Look what I got for free!

I got this adorable birdhouse earlier this week on freecycle! It's heavy, and the two birdhouses are glued together. I'm going to have to find a new home for it, but for now it's tucked back on my kitchen counter. I'm not sure if I'll add a coat of walnut gel stain to it to aged it a bit, or just leave it as is. I love the square nails that are the perches. And all this for FREE! :)

Today was the big 4th grade field trip to the Shedd Aquarium. The school backs up to the train station, so we walked to the train. It's quicker to take a train than to sit in traffic downtown. Since they don't give out reserved cars, I'm sure all the regular commuters just "loved" having all the kids on the train! :) They can have their peace and quiet back tomorrow.

I loved this pretty sea horse!




I just love the penguins. They were quite active today with all the hopping and swimming.

If an all day field trip wasn't enough, I came home and then went to a market research focus group this evening. I get to qualify for maybe one or two a year, and really enjoy doing them. (ok, I really like getting paid for my opinions!) I now have a little extra Christmas money.

It's finally beginning to feel like Christmas around here. We got our first snowflakes today! * * * * * * Now to ship off some ebay packages, finish some crafts, and get some Christmas cards ordered.