Brown

googleimages.com

"Since golden October declined

into sombre November

And the apples were gathered and stored,

and the land became brown..."

~~T S Eliot

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, dear blog friends!

May your day be filled with many treats and no rocks!

Autumn Views From My Windows

From the family room... and my desk.... ...and the kitchen! As I sit at my computer and watch orange leaves float slowly to the ground, I feel the need to soak up the beauty of autumn! Another week and I

think the colors will be gone and the trees will be bare!

And on a completely random note, I'm so glad that

tomorrow is trick-or-treat...I can't seem to stay

out of the treat basket looking for those fun-size

candy bars! LOL!

Theme Thursday = Halloween

I was surprised when so many of my readers hadn't heard about the superstition of holding your breath while going by a cemetery when I mentioned it in my post this week! So, I thought I'd look it up. Not only did I find it in Google, but I found some other interesting superstitions that are perfect for the Halloween Theme Thursday! My editorial comments are in italics.

Superstitions about Death

BIRD~~ A bird in the house is a sign of a death.

(Does this include my parakeets?)

If a robin flies into a room through a window, death will shortly follow.

(I've always associated Robins with spring, never with death!) CEMETERY~~ You must hold your breath while going past a cemetery

or you will breathe in the spirit of someone

who has recently died. (see??)

CLOCK~~ If a clock which has not been working suddenly chimes,

there will be a death in the family.

CORPSE~~ If a woman is buried in black,

she will return to haunt the family.

(oh great, now I'm going to have

to insist on picking out the outfits

of all future female family corpses!)

DREAMS~~ If you touch a loved one who has died,

you won't have dreams about them

(oh great, not only do I have to pick

out their burial clothes, but I have to touch them, too?)

DYING~~ A person who dies on Good Friday will go right to heaven.

(hmmm..I wonder where you go

'straight to' if you die on Friday the 13th? ha!)

EYE~~ If the left eye twitches there will soon be a death in the family.

(my left eye twitches when I'm really tired...uh oh!)

FUNERAL~~

It's bad luck to meet a funeral procession head on.

(yikes...I just did this during that traffic jam this week!)

Thunder following a funeral means

that the dead person's soul has reached heaven.

(wouldn't a rainbow be more appropriate?)

Nothing new should be worn to a funeral, especially new shoes.

(I bet a lot of new black shoes and clothes are

worn to funerals!)

Pregnant women should not attend funerals.

(I did this when my uncle died!)

PHOTOGRAPH~~ If 3 people are photographed together,

the one in the middle will die first.

(hmm..being the middle child,

I think I was always photographed in the middle!)

So there you have it!

Happy Theme Thursday, all!

A Traffic Jam

Yesterday, while travelling to the doctor, I got stuck

in a huge traffic jam! I guess there was a pile-up

type of accident and the entire three lanes of the

state route going in my direction

were merged onto one tiny country road.

It took me an hour longer to make the trip!

I just had to laugh, since for Theme Thursday last

week I talked about the lack of traffic where I live!

Fortunately, it was a picture perfect autumn day

and I just happened to have my camera with me.

It's easy to take pictures when you are rolling along

at only 3 MPH! LOL!

I love this house shown in the distance on the little hill.

It's surrounded by color! As I crawled along, a flock of geese landed in this pond. They did somersaults and completely disappeared under water looking for food. This beautiful old cemetery caught my eye. Did you ever do the superstitious thing of holding your breath while driving by a cemetery so the spirits couldn't get you? My sister and I always did that. The really big ones were a challenge to our little lungs! ha! It took me so long to drive by this one that I'm sure I inhaled several ghosts! Hope they were friendly! ha!

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Part 4

Because some days you need more than others!

And in the spirit of "keeping it real", here's a look

at what's been going on around here lately.....

1. The school clinic called. Alex threw up. He threw up on Spencer. Could I please come and pick up Alex and bring a change of clothes for Spencer? There was only 2 hours of school left, so I just brought both of them home. Nice going, Alex. But it's better you did this on your brother than on some other non-related student!
2. As I was leaving to go get the two boys, I realized that The Mister had my wheels. Fortunately, Taylor was home between classes so I took his car. After peeling myself off of the car ceiling from the radio blasting when I turned the ignition, I drove over to school in the pouring rain. I had to scoot a bunch of junk over in the seats to make room for Alex and Spencer...getting soaked by rain....fishing poles, tackle box, water bottles, gym shoes, extra jackets, books...you name it. There was so much stuff that a lady walking by in the parking lot said "Have a nice trip!" She thought I picked up the boys early from school for a little vacation...fishing some where. No...just driving my sons's car. Looks like a homeless person lives in it. Sigh.
3. I gave myself a fat lip. No, really! I bumped my top lip with my thumb nail and gave myself a little cut and fat lip. One of those freak accidents that is hard to explain to someone without them giving you a strange look. (I see that look on your face!) So, I have that sexy, full-lipped pout that so many women are paying big bucks for. LOL!
4. Earlier in the week, the boys' teacher sent a note home. Their behavior for the day had been downgraded from the usual "good" to just "OK". Apparently Harry and Spencer didn't wait for their aide when they left Art Class. They ran on ahead of her...back to their regular classroom...racing to see who could get back first to ask for Free Time on the computer. I actually had to just laugh...this is SO them! I'm surprised it hasn't happened before now. Alex, who was in Social Studies at the time, kept his "good" grade for the day.
5. Last August, Taylor rolled through a stop sign on a deserted road just out of town and got stopped by the sheriff. The sheriff was so apologetic for the ticket and said normally he would just give a warning, but there had been 3 accidents at that corner recently. He told Taylor he would get the ticket in the mail. If he intended to pay, he did not need to show up in court. So, we waited...no ticket! We thought maybe the kind sheriff just didn't turn it in, seeing he was so reluctant to give it in the first place. In the busyness of life, we completely forgot about it.....until this week when Taylor received a letter saying his license was revoked for failure to appear in court and pay his ticket! Yikes! We have to make some phone calls Monday and get this taken care of and his license reinstated. Meanwhile, I'm chauffer again...neither of us too happy about that! LOL!
6. On the good side...we received an anonymous cash gift this week! We have no idea who would do such a generous, encouraging thing! Must be from one of God's angels here on earth! I don't think this person would have any idea how timely this gift was or how appreciative we are! Maybe this person reads my blog and saw that I was making mittens out of old sweaters and felt sorry for us. LOL! Anyway, what a wonderful thing, huh?! Just makes us forget all about court dates, the rain, messy cars, throw-up and running in the halls at school! LOL! Happy week everyone...hope your days are happy....keep a sense of humor and remember that it could always be worse! :)

Outrageous Chocolate Cookies

I've made these cookies several times. They are one of our new favorites! They're from Martha Stewart, so what else would you expect? :) I actually liked my photo better than the one on her website, but don't tell her that!

Outrageous Chocolate Cookies

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chunks

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat chopped chocolate and butter in a

microwave-safe bowl in 20-second increments, stirring in between,

until almost melted; do not overheat. In another bowl,

whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla on high speed

until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; beat in melted chocolate.

Mix in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough 2 to 3 inches

apart onto baking sheets.

Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are shiny

and crackly yet soft in centers, 12 to 15 minutes.

Cool on sheets 10 minutes; with a thin metal spatula,

transfer to racks to cool completely.

Repurposed Sweater

Several months ago I saw a blogger turn an

old sweater into a throw pillow. While I was

at the thrift store last week, I bought a few

sweaters with repurposing in mind. This one

was too big for any of my men and it had a

big hole under one arm. It was $1.00.

After running it through the laundry, I cut off the

waistband, sleeves and neckline. Leaving the side seams

in tact, I machine stitched the top and bottom...

...leaving enough space to squeeze in a pillow

form. Then I stitched up the hole by hand. Very comfy! Then I noticed that the sleeves had some potential! With the cuffs already there, they could easily be made into mittens! So I cut out the shape and stitched them up on the machine! Perfect!

Theme Thursday = Traffic

There are advantages to living in a small college town!

We only have 2 traffic lights! We drive 11 miles to the nearby

city for groceries, and the drive looks like this!

The only traffic that can slow you down out here is

the occassional combine! LOL!

I do know how it feels to have a daily commute in traffic, though,

from my years of working. I worked downtown in our state

capitol for a time and then in another larger city

with a 45 minute commute one way. I would have to say

that I like my country roads better these days!

So, in the interest of both lifestyles, I've done 2 acrostics!

If you want to see more bloggers and their Theme Thursday

posts, click here! Or click and join up yourself!

• Tedious
• Rush hour
• Anxiety
• Fumes
• Freeway
• Idle
• Crawling
• ~~~~~~~~~
• Tractors
• Remote
• Alone
• Fresh Air
• Farm land
• Infinite horizon
• Corn fields

Little Creatures

Last week when I brought some plants indoors for the

cold months, this little shell fell out onto my kitchen

counter. Isn't it just so perfect and tiny? I wonder

what little snail lived inside it!

Considering The Snail

The snail pushes through a green

night, for the grass is heavy

with water and meets over

the bright path he makes, where rain

has darkened the earth's dark. He

moves in a wood of desire,

pale antlers barely stirring

as he hunts. I cannot tell

what power is at work, drenched there

with purpose, knowing nothing.

What is a snail's fury? All

I think is that if later

I parted the blades above

the tunnel and saw the thin

trail of broken white across

litter, I would never have

imagined the slow passion

to that deliberate progress.

~~Thom Gunn

It's Willow's Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Sis!

Love you!

"We know one another's faults, virtues, catastrophes, mortifications, triumphs, rivalries, desires, and how long we can each hang by our hands to a bar. We have been banded together under pack codes and tribal laws." ~Rose Macaulay

****

Go wish Willow a happy birthday! Click here!

Look Who Turned Sixteen

"The boys" turned 16 years old today.

A lot has happened to our little family in the past sixteen

years! When they were diagnosed with autism at the

age of four, we really didn't know what a crazy life

we were embarking on! But we love these guys!

And they love us! I'm thankful we can give them all

the care, concern, help and unconditional love they need.

We've crossed a lot of hurdles and seen tons of improvement!

God has been gracious ~ guiding our path the whole time.

Some of these milestone birthdays seem a little bittersweet

to me. After all, shouldn't they be getting their driver's

licenses and trying out for the basket ball team as

high school freshman? But in reality, I think maybe it is only

me that is missing those things,

and not them. I am very thankful that they

are happy, silly and loving guys. They were very content

with a birthday celebration that included potato chips,

new dvds, and some new winter clothes.

Harry, Alex and Spencer.

****

It also occurred to me that you have only seen still

pictures. Well, here's a little video clip of today.....

The Mister and I are trying to get Spencer to count to 16.

(actually, he CAN..but you know how it goes when you

want your child to show off for the camera!)

Happy Birthday, Boys!

Some New Cufflinks

One of The Mister's friend works in Hong Kong. He was

recently back in The States and brought him a gift...

little handcrafted abacus cufflinks.

Aren't they unusal? They even work! I told The Mister

that he didn't need to get out his calculator anymore!

Anagrams

Anagrams are words or phrases made by mixing up the letters of other words or phrases, e.g. THE EYES is an anagram of THEY SEE. Here are some more good ones:

Mother-in-law = Woman Hitler

The earthquakes = That queer shake

Debit card = Bad credit

Slot machines = Cash lost in 'em

School master = The classroom

Eleven plus two = Twelve plus one

Dormitory = Dirty room

Punishment = Nine Thumps

Desperation = A rope ends it

The Morse code = Here come dots

Snooze alarms = Alas! No more Zs

A decimal point = I'm a dot in place

Astronomer = Moon starer

Fir cones = Conifers

The eyes = They see

Payment received = Every cent paid me

Conversation = Voices rant on

The public art galleries = Large picture halls, I bet

Election results = Lies – let's recount

Halley's Comet = Shall yet come

The Hurricanes = These churn air

And now for some celebrity anagrams...

Elvis = Lives

Clint Eastwood = Old West action

Florence Nightingale = angel of the reclining

William Shakespeare = I'll make a wise phrase

M. Caine = Cinema

Isn't this interesting!? WHO thinks up these things? LOL!

***Thanks to Kathy G, who sent me this link, you can type in your

name and get an anagram for it! Click here.

Betsy Anne = Been nasty.....ha-ha!!

Theme Thursday = Climate Change

In the spirit of going green, I'm recycling a post

I did on this subject back in July! LOL! I'm leaving the

comments because some of them are

really great....from both sides of the debate.

So, how seriously do you take this?

I guess I do a few things, but I haven't completely

bought into the whole plan. I've heard that cattle give

off a larger footprint than humans. And I'm not convinced

on the global warming...I mean, we just had

a summer that is about 20 degrees cooler than

usual! 2008 was the coolest year worldwide on record

in the last decade! The protestors in D.C. this

spring were picketing in a snow flurry.

****

Still, I'm keeping an open mind and I do think

there are things we can do to preserve the earth.

I like the suggestion that we plant a tree for each

one taken down. I like the recycling plan and

do participate with our trash collection.

I have in the past year switched to cloth grocery

bags! When I do get plastic bags,

I reuse them to line smaller trash cans around the house.

****

But I just can't

bring myself to use the compact flourescent

energy-efficient bulbs! Not only do they make

everything in your house look green,

but the mercury which forms part

of the bulb is pure poison. I read this week that

mercury mines have been reopened in China

to meet the demands of manufacturers and

Chinese workers have been poisoned. Safe

disposal of the bulbs seems to be a problem, too.

So, we use the old and try to turn them off when

they aren't in use.

****

One other thing that I do is use dishtowels

instead of paper towels. Any spills are wiped up

with a towel that goes into the wash. I never buy paper plates or cups.

Maybe that will make up for the

32,000 diapers we put in landfills with 4 boys!

****

I saw a man interviewed on the news not too

long ago. He was asked what he has done to reduce

his carbon footprint. He said that he sold his

car and uses a bike. He uses water from a huge rain

barrell on his property. He tries to eat soley from

his garden. He does not have air conditioning.

And he only showers once a week.

Hmmm. No, I'm definitely not that committed!

So, what do you think? Do you have some

easy practical ways to recyle and save, or

do you think it's all a bunch of hype?

(**all info taken from wikipedia "global warming"**)

If you want to join Theme Thursday or read other's

posts today, click here.

• Controversy
• Logic
• Impact
• Melting
• Al Gore
• Temperature
• Energy
• Carbon Dioxide
• Hypothesis
• Arguments
• Nitrous Oxide
• Global
• Emissions

The Next Morning....

I'm still over at Willow Manor having brunch after a

wonderful 24 hour cyber ball! I know a lot of you were there,

too! Wasn't it amazing? I met so many new blog friends...

in fact there were 78 of us who connected with Mr. Linky

to show off our gowns, tuxes and dates! You could still

pop over and see what you missed! Have you ever seen

anybody get over 250 comments on one post?

Willow, thank you for a very enchanted evening!

And thank you to Mr. Toast, Mr. Skip, Mr. Fox,

Barry, Derrick, Mozart and a host of other gentleman

who asked me to dance from blog land! It was also

quite fun to meet Johnny Depp, Fred Astaire, John Lennon

Clark Gable, and a host of other celebrities.

And a special thank you to

Mr. Knotts...he was the perfect date! I had a

wonderful time! Now, I really need to go or

my gown will turn to rags and my coach,

a pumpkin!

Today Is The Day!

Today is the big day! The annual Willow Manor Ball!

You know everyone is invited, so go on over and join

in...you won't be disappointed! I'm going early so I can

watch everyone arrive with their dates. I hear Clark

Gable is going to be there...along with hundreds of other

celebrities. Many friends from the bloggyhood are going!

I can't wait to see all the Bentleys coming down the driveway!

I was so happy when Don Knotts

invited me to be his escort! I've always had a little

crush on him! There's just something quite

attractive about this skinny, nerdy man! How could I

turn him down? I'm sure he will give us all lots of laughs!

Don't you think he'll be the perfect gentleman?

I hear he's a great dancer, too!

Just look at this gorgeous gown I'm wearing! It's a 1949 Dior called "Venus". This beautiful strapless pink ball gown, embellished with sequins, was the perfect dress for me! I can't wait see it sparkle and move in the candlelight! Mr. Knotts expressed mailed me these earrings as a gift! They are 14KT rose gold and diamond dangles from the 1920's! He accidentally left the price tag on the box ~ $995.00! Wow! He has very good taste! I have my dance card ready to go! I have a few gentlemen in mind that I have pencilled in for a dance! I left a few spaces open for some of my favorite blog gentlemen! Hopefully they'll ask me for a dance! (hint, hint!) And of course I wouldn't show up to Willow Manor without a gift! (in cyber land or real life!) I'm bringing this bottle of Bollinger 1988 vintage champagne ~ $400.00! Don't you love cyber balls? Money is just no object! hee-hee! Wasn't it thoughtful of Queen Elizabeth to ring me up and offer her horse drawn carriage to Mr. Knotts and me? It's the finishing touch! So, I hope to see you all there! At least stop over and have an hors d' oeuvre or two! Click here. See you there!

Flour Power

I'm usually such a neat baker!

(you should have seen the floor!)

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Part 3

Because some days you need more than others!

And in the spirit of keeping it real,

here's a look at my extra crazy week!

• Harry pulled a bag of tortilla chips out of the pantry and knocked the olive oil pitcher to the floor....there was a small pond of oil on the floor before I got there to stop the flow. Harry just smiled, held out his bowl and chip bag. :)
• I was in a building in town where there wasn't any reception to my cell phone. The Mister got the call to his office from the school that Spencer didn't make it to the restroom and needed a change of clothes. This has only happened a couple of times in all of their years of school, but I always get the call. The Mister swears I didn't answer my cell on purpose! ha-ha.
• Taylor fell on his head playing intramural basketball at the University Monday night. He blacked out for a second and then couldn't feel his arms. Scary! So we met them at the ER, had xrays and then had 3 doctor appointments in the next 3 days and went back to the hospital for a CT scan. He's recouping very well....still sore, but prescription painkillers and a muscle relaxer have made a huge difference. He has a concussion and some spine trauma. He'll do some physical therapy sessions and another doctor visit later this month. We're just thanking God that he's OK! It could have been so much worse! He can go back to classes on Monday. Thanks to those of you who read this on my sidebar and sent good wishes and prayers our way!
• The mouse has outsmarted us so far.....the traps are set!
• The Mister kicked me in his sleep while having a dream! Hmmmm. He doesn't remember the dream, the kick, or me screaming! I told him if it happens again, he's on the couch. LOL!
• The morning after Taylor's trip to the ER, I ran to Kroger to get some groceries. I used one of the self checkout isles and pressed the appropriate buttons to receive $80 cash back. Yes, you guessed it....I took my groceries and walked off without the cash. I returned 15 minutes later but it was gone...of course. I think the creepy looking guy behind me buying a loaf of bread helped himself to my cash!

So, there you have a glimpse at my week! Taylor is so much better as of today! God is good...and the good always outweighs the bad! But I'm really glad this week is over! Enjoy your weekend blog friends! I'm baking 7 dozen chewy ginger cookies...some to freeze, some to give away and some to eat! The house smells heavenly! Taylor must be feeling better...he's eaten 6 so far! :)

Bringing the Green Inside

The houseplants have enjoyed the spring and summer

months outside on the porches and in the courtyard.

I think they enjoyed the filtered light and being watered

by the rain clouds. Bringing them inside recently, has

reminded me how a few plants can make a room feel so

alive and cozy! So I welcome in the ivy, cyclamen and

the monster fern....among a few other friends. :)

So, I had this craving for butterscotch!

Theme Thursday = Collection

photo from googleimages.com

my vintage linen apron

Here's a nice little essay about the apron. There are all kinds of lovely memories wrapped up in vintage aprons...no wonder they are a favorite thing to collect! The author is unknown, but I'm sure we can all relate to the words here ~

I don't think our kids know what an apron is. The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven. It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

~~~~

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven. When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids. And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms.

~~~~

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove. Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron. From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

~~~~

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees. When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds. When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

~~~~

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that "old-time apron" that served so many purposes.

• Cumulation
• Obtaining
• Levy
• Lot
• Ensemble
• Compilation
• Trove
• Intensification
• Omnibus
• Number