you’d like. If you decide to get involved, please let me know so that I can interview you and feature you in a post.

·     Idealist.org - lists of volunteer and not-for-profit organizations to join

·     unLibrary.com - share your book collection in your personal online library

·     Alive in Baghdad - get the Iraqui viewpoint on the war

·     Setting Captives Free - excellent Bible studies committed to freedom from bad habits

·     TreeHugger - practical advice for greening your life

·     Day Zero - make a list of 101 things to accomplish in 1001 days

·     We Are What We Do - find out how to change the world through small actions

·     Distributed Proofreaders - volunteer to proofread pages of classics so that they can be available free online

·     Blog Action Day 08 - dedicate your blog to the issue of poverty on this year’s Blog Action Day

·     MyCommitment.org - part of the Clinton Global Initiative, make a contract to do something for those who need it most

·     Operation NICE - a blog dedicated to being nice!

·     Free Rice – practice your vocabulary to donate rice to hungry families