HALLOWEEN

 

Oh what a fun time we had!!  All the grands came around 5:30 and of course we had to take a plethera of pictures LOL!!  We had pirates, a ballerina and a Ninja. 

 

 

We even had Captain Steve & Matey Angie!

After our 3-course meal of pizza burgers, chips, and apples...the crew was off for Trick or Treating.

 

 

They boarded their carriage

 

 

 

And off they went!!

 

I should have taken pictures of all the treats that were collected but there was too much commotion going on LOL!!  Very fun memories. 

 

Now we are on to November.....that means the Holidays have begun!













Dawn

Well, a picture I take never truly shows what the eye sees....but the sky this morning was picture worthy I thought.  It doesn't show well, but the sky was a beautiful pink/golden through the trees and was reflecting so beautifully on the pond (which has a skim of ice).  What a nice way to start off the day, especially when the East coast is dealing with the aftermath of hurricane 'Sandy' and all her fury and destruction!  Makes me think I shouldn't complain of a little coldness while I drink my hot coffee amongst all the amenities of electricity and such!

 

Have a great day!

There is the biggest hint of Fall in the air today......the wind is blowing, the skies are cloudy,
the temperature is hovering around 35, and the rain has turned to heavy flakes of snow.
Of course, it isn't sticking to the ground yet; but is big reminder of what is to come!  The
ground is covered with a blanket of fallen leaves ~ a bed for the flakes falling from the sky.

My cyber friend, Susan Branch, posted this little quote in her Williard letter that comes out every so often, and I liked it so much I copied.....I assume it is ok, since I give her all the credit!
She so inspires me....if you are ever having a bad day, just go to her BLOG :(www.susanbranch.com) ....... you can't help yourself but to feel so much better!!

Halloween lurks just around the corner, and I have tried to ready the house for such a festive occassion.  All the collections of ghosts, whitches and such from over the years, have assumed their posts to set the mood.

All the grands and their M&D's come over on Hallows Eve and we feast on pizza burgers and chips; and then they head out to the garage (in all their costuming) to climb onto their mobile carriage to begin their visit from house to house collecting candy treasures!  Grandpa winds his way through the dark shadows of the night, delighting in the giggles and chatter of his precious load!!  The BEST is when they come home, eyes bright with excitement, to look into those bags of goodies and see just exactly what they have amassed.  A warm cuppa Hot Chocolate awaits them to provide some warmth to those cold littles.   Ahhh...

Wonderful memories to ponder and to warm up this dank day ~



PUMPKINS

 Sausan

                                                           This is precisely what I have been looking to do at my front entrance to the house!!  I totally love this look.  I will have to look for something to 'ring' the pumpkins I did find yesterday.  I just stacked them, I did not have the greatest choices, but they will do.  NOT TO MENTION THE EXPENSE of buying them LOL!!

 

Today proved to be another nice day, but nothing like the 80 degree days of the weekend.  It was windy and around 75.....still darn nice for October 1st!!  The forecast for the coming weekend is really yucky with a slight possibility of SNOW.  Yes, the S word!!

 

Went to knitting class and had to rip back a few rows on my baby sock ... grrr.....

Then I was off for a haircut and foiling.  Just made it home in time to go to the

"OCTOBERFEST" dinner and meeting at T-G high school.  And what a German feast it proved to be.  There was apple liquer, German beer and German wine to start with.  Then a buffet of Weinershnitzel, Spaetzle, Sausage and sauerkraut, warm German Potato Salad, Goulash...(not my goulash recipe!!), red cabbage, and sauerkraut relish (YUMMY).  To top it all off was the choice of 3 desserts.....Beehive, Apple Struedel, or Black Forest Cake.  It was a great meal.

 

Now I am off to bed.  I did manage to get to SB's for a skinny vanilla latte today :-)

FRIDAY

 

What a beautiful flower.............reminds me of a sunflower almost!  It's actually a Coneflower.
Such a beautiful sunny Fall day here ..... going to reach 80 degrees today, much better than the normal 65 for this time of year in my little corner of the world.  I hope to get out and take some pictures of the leaf color in our neighborhood...there are some gorgeous trees on the way out to the busy-ness of the byways and highways.
I started my day off with a new twist on my Kaffee......I bought a frother and some Sweet Bliss Sweet Cream and oooooh lala, what a great drink!!  First off, warm your Creamer slightly in the microwave, then froth it a bit and pour in your coffee....YUMMO!!!  Almost as good as a SB or Caribou...ALMOST!!
I am so sad to have not found any gourds or pumpkins to my liking yet.  I am thinking of purchasing some grapevine pumpkins with little lights woven in and putting them in my urn planters outside the front door.


The deer and little critters wouldn't be able to chew on the actual pumpkins this way and I would probably save myself lots of aggravation.
Well, off I go....have a happy day.


 
 

 “I would rather sit on a pumpkin, and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion."

Henry David Thoreau
 

 

HELLO FALL

 

A cloudy and brisque day greets us as the Fall Season shall begin it's day @

9:49 a.m.  Then as the day progresses the sun is supposed to shine and warm the day up into the 50's.

The winds will stay with us though, just to remind us what the breeze will bring!!

 

 

A Memory

I know I was going to continue with my summer stories, but I ran across this picture on Wallace Gardens, and it reminded me of my Grandmother's window at her farm house, (minus the vine and big plants on the side of the window).  She had glass shelves across the window with beautiful African Violets growing on them. 

"She glances at the photo, and the pilot light of memory flickers in her eyes."

  ~Frank Deford~


MOVING DAYS & SUCH

Well, as I said in my prior post, I will catch up on some of the occasions that took place which caused somewhat of a delay of postings on my part.

 At the end of May our dear son and family was scheduled to move into a new home.  They had sold their current home in 3 weeks and the buyer wanted the closing moved up from the current closing date.  So after some finageling with their seller, the closing appointments were all set to take place on the same morning, just an hour and a half apart.  The decision had been made that they would spend three days with us while the moving process was taking place.  The first night to stay was Wed., the closings taking place Thurs. morning, and then Steve and Angie would clean that afternoon and eve.

Moving day would take place Friday.  HOLD YOUR HORSES.......on Wed. night the realtor called the kids and said there was going to be a delay - the closers did not like some of the wording on the part of their buyer.  This was just a fancy way of saying - your sale is not going to take place!!  After 3 days of negotiating, they were finally able to move into the home they were buying.  They did move on Friday and we helped clean and move things in, along with Angie's family, and helped on Saturday also. 

                                             

                                         

Then much to our distress we awoke on Sunday morning to having NO WATER.  After much phone calling and by the good grace of Angie's List, we found an emergency well service to come out and take a look.  We had to replace our well pump, which meant pulling the pipe that goes down to the well, out of the ground.  It was about a 3 hour ordeal when all was said and done.

That brings us to the first of June.  I had a wonderful party to attend for a very good friend, celebrating her 65th birthday, retirement....basically her life.  It was very fun and enabled me to see friends I hadn't seen for a VERY long time.  Then the next evening we attended Em's dance recital!!

That is the oldest 'little' and her mother (my dear daughter) also danced in the recital.  As always, it was so fun to see - I LOVE TO WATCH THE GIRLS DANCE ;-)

Nancy's Party (crochet club friends)

DANCE RECITAL

Emily with proud Grandparents ;-)

Amy (dear daughter in black) with her good friend Paige

                 And last but not least, we have enjoyed watching our dear little Luke throughout ....



                                                           THE BASEBALL PLAYER

Needless to say, it had been a busy May and beginning of June.  It will take another Post to continue on with the next activities that have kept me busy  ;-)

I NEED CAFFEINE!!

                                     

Back After A Break

Well since it has been a long time since I have posted (what else is new?) I thought I would start out with this cutie I found on the Wallace Garden website.  It kind of represents the HOT and DRY weather we have been experiencing here in the Midwest.

I am on vacation in Bayfield, WI and it is even hot and humid here on the shores of Lake Superior.

It has been a crazy few months for me, with lot's of activities that have prevented me from my posting duties...but gosh have I been having FUN!!  I must decide whether I should post on each

event, or post it all in one post......hmmm I shall dwell.

In the meantime, I must acknowledge The Fourth Of July, (which was yesterday) because I love this country, the good ole, USA so very much.  We are truly blessed in this nation we call home.

                                                       www.nancywallacegardens.com

Bayfield Fireworks, Bayfield Harbor

Just as the fireworks were coming to the end, the most gorgeous full moon arose in the sky, it was just stunning!!  We tried to get a phone photo, but it just didn't do it justice.  I will show it anyway.

Use your imagination - a gorgeous orange full moon surfacing out of the clouds - seemingly a spectator to the festivities and it's celestial self not to be outdone!!

Hmm, that tiny orange dot would be that beautiful moon shining over the Lake.

I spent the day in the wilderness on an all terrain vehicle with DH and friends.  It was an amazing day in the woods, where with all the trees we got some break from the heat.  It was dusty riding though.

We came across an old homestead of some sort - just foundations remain.  Oh how it would be fun to know the history within the ruins.......

OKAY....decision made....I will take a post for each event of the past month and a half.

I have not had a SB's, Caribou, or any latte for two weeks or so.  I have sustained on coffee with carmel machiotto creamers.  Good, but ahhhhhh......



I MISS MY MOM....

Stormy Water

Well, we were up and out early this morning, headed to Bayfield.  As I stated, DH is very anxious to get his boat in the water....I am sure there a fish to be caught!!  BUT FIRST the boat has to be launched in Washburn and then driven about 8 nautical miles to reach the Pikes Bay Marina, which is where we dock our boat....The Grappler.

It was an uneventful drive to Bayfield, cloudy skies and dropping temps as we neared the Duluth area. Like 73 at home and 47 in Duluth.  Always a disappointment to leave that warm sunny home and head North.

Then we arrived in Washburn and these stormy waters greeted us!!  There would be no crossing at this point.  The wind continued to blow all day, so we shall see what tomorrow brings.

Then when we arrived at the condo, I noticed an odd odor inside, something that we usually don't experience.  As I unpacked things I determined the odor was similar to death, as in, dead mouse smell.  I searched in the cupboards, under the sink etc etc.  When DH came in I asked him if he noticed the odor, and of course not.....he did not.  So like any good woman, I lit candles.  I also found a few dead flies lying here and there throughout the condo....maybe the association had sprayed for them?  (kind of early for that, and NO email telling us that)

Our friends are up here at their condo this weekend also, so we determined to meet for dinner at Portside-their opening night!  (our fav restaurant-you can look out the windows onto the marina and the Lake)  As we are visiting, I ask Darlene if they had dead flies when they got to their condo and she said no, they didn't.  After a moment of silence, DH says, "Well, I didn't want to say anything BUT...."   the jist of that whole conversation was that he had left a bag of fish guts in a bucket from our last trip here (umm..that would have been the first of April) and he found them....PLEeaasee!!!

I rest my case!!!!  I DID smell death.   ahem

We had a great afternoon of celebrating Emily's birthday yesterday.  Dear daughter and I picked up the kids from school and headed to PFChangs, where we met DH and Paul.  We had a delightful dinner and Em opened her gifts.  Then it was on to the movie theater....Luke, DH, and I went to see 'The Three Stooges' and Em and her folks went to see 'The Hunger Games'.  It was a lot of fun and hard for me to let it sink in that little Em turned 12.  

This is a photo of the Littles on Luke's birthday (celebrated on the 22nd of April).  You can see how grown up they are getting!!

Well, that wraps up this day for me.

I was able to enjoy a nice warm Northern Lite Vanilla Latte from Caribou at the start of the journey.

YUMMO.....





Cloudy Start to the Day

Not a breeze in the trees this morning - not even a stir.

Cloudy skies give the green leaves and grass a brighter hue against the dark, rain soaked bark of the trees.

After a night of thunder, lightening, and rain it is a quiet morning.  More rain is on the way, then the skies should give way to some sun.  Yesterday was a gorgeous sunny day - 80 degrees.  Will reach the upper 70's again today.  YAY

This is the  birth-day of our first born grand...she turns 12....where oh where has the time gone?

You could reflect on that forever!!  We will celebrate with her later in the day.

Just a short post today, as always, busy-ness awaits me.  DH must get to Bayfield and get his boat in the waters.  Bills must be paid.  Items for the condo in Bayfield must be restocked and bought, packages must be mailed, and cards purchased,  lordie day....what am I blogging for??  LOL

I will, no doubt, have free time in Bayfield so plenty of time to blog and fill in then.  So, as the heavens have opened up to heavy rains now, I am going to bid a fond farewell and get on with this day.

Well to begin this post, I must say I have been absent from by blogging because I have been traveling,

attending dance competitions,


visiting the dentist :-(

.....and just catching up on where I left off!!  We had a vacation in San Diego, CA visiting with DH's parents for the week.  They have a condo right downtown, on the 22nd floor of a high rise, very near the harbor.  We had great views out of their many windows, of which we could see the comings and goings of the cruise ships, navy ships/boats, Coronado bridge/island, Pt Loma, and the Santa Fe Train Depot.  If you used the binoculars you could even see out onto the ocean.  There was an activity planned for everyday we were there, so we were busy, saw lot's of scenery and sites, and ATE well!!  LOL  The flowers were all blooming, so the flora was something else.  I spent my birthday while there; and the highlight of the day was being sung to, in Spanish, by a Portuguese singer, (called me Barbarita lol), accompanied by a Jewish piano player from Jerusalem and a trumpet player from New York City.  It was great fun.  Then in the evening we went to Anthonies (a restaurant sitting out over the harbor water) and had a wonderful seafood dinner.  Another highlight was going to San Juan Capistrano and touring the mission there--this was originally built by the missionaries back in the 1700's .  So much history, and again, beautiful flowers everywhere.

We ate at Scarpolleni's - great food AND the best MOJITO I have ever tasted.  I am going to try and see if I can get their recipe  mmmm mmmm good!  Thank you to the in-laws for showing us a fun time.

Then it was home and to the dentist bright and early the next morning.  I mentioned to the hygeinist that I had been experiencing a bad taste in my mouth since November, and that I thought the crown felt loose when I water pik my teeth.  She said well it does sound like your crown is loose, let's see....and off it popped.  The composite originally used to build up the tooth for the crown, crumbled.  That means an appt on Monday morning to grind on the tooth and rebuild it up for a new crown....$$$$.  JOY---no bad taste in the mouth anymore though YAY!!

I had a great weekend of watching dancers compete.  My sweet little grand performed with her groups in tap, lyrical, and jazz; performed with her small groups in jazz, tap and lyrical, and did her solo in lyrical.  They danced well and scored well.  I am always amazed at all the choeography...how do those teachers come up with new and entertaining dance routines all the time?

We celebrated Luke's birthday here on Sunday eve - a fish and 'turf ' meal.  It was fun to see everyone and catch up.  Luke had a great time, (I shared his birthday this year).  Steve and Angie are busy getting ready for a garage sale that begins tomorrow.  The moving date is coming quickly.

Boo on our weather!!  Highs dropped down to the 50's again and rain/wet snow in the forecast.

Guess we're paying now for all those lovely temperatures we enjoyed in Febr and March!

I am very happy to be home and enjoying my :



 

Easter Blessings



HAPPT EASTER TO ALL!!

We awoke to a beautiful sunrise this Easter morning.  It IS coolish out though, only in the 50's, a little cooler than we are used to this year!!  Nevertheless, it is a beautiful Spring morn.  We attended the 7:15 Mass this morning, to miss the crowds that will attend the later Masses.  It was fun to see a few Easter Bonnets and pastel colors in the pews this morning.  I always love the Alleluia's that rise to the heavens in song.  Also, saw a few familiar faces at this early hour LOL!!

Of course, some things never change-the parking lot was a disaster as we are trying to leave and people for the next Mass are coming in already.   This has been a pet peeve of DH for as many years as I can remember.  OH WELL....

All the littles and our grands are not with us this year, so it is just the hubs and I, AND Rosie the dog.

We are enjoying her inside company as well as Gus the dog, in the outdoor kennel keeping Cleo company. 

I am going to prepare a new dish for our Easter feast later on today.  It will be a pork tenderloin with a sausage/mushroom stuffing (inside the meat) and a salad of asparagus and sugar snap peas with radishes.   I will report on the review of these new recipes later.

Have a wonderful Easter Blessed day.  I hope jelly beans and chocolate found their way to you today.

Ahhhh... a skinny vanilla latte rounded out the beautiful morning.

OH--this is where I want to go in my dreams tonight!! 

The Laburnum arch with purple allium at Bayview Farm and Garden, owner Maureen Murphy, at Whidbey Island, Langley, Washington. (It should be noted that all parts of this plant are poisonous.)

                                                                                                  http://wallacegardens.tumblr.com/

Patsy Cline -- I Fall To Pieces

I was IMing with my dear sister tonight and we were wondering how to download a youtube song onto the computer.  Well, I still don't know, but I did figure out how to get it here.  Now I am wondering how one would link it into your blog -- like Susan Branch, who links you to a song with just a word, and you can come back and read her blog while listening to the music.  SO MUCH TO LEARN!!

Here we are at the Triduum of Easter already.  I did have the littles over to dye eggs.....30 eggs to be exact!!!  Well, the boy littles lost interest rather quickly, so that left we 'girls' to do the rest LOL.
Didn't get many good pictures either.  Oh well, it is late and I have nothing pertinent to say,
except,
GOOD NIGHT all.

A Test

http://tmblr.co/Zx3jnxISMgxM

This is a test.....to see that posting someone's picture gets due credit??  I am new to this...
Wallacegardens is a great blog to follow....fascinating pictures and info. 
www.wallacegardens.tumblr.com  Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!!

Imaginary Friday

Wouldn't this just be a lovely path to your garden?  I could get so much enjoyment looking out my window to see this in my backyard.  It would lead to a beautiful flowered garden

  

where I could sit, and admire all the beauty!!  (where the deer wouldn't roam and munch) 

It would be my oasis of peace.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S

ERIN GO BRAGH

And a Happy St. Patricks's Day greeting to all (Irish or other).

Such an interesting phenomena to me, this special day of celebration.....

drinking and eating green, parades, boiled corn beef meals, wearing green,

luck of the Irish and all .......

I should research more into the history of why all the celebrating of the day - I know St. Patrick himself was Irish - is he the beginning reason for it all?

1)  St. Patrick's Day is celebrated in the memory of the death of St. Patrick, the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland who lived during the 5th century.  He is associated with bringing Christianity to Ireland.  The Catholic Church in Ireland celebrates it as a solemnity and Holy Day. 

2) The Shamrock associated with the day, comes from the popular myth that says St. Patrick used the 3 leaves of the plant to explain Catholicism's Holy Trinity to the Irish.

3) The Harp is a symbol of Ireland.

4)  Green is also commonly associated with Ireland, also known as 'The Emerald Island', and in the 18th century supporters of the Irish independence used the green color to represent their cause.

5)  Corned beef and cabbage - In Ireland a type of bacon similar to ham is on the customary protein  holiday  table.  In the late 19th century Irish immigrants in New York City's East Side supposedly substituted corned beef, which they bought from Jewish neighbor's in order to save money.

6)   The Leprechaun is an Irish fairy. He looks like a small, old man (about 2 feet tall), often dressed like a shoemaker, with a cocked hat and a leather apron. According to legend, leprechauns are aloof and unfriendly, live alone, and pass the time making shoes. They also possess a hidden pot of gold. Treasure hunters can often track down a leprechaun by the sound of his shoemaker's hammer. If caught, he can be forced (with the threat of bodily violence) to reveal the whereabouts of his treasure, but the captor must keep their eyes on him every second. If the captor's eyes leave the leprechaun (and he often tricks them into looking away), he vanishes and all hopes of finding the treasure are lost.

These are just some fun facts behind all the symbols we have come to know to be associated with the celebration of St. Patrick's Day. 

By the way - Erin Go Bragh - translates to Ireland Forever!!

Okay I am off to celebrate with:

 

Have a LUCKY  day!!

HAPPY SUNDAY



HAVE A GREAT DAY!!