Halloween and beyond....

It was this time last year that I took a hiatus from blogging, although I never really planned to... it just sort of happened.  I'm trying to not do a repeat, but I admit to that being hard.  From a little before Halloween until the New Year... it's just a very busy time for us.  For many though, right?  Maybe because we have extra occasions to celebrate (birthdays and our anniversary!) that this time of year feels more rushed? 

We weren't going to attend our daughter's Halloween party, then we were, then we weren't.... finally threw some things together and went.  Sadly, the last few times we've attended costume parties, we wore things we actually wear, or used to anyway. 

Our daughter and son-in-law are BIG into Halloween... they decorate their whole house.  Assorted glow in the dark items, animatronic things, posters, skeletons, ghouls, sounds, etc. etc.   It was a fun night!

 All grown up, but my kids are still so cute.  :)

 Son-in-law's costume

The following weekend was trick-or-treating in our town and the grand darlings came dressed and ready to have fun.  I got A & S glow-in-the-dark necklaces, crackers and cheese snacks, and a couple other things.  They visited some other family, collected candy, and enjoyed the day.

 CJ our sweet little pirate.

The first occasion of the month to celebrate...

Ron's mom turned 80!  The family took her out to dinner and someone our niece knows did the cake.  Since his mom does beautiful crochet work we went with a theme cake for something different this year.

My latest craft ... jeweled utensils!  Years ago we were given a decorated spoon and fancy bowl as a gift for our anniversary.  I've seen them online at different times and for certain holidays and think they are so nice.  Very festive.  Since I sometimes think having an extra item at craft fairs (because everyone and their grandmother makes jewelry) would be helpful for sales, I came up with these.  I might put a few of them in my store online, too. 

In addition to other birthdays, our anniversary, and Thanksgiving... I'm turning FIFTY soon... what!??!  I don't even want to talk about that right now.  Still trying to figure out what we're doing to celebrate.

In the meantime, I've got much cleaning to do, visiting with a friend today for lunch, a shopping list to tackle, a jewelry party to plan, but I'll sure try to visit each of your blogs soon.  Hope you're all happy and well.

Another assortment

Our granddaughter's birthday party was at a dress up place for kids.  CJ is only 4 months old so he couldn't join in on the fun but got to sit and look adorable.  Yeah, he did!!  

 

You can do an add-on to the party and have a special Princess join in.  Our birthday girl loves the movie Frozen.  So my sister made sure Elsa would be available that night.  The girl who dressed as the Queen of Arendelle was wonderful.  She was enjoyed by all the little girls, but gave extra attention to our Princess Sierra.   

 There were all girls at the party ... and Alex.  He got to be Spiderman for a few hours.  Good times!

And when it was time for everyone to sing the song 'Let It Go' from Frozen... Alex was belting it out like he'd been in show business for years.  That kid is so funny.  Love him! 

In other and completely non-related happenings....

You know on Ron's days off we sometimes take a drive.  We were looking to see changing leaves but it was still a bit early.   We pulled over, wandered down a small incline and saw this view.  It's somewhere in Bucks County.... 

and not too far from Ringing Rocks Park.  We weren't prepared to spend much time there... didn't have hammers or good shoes... but the walk thru the woods was nice.  We end up in the woods a lot.   haha  You'd think I like camping, right?  NO, not at all.  

Ron only went out a little bit.  Just to check out the boulder field.  It's big!  And if we did have a hammer we could have banged it on the rocks to see what sounds were produced.  That day we just listened to others having fun. 

Spent some time with my daughter at a craft fair.  It was her first one and she enjoyed the day.

 She makes the neatest things out of duct tape.  Wallets, change purses, note pads, pens, etc. 

I had my jewelry on display, of course.  It's Breast Cancer Awareness month so I've had a couple sales recently on special items.  On one hand it's sad that there are so many products now that people want for showing support.  I had some mixed feelings initially about making money on something like that.  I give donations to different causes when I can but I'm such a small business (more like a hobby that I make a few bucks from) that I can't give it all away.  And where does some of the money collected from donations go anyway?  Cancer is big business in some ways, don't even get me started on that.  But, my sister is a survivor and thinks it's important to get the conversation going.  She wears the jewelry, and participates in walks, and is a support person when needed for others.  

Another fairly new earring line that I'm probably going to continue with incorporates beads that I purchased from Jerusalem.  They are made in Bethlehem by crafters that use the wood of Olive trees.  Originally, I bought the beads when I was making rosaries years ago.  I may start doing them again as there's been some interest in them, too.  

So there's my assortment for this week.  Hey, I know that I could split this post into 3 separate ones but I'm never sure if I'll have the time or motivation to share so I'm here now and this is what you're getting.

Have a GREAT DAY!

D'Artagnan is as hot as his peppers!

Nice colors, huh?  Yeah... well, they start off green and then they turn... yellow, orange, RED!  This is a plate full of hot hot HOT.  Who likes this stuff??  Actually, Ron does.  He grew Bhut Jolokia peppers again this year.  They aren't thee hottest pepper in the world anymore.  They've moved into 3rd place.  So I guess that makes them bearable?  Pfft... no way.  He tells anyone he shares them with to use rubber gloves and extreme caution when preparing and eating the little beasts.   Video of a guy trying one in the previous post.

 

I came across this photo while going through my Picasa files for something to post for Throwback Thursday on FB.   Since I tend to live in the past anyway, it's quite fun for me to go through all our old photos. 

This was us at a Renaissance wedding many years ago.  My sexy Ron was Best Man and I was co-Matron of Honor.  My friend died the following year, very tragically.  I miss her still.  My daughter and her husband were married on her birthday (later this month).  Ooh, that reminds me... I need to think *gift*. 

Another couple from the past, but the Almanac says this is in our near future again.  Do you get much snow where you live?  Do you like it?

Ghost Pepper

This is an older video and the Ghost Pepper is now the 3rd hottest pepper.  OH, but they are still very HOT! 

In the Company of Wolves

Yesterday we hopped out of bed at 7 am to get on the road early.  We were off to the Lakota Wolf Preserve to take the only morning tour offered.  The drive was about 5 hours roundtrip.  Upon arrival, there was grueling 3 mile hike up the side of a mountain.  Okay, it was really 1/2 mile though the woods, but it was an inclined walk and there were a lot of rocks and stones on the path.  Ron didn't have any trouble with it.  Me.. whew, I'm  out of shape.  Oh, but there were wolves waiting... and Ron's been wanting to go... so I managed.  They did have a free shuttle, but I thought it would be a nice walk.  I should have followed the crowd.  There were only about 10 that opted to walk.  

As you enter the compound, the wolves start approaching.  They are smart and know it's treat time.  Separated into fenced sections, the wolf varieties are Arctic, Timber, and British Columbian.  The pens are large so they have plenty of space to run and play.  It's not a zoo atmosphere at all.  Yes, the fencing contains them, but because they cannot be released into the wild they are safe there.  They are given excellent care by the owners of the sanctuary and you can see it's a mutual love between them and these magnificent animals.      

Since it's still warm out, their coats were not thick and full like they are in the winter.

When they started to howl I felt emotional.  It's interesting to hear them all together.  There is a video in a separate post of the sounds we heard.  

Not growling, just howling.

This doesn't look so inclined, I know.   It was on the way back to the car.  We got lost in the woods.  It was pretty.  The property belongs to a campground so we found our way out eventually.

 

The downside...  I started to get a bad headache on the way back through the woods.  A combination of the hike on uneven ground, bad sneakers, herniated discs, and forgetting to bring water.  Once back at the car I drank some orange juice leftover from breakfast and popped an Advil but it didn't pass.  I tried to drive, I usually do when we go out because of my motion issues, but had to pull over and let Ron take over because I could feel it coming on bad.  It was a rough ride home.  Luckily we had a bag I could throw up into.  Over a 2 hour drive, some of it on winding roads, then a lot of stopping and starting.  I threw up some more after we got home.  Needing to eat, so to have something other than the lining of my stomach to put into the toilet, I ate and actually started feeling a little better.  Went to bed and slept on and off for the next 14 hours.  Much better today, thank you very much.  :)

Even though that part was horrible ... eh, it's happened quite a few times before and I just deal with it.... the actual time at the preserve was really wonderful.  It was worth seeing.  We enjoyed it.

Wolves Howling at the Lakota Wolf Preserve

We went here yesterday.  I found this video on You Tube of the wolves howling.  It's a neat sound.

Boring, weird, or FUN?!

One of the things we like to do sometimes after Ron gets home from work is play Yahtzee.  We might not play for months and then get back into it for awhile.  The full sheet gets played as one big game and the total score determines the winner.  

I had the first Yahtzee the other day.  I won that game, and the one yesterday, too.  Luck or skill?  He says I use witchcraft.  haha! 

If you think Yahtzee is boring... oh, think again!  Sometimes, I put out quite a nice little snack spread for our game.  I picked assorted speciality rolls at Wegmans and a nice woman in the bakery department sliced and individually bagged them.  In the cheese department I asked for smaller packages of blue, pepper, and provolone and they were happy to comply.  A few gourmet olives and balsamic onions, sliced strawberries, red/green grapes, and a dip of  hemp and extra virgin olive oils with spices from our garden (spicy oregano, thyme, rosemary) and grated cheese.  Yeah, I don't fool around when it comes to game snacks! 

We don't always drink alcohol.  Sometimes we're just as happy to have coffee, tea, or cocoa.  Lately, we've been enjoying a couple adult beverages.  ;)   He had beer yesterday, but we both like this wine.  OH.EM.GEE ... if ya like red... and you can find Apothic Dark (limited release from last year) TRY IT!  Mmm... I'm thinking about it now and it's only 10:30 in the morning.  hehe

From the label on the bottle:

There's a romance in darkness, it draws our curiosity and beckons a desire to taste the unknown.  This limited release blends dark fruit flavors of blueberry and blackberry with opulent notes of coffee and dark chocolate for a rich, yet silky smooth, wine experience. 

I think I posted this photo a long time ago, but here it is again.  Just to say that we have always liked 'game' fun.  Murder Mysteries were all the rage years ago, but I'd maybe host another one.  We have some friends who would enjoy participating.  It's just a little more involved than having a quick get together because to do it up right you have to have theme food, costumes, and some decorations.

We went wayyy out for this one sometime back in '94 or '95.  It was supposed to be at a Malt Shop, so I got busy with poster board and other props.  Totally fun!  

What's something interesting or different that you do for fun??