Great Halloween Idea

Found this great idea for Halloween on Priscilla's blog last night.  Easy peasy idea even the kids can do, made from toilet paper rolls.  You can find the instructions here Thrifty Girls' Blog. 
Have fun Haunting!  

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2011

31 Days of Halloween - Eyes in the Bushes

Halloween is here!

I love Halloween.  I had so much fun when my kids were young, making costumes for them and me.  I made a witchy dress from black satin, and a hat to go with it.  I had a scraggly gray wig and used green stage makeup to color my face.  Eyebrow pencil blacked out a few teeth and using the stage makeup again, made hairy warts on my nose.  Every year I dressed as the Wicked Witch and appeared at the local school, scratching on the classroom windows to get the kids attention, and handing out candy when they let me in.  I loved it, although it embarrassed my son who didn't want anyone to know it was his Mother, LOL.  I wore the same dress to welcome trick or treaters and made elaborate decorations for the house and the front porch including spooky music playing as the kids walked up to the door.  Even after my kids and even grandkids were too old to join in, I continued to decorate and welcome the neighborhood kids.  Some years we have several hundred kids come to the door, other years not so many.  But now the young kids in our neighborhood have grown up.  No more ohhing and ahhing over their costumes and trying to guess who was who.  The last few years as more parents find an alternative to trick or treating, we've seen a lot of older kids who don't live around here.  It's not that I mind them, I think I'm just tired, LOL.  So for the first time ever, I won't be doing much for halloween.  No dressing up,  just a couple of token items on the front porch and only one item on the hall server that even suggests halloween.  

Fall is coming fast!

Everywhere I look the glorious fall colors are becoming stronger every day.  These are a few in my front yard.

The Burning bush (Japonica) is in full color.

The Nandina berries are getting ripe;
I'll pick some for decorations and leave the rest for the birds.

The tree is holding onto some green leaves even as the top portions continues to turn color.

The holly berries are turning deep red, perfect for Christmas arrangements.

Monday Morning

........and I'm still working on the computer  :)  My old computer crashed August 28th and in the last few weeks I've done nothing but worry with computers.  It might be easier to go through the files I had pulled from the hard drive but I didn't want to clutter my little macbook with years and years of old files.  I had lots of backup but not sure the files for the old website are on there.  I thought it would be easy to start over fresh and have a new look along with the other changes in my life.   I am definitely going to get into the studio this week and finish some new items so more interesting things coming soon!  The days are so perfect right now, just cool enough to be outside and enjoy the changing of the leaves.  I'm always amazed at how fast that happens.  I'm dog-sitting this weekend and she loves to go for walks.
                                                                                                                                        

Fall Cleanup

Early fall is a lot like early spring, there is a lot to do inside and out.  I like to remove the summer decorations and do a "fall" cleaning before decorating for the holidays.   In the garden there are plants to be cut back, some to be dug up, all the dead debris removed and everything mulched good.  In general, put the gardens to sleep for the winter.  As much as I love summer and all the flowers, there is a satisfaction in getting everything ready for a winter rest, start planning for the spring and have a little more time to relax.

Hydrangeas Galore!

My hydrangeas produced loads of big, beautiful blooms this year - all pink - but aged to that light green tinted with rust.  I've picked them all summer and now am faced with what to do with them.  I've painted some, left some natural and added stems to some.  I've made a wreath for the front door but now I'm stumped on how to use the rest of them.

Book, Books and more Books!

I love books, everything about them.  Curling up with your Nook or Ipad just isn't the same as curling up with a good book.  They are wonderful to have - and I'm always lusting for the latest electronic gadget on the market myself - but when I have time to sit and relax, I reach for a book.

Over many years of accumulating books there comes a point where you have to make a decision on which ones to keep and which ones to move on to a new home.  I'm making those hard decisions today.  When we had new carpet installed we had to remove everything from the house, and what better time to reorganize the bookshelves.  I've always had my books organized by subject - more or less - so I could find one quickly. But  I know there are some I haven't looked at in ages - nothing wrong with them - just not ones I use much anymore.  As new techniques come out, there are new books written and more and more several new books on a popular subject will come out at the same time.  Those of you who know me, know I prefer to do many things in the time-honored traditions (read old fashioned).  I still like to do handwork instead of using the sewing machine or knitting machine.  Just because there is a machine to do it faster and easier, I don't believe it's always the best way.  So, some of these old books are back on the bottom shelf just because they are like old friends.  Some will be stored in the attic and others donated to the local library.  I like having room on the shelves to add a picture or plant but most of all, I like having all my books back in the house and out of the boxes.