An arrest has been made ...

http://www.daily-chronicle.com/2010/10/29/dekalb-man-gets-murder-charges-in-case-of-missing-niu-student-antinette-toni-keller/a6w5f2u/

I'm stunned ... my community is stunned.

There is really little to be said.  It can happen anytime, anyplace ...

My heart and prayers go out to Toni's family and I ask that yours do too ...

Horrible news on our missing student ...

http://www.daily-chronicle.com/articles/2010/10/23/54156888/index.xml

Our hearts are broken ...

Something you think only happens in the "big cities" ... not in the middle of a cornfield in the middle of nowhere, USA.  Five Three (correction:  I think I wanted it to be longer ago than it actually was) years ago Valentine's Day, we lost five students to a gunman in a crowded lecture hall.  Something you think only happens somewhere else ... not in the middle of a cornfield in the middle of nowhere, USA. 

Not a good week for my community ...

As many of you know, I work at Northern Illinois University.  This has really been a long, tough week.  One of our students went missing eight days ago and there has been no sign of what happened to her.  We hope, we search, we pray, and try to hold each other up.  I cannot for the life of me imagine what her parents are going through.  Such a beautiful young woman ... gone without a trace ...



Sand casting is dry ...

Please excuse my toes ... I'm a TERRIBLE photographer!

I'll let it dry a few days and then brush it good around the edges and in the veins and seal it with Thompson's and it's done!  I love it!  I can't wait to try some other things.





A terrific Saturday morning ...

What a GREAT morning!  I was up and out early this morning for a sand casting bird bath class through my local junior college.  It was held at a private residence about 10 miles from me in a small town.  The instructor's yard was incredible!  I wish I had remembered my camera!  She had a fire going in the back yard for us and she had us all set up to start right in. 

Here's my rhubarb leaf bird bath ... tomorrow I can take the plastic off (I peeled it back for a picture) and Monday I can turn it over and let the leaf dry up.  In a week's time, I can fill it with water for the birdies.  I am toooooooooooo excited!!!

I've never posted the pictures of the finished greenhouse.  It's finished except the wire shelving across the front windows ... but I'm not in a hurry til late winter anyway.  We're having COLD nights here in northern Illinois so a few herbs have made their way inside and they seem to love it with new growth everywhere.  It will be interesting to see how long they last through the fall.

If you look closely, you can see the stained glass window hubby surprised me with.  I LOVE it!  It will be fun in the spring to till up all around the greenhouse and put in my new flowerbeds.  But for now, it's fall and I'm about ready to pack in the gardens and get ready to tuck up for the cold snowy months ahead.

No special plans for the day ... a nice, quiet autumn day watching my bird bath dry ...



Many thanks ...

A special thank you to those of you who have e-mailed me.  Your sweet e-mails have touched my heart.  They truly have.  Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart.  It's so comforting to know that I have friends who know and understand.