Halloween 2012

A very happy Halloween to you all! Hope you get more treats than tricks!!

I am a tad behind in everything, especially decorating. I had to gather my dead body together yesterday and get pumpkins and candy! I was afraid if I didn't put any pumpkins out, we would look like the bah-humbug house! Cannot have that on one of my favorite holidays of the year!

Ooooofy, it took everything I had just to get dressed!

Truth of the matter is I had pneumonia! I was so weak, I didn't even have enough strength to get on the computer! Ugh. It's been a long time since I've been knocked so low. A check-up and more x-rays at the doc's today looked promising.

But, I am on the mend now thanks to friends and family keeping my spirits up. Dar sent these up from her trees in 'bama--Satsumas and Myer lemons!! A little rest, a lotta love and a whole lotta vitamin C is going to do the trick! I'm getting stronger every day!!

It's hell getting old.

Labels: Darlene, Halloween, Health, Friends

Halloween 2010

I'm feeling especially festive this Halloween.  I believe, this is my second favorite holiday, directly after Thanksgiving.

Abby, what big ears you have. . . . .



Better to hear you with, my dear.        

Last Saturday, I felt a cold coming on.  Ugh.  It was a doozy.  All I have to say is, Nyquil is my friend.    I felt better after the hub came home from Asia; so much so that I went to dinner with a nice colleague of the hub's and his wife.  They are from Texas, so you know they're nice.  But, I got sick directly after dinner.  Stomach.  UGH.  We had planned on listening to some live music after dinner, but I was in no shape.  I shooed them on and drove home as quickly as I could.  UGH.  And so, chicken soup was in order for the entire family.

 And it sure was good.  The boys had grilled cheese with theirs. 

Some decorating was done today.  Just a little fun stuff.  I finally finished the hanging post cards that Beth and I found on our way home from Knoxville.  I just added a little glitter here and there to jazz 'em up a tad.

And my favorite pumpkin in the whole world.  I adore him!  My bestest friend, Amy, brought him home from Riverside last year.  Awwwwww.

The hub and kid, hard at work carving their pumpkins.

I so loved this pic from last Halloween, I had to bring it back.

 

And later that night . . . 

S P O O K Y

These are my great (eeeeek!) nephews and niece.  Aren't they great?!!!!  I miss you all, very much.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

November 1

I almost wrote October. The year is passing by so quickly! I can hardly believe it.

We had a little bit of an overcast day. Friday night, it literally poured down rain. I am enjoying the changing of the leaves. They are pretty darn close to all dropping off the trees.

I went downtown to our little stationery print shop to change some things on my mom's memorial card and was stopped right in my tracks by tents. Yes. It was the Autumn fair which closes down all the main streets. Joy. Any other time, I would have enjoyed falling upon it. lol But I didn't have to park at the house and walk, thankfully! I was pretty lucky.

After finishing my visit, I had to take a walk into one of my favorite stores in town. I can't remember the last time I was actually down town! Guess I've been busy with more important things.

While I can't think of the name of my favorite store, you can see it is just chock full of eye candy.

Quite overpriced mostly, of course, but still fun to walk through or hit after the holidays. Wink wink. I looked at this vintage starfish print, over $800! Uh. I don't think so. Maybe Keith and Nicole can afford that price, but not me! (Oh btw, saw Keith Urban playing on the side of the road on Friday! The kid and I were driving to the store and there were all these police cars. We thought there was an accident. Nope, a small stage was set up at the new Verizon store and there was a small crowd converging. There was Keith, just playing his heart out. Gotta love Nashville!)

I came home and finished my spooky Halloween charm bracelet I had done a swap that Saucy put together. How fun is this?

The hub and kid did their thang.

And quite a thang it was.

And then, mwahahaha, the sun began to set and the Mad Max brigade began. The kid said, which totally cracked me up, "When I was young, we had to walk door to door!" The thing here, which I have never witnessed anywhere else I have lived, is getting a caravan of electric carts taking the kids around. They are always decked out which I enjoy watching. The little old-fashioned hearse parked by the house and turned the smoke machine on and blasted heavy metal music. I loved it!

Our heart-shamed full moon. Hoooooowl.

Lots of action in the streets.

Goodies from the scary old man.

And I think that scary old man liked my big ol' lips.

Hope everyone enjoyed and survived their ghoulish Halloween!

xo
ro

PS Must remember to turn back the clocks!

I Put a Spell on You!

Enjoy your Halloween!

Trick or Treat?

A grand time was had by one and all!

We had our normal "Mad Max" brigade--a slew of golf carts decorated to the nines. The leader of the pack is always a big old tractor pulling a hay ride full of gleeful, screaming tots until the tractor stops and unloads on our street. The hub coined it Mad Max several years back on a cold Halloween night when it was foggy and all you could see were some faint lights and lots of smoke with the sound of children in the background. We always enjoy sitting on the porch watching the brigade pass by and unload. The hub was in NY this year, so I sat and watched on the porch by myself until the kid got back.

In one fell swoop, this entire basket of goodies was demolished and I had to resort to filling it back up with some of mom's rice crispy treats. I don't think the older ones quite appreciated that. So, I had to tell them to come early next year! (I had even found some wax lips and fangs which went in the first or second round of kids.)

The kid was Grandma Gilbert from the old country. teehe. (We don't have a Gilbert, mind you.) Thanks to Nana for donating her robe!

He enjoyed video chatting to the cuz before going out and hitting the streets. It just about scared her to death when that face popped up on the screen! Sorry Jacq! Trick!

The kid's best friend flew in from Los Angeles and he spent the night. They (and me too!) watched the live version of Ghost Hunters. It's always so boring! I like the other shows much better. Too much of nothing to watch. My friend Linda in VA and I always email each other to make sure we're watching. We crack each other up, "Are you watching?" "Did you heart that voice?" Love her. I miss having friends close. Sniffle.

Yesterday, I did my six-hour cakes class at Viking! I'll write about that a little later. Fun! I can tell you right here and now, my red velvet cake DID NOT look like this!

Happy Halloween!

Frost on the Pumpkins

The temps got down into the 30s ƒ last night. We're going right into winter around here! Wait! What happened to the fall?

The kid and hub carved the pumpkins last night. Look at the size of these babies! I still love the traditional wonky jack-o-lanterns. I think the kid almost froze to death. Don't think he is quite ready to say goodbye to the warm weather.

At least the hub was dressed appropriately. Burr doggy!

I broke open one of the bing-chas today. I was dying to taste it. Now that the weather has turned quite nippy, it's the perfect time for tea sipping.The wrapping was impeccable and I hated to undo the beautiful folds. But I did anyway.

How funky is this?

I first steeped it in one of my "pu'er designated" yixing tea pots. These are very small pots made from a certain clay found in China. You're supposed to use different pots for different teas, so that is just what I do.

I then transferred it to another pot where I could add water. I don't like a strong tea.

Raphael's grandfather's demitasse cups are perfect for Chinese tea. Not too much, not too little. At first, I caught a hint of licorice. I'm not a licorice person, so I was weary to taste it. It's actually very good. Very earthy.

Medicinal? I'll let you know if I get the sudden urge to run a marathon! I did, however, put a leaf on my cuts from last week. (I was pulling the blinds up to let the sun in, and the enitre thing fell on me. I put my hand out to keep it from falling on my helper--Bella--and it gashed my hand.) Thought since it looked red today, I'd give the tea a whirl, like the video said. Could be the next best thing after aloe? Or my thumb could fall off.

Overall, I like it very much! So, I'm happy to give one away, now that I know it's not like drinking dirt. teehe.