Deck the Halls

Actually, the only hall I have is upstairs, and it didn't get decorated. However, the main floor is highly decorated now. I have spent the last two days putting up decorations both outside and in. Everything except the tree. That chore takes an entire day in itself, as I have an artificial tree which has to be recreated, branch by branch every year before decorating. Maybe next weekend for that. Anyway, the house looks very much like Christmas now with candles, snowmen, snowflakes, winter pictures and Santas - all red and green and white. I will take some photos, but don't have time now, before Sunday School, to do that and get them up. OK, here are some photos. These went up quickly - amazing!

Starting on the right: the front door. The painting is by my niece Terry. It's an old one of hers (not one of her favorites), but I really like it. Trees and snow - works for me. Next is outside: my flag and a lighted snowman on the trellis. Red lanterns and bows on the shepards' hooks. Last photo is the little evergreen out by the sidewalk.

I have more photos, but just now when I tried to upload them, the computer gave me one of those error messages that says "internet explorer cannot find web page". I have no idea what that means, but I'm not going to press my luck. No more photos today.

I had a great Thanksgiving - a real feast. We started with hors d'oeuvres at Patty's house. Cheeses and crackers, salami and pepperoni, nuts, cauliflower with cocktail sauce (poor man's shrimp substitute), and many other raw veggies. That was at noon. About 4 PM we somehow found room for dinner. We had two kinds of sweet potato dishes, stuffing both in the bird and in a casserole, turkey (of course), gravy, cranberry relish (recipe to follow), snow peas in a cranberry sauce, salad, biscuits and finally pumpkin and apple pie. As if this weren't enough for the weekend, on Friday, Patty made turkey taquitos and guacamole and cheesecake, so we ate another shared wonderful meal. If one can't have family for Thanksgiving, good friends are the next best thing!

The three of us took two long walks on Thursday. One to work up an appetite for dinner and the other to settle the dinner so that we had room for dessert. Luckily the weather was delightful - sunny and rather warm for this time of year. Maryland is strange that way - the temperatures jump up and down almost daily in the fall. For example, yesterday we had sunshine all day and temps in the 60s. Today is colder and rainy. I'm not complaining. The longer winter holds off, the happier I am. However, Patty and I were both too busy since then to walk, although I did walk by myself yesterday evening. I have gained 2 pounds just from Thanksgiving dinner, so I really need those daily walks! Probably won't walk today, however. I don't care what the songs say, I don't find walking in the rain romantic, even if I were walking with a cute guy!

Since you asked, here's the recipe for my cranberry relish. First a bit of background. My mother always made an uncooked relish with cranberries and apples and maybe an orange. After Dad developed diabetes, she tried sweetening the relish with saccharine (the only sweetener available at that time). This wasn't very successful, because the cranberries are very tart and if you use too much saccharine, it turns bitter. I had this happen to mine - believe me - it was awful! Anyway, after Mom died, I decided to find a better way to make the relish so that Dad could eat it. This is the result:

12 oz. fresh cranberries, washed and sorted, discarding soft ones

1 can of crushed pineapple in juice (no added sugar) 16 oz can or slightly smaller one

2 0r 3 apples, peeled

2 packages of no-sugar orange jello

orange or cranberry juice, as needed

Drain pineapple. Cut apples into chunks. Put some cranberries and some apple into blender. Cover with juice. Process a low speed until chopped finely. Empty into bowl, draining off juice. Repeat until all is chopped. Using 2 cups of boiling water, dissolve both packages of jello. Add a bit less than 2 cups of juice - pineapple and other. Because crushed pineapple is very juicy even after straining, I don't add quite 2 cups of juice - maybe less a tablespoon or two. Stir, then add fruit. Pour into serving bowl. This looks very pretty in a glass bowl. Cover loosely and refrigerate. I usually make this the day before, as it takes a long time to thicken up. Enjoy!

It's beginning to look a bit like Christmas

My house is still decked for Thanksgiving (until Friday), but I've started putting up a few Christmas decorations. I love the Holiday Season and can't wait to get all the red and green and silver and gold stuff on the walls, the windows, the floor, and in a few weeks, on the tree. Anyway, I had all these empty pots out on my deck. And they looked so sad and lonely that I decided to stick some evergreen cuttings (from my own tree) and some poinsettias (from Michael's Crafts) in them. We've had some cold weather and the soil in the pots was pretty much frozen. You should have seen me out there with a metal rod, poking holes in the soil so that I could insert the stems of the decorations. Pretty silly, but hey - whatever works!

I have been trying to upload some photos here, but not having much luck. I just got some kind of error message that makes me think I have to try again, but I'll wait a bit and see. After three tries....

HIP, HIP HOORAY! I won! Third try was the charm. The first two photos show the fake poinsettias on my deck. The third photo is of the corner of the dining area. The red scooter I just recently found at an antique store on my way back from a family visit. I had a similar scooter as a child, so I just couldn't resist. It was cheap, too! The poinsettia is real. The bust in the Santa hat is 'June' whom I think I have mentioned before. June was the model in a sculptor class I took last year.

Today I'm trying to get a head start on Thanksgiving dinner. I'll be baking pies - apple and pumpkin - this afternoon (if I ever stop blogging) and making cranberry relish that is always better the second day. I make an uncooked version with a couple of apples,chopped, a can of crushed pineapple (no sugar added), a package of sugar-free orange jello, and a bag of cranberries, chopped. The jello and pineapple provide the sweetening, so no sugar is needed.

This afternoon, my sink is filled with cold water and a frozen turkey, which I hope is thawing. It's been in the fridge for a couple of days, but still felt pretty solid this AM. The only problem is that I can't use my sink because - duh - the turkey is in it!

As you saw, I did finally get those photos up. I was about to give up. Because my Internet access is dial-up, loading photos is VERY SLOOOOW, even when it works properly. The only advantage to having a dial-up connection is that it ties up my phone lines so I get fewer calls from Verizon trying to sell me a combination package of Internet service, telephone, and television. I keep telling them that I don't want it, but they don't listen! Today, I told the caller that I wasn't interested in buying any package deals and she kept right on talking. Are telemarketers trained to ignore what the customer says? Needless-to-say, I hung up on her.

I just found out today that one of my nieces is reading my blog and has set up a blog of her own. What fun! Diane lives in Wisconsin, works in an environmental job and has a few horses to care for and enjoy. I mentioned her sister, Terry, in an earlier blog, I think. I don't visit them very often, but I always return refreshed. It's beautiful up there where they live. Very rural with many lakes, waterfalls, trees and fields. The night sky is magnificent, with no city or airport lights interfering with viewing the stars and planets. I don't think I would be comfortable living out in the country, as they both do, but sometimes when the traffic here is bad, I do wonder about moving. Unfortunately, in Wisconsin, one experiences real winter, not this pale imitation we have here. I guess I'm too spoiled by years in Maryland to enjoy several months of ice and snow.

Time to work on pies. Soon the house will smell wonderful. I doubt I'll be able to wait until tomorrow to sample.

The holidays are coming and so is winter- brrrr.

Recently, I spent a few days in rural Virginia, visiting with my brothers and sisters-in-law. I love driving over there, as the rolling hills and farmland remind me of where I grew up - in western New York State. It's beautiful countryside. This visit was a good one, despite the fact that both my SILs and I are losing our hearing. What makes this worse is that my brothers are both soft-spoken. One mumbles and the other talks with his hand in front of his mouth. (Jack, if you are reading this, you'll know who I mean!) Many of our conversations are rather repetitive, with voices getting louder and louder until all of us heard what was said. Sometimes by that time, we aren't interested any longer! ; ) The weather was cold, but driving over and back was good - no rain, sleet or snow. One couple was on their way to Florida for the winter - lucky them. They should be safetly settled in by now.

I'm getting ready for hosting Thanksgiving dinner this week. It's a small group, just my friend Patty and her mother, and they help with food preparation, so it's not much work. I'm cooking a 21 pound turkey. Yeah, I know that's really big for three people, but we all want leftovers, so we cook the biggest turkey we can find. My house will smell of turkey and stuffing for days afterward - yum.

Today is the first rehearsal for the MAD (Music and Drama) Holiday Chorus. MAD is the amateur theater and singing group to which I belong. We will sing one concert at Goddard Space Flight Center (the rec. council there sponsors the group), a couple of concerts at local nursing homes and one at a business group's luncheon. I like the Holiday Chorus. The music is always enjoyable and we don't have to memorize it. (I really hate memorizing music). I love singing, and especially Christmas music, so this is going to be great fun.

I have to bake Christmas cookies soon as well, since I think I am involved in two 'cookie exchanges'. They are both the kind where we just bring cookies to eat and the recipes to share - not dozens and dozens to trade with others. Still, that is more baking than I usually do. The problem with baking Christmas cookies is that I keep too many and then, of course, eat them! I'm hoping this year to bake many different kinds, but give most of them away. Kate does this very well, fixing plates for friends and the children's teachers. Last year I helped her bake, although she hardly needs help from me, as her girls are old enough to almost do the baking on their own. Grandchildren grow up so fast!

Sarah, my oldest granddaughter, is now 11 (going on 15!) She took a test this month for admittance into a rather posh girls' school. She won't know until March if she got in, but if she doesn't make the cut, the local secondary school is a good one, so she'll be fine wherever she ends up. I do think that eleven year olds are too young for that kind of pressure, but that's the way the school system in England is set up. Mostly, I think the English schools are better than most here in the US. My grandkids seem to be learning things at an earlier age than my own kids did. Of course, I'm out of touch with US schools. The last time I volunteered in schools was back when I was working for USDA which gave us release time to tutor once a week. The school was in a less than desirable neighborhood in Washington, DC. Not somewhere I'd want to be after dark! The teachers were good, but the kids were several grades behind the suburban schools. Hopefully, things are better there now.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

start of a PIF tag

Ok, we are in business. Post a comment on my blog, saying that you want to have your name in the drawing for this PIF (Pay it Forward) tag. I will draw three names on Dec 3 and announce the winners. Hopefully, in January or February (but more likely March), I will send a hand made object to the winners. (see previous blog for what kind of object)

The rules are that if you win, you have to hold your own PIF tag. You actually have a year to send out the prizes, so it isn't a great burden.

Have fun!

I won!

A few weeks ago, I entered a PIF (Pay it Forward) drawing held by Mumzy. ( http://quiltsandall.blogspot.com ) I was one of the winners and yesterday I received a lovely white scarf made by Mumzy. I think it's crocheted, but I'm not sure - maybe it's knitted. Anyway it is very soft and light as a feather and feels wonderful and warm and luxurious draped around my neck as it is at this moment. I will try to take a photo of it, so you can all see how nice it is. There it is. The scarf is wrapped around "June", a sculpture I did in a class that I took last year.

Since I am a winner in this contest, I now have to hold one of my own. Basically, what this means is that I am asking folks to log onto my blog, and leave a comment to say they want to be in the drawing. We will start tomorrow November 19 and close the contest on December 3. My blog is very new and I don't think I have many readers, but Kate has promised to mention this on her blog, so more folks will know about it. I will draw three names on Dec 4. The winners will receive something hand made from me, sometime in the next few months. If you win, you have to run a PIF tag of your own. (FYI: I do not do much sewing, so don't expect something made from fabric. My hobby and passion is playing with clay, so winners will no doubt get something ceramic.)

We had our first snow today! It came in brief bursts of flakes, between periods of sunshine. Very weird weather. Of course, the snow melted as it hit the ground. I was outside raking leaves and spreading a bit of mulch. Nothing like raking leaves while it's snowing. I loved it!

Plays, phone calls, and a exciting book

This was a theater weekend. Friday was "The Rocky Horrow Show". Then yesterday, I served drinks at a performance of "Joseph" put on by the music and drama (MAD) club at Goddard Space Flight Center. (No, I never worked at Goddard, but they let other folks join the club.) The show is fun to watch and I think the group did a good job. We are all amateurs, of course, including the sound and light people and the musicians. I sometimes sing in the fall shows, but this year my fall was too busy - too much traveling - to even consider it. It was fun to see my friends performing.


Our balmy weather left us yesterday. It had been in the low 70s earlier in the week, but it turned windy and cold. Snow was predicted for Saturday, but it never happened. Today is sunny and lovely looking outside, but not exactly warm. Still a nice fall day. Snow tonight - maybe.


This morning I had an unexpected phone call from my niece Terry who lives in Wisconsin. We chatted about the election and the environment (she's an environmentalist and an artist) and where she and her husband are going this winter. They earn their living at many different jobs, such as: selling her paintings, fur trapping (he does this), teaching environmental programs, conducting loon studies, and so on. They often spend a month or two in the winter in some warm place, doing volunteer enviromental type work. They work for room and board and get to see various interesting places around the world. This winter they will be in Costa Rica for a month. It's always great to talk with Terry, partly because she and I think alike on most issues, although she is much more environmentally aware than I am.

That brings me to a book that I am reading. It is "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan. It's a wonderful book - very long, but fascinating. After reading the chapter on the beef industry, I am considering giving up beef altogether. Feedlot conditions are really gross. This book is full of information about sustenable farming, organic foods, and the way our food production has become industrialized. Did you know that the food industry in the US uses as much petroleum in a year as all the cars in the country? Who would have thought that? Kate and I discussed some of the issues from the book when we talked yesterday. She buys some of her food at a farmer's market or at 'pick your own' farms. This book hasn't made me decide to grow my own food, but it does make me want to find a good farmers' market where I can buy food produced in a sustainable (old-fashioned ) way. I highly recommend it to anyone concerned about how our food is produced, processed and delivered.

Rocky Horror Show

Last night my friend Lynne and I went to see a performance of The Rocky Horror Show. I have wanted to see this show ever since my daughter was in high school. Kate and her friends used to go to a midnight showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show at a local theater. The things she told me about the show were so funny! The group was going to set up a "moms' night" when a few of us moms would go along. However, this never happened due to scheduling. After having seen the show, I think it's probably a good thing I didn't see it years ago with Kate. I was a pretty liberal mom, I think, but I would rather not have realized that my daughter was being exposed to quite that much overt sex. I knew, intellectually, that she was knowledgeable, but still I wouldn't have been comfortable to have that knowledge thrown in my face, as it were.

Actually, I enjoyed the show. It was very funny in many places and the audience participated to some extent. There were a dozen or so young people in the audience who knew the lines and kept throwing in the extra lines which are part of the experience. There were even a few which were not traditional, but referred to more recent happenings. Unfortunately, with my hearing problems, I seldom could understand those lines, but that was ok. I got the general picture. The singing was great. The actors had excellent voices, although they were rather wasted on the songs. And several actors were very good at ad-libbing back at the audience. All in all - lots of laughs and at the end, the whole audience, including us senior citizens, stood up and danced with the cast. A great evening!

Danger - complaining follows

I have just a few minutes to write before I have to leave for lunch with long time friends. We do this every Friday. Whoever is available comes to lunch at a restaurant chosen the week before. It's a fun thing to do and a great way to stay in touch with friends who have moved out of the immediate area, but are still withing a reasonable drive.

Anyway in the short time I have, I want to complain about health insurance. I recently received this year's booklet from Blue Cross and Blue Shield (my secondary insurance company - Medicare is now my primary). The booklet, actually is more like a book at 134 pages long. I was trying to check up on dental benefits as well as what has changed. They seem to have eliminated an index in this year's book, so I had to flip through a lot of pages to find anything about dental. When I found it, I couldn't figure out what they were telling me! I would like to compare this year's benefits, which I know have been reduced, to last year's. However, last year they never sent me a book, so I checked online. Now, I'm not sure I can find out what last year's benefits were! If I want to compare plans from other companies, I'll have to go online anyway. It's very hard to tell what is being offered. Frankly, Blue Cross and Blue Shield is getting a real easy ride with me. They used to have to pay all my health care bills. Now, Medicare pays most of the bill and B&B just picks up the difference. But, did they reduce what I pay them for health insurance? Surely you jest! So I pay twice as much for health insurance (Medicare and B&B) and get just about the same benefits. Except, of course, they are reducing the benefits this year and raising the cost. Please, President-elect Obama - do something about health insurance!!

Today I got a quote on how much my new glasses will cost me. Ouch!! I will go to another place and see what their prices are, but probably won't see much difference. This is in addition to whatever the eye exam will cost. Hopefully, the health insurance will pay for part of that.

I'm very glad that I am basicallly healthy and don't have to deal with health care providers and insurers very often. I haven't the patience for it. I guess you could say that I am not a patient patient. Sorry, I couldn't resist the pun. Punning runs in my family. My brothers are even better (or worse) than I.

Next week, I will be complaining about the cost of car repairs, most likely. Car goes in on Wednesday for a scheduled maintenance. It'll probably cost about the same as the glasses.

Time for lunch now. Sorry for the ranting on this blog. Will try to find something nice to say next time.

This and that

Yesterday was Veterans' Day. It's a federal holiday, which used to mean I had the day off. Of course, being retired, every day is a holiday of sorts. However, the last few days haven't seemed that way. It's amazing how busy one can be and still not do anything much. Yesterday, I did three loads of wash, ran a couple of errands and went for a long walk with Patty. We found a new trail to walk and walked further than planned. When we had walked 2.2 miles to an old railroad bridge that Patty wanted to see, I realized that it was 2 PM and I had an appointment to get my eyes checked at 3! We walked really fast on the way back and I made it to the office with 5 minutes to spare.

I get new glasses every couple of years (have worn them since I was 10), so I know the procedure pretty well. This was a new doctor, however, and a couple of things were different. He actually took a photo of my eyes. He showed it to me and I could see the blood vessels - not a pretty sight. The other difference was that he dilated my pupils more than usual. When I left, about an hour and a half after the drops had gone in, I was still seeing starbursts around all the lights. Since it was 5 PM by then and getting dark, there were a lot of starbursts on the way home. Weird, but not a real problem. I drove very carefully.

Speaking of lights, one of the things I did yesterday was buy new bulbs for the flourescent light in my kitchen. I tried putting in just one new one. That used to work on some of my lights. This time, no such luck . I had to replace both of them. The bulbs are like none I had ever seen before. Instead of being a straight long bulb, they are u-shaped. As if someone took two straight bulbs and added a connecting curve. Very strange looking and rather expensive, but they seem to last a loooong time. I have lived here for over 7 years and those bulbs never had to be replaced, so I guess they are good ones.

Today I took Patty to an appointment for a MRI. Afterward, she took me out to lunch at TGI Fridays. I told her that anytime she needed a chaufeur, I'm available for just a lunch! Today was sunny and not too cold, so I when we got back, I decided to get a bit of yard work done. I tore the dead morning glory vines off the trellis in the front yard and clipped and pulled dead flowers from the bed. Also took off all the little watering cans and other decorative items hanging on the trellis. Have to make room for the Christmas decorations, which go up the weekend after Thanksgiving. I boxed up most of the birdhouses that have been decorating my deck railings. I think they will last longer if I bring them in for the winter. I only worked an hour or so, but it felt like much longer.

I don't know if Patty and I will go walking today or not. We agreed to decide at 4, when we would have both quit working in the yard for the day. I had quit by three! I doubt if we'll go, as I think we both are tired. If I didn't have her to walk with, I would hardly ever go walking. I'm not highly motivated to do it, but having someone else to walk with helps get me out there.

back home again

Safely returned from the trip to Pittsburgh. We drove through Western Maryland and West Virginia, up and down over the mountains. Very up and down! I had forgotten how hilly that route was. The alternative, however, involves using the PA turnpike which is a nightmare of big trucks going 70 mph and narrow lanes. We senior citizens don't do that kind of driving, if there is an alternative. The alternative is quite pretty in early fall. Unfortunately, this late, most trees in the mountains were bare. Still, it was a great visit. Saw our friends and their daughter and her fiance. Ate good food and had lots of time to chat. However, I am very glad to be back in Maryland, where the sun shines! It was overcast the whole weeknd in Pittsburgh. My friends tell me that this is typical for that area, especially in late fall and winter. I don't think I could be happy there. I need a dose of sunshine every few days.

In my last post I was muttering about the check engine light in my car. I did reach my mechanic and he said that there are about 40 different things that light could mean. A big help that was!! He said I could drive it as long as the light was steady, but if it started blinking, I should stop and call a tow truck. This is not exactly what I wanted to hear. Luckily I am not doing any long distance traveling until later this month. I have an appointment to have him work on the car next week. It's due for a servicing anyway. I will be car-less for a day, but I actually don't mind staying home, now that I have my studio set up and can play with clay all day. (I will include some photos of my clay things one of these days, but will probably wait until they have been glazed and fired. Right now, they are just brown shapes - not very exciting, except to those who work in clay.)

just a quick note

We're off to Pittsburgh in a few hours, so I just have time for a quick note. It looks like a gorgeous day for a drive through western Maryland and Pennsylvania. Trees here are in full fall color. The woods look as if King Midas has touched them - gold everywhere! This has been an outstanding fall for color.

I have a bunch of errands to do before we leave. One is to call my auto mechanic and see what the 'check engine' light on my dashboard means. This light has been on for several days now and the booklet that came with the car isn't very clear on the meaning. Could be one of about 5 different things - some serious, some not. Hopefully, it's not serious, because I've been driving around with it on all week!! I don't know when I'll have a day to take the car in - I have something going on every day next week.

Have to get a couple of things mailed, including a card and some little items for Kate's birthday. Nothing big, as I left a present with her when I was there in September. Amazingly, she chose to wait and open it on her birthday. She's much better at delayed gratification than I am!

Stores aren't open yet, so I have a bit of time to kill. I need to pack, but everything is laid out, so packing will take no time at all. As usual, I am taking far more than I need. I can never decide what to take, so I take everything I might possibly want. I suspect this is a symptom of having far too many clothes. I am trying not to buy any more and also trying to discard things I don't wear or that don't fit. Even so, there will still be several closets full of things that do fit and I do wear - at least once in a while. I keep things forever, I guess. Until a few years ago, I still had some blouses that were my mother's - she died in 1978!!

So, I'm off and running now. Will be back Sunday late afternoon.

It's finally over - and we won!

At last the election has come and gone! Thank you, Lord. Now perhaps my newspaper (The Washington Post) will have room for some news that isn't connected to any election or politician. I am, as you might guess, delighted with the results. I think this election will help the US with our image in the world - frankly that image badly needs improvement. Electing a Black man to be President doesn't mean we have overcome all our prejudices, but it sure shows a lot of progress. Now, no more politics on this blog, for a while at least. One of my brothers says he hasn't looked at my blog because he is sure I filled it with political stuff. (My brothers are both conservative Republicans.) I must send him an email later this week and tell him it's safe to read it now!

This is my morning to work at the church library, so I haven't time to write much. No photos uploaded today. This is going to be a busy week, with various tasks added to my usual schedule. It amuses me that I think I'm very busy when I have two tasks to do in one day. How spoiled I am in retirement! Anyway, nothing exciting is going on until Friday when a friend and I are driving to Pittsburgh (in her new car) to visit old friends (oh, sorry - not 'old' but long-time friends!). It'll be great to see them and good to get away, although the weather up there will be cooler than here and probably rainy. Who cares about the weather when one is with friends?

fall in Maryland

I'm going to be at home all day today, so I will have time to put some photos up on this blog. Because I take my photos at a high resolution, it takes a looong time to upload them and keeps my phone lines tied up. (Yes, I know I should get DSL or whatever, but I just hate to pay the extra money for it when I can usually manage with dial-up.) Actually, I don't mind having my phone tied up. Most of the daytime calls I get are people wanting me to give them money! Anyway, if this works, there will be below some photos taken around my neighborhood and on the trail by the river where I walked yesterday. Wish me luck!

Yes, success at last!
.---- ----
The view from my deck. -------- Close up of first view. ------Trees in neighborhood.

--- ---
My front steps. -----------Looking down my street. ---------- We do get some red in the trees.

---- ------
The path we walk. ------------------Trees reflected in the river.

/
/

The river thru the trees

/

/

Well, I guess you could say that I was successful. Still having problems. I can't get the text to wrap around the photos, so there is this big blank space up there. Also, the photos seem to move closer together, when my back is turned! No kidding. This has happened several times. So, for some of them, I used dashes as spacers. The others I'm going to leave as is and see if they move again. Yep, they shifted when the draft was posted. I put the spacers back in. Hope this works

/

/

In my waiting time, while I was uploading these photos, I stripped my bed, did three loads of laundry, including putting the clean laundry away, started some homemade chicken soup, finished reading the paper, clipped coupons from three booklets, and switched the contents of my waist purse from the old bag to a new one. Let's just say, it took quite a while. And that's all for today.

Boo to you!

Last night was not exactly warm, but some of us braved the cold and sat outside anyway, admiring the kids in costume and having a bit of a party of our own. We had a lot of trick or treaters. I had purchased two bags of candy from BJ's (discount store) which gave me about 400 pieces of candy. I had about 100 left when I closed up shop at 8:30. Now I just need to hide that candy so that I don't eat too much of it at a time! Here are some photos of my decorations and the kids next door in their costumes.

------------.

A family down the street always does something very scary. They set up a tent in the yard and had a mad scientist/doctor inside. The daughter is the victim, tied up and begging not to be used for body parts and discarded. In one corner there was a pile of 'discarded body parts'. A son was dressed up as a zombie, just standing along the wall. The room was full of fog - very spooky. As the 'doctor' tells us to leave by the other door, the zombie leaps forward and grabs someone. I entered with three teen age girls. You should have heard their screams when one of them was grabbed. Of course, the kids in our neighborhood all knew the 'actors' so they weren't really scared. Still, it was pretty cool.

Today it was sunny and warm - truly Indian Summer. It was a gorgeous day and I tried to find reasons to be outside. I took down the Halloween decorations and puttered around in the yard. Patty and I went walking down by the river this afternoon. Took some photos of the trees and the water. I would put some of them here, but I'm having a terrible time getting photos onto this blog and positioned where I want them. Kate seems to do it with no trouble, but everything goes wrong for me. It takes a long time to upload them and then as I was moving them around, I lost two of them and had to reload. So no more photos tonight. I have run out of patience. Time to get off the computer and read a bit before bedtime.