a little of everything
YIPPEE! Tonight is the big trick or treat event. I have my costume all ready to go; the moving, laughing broom is sitting, waiting to frighten unsuspecting ghouls and princesses; and the treats reside in my big orange tub excited to be handed out to the kiddos and not-so-kiddos.
My camera will be standing by for all the cool costumes to be uploaded on to the blog. I will try to guess who is who and sometimes who is what.
So check back later for the details!!
Yesterday I featured Faith, Family, and the Farm. Today is Whenquiet’s Blog. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
via Whenquiet’s Blog
My little pumpkin family
Ever rode a broom?
Orange and black
We Kin Sin... take that any way you want.
just waiting on the full moon to finish the digging out task!!
One Halloween before James and I got married we went to the cemetery and looked at the tombstones (I know they’re called monuments now, but I love that word) to come up with some ideas for a party we were going to have. If you’ve never perused cemetery headstones, then you should. They are so interesting!
We eventually came up with these ideas. I haven’t used them in years, and thought this year would be just right. Kate helped get the “bones” out and decorate everything.
Not too fancy; I’m not really talented in the artistic department. Anybody out there got any cool decorations? Send them this way and I’ll post them.
Saturday Darla and I took Jack, Sam, Owen, and Maci to Bandy’s Pumpkin Patch.
A cold drink from Bandy's Pumpkin Patch
They have a fantastic corn maze, hay rides, a scene to stick heads in for photos, a big corn gun, two huge slides, a bouncy house, three big round containers for squirming in the corn, snacks and drinks, and PUMPKINS! It was an awesome day!
Looking for the first point to click our paper
The good folks at the ticket booth give each of us a paper that we have to punch at six different locations throughout the maze. If we could find them all, we got a button.
Sam pinning his pin on Owen
Darla, Owen, and Maci gave up after the first two finds, so the boys and I persevered for another hour and a half trying to find the next four. It was tough! Jack found four of them, Sam found one, and I found one. Mine was pure accident, just about ran into it. The boys were thrilled that they got their button because we had a couple of let’s-give-up moments. Each point had a map that only told us where we were, not where the other points were to be found.
The map of the maze. This shows point #2.
Maci having fun in the maze
By the time the boys and I got out of the maze, my feet hurt and I was pooped! We ran into a few other kids that were having trouble finding the points as well, so in the end there were six of us yelling back and forth.
Sam thinks he sees something!
We found it! Only five more to go.
We went around several circles; we went through places we had been previously several times. I have to admit, sometimes the boys would say, “We’ve already been that way, Gigi!” But I was just so sure we hadn’t! At one point as we were walking along the edge of the maze we did contemplate for just a moment doing the unthinkable and walking through the corn to the treeline. I am very glad we didn’t.
And off she goes after the boys
While the boys and I were muddling through the maze, Darla, Owen, and Maci went for a hayride through the pumpkin patch.
Mawmaw, Maci, and Owen on hayride
Maci and Owen stepping off the wagon
Next was a trek through the big barn to go down the big slides, jump in the bouncy house, and sink into corn.
the big slides
Sam in corn
Jack and Sam found the corn shooter. That was an interesting outfit. They each got to pick out three ears of corn to be inserted into this big gun. Then they had to aim for a target out in the field.
Sam hits the target!
Shooting was sort of like playing golf; there was a lot of slicing and hooking going on with that corn when it came flying out of the gun. Right when you thought it would hit the target, it would go right or left. Very frustrating… and costly. Sam got a direct hit and sent the target swinging, so Jack put everything he had in it (not to be outdone by the little brother) but couldn’t overcome the hook and the slice.
Jack taking aim
the target
The only thing left to do was pick out their pumpkins. Owen already had a wagon full of little pumpkins, about 20, that he had picked out for different people. When I told him Mawmaw would only let us get one, he pointed to one and said, “But that one was for you.” The little guy knew exactly which one he had picked out for each person.
final stop of the day - delivering pumpkins
Jennifer Lopez has a new line of clothes, shoes, boots, and jewelry at Kohls. These over-the-knee boots are awesome! And I had to have a pair in black! I can’t wait to wear them. Are they not so cool?!?!
I also bought these cool babies:
Candie's Chunky High Heels
over-the-knee boots
Just a typical gal buying boots and shoes. Am I the only one that loves them?
ton crocodile
In case you didn’t get a gander at this big boy over the weekend, I thought I would let you see it. This is a crocodile weighing 2, 370 pounds and is 21 feet long! The big bully was seen taking down a water buffalo and is suspected of eating a local fisherman that has been missing since July. It was captured in a village of about 37,000 people (sounds like a city to me) in the Phillipines. The people are planning to make it the star of an ecotourism park (“tourism to exotic or threatened ecosystems to observe wildlife or to help preserve nature” as defined by the Princeton University).
Even though they captured Lolong, as it has been named, there is still another even bigger one still out in the marsh around the village, and the people have been told not to go into the marshes at night. Uh, hello? I don’t think you need to tell me that. As a matter of fact, I think I would just as soon die of dehydration as venture into the jaws of something like this.
largest reptile: saltwater crocodile
Back in 2005 another big croc was captured in Uganda. It had dined on about 83 of the local people over two decades: fisherman and villagers getting water. The dining place of this particular croc was dubbed “Butcher.” Crocodiles don’t chew their food, so the victim is chomped and swallowed, chomped and swallowed…
And here is where the great opportunities comes into play. Those crocs may look like lazy buggers with nothing more to do than lollygag in the water, but, in fact, are great opportunists.
potential food
Waiting in the marsh to eat a fishermanfood delicacy sounds like it might be worth the wait. Let the food come to you.
For the lucky people that do capture those huge, ton man-eaters, there are all kinds of opportunities awaiting them. The ecosystem park for starters. Can you imagine how many people could be fed with a haul that big at some fancy-shmancy restaurant that serves up delicacies such as Curried Crocodile? Or how about this recipe?
Crocodile with mango & basil sauce
300g crocodile meat, cut into thin slices
30g peanut oil
20g basil leaves
20g parsley
5g garlic, chopped
20ml white wine vinegar
200ml olive oil
1 mango, stone removed and peeled
salt & pepper to taste
Heat peanut oil in a frying pan, saute seasoned crocodile pieces for about three minutes then set aside and keep warm. Blend basil, garlic, parsley, vinegar and olive oil in a food processor until smooth, set aside. Slice mango thinly and arrange on plate. Place crocodile slices in the centre, drizzle basil sauce around the plate and garnish with fresh herbs.
Personally, I think they should make Lolong into some nice boots or purses or belts or whatever else crocodile skin is used to make. Those things would last a long, long time and make the villagers some good money as well.
mens black crocodile boots
light brown crocodile purse
Great opportunities come in all size of packages to give us all kinds of ideas. Mine came in a small computer monitor with a picture of a big ol’ croc.
sniff sniff
a section of the backyard -- just needs a little tweaking this fall
My home is my sanctuary, my castle. It is also sometimes a great source of financial drain and worry. The memories that fill it are good ones and sad ones. The people who have lived here before me, who frequented this home, left good vibes; they were good people. And now, I am the caretaker.
happy faces, sad faces, old faces, new faces
My sunflowers remind me of my family and my friends: those standing tall in the glory of their youth; those whose personalities shine so brightly they bring light to everyone around them; those with sturdy stalks from working hard and holding up their family; those who prefer to stay within the confines of their home, their own castle; those who are beginning to fade, get a little droopy (why you lookin’ at me?); those who hang their heads in defeat, depression, shame, fatigue; those who laugh and hold their heads high, delighting in their good fortune and joy; those with new little faces, budding out each week, month, and finally into the years; those who have grown old and withered, dying as their family and friends stand by their side.
from the barn to the backyard
They lean on each other, sometimes faces turned as though in conversation. They have different centers, different hues: different personalities, different abilities.
I love my sunflowers and grow them every year. They give me comfort and peace and enjoyment. They are a part of me and a part of my home.
looking to the sun
Friends are the sunshine of life. John Hay
Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow. Helen Keller
Lifting as they climb, onward and upward they go, struggling and striving and hoping that the buds and blossoms of their desires may burst into glorious fruition ere long. Mary Church Terrell
Eden is that old-fashioned house we dwell in every day without suspecting our abode until we drive away. Emily Dickinson
Happiness is a Swedish sunset; it is there for all, but most of us look the other way and lose it. Mark Twain
I reach for the Son that He may shine brightly within my heart and soul. Brenda Byassee
fireworks
It’s the 4th of July! Time to celebrate freedom! President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his Four Freedoms Speech in 1941 said he wanted to see four freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom to worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. In 1963 Martin Luther King wanted to see freedom from segregation.
sexual revolution
By the late 1970s the Sexual Freedom movement had dwindled.
The 1980s brought freedom from public schooling as more and more families began home schooling their children.
homeschooling
Freedom for women came in the 1990s as they moved into greater positions of power and authority, becoming more willing to use their voice in speaking out for their rights.
And now… we are in the 21st century. What freedoms will be challenged? O Liberty…! is it well To leave the gates unguarded?
~Thomas Bailey Aldrich
What chains of bondage need to be broken to gain freedom? “In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved.” Franklin D. Roosevelt
What voices and actions will be used to maintain or gain freedom? “By definition, a free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular.” Adlai Stevenson
My favorite freedom of all: Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8: 1-2
My weaknesses, my imperfections, my failure in doing what I don’t want to do, my inability to live a life free from sin just doesn’t matter for the Spirit who lives in me will be my witness that I am justified in my freedom by the blood of the Great Sacrifice of Jesus the Christ. I am not condemned. I am loved. My goal for this Independence Day: the freedom from any preconceived ideas that keep me from loving as God loves.
What’s your goal? Free from the bondage of drugs or alcohol? Free from the destruction of gossip? Free from financial worries? Free to be you? Free from underwire bras? Now that is freedom.
hard working son
Do you know what this picture means? This picture of my son doing the etching of the pool? Oh Yes! The good times, er, paint will roll! I found somebody who actually carries rubber-based pool paint in the big city and will be sending the hard-working son over in the morning to get it since the paint I ordered over a week ago still has not come in. I hope he comes back with my vehicle before the sun goes down. The painting party is scheduled at 1:00 p.m. for all those invited (which means any willing worker)(unless, of course, the alter ego worthless son gets control of the vehicle and I don’t see him until the sun goes down). Actually, the painting, I and the hard-working son can handle, but I’m quite sure there is something I can find for the other party participants.
Kate is going to be disappointed that she cannot practice for her future in the circus. She has been honing her acrobatic skills the last couple of days. And loving it.
sliding down
The child never wears anything but panties, so it’s hard to get clothed photos of her. I always try to take pictures in as discreet a pose as I can possibly get while still actually getting her in the picture as well. The pics are so cute, but the perverts are all over the internet, and since I’m not sure where these photos will end up, I selected to only use this one. She holds the rope and climbs up out of the pool just like the high wire circus acrobats!
Tomorrow morning is the Kiddie Parade for our little town festival. The theme is Once Upon A Time, so Kate and Ava are going as mermaids; Kate, of course, being Ariel; Ava will just be happy to get to ride in the pink Barbie car aka Ariel Mobile Sea Reef. It was rather dirty, so for the big event Kate and I gave it a good cleaning
hard-working grandgirl
She started out wanting to be Sleeping Beauty with a pumpkin-shaped carriage. Being the dedicated Momma and Gigi, my daughter and I got together, looked at her two sheets of poster board and bag of gold foil wrapping paper, and promptly convinced our little darling she would be just waaaay too hot in that long-sleeved Sleeping Beauty dress and that Ariel would be awesome. Thank goodness she bought it.
today an ordinary Barbie car; tomorrow a stupendous sea reef
So… after the big (I jest) Kiddie Parade, I will come back here for the big (I really jest this time) pool painting party. Please have my beverage ice, ice cold.
apronsandappetites 