AROUND AND ABOUT A BIT THIS WEEK, AND ANN’S SEPTEMBER HAPPY MAIL

I am starting off with Ann’s September card. The month is zipping right along and I didn’t want any further time to disappear before I mentioned her Happy Mail. She continues to delight those of us who receive them, with her thoughtfulness and wonderful creativity.

Thanks always Ann, you are such a dear friend.

I hope everyone’s week is going well. It was another glorious week for cloud watching here, a little more drama in those skies today. (We have had ongoing construction work on our roads for the last three years, adding an extra lane or two and working along several miles of road. We are nearing the end of our section. I'm sure they will be moving down to another. That's usually how it goes right?)

"Nature is a mutable cloud, which is always and never the same."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson~

We thought this looked like a very odd Toyota, but it wasn’t long before the penny dropped. It was no Toyota I had seen before, and yet even from a distance, familiar. It wasn't until we got closer that we saw the owner had a sense of humor, or was it something more?

We followed him for a few miles and then the Tesla Cybertruck turned right. 

I went back to cloud watching.

The skies started brightening up later but not before we had a downpour. This short video was at the beginning. It fell heavily afterwards. It's been all quiet today, apart from Mama Squirrel coming for a drink. (Today it got up to 89 degrees F. - 32 degrees C. The leaves are turning, we see signs everywhere and Fall is definitely around the corner.) 

It seems the appropriate time to share one of the jigsaw puzzles. I completed it a few days ago. I don't know what that red umbrella and those beautiful flowers are doing there on the wet cobbled street. We could write our own scenario. Any takers? No, me neither!

One day we decided a trip to our favorite cafe was in order. Hubby took a photo of me. Seriously, how many of you prefer to be behind the camera instead of in front of it? He, like me, loves to play on those phone apps and he changed me into a sketch and finally got my approval. I told him to take the lines out. My skin looked like the Grand Canyon and it ain't that bad yet. Smile Denise!

They were serving their coffee in Christmas mugs. The one I am holding has a wreathe with two cardinals and the word “love”. I can probably purchase one. If I didn’t have a zillion mugs in the cupboard, it might have come home with me, but we are still in the process of downsizing. It’s taking forever! Yes Ms. Kondo, it still sparks joy. That’s the problem, there are too many things around here that spark joy! I am keeping a few favorites that remind me of places we have visited over the years, and also treasures that family and friends have given. The rest are going to the man who keeps a big bus in one of the large parking lots. It's run by our local church where all donated items will be going to a good home.

A few days later we were at the supermarket and my sweet tooth checked out all the different kinds of fudge and cookies, but our sensible personalities took over, and we concentrated on fruits and veggies, except... 

that we were out extra early, missed breakfast and it was lunchtime. We had a slice of pizza in their restaurant area. We could have bought a whole one for less I know but at $4.00 a slice, in our minds, it prevented us from scoffing the lot during the rest of the day. We are trying the mindset of portion control, and those hiccups/side trips are much less than they used to be. Pat on the back for us, yay! 

We saw a family member this week. Last week too as we looked after his vehicle while he was away. Our airport is only half an hour from here. It was good to see him both times as there was a chance for a good catch-up. 

Bless him, he let us use his vehicle for taking things to our local garbage center as it has a truck bed. Gregg made a big dent in the garage, another yay! (This latest pile of 'goodies' was beyond taking to the man in charge of the donation bus). 

When I went out later I said to my dear man, "Where's the ironing board?" I got a sheepish look and an "Errrr....ironing board?" I had put it out there temporarily when I cleared out the area where I stored it. He said, "I thought you didn't like ironing anymore?" True, not that I ever did like ironing but there are times I need one. Oh well, we saw the funny side and there is a new ironing board in our future. And dear Ms Kondo, my ironing board never exactly sparked joy, but I was sorry to see it go.

We have noticed a lot of seasonal decorations in the stores, and saying it seems much earlier than last year. Merchants are getting a head start. A couple of weeks ago we saw these on our way out of the neighborhood. That skeleton is about as tall as I am. It’s huge!

I am not a skeleton person but I can’t seem to help myself, everything is a photo op. The following snapshots are of my favorite house for decorations. I have admired the effort they have put into it for several years now. They have added new ones this year. I'm going to wait until nearer Halloween before I ask Gregg to drive us through the neighborhood at night, not on Halloween but before, or maybe even afterwards. None are taken down too quickly. 

I'm sure these will all be lit up at night and will look exceptionally scary. Personally, I would like to see a few dragons, smiling yes! 

I realized I didn’t have any Halloween decorations and treated myself to a trio of scarecrows in witch hats. That's about as far as I go, and handing out the candy on the night. It is now 43 days until the 31st.

Thanks for looking and take 

good care of yourselves out there.

Enjoy your day.

IT'S THAT TIME OF THE YEAR AGAIN...

and too early for me but I've been seeing a lot of Halloween and Christmas items for sale lately. Today I am sharing the Jack O'Lanterns and Ghosts on display outside one of our supermarkets. 

I am one of the baa-humbugs who doesn't decorate for Halloween. I was always scared of those Halloween movies, any horror movie, and wouldn't watch them, this after I moved here. I grew up not knowing anything about Halloween. It just wasn't celebrated in my neck of the woods and I lived in my own little glass bubble. Nowadays it is and perhaps our blogging friends in other regions around the world can tell us more.

When our son was young, I used to make an effort, baking and decorating Halloween-shaped cookies for him, especially when his friends came over. I helped carve a pumpkin or two.

I put together a costume for him to go out on Halloween, that was pitifully tame compared to some that mother's made their kids, but he enjoyed them.

I do enjoy going around the neighborhood and seeing how people decorate their homes and front gardens, and taking photos. Many of those have made it on my blog.

No, I didn't buy any of these. Just looked and took photos.

Boo to you from our Crew.

Enjoy your Thursday and thanks for stopping by.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE - A CAUTIONARY TALE

 

A cautionary tale not to do everything your friends tell you to do.

In a quiet village, long ago,

Lived a boy with a heart aglow.

His friends, with mischief on their minds,

Whispered plans of daring kinds.

"Taunt the witch," they said with glee,

"It will be fun, just wait and see!"

The boy, though nervous, joined the jest,

For fear of missing out on the quest.

Under the moon's silvery light,

They found the witch's cottage tight.

The boy approached with trembling knees,

As shadows danced among the trees.

He called out bold, a daring croak,

But then, alas, the witch awoke.

With a wave of her wand and a gleam in her eye,

The boy found himself a frog—oh my!

"Fun," they said, his friends in fright,

As their friend's new form hopped out of sight.

"Taunt the witch," their voices echoed,

And in the night, the poor boy just bellowed.

In the pond, he'd learn to swim,

A frog's life now bestowed on him.

A lesson learned beneath the moon,

To heed wise words and not impugn.

For some adventures lead astray,

And friends' advice can often sway.

The now frog, croaked a tune of caution's rhyme,

Remembered now through tales and time.

Thanks for looking and have a

safe and Happy Halloween.

HOCUS POCUS…

No scary movies for me this week!

How about you, do you have a favorite?

PUMPKINS AND TATTOOS

 

I don't feel quite all the way back yet, but I thought I would share a photo and a few more to come leading up to Halloween. I have missed you!

If anyone has been on the narrow streets in the older section of Annapolis, you will know that there can be traffic that will slow to a crawl, fortunately one-way traffic. I thoroughly enjoy looking at the interesting shops as we ever so slowly drive by, while trying to get out of town. I had fun taking photos here. 

I particularly liked the sign and the old bricks showing through the white paint, the Jack O'Lanterns on the steps, and the green and yellow fire hydrant, which I didn't quite get all the way in frame using my cell phone. It felt like I could almost have reached out and touched it, but my mind must have been elsewhere.  

 I won't be watching any scary movies leading up to Halloween. I am a chicken at heart, with all due respect to the dear chickens. Years ago, when he was young, son begged me to watch a Halloween movie with him, as they were normally forbidden in our place. He got to see a few at his friends' homes. Just that once I gave in but told him we would watch it together and discuss it afterwards, in case he was scared and had any questions, that we were to shut off the TV if it was too scary. That movie totally freaked me out. Well, we watched the whole thing all the way through. He went to bed and slept like a baby. I was awake all night with the lights on and I didn't sleep a wink, maybe the next night too. 

Thanks for stopping by everyone. My break didn't take as long as I thought it would and I am looking forward to getting back into the full swing of things. Thanks for any comments left also. It might take me a while to catch up but will be visiting you all. It might be slow, but you'll be seeing my name pop up on your blogs. I am looking forward to seeing what you have all been up to.

HALLOWEEN DECORATIONS IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD

We were driving home in the dark the other night and I asked my dear other half if he would take me through a couple of the neighborhoods around here. This is what we found. 

I am not one for decorating for Halloween, never have been. I made Halloween Cookies when our son was young and all his friends were visiting, but those designs were about as tame as it could get. I enjoy seeing how others decorate their front gardens. Skeletons were very popular this year! I think these would give me nightmares.

From the same front yard.

I recognize Beetlejuice.

He went 'thataway!'

At another home.

And another.

And another.

Not many people had decorated but I was happy to get these few. Some are very elaborate. I would think if there were going to be any more, they would have been done by now.  I guess it's time to think about buying that Halloween Candy.

"By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes."

~William Shakespeare's ‘MacBeth’~

Thanks for looking everyone.

Have a great day!

SATURDAY MORNING AT THE BIRD FEEDER - THEY ARE WAY TOO EARLY! IT'S NOT EVEN OCTOBER!

 

The Halloween Crowd decided to drop in for a visit. Everyone tried to tell them it was way too early, but you know how that goes with some ghosties/cats/pumpkins?

The Mrs. has started feeding the birdies but they remain scarce. Even the squirrel stopped by for a few seconds and turned his nose up. Squirrel never turns his nose up at anything. We think the cleaning solution Mr. used, may be putting them off a bit. Hopefully it will rain tonight and that will take care of that.

And as we always like to say here on a Saturday Morning at the Bird Feeder, that's how it goes sometimes, or something like that.

Have a great weekend everyone.

WEEKLY HAPPENINGS FROM MONDAY 10-28-24 TO SUNDAY 11-3-24

 

Monday, 10/28/24:  We were sitting in the family room today and had the door open for a while. We heard a loud bang and saw a flash of a furry tail disappearing at light speed. Now that Big Bunny has been removed, the same squirrel is now using Sophie Squirrel as a trampoline to get to the top of the feeding table. Poor Sophie had been knocked flying. She was not exactly clutching her pearls, but most definitely was clutching on tight to her acorn. She 'told' me once again how happy she is she has short ears. Big Bunny is still waiting for me to try gluing his broken one back on. I have been putting it off a bit.

  

Fortunately, Sophie still had hers intact and was none the worse for wear.  I would never have imagined that a small body like that (the naughty squirrel) would have the power to push Sophie as far as it did, and with such terrific force. 

Those tiny shoulders and leg muscles must be as developed as those of a wrestler. They are after all climbing up and down tall trees and jumping from branch to branch like little acrobats. I wish I had half that energy. That was our excitement for the day. Woo-hoo!  

Tuesday, 10/29/24 - 10:46 a.m: we had a quiet day at home. Can’t remember much about what we did so it was a good day, though couldn't have been anything exciting. I like non-exciting days (I am writing this on Wednesday the 30th.) 

Wednesday, 10/30/24 - 5.37 p.m: we have been out for a few hours. We picked our son up. Our daughter-in-law was out teaching her students. Son was on his way into DC again. We were on our way to our weekly lunch and we invited him along, thinking he would not have the time. Happily, he said yes. It is not a fancy restaurant but the food without fail has always been excellent. Son and husband can both be seen in this photo, son at the end of the counter and husband getting the drinks. It is sports oriented and there are several TVs for people to watch some game or other all around the restaurant.

We were going to find one of our usual drive-thru's but Santini’s came to mind. We ended up going to a different one closer to son and daughter-in-law’s place. You can view their menu here. Gregg had his usual cold-cut and son and I had steak and cheese. I took half of mine home to finish tomorrow. I had a few of these potato chips which were very good. First time trying them thanks to son's choice. A little hot and spicy but not too much so. 

We dropped son off at the metro station...

 and drove home in rush hour. In this picture we are going against traffic but if you zoom in you can see how much there is on the other side and we were thankful we were going in the other direction. We would have gotten off the freeway and gone home on side roads, probably joining a lot of other people doing that also. There is no getting away from rush hour, it always seems busy on the freeways, except that...

the GPS’s route showed us less traffic, and when we got closer to home, my dear knew another couple of short cuts.  

Thursday, 10/31/24 - Halloween: I have an appointment with a specialist to see about my knee next Tuesday (Nov 5th). I also have an appointment with my regular doctor two days after that, set up three months ago just for a “how are you doing” chat. It has become obvious that my knee is taking its own sweet time, in fact is getting worse. I am tired of using furniture to steady myself as I try to get around the house, and the stairs are extremely difficult. At the restaurant yesterday, husband and son's strong arms got me back and forth, but it was painful walking. I have slept downstairs for the last two night. Not a moan-fest, just saying and it is what it is. Onward and upward! 

Not too long after 6.00 p.m. the doorbell started ringing. Gregg was in the chair for handing out candy tonight. As he opened the door I heard young voices singing out, "Trick or Treat!"  There were apparently little pirates, witches, a southern belle, princesses and a Harry Potter. All told there were about a dozen children, the same number as last year. By 7.30 p.m. there were no more. The numbers have dwindled over the last few years. We go in waves, kids are growing up. Maybe we should put more Halloween decorations outside. Nope, not going to happen, the front steps light it is, bah humbug. Gregg is going to take the leftover candy to the fire station to see if they would like it. Or maybe our local church. We'll figure it out. Any ideas? Anyhow, that's another one over for this year.

Friday, 11-1-24: 1st Day of November! Where did that year go?  I had a late breakfast, a slice of toast and the rest of my smoothie. That took me through to dinner and we had rotisserie chicken leftovers that my dear turned into chicken salad. He bought this seasoning called Tajin, new to me but a recommend from son who loves Mexican Cuisine, in fact they both do. 

It is a blend of ground dried chili peppers, dehydrated lime and sea salt. I asked dear not to make my sandwich with too much as I wasn't sure I would like it. He gave it just a sprinkle on top. It was delicious! I definitely detected a slight hint of lime. Both father and son have been to Mexican restaurants when they get together at least once a week mid-week. They enjoy ordering corn on the side, which is made with a coating of this seasoning, plus Cojita cheese. Cojita is a Mexican cheese that is aged, white and crumbly, with a salty, tangy flavor. I just read about it. My dear wants to make our next purchase of sweet corn this way. They will have to be out of the freezer section as fresh corn is no longer in the supermarkets. I like Mexican cuisine but not often. I seem to be more of a plain cooking person more often than not. I do like a little heat added occasionally.  

I have just watched the offending squirrel jump onto the Kissing Bunnys umbrella, his latest trampoline. From there he jumped onto the water fountain, took a drink and then jumped onto the top part of the bench where he started eating out of the top feeder. Water fountain rocked from side to side, water splashed out. I momentarily thought that it would hit the deck, but not today. Little rascal! Kissing Bunnies stood their ground, though the umbrella wobbled a little. Sophie Squirrel gave him the side-eye. Now Little Rascal is back on the bottom bench to see what else he can find. Yes, it's you I'm taking about and don't look so innocent! The cheeky little blighter just waved at me. And yes, I'm spending far too much time at the house! Truth be told I would rather look at them than turn on the TV. They are my entertainment. 

On that note, we did actually go out for a short ride today. It is a beautiful day for the first day of November, 80 degrees F. I went out in a light short-sleeved dress. The big Halloween displays, including my favorite one up the road, have been removed. They have a few pumpkins and a fall-like scene now. It's very pretty! The gentleman who does this (I met him last year), has a wonderful eye for such things. Almost like it has been professionally designed. For a person who has never really been interested in Halloween, except for cookies that I used to make for our son and his friends when he was young, help him to come up with a costume, that kind of thing, I quite enjoy our neighborhood decorations, if they are not too over the top. 

We stopped behind this vehicle and I thought I wished I knew them when we had our pooch. What a great idea!

There's quite a breeze as I look out right now, and the leaves are once again falling like rain. Such a beautiful sight. Dear other half just walked by the window and spotted one of the squirrels tucked under the ledge on the top of the bench, sheltering itself from those falling leaves. I suppose not wanting to be interrupted mid-feed? We were both amused!

The temperature is going to be 65 degrees tomorrow with a low of 44.

Saturday, 11-2-24: A quiet day! Stayed at home and watched Little Rascal doing his push-ups. On Saturdays Gregg pops out early and brings home a doughnut from the supermarket, and a coffee from the coffee shop next door. We usually have a treat on a Saturday that we don’t normally get any other day. Lunch was a chicken salad sandwich with crudités on the side, and our main meal in the evening was a Cornish Pasty with a mixed veggie salad. He is now watching a ball game. I have just finished another jigsaw puzzle (the one below) on my iPad. I am definitely hooked on these things, but I usually give it a few days before I start another one. You'll notice today, that squirrels are very popular.

Sunday, 11-3-24: It is 2.38 p.m. and our son arrived at 8.30 a.m. It is such a blessing to chat across the breakfast table. His Dad made us breakfast. I had a bacon sandwich with orange juice, and they had plated egg, bacon and toast. Son shared this photo of our daughter-in-law when they went on a walk yesterday. I thought it was a perfect setting for the time of year. D-in-L crocheted that sweater. It's absolutely gorgeous close up. He left to pick her up at 11.00 a.m. and we are looking forward to seeing her soon, when their schedules slow down.

That's about all from last week.