Weekend Odds and Ends

1. Boy am I glad I didn't go to Mass this morning with the purple face paint to celebrate the beginning of Advent - I would have been soooooo out of place. I knew about the whole "people might get Advent and Lent confused, so let's go with blue" thing, but even my "progressive" parish figured out that was just goofy after a few years. Apparently, this news hasn't quite reached the thriving metropolis where I was housesitting. So, yeah, narrowly avoided fashion faux pas #1 of this rather warm fall. (How warm is it, you ask? I'm still drinking chilled white wine.)

2. My Christmas gift for my cat (this, in red) is already under the tree.

3. I am much better at consuming M&Ms than making Advent wreaths.

4. I've been baking little care packages for my students (a yearly tradition for after All-Region auditions and before finals). This year there are sugar cookie eighth notes and round oatmeal raisin cookies. I'm attempting to fashion a clarinet-shaped cookie cutter so we can have gingerbread clarinets. I think I have it figured out, and I'm very glad that I teach clarinet and not something like bassoon.

5. I have a big presentation on Tuesday. I'm a little nervous about it.

6. My Thanksgiving was pretty restful, I hope everyone else's was, as well.