Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! 

The sisters carved a cyclops pumpkin,

Lucky us,

our neighbors from CHINA

gave us a special demonstration

of a Chinese Dragon dance.

The costume was wonderful,

the dance energetic and charming.

The sisters put little effort into their costumes.

Still cute.

We clustered in our driveway

with a fire pit to keep us toasty

and we bid farewell to fall.

Tomorrow we will bust out the winter coats.

We've been Boo-ed!

Every fall our neighborhood plays a favorite prank:

it's really glorified Ding-Dong-Ditch.

Tonight our bell rang,

as Sister and her friend readied for the first middle school dance,

and Sister Too entertained a sleepover friend.

This bag of treats was on our doorstep.

We put up our sign in the window...

so we don't get Boo-ed again.

Girl Scouts are always prepared, 

so we already had these bags.

We filled them with candy,

printed the page from here,

And Sister Too and her friend were ready to boo our neighbors.

 Are you ready to Boo?

Bad Habits

I have a bad habit.

I finish EVERY book.

No matter how bad it is.

In my old age I have determined that non-fiction is

more worthy of my time.  

I painfully plowed through a highly anticipated novel this week.

There was FAR too much DRAMA in the characters' lives.

Not even close to realistic.
I always feel that the authors "dumb" it down to appeal to a mass audience.

I hated it, but I finished it.

Why do I waste my time on something I am not enjoying?

FYI:  My next book:

The Last Tycoon: Cornelius Vanderbilt

Punch Brothers in Cincinnati

We listen to Prairie Home Companion.

Yeah, we know that it is for "old" people

but we think it is for people

like us.

We support proper grammar and

old time-y radio shows.

So imagine our delight when we heard

Garrison Keiler is coming 

to Cincinnati

on THANKSGIVING weekend!

We're members, so...

we get first crack at tickets.

Then we heard the announcement:

musical guests...

THE PUNCH BROTHERS!

Aren't they adorable!

I just want to squeeze them!

Did you know we are BIG fans?

Ever since they came to Bay View.

So, we have sent them an e-mail

and invited them to our house for pie

because they are THAT great!

You should get tickets.

We'll be there.

Even the sisters.

And we are bringing grandma and grandpa to boot!

Christmas spoiler!

I am trying to make Christmas more meaningful.

For me, this means homemade gifts.

I'm a working gal,

and I volunteer a lot.

I have to start early.

Here are the scarves
and my poor attempt to block them.

One stubbornly continues to curl.

Sister kindly modeled this baby hat.
(4 hours of knitting)

She selected this red hat and scarf pattern
for herself.
(9 hours of knitting)

Little Sister requested this blue one.
(9 hours of knitting)

This hat is for a little girl I know...
 (8 hours of knitting)

Another special little girl
will receive this set
(7 hour of knitting )

This is a man's scarf,
made with fisherman's wool.

It's special because the wool can get wet
and it stays warm anyway!
It's because of the lanolin still in the wool.
(14 hours of knitting very small stitches)

And finally, this little boy's hat.
For someone special.
(4 hours of knitting)

The hours of knitting might seem exaggerated
but they are NOT.
In fact, several projects took much longer
because I had to knit them and take them out several times.

I am not a great knitter
but I love it.
I love giving the gift of warmth
from my own hands.

An added bonus:
I knit with Grandma Kondracki's needles.
Our hands are connected through time
by the needles
and
love enough for someone else to knit for them.