Quiet, It's November

 Be quiet..be very quiet.  If you've followed my blog for any length of time you know I always call November my quiet month.  It's the time before all the hubbub of December with it's shopping, parties, decorating, and food prep.  Plus lots more if you have kiddos.  Concerts, school things, etc. Through out my life there have been times when it wasn't the quiet and calm month.  I blogged about those times last year. This year I'm hoping for some time to gather my thoughts and remember my blessings.  I've even been writing down some things I've been thankful for each day and hope to complete 30 days of thankfulness and look back and remember that even simple things can make a day full of thanks.  But with the sweet we must take the bitter and a good friend of mine is going through a very tough time right now. Her hubby was put in hospice care on Saturday and she's really trying to keep it all together and just be with him through these last days. Jack and I have spent time with her and her hubby and many others have been there with support and prayers.  So I know this won't be the month of holiday thoughts and prep for her and we will be there for her in any way we can.  She's a woman of great faith and I know she will get through this.   So I'm going to just post a few pics of the simple things I accomplished in the first days of my quiet month. 

Raking up the few leaves we get since most of our trees are pines.  The big oak in the back yard does give us something to rake though.

Ahhh, the smell of burning leaves.  A fall staple if you're allowed to burn leaves.  Since we live in the country we can do this and it brings back childhood memories where everyone was allowed to do this.

Don't you know there's always some slackers that just want to soak up some fleeting sun? I guess Annabelle knew we would be soon turning our clocks back and she wanted to sun bathe as much as possible.  She's just no help at all! But we love her anyway!  I hope everyone's November is filled with lots of thankful moments.  Night all!

Hello Halloween And Goodbye October

I guess it's a nice thing that my favorite month of the year ends with my favorite holiday.  Happy Halloween everyone!  Here in Ashland the kids go trick or treating the Thursday before Halloween.  The weather that day was perfect unlike the weather we're having tonight. We did have a lovely day today weather wise early in the day but I was working and missed most of it.  Thankfully our downtown activities tonight had good, dry weather and tons of kids doing what they call "Costume Capers".  The downtown merchants hand out candy and the kids can go from business to business and enjoy all the fun activities.  There was even a haunted house that was put together in one of the businesses that was free for the kids to run through.  Our downtown has done so many fun activities and even the adults were able to dress up and have last Friday night to go to all the restaurants and bars and have some costume capers of their own!  We didn't do any of that and unfortunately we don't get trick or treaters out here in the country. Jack and I both miss having littles to do Halloween.  We sometimes head into town just to see the kids having fun.  But now the time has come to bid farewell to October.  The candy and costume isles are now replaced with Christmas decor.  Even our weather gave us a little winter wonderland surprise tonight:

Can you see the snow on the deck? Those white dots are snow in the air.  As for the white mist? Well, I'm chalking that up to the eeriness of the season! Boo! With the frost we had this morning and the rain and wind from the last couple of days, the Fall colors are faded and lots of leaves are carpeting the lawns.

Please ignore Annabelle's bum! I was trying to show the oak tree shedding it's leaves! We did manage to get out for a little leaf peeping over the weekend when we headed out to the apple orchard.

Scenic Ridge did not disappoint. We snagged some tastey ever crisp apples. Yum!

They have a fun little space for kids and families to gather and play and just enjoy the "scenic" view! I'm assuming that's how they got the fruit farm's name.  Jack's Mom and I used to go here so many years ago and pick pears, peaches, grapes and strawberries.  

Annabelle was enjoying the outing.

Ok, so I couldn't resist this shot...yes, I'm one of those dog owners!  She didn't mind it at all..I think! As the weather started getting colder I decided to make some homemade bread and veggie soup:

Both turned out delish and made for a warm and filling dinner last night.  One project that we were super happy to get finished was getting our fireplaces fixed so we can have a fire in them.

Can you see the dude in the fireplace?  It's not Santa! He came last week on the last really warm day we had and did his magic.

Voila'! We have fire! The bottom pic is the livingroom and we never had a fire in there in the 22yrs we've lived here.  The kitchen one is now safe too and I know we'll get lots of use out of them.  Plus if we ever sell we can claim 2 working fireplaces.  So tomorrow the Halloween decor will come down for another year.  I'll leave the Fall things out because it's still is Fall and Thanksgiving will soon be here. Yes, I decorate for Thanksgiving too!  We have had a fun season so far. With our trip up to Michigan in September and getting things ready for family and our annual party a few weeks ago we did manage to enjoy the sights, sounds, and lovely smells of this time of year.  We do have a warm up coming this weekend and I know we'll spend more time outside finishing up yard work and prepping for winter.  I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween! 

Last night's blazingly lovely sunset!  Bye October!

 

lost AND FOUND!!!

 Yesterday when I told Midge I had lost my memory card as well as my mind, she suggested I pray to St. Anthony (like Janice also suggested from "Prims by the Water" blog).  Not my religion but hey, praying is always a good idea.  She also suggested tying a knot in the corner of a handkerchief and throwing it over my shoulder.  I kid you not.  Ever hear of that one? Of course I had to ask which shoulder.  I guess it doesn't matter.  So first I threw out the prayer to St. Anthony then I threw the hanky over not just one but both shoulders. I'm an over achiever. Then I continued to look everywhere again and still no luck. I went to work today and when I came home Jack held up the missing memory card!  Where was it?  He found it in the dryer.  He does the laundry on Wednesday and there it was all fresh and clean and fluffy.  Not really fluffy but you get the picture.  I had gone through the laundry hamper at least 4 times and shook every piece of clothing out. Well, I guess St. Anthony must have been laughing at me throwing the hanky over the shoulder and decided to throw the card in wash!  I don't want to waste the magic of the lost and found so here's just a few pics from that crazy card:

More of the gang all snugged around tables in the garage.

My sweet Granddaughter Summer with my son (her Dad) holding onto her pup, Happy.

Did I mention we had the classic donut game?  Here's my niece Katie.  She's a police officer in Chicago and I know she can take a bite out of crime but she also can take a nice bite out of a donut...wait, is that a cop thing?  Sorry Katie, I couldn't resist!

And the winner was....my niece Amy!  Good job!

The kids enjoyed the Pinata.  It was shaped like a tombstone and filled to brim with goodies and everyone had a good whack at it! 

I know I showed a pic of the bucket game but this is a better shot. Jordan in the black sweatshirt against his cousin Bill.  They actually followed the rule and didn't use their hands! 

Unlike these witches who cheated just a tiny bit! Midge won by the way. I let her win so she wouldn't cry...the big baby! 

We then headed into the dining room for some Happy Birthday singing to the birthday sisters.

Here's the not so famous coffin cake! Dark chocolate with salted caramel filling.  Tasted pretty good even if it didn't look too pretty!

We had to throw in some witch's fingers and ghost faces.  A few of my blog buddies have asked about the ghost sandwiches.  I didn't get a pic of them but what I do every year is take white bread and cut out ghost shapes with a cookie cutter.  I put holes for eyes and spread nutella and jelly on them and make them into sandwiches.  Simple but the kids like them and they magically disappear like ghosts in the night!  So that wraps up the Family Halloween Gathering for another year.  Tonight Jack and I went to our Church's Trunk or Treat.

We were ready with our magic broom that the kids really loved and tons of candy.  I love Jack's costume.  As the world's best Chiropractor, he really does have your back!  Boo! Happy Halloween!

Not A Happy Camper

Have you ever been frustrated to the point of wanting to kick something?  This weekend was our family Halloween gathering.  We had a good time and all even though the weather was rainy and cold for part of it.  What I'm so mad about is not being able to find my memory card with most of the better pics on it.  I took it out of my camera and that's the last I remember! I think I was just pretty tired last night and I'm sure it will surface when I least expect it or need it. I have a few pics on my phone so it's not totally a pic free post.  I really kind of over did it these past weeks getting ready for the gang to arrive.  I wasn't sure how many were actually coming until the last minute but my sister made it along with her 3 kiddos and their kiddos.  On Friday after they settled into the hotel the "kid" adults gathered together for dinner and fun while Midge and I watched the kids play in the pool.

Lots of splashing going on!  They played until the pool closed at 7.  Then we all headed over to my house for pizza and movies.  The movies didn't happen but they found things to do until the parents came back around 9 to get them.  It poured rain that night but was sunny and bright in the morning. The temps were on the chilly side but it's fall y'all!  The dads and the boys went to Ashland University to see the team play and win their homecoming game.  The girls went shopping and Midge and I finished preparations for the party in the afternoon.  Oh, I did get up early with my sis to get her to dialysis by 6:20am.  We were a bit tuckered out by the end of the night!  Well, the rain held off until the afternoon but unfortunately the party was at 4 and rain came and stayed all evening!  So outdoor fire pit and other things we had planned were nixed and we went to my plan B.  We decorated the garage and had food and games in there.

Food set up here. We had sloppy joes, shredded chicken, ghost sandwiches, chips, salad, mac 'n cheese, cheesy potatoes and lots of desserts.  We sang happy birthday to Midge's two girls.  Katie has a birthday on October 30th and Amy had hers on Friday.  Of course those pics and the shots of the creepy coffin cake are on the memory card I can't find!  But here's a classic of the birthday sisters:

Happy birthday you crazy kids! 

Some of the gang cozy in the garage. We closed the doors to keep it warm.  We played games with the littles and their parents.

Here was the candy catch game that proved most of us are cheaters and bad catchers! Ha! The other games are...you guessed it...on my lost card.  Hopefully it will be found and I can get them on the blog for my journal purposes anyway!  I'll finish this post with some photos I promised to show of the finished living room painting project.

You can see the darker green on the back wall.  Hello Annabelle! She likes watching Hoda and Jenna.

The other half that shows the bookcases with the new white paint and the green back ground.  I think I showed this side before...sorry! 

The day before everyone arrived Annabelle had a spa day and left with a dumb bow on her head that she took off not long after this pic!  She's not crazy about the bandanas they usually give her either. Speaking of dogs...my sister got a new puppy on her way back to Illinois.

He's a mini golden doodle about 8 weeks old and she changed his name from Brooks to Flynn. She has a Granddaughter named Brook so she thought it was a good idea to change the name.  He's adorable in his pics but she's stronger than I am when it comes to raising puppies!  Her other dog, Hope, isn't quite on board yet but I'm sure she'll come around when he gets a little bigger and can play with her.  So it was a busy but fun weekend and everyone seemed to have a good time.  Midge and I enjoyed a quiet Sunday while her Grandkids and their parents spent the day at Cedar Point.  My brother Phil and my sister in-law Cilla were suppose to be here on Sunday too but they had flight issues from Arizona where they were vacationing. They decided to just head home to Florida.  They would have arrived way to late on Saturday night/early Sunday morning and then we would have been just really tired on Sunday. We were sorry they couldn't make it but we have plans to meet for our annual Christmas family gathering in Chicago in December.   The Fall colors have finally arrived and this week the trees are spectacular! It's going to be a warm week after a hard frost we had yesterday so I guess this is Indian Summer!  

The trees around the Pines are lovely and this final week of my favorite  month is going to be very nice indeed!  Enjoy your week everyone!

I Need A Magic Broom!

 The past few weeks we've been getting projects done around the house in preparation for the family coming in next weekend for our annual Halloween/Autumn bash.  These projects are good to have done even if no one was coming,  Do you do that? Put off some things until guests are coming or is it just me? Anyway, I've cleaned out closets,  got all my decorating for the season done inside and currently working on the outside. I even washed the outside of the house! I do that every couple of years when the white siding needs it.  To top it off  I volunteered for the historical society to help decorate the Freer House for the annual pumpkin glow.  Throw in busy, crazy work days and I really could use a magic broom to sweep it all done! I work tomorrow and only one day next week so I'll be ready for my sister and her kiddos and even my brother Phil and my sister-in-law Cilla are coming from Florida.   I have a menu planned for all the days they'll be here and activities for the youngest kids.  I know it will all come together but my biggest prayer is for good weather.  Last year it was picture perfect but this year is looking a little soggy and chilly.  Oh well, I know we will have fun no matter what!  Here's a few pics of my past few days:

This is the dining room of this old historic house that we were assigned to decorate. We did a witches luncheon! It turned out really cute and this is only a small snippet of the room.  I'll have more at the event day.

Another little niche we did.

All these light up and almost all of our decor has lights and even some sounds that will surprise!

This stairway will not be used for the public but all these pumpkins will be lit up and it looks very cool at night.  There's lots of rooms that are themed....like the skeleton room, the witch room, the pumpkin room and also candy for kids to go trick or treating. Pumpkins outside will be carved and lit up too.  Throw in some food trucks and outdoor decor and it should be a fun family night.  Now for some pics of my outdoor decor:

I thought this area would make a good photo op for my family.  I have another spot that's not done yet but you know I'll be taking pics of it for the blog.   Poor Jack spent most of the afternoon trying to clean the van out with all the straw from the bales and the cornstalks too.  Halloween is messy!

I found this wooden guy at the dollar store.  Good buy for a wooden sign. I got the last one.  Jack would say, "Oh, lucky you!".  Throw in the sound of sarcasm with that remark! Ha! Anyway, it may end up as a prize with some of our games.   Not much else to report except the cool, lovely chilly Fall weather.  We had a picture perfect day today and I feel like I accomplished a ton.  Now on to work tomorrow.  We're using a new electronic medical record and it's much different from the previous one and it's slowing us down when doing surgical cases and cases at the endoscopy lab.  So fingers crossed for a good day and an early done time.  Lord knows I still have a full list of things to get done before next weekend!  Now, where's that magic broom???

Best Month Of The Year!

 If you've followed my blog for more than 5 minutes you know I LOVE October!  We've started out pretty warm for this first week of  my month but that's OK.   Summer really did go by fast so having a final week of heat isn't too bad.  Especially since at night it cools down to the 50's and we open all the windows then close them up in the morning.  The house stays very comfortable and so does the electric bill without the AC on!  We have some Halloween and harvest gatherings planned for this month and I'm going to try to not let working get in the way.  They, the hospital, asked if I would like to work full-time for 2 weeks coming up soon.  Are they kidding? Heck no! I'll do a few days here and there but I'm not interested in ruining my favorite month!  So here's a few pics, of course, of my decor so far.  The outside will get done in the coming days

One part of the living room with the bookshelves repainted the green and white.

The kitchen fireplace with some of my Lori Mitchell trick or treaters on the mantel.

The buffet in the dining room.  In a few weeks it will also have some spooky goodies on it!

In the kitchen corner by the back door I have a new skeleton with some cool shades!

Yes, it's the most wonderful time of year as my sign says in the dining room.

I found this sign in a shop in Frankenmuth, Mi.  It's metal and I have it on the door of the fridge.  So that's all for now.  Annabelle and I went for a walk this evening in the quiet of the cemetery.  The air was cool after this hot day and trees are finally starting to turn.

It gets dark much earlier now and this photo shows the trees after the sun has set.  So it's not as vibrant as in the daylight.  I'm starting to collect pumpkins and mums for some outside decor I'm planning.  I started on Saturday at the farmer's market and hopefully will finish my outdoor projects soon.  More pics to come of all that.  Night all and enjoy this spirited time of year!