Happy Halloween!

Want to know what's hangin' around here?

Wonderful Guy and I are taking another long weekend, but this one is being spent close to home. (I know! It's a five day weekend for me!) It has to be close to home. I am trick or treating with the Grandbebe Girls tonight.

One has priorities.

So we went out to grab some brunch and saw these resulting of our recording setting October. It is record setting both in total amount of snow recieved in any October in 121 years, and also for the most snow in one snowfall, this last one, where we recieved on the west side of town, close to 18 inches.

See that greyish thing there in the middle?

Then, coming home, the snow had melted and fallen from the front tree revealing...something And we both said, "What the heck is that?' I took pictures. I thought it looked alarmingly like a hornets nest I once saw in a museum back in Kentucky, but I didn't think we had hornets way out west.

Research has revealed we probably don't. What we have here is probably one big yellow jackets nest. And it is big! What I have photographed is a ways up in the tree, partially broken down, but still I would guess 18" long?

Who knows. I am not good with dimensions. And there are still, as one can see, dead leaves on my tree, after our record setting snow falling October.

And now, thinking of Dearest Sister, driving her fun little Isetta in the parade WAY out west, I found this of us driving in her fun little Isetta around my neighborhood last year. I had some fun watching it again, and thought I would share it.

Tomorrow we announce the winners our individual contests (and other things!) so until then...

Boo!

And Blogtoberfest is a wrap!

What Do I Have...

...For today?

Gratuitous grandbebe pix.  I had them on Saturday, and wouldn't let a chance go by without showing that

Grandbebe Two is keeping her blue eyes! These are her mothers.

Grandbebe Girl has beautiful hazel eyes. They are her fathers.  We should be able to tell them apart.

We had ample opportunity to be creative.

Then we went to find pumpkins.  Unfortunately, it is a sad year for pumpkins.

Wonderful Guy and I ended up at the grocery store for ours.

And look at it now.

In fact, this is our back yard.  About 4PM on Wednesday.  It's been snowing since.  And is suppose to continue for the next several hours.  Like until 6 Thursday evening! I wonder if I will be going to work Thursday morning?

Check out the contest here and Dearest Sisters here.  We will announce winners and other things November 1st!

Almost There!

Stay on target! (Anyone else thinking of Red Leader and destroying Death Stars with X-Wings?)

Anyway.  Readers paying attention will have noticed that Dearest Sister announced a Fantabulous Fat eighth sized of vintage Flour sack Fabric giveaway to:

1. Celebrate the smashingly successful and fun blogtoberfesting time she and I have shared.
2. To help announce the Super Secret Sister Special Surprise coming up on the highly auspicious first of November (11-1! Lots of ones! Very lucky!)
3. Commemorate this wonderful time of fresh Halloween candy.
4. Bring in Daylight Savings Time.
5. (fill in the blank)

I have an offering, too.

But first.

Let me speak about my weekend. I watched the grandbebe girls Saturday.  First I had seen them in a couple of weeks, having had a cold.  That evening, I traveled south about 45 minutes to meet with some college friends for dinner.  One I have met for lunch fairly regularly the last couple of years.  The other I have only reacquainted with this past year on Facebook.  So yeah, we hadn't seen each other in about 30 years.  We shut the place down.  And could have stayed longer, except that we are...not young.  The conversation was refreshing and fun and I left there feeling so good.

And then, less than 2 miles from home?  Got pulled over by le Sheriffe.  For speeding. Yep.  Can't say when last time that happened.  Because I don't!  Speed, that is.  Really no need for it anymore.  But I was.  There is a place where the speed limit drops, and there was a hill, and I was going faster, and There. He. Was.  And I just don't handle those types of authority figures...without turning into a little girl basically.  I try.  Really I do.  But it's hard!  So he asks what I've been doing, and right out I answer, 'I have been in Longmont, having lunch with some college friends'.  See.  It's now 10:30 pm.  That answer is clearly not working.  Stutter stutter stutter.  Yeah, sounding real grown up!  And I hadn't even had a glass of wine.  Thank gawd for that!  He comes back to the car, gives me back my license, and his business card, and tells me he is letting me off with a warning.

Let the good times roll!

And do you think maybe he was trying to hit on me?

End of day today?  I remember that I never changed my license when I had my vision corrected surgically over six years ago.  The license still says I am suppose to be wearing corrective lenses.  Haha, Mr. Law Enforcement Officer.  Gotcha!

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.  And my offering for winning laurels and glory and other splendiforous prizes.

Or prize.

I offer for your consideration a skein of my handspun baby alpaca, that I processed from raw fleece to laceweight yarn.  From Bindi, the alpaca, and me, to you.

One of these yummilicious skeins, approx 3 oz and about 450 yards of 18-20 wpi lace wgt.

All you have to do is leave a comment telling me you want to be in the drawing.  The drawing will be Halloween and the winner (and other things) will be announced November 1st.

Join in, and don't forget to check out the goods over at Dearest Sisters.

More Costume Sewing

Another thing we Sisters learned from our Mom was how to make things go far.  Really Far.   I mean Really Reeeellllly Fa-a-aar.

Never waste.  Make it do.  Use it up.

Still, when buying fabric for a specific pattern, I can always get by with less that the pattern tells me to get.  Momma taught me how to do that.

Well then.  Back to when the girls were little.  And were in need of Halloween costumes.  And the X was in seminary, we were living in student housing, and with three part time jobs between us, we were poor as the proverbial church mice.

I set out on a mission.  If I remember correctly, and I might not, I had the multisized pattern on hand.  I headed to Teh Evel WalMaster for to find some fabric of appropriate nature of which I could afford.  I found some of clownish nature, of the creepiest feeling fabric EVER (had to be 30% rayon, 30% dacron, 30% nylon, and 10% orlon).  BUT!!!  It was..oh..maybe a quarter a yard on clearance, or some such ridiculous price, and there was about 10 yards of it.  So home it went with me.

And I made clown outfits.  And I made them big!  So these girlies would be able to wear them more than once!

See.  Making these work more than once!  Momma was proud of her frugal, sewing daughter.

Actually, the first year, only two got made.  Notice I found appropriately contrasting yarn to make pompoms from my stash.  Only back then, it wasn't a stash.  It was "leftover acrylic yarn from projects not finished that had to be toted every move".  That was the official name back then.  Seriously.

Next year, all three Offspring were clowns, yet somehow, the make-up took a dive.  The mom-ster must have been busy...told 'em to do their own maybe?

Then I moved into award winning 'Making It Go FAR!' territory.  Year three, same costumes.  Yes, I see some are bit short.  Yes, I see the less than pleasant expressions on the faces of these Tired Clowns.  I am telling them from behind the camera, "It's a different town.  No one has seen you wear these before."

Can you see their thoughts?  "As gawd is our witness, no one else will ever see us wear them again."

And no one did.  Not that the clown posse was destroyed.  Oh no!  There was still life in that 30% rayon, 30% dacron, 30% nylon, and 10% orlon synthetic wonder of a fabric!

The outfits lived to traumatize bring joy to the young sons of some dear family friends.

Not bad return on money and effort.

Not too sure about the effect on the young psyches of the Offspring.

And now for something completely different.  Make sure to check with Dearest Sister tomorrow.  Announcements!  Excitement!  Glory!

Cost-toom Re-Ducks

As Dearest Sister points out, our mother Sewed. She was a Seamstress! of the highest caliber.

And she endeavored to instill in her offspring some of the same skill. It took differently with each of us, some deeper, some to a lesser degree.

For instance. Only Brother? Sews not a whit.

I am kidding, of course. Back in the day, sewing was wimmin’s work, and only us girl children were chained to the Singer for to learn how to sew a straight seam.

I am kidding again. There were no chains. Only whips. Keeping me on task. During the warm summer days while the neighborhood peeps were out cavorting…having fun…swimming…letting Dearest Sister join them since she didn’t have ‘a project’ to enter in the 4-H Fair…

Kidding again. About the whips…

Anyway. Us Sisters? We sew. More or less, after our own fashion, and it has served us well through the years.

For instance, there was a time, when the Offspring were young-ish, we lived in a very small town in central Kentucky, outside of which there had been a fierce Civil War battle. And each year, the denizens of said ville were subjected to and/or participated in the re-enactment of this historical event.

This was new to those of us from out West where we are a bit short on this sort of history. And therefore, it was all interesting and exciting. And also, a chance to dress up!

So, I sewed. And little by little, I put together an ‘outfit’. Starting with the bodice of a wedding dress pattern, then a simple big ginourmous skirt, with 40 hundred yards of fabric gathered into a waistband…just like Scarlett O’Hara and her draperies! I bought yards more of fabric on sale, and stitched together another, then purchased yet another dress that needed finishing. I accessorized over time, picking up at the Suttler’s (the camp’s vendors that followed the ‘troops’) a pair of lace gloves, a 2nd hoop, and what-not. I found a couple of shawls around the house to use, and a dear friend crocheted a snood (a hair net).

The dresses were used for more than the re-enactments, too. They were used for school activities, and costume parties, and the hoop most lately was used under a wedding dress.

I have not worn the snood of late. But I could. And the gloves. And the shawls, even though, now? I would knit myself better ones.

But the dresses? I haven’t tried those on lately. The bodices of the dresses were super fitted. To the Iron Needles of yore. Who was younger. And thinner. But perkier. Alas.

It was fun to get all geared up, but when out in public, I always felt awkward. Like a pretender. I don’t think I have ever been able to ‘get into’ a role other than being me. Drawing too much attention to myself perhaps.

That and the fact I was only dressed up on the outside. REAL re-enactor ladies were dressed up all the way down to their pantolettes!!

U is for...

...Utah.  Where Wonderful Guy and I just spent a long weekend seeing some of the natural wonders in the eastern part of that state.

We had some great weather for it, considering where we hail from, there were record setting cold temperatures and snow the weekend previous.  Snow one weekend, sunburned forehead the next!

Of course, had we stayed home?  Same weather.  Whatever...

Back to the National Parks of Utah.  Or the two we spent time at this trip, Arches and Canyonlands, one day at each, hiking some of the shorter hikes to see some of the better things to see.

Like Turret Arch.

Like Double Arch.

Like Delicate Arch.

Us and forty gazillion other people that were in Moab for a race the next day, we found out.  Still great stuff to see, though.

Arches gets alot more traffic, according to Ranger Liza, than Canyonlands, and Sunday at Canyonlands was quiet and serene and almost mystical.

What a breathtaking place.  Only a National Park since 1964, used for pasture and grazing at the turn of the century, and uranium mining until the early sixties.  The desert still bears the scars from each.  It is a slow heal for the terrain.

So glad we are saving it.  It deserves it.

So sorry I surprised you with the guest blogger, Dearest Sister, while visiting these spectacular sites.  Perhaps it was taking the easy way out (not cheating! I had a cold!), but I did have to convince Eldest Daughter to do it.

Blog Hijacker

I have returned as the guest blogger and during blogtoberfest even!

Mom asked that I guest blog and the second I agreed, I had writers block.  I am impressed with all of the bloggers who are able to find so much to entertain us with on the interwebs.

I did host a pumpkin carving party on friday.  I dont know how many years I have done this, but every year I really look forward to it.

Here are a few pics of the finished carved pumpkins:

Happy Halloween everyone!

Halloween

It has been documented that Halloween is the most decorated holiday after Christmas, and I can believe it.

Wonderful Guy and I don’t go all out, but we do have a few little things we enjoy putting up.

This is Wonderful Guy’s contribution. He is in charge of the stuffing and constructing each year.

I made the ‘scary birds’ a couple years ago. We have green light bulbs in lamps that throw ‘eerie’ light from behind that make them really scary!

My little yo-yo ‘place-mat’ is made of Halloween fabric, and made of penny size yo-yos. I was glad when I ran out of fabric. I was tired of it already.

The wreath joined the family from a festival booth in Kentucky many years ago. A little cheesy but what the heck! It works for the few weeks each year it is hung up.

Beyond a few other little knick knacks sitting around here and there, one or two of which I will forget to collect when it comes time to put it all away, that is the extent of our Halloween spirit.

Until it comes to candy.

I am all about the good stuff. The chocolate stuff.

Wonderful Guy is all about getting his share.

On The Needles Of Iron

(And Betsy, the Spinning Lendrum)
A BSJ!

Knit fearlessly past the dreaded 20th  ridge.

Out of Rowan Cashsoft Aran, it is like butter to knit.

I have the next planned to be bi-colored (Oooh! So exciting.) out of Crystal Palace Crème.

And I will probably get a lot of knitting on these this weekend. We are going to take a long weekend excursion to eastern Utah to see Arches and Moab.

So while I have been spinning furiously lately (compulsive much?) on this…

louets northern lights wool top 'icy winter'

And this…

louet 100% shetland

And this…

louets northern lights wool top 'marmalade'

And this…

Cloud City Fibers Merino Cranberry

Betsy, the spinning Lendrum, won’t be making the trip.

But the Needles of Iron will be, along with the BSJ’s, WIP, and project planned.

Hmmm. That might not be enough. I better get something else in mind. Besides a few dishclothes, I mean….

4-corners dishcloth

I only have these in my stash and Youngest has already mentioned she needs more!

Here we are, halfway through Blogtoberfesting, and so far, Dearest Sister and I have done well adhering to our schedule and not mixing ourselves up.  We also have had fun.  But!  There is fun still to be had.

By us, at least!

All About Aprons

I pander. Yes, I do…I “cater basely”….at times…when it comes to contests on blogs.

And when Dearest Sister offered up some of her vintage aprons, one of a pattern she dubbed ‘atomic’, I had to claim it.

Initially, my intent was to use the fabric as the apron was in need of mending.

I mend. I do! Sometimes. The Offspring will say, ‘Nooooooo!, not the black hole of the mending basket!’ Poo. What do they know? So what if they outgrew a couple of things before I got to them? They were growing FAST!

But I digress.

Claiming the material for re-purposing…then I read all the comments about how ALL the young girls are using apronage now-a-days. For pockets, for convenience, for stylin’!

Hmm. I have aprons. I have made aprons. Aprons that won ribbons. At county fairs! I might even have apron patterns…not that one would need a pattern for such. Certainly didn’t back in the day of 4-H!

So the ‘atomic apron’ has been mended. I think it is smashing. Like atoms!

Then I went looking for my aprons but didn’t find what I was looking for. My blue ribbon apron has been lost somewhere down through time. But I found this one! (from Dearest Sister)

And this one (same source).

And this, which is really a pretty functional one gifted by a really neat lady in Kentucky.

I even have a Longaberger apron. It had some stains but I photoshopped them out.

And this one. I wager not many have asphalt aprons!

I also found myself two patterns for aprons…one with a matching potholder pattern!

I might just start sewing up some aprons. You know. In my spare time.

Don't forget Dearest Sister's blogaversary giveaway.  She has 'too cool for skool' stuff, and the efforts are minimal for maximum odds.

snow...snow...snow...snow!

I know there are some of us who know this song from Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye's White Christmas.

Sing along with me...

"Snow snow snow snow


It won't be long before we'll all be there with snow

Snow snow snow snow

I want to wash my hands, my face and hair with snow

Snow snow snow snow

I long to clear a path and lift a spade of snow

Snow snow snow snow

Oh, to see a great big man entirely made of snow..."

But not on October 10.

Not when I am feeling all sore throaty and headachey and...what is the term...full of general malaise.

Not when I have to....HAVE to...work on Saturday and Sunday for the first time in FOREVER!

Upside?  Because, y'all know, I am all about the upside.

I got the tomatoes picked while the weather was nice, all following my instincts and intuitions. (See those droopy plants and forlorn tomatoes left on the vine...so sad...)

I feel no worse than I did Friday, and that is good.

Temps are suppose to get back up to the 70's (!) by Thursday.

I am the current hero at work, seriously appreciated, and part of a team that worked on a critical problem.

And I have one nifty camera with which to take wonderful photos from my patio door.

Now while this was not what I had planned for today's post, those others subjects will wait.  However, Dearest Sister is celebrating over at her place.  It's been a year since she joined the blogging party, and she is going to give some things away.  I think the prizes are most intriguing.  She always finds the coolest stuff.  Seriously.  And it can be on the same shelf we are both looking at, and it won't even register in my brain. We can be out shopping together, looking at the same place, and she will pick up stuff that I don't even see.

One time, at a thrift store, she picked up a Longaberger basket, of which I have an embarrassing number of, and I grabbed it out of her hand, like she found it and intended to give it to me to buy.  I appropriated it like I was all entitled by my ownership of more than she had.  I didn't even think to apologize and ask if she meant to buy it until a few minutes had passed.  She laughed it off.  I think she meant it.

Anyway.  I am glad she started blogging, and the only part of tag teaming blogtoberfest is that the days I post, I know I can't look forward to a post on her blog.  And if I didn't already have a few too many Irons in the fire (as it were!), I might let her enter me in her drawing and pick me up another craft

T is for…

Tomatoes.
Green tomatoes.

Green tomatoes laying in my basement, hopefully ripening.

I know there are supposedly wonderful and delicious ways of preparing green tomatoes, but I am all about ripe tomatoes. So I will wait. And frankly, I have never tried any of those recipes.

Not all will make it, I know. But some will. And they will be tasty delights, almost as good as right off the vine, maybe into November. Maybe all the way to Thanksgiving, but that might be a stretch this year, what with that holiday being late.

In no other place where I have lived and grown tomatoes have I been so diligent about picking the green ones before the first good freezes. I use the plural, because I will cover the plants, and/or gamble the meteorologist doesn’t know what they are talking about, on one or two spaced out first frosts. But like this week, when two good freezes are predicted, down in the 20’s…I pick and call it good.

So why here and not in other places? Because in other places, tomatoes start in July and go like crazy until everyone has tomatoes coming out their ears, their kid’s ears, their neighbor’s ears, and are foisting them onto people who don’t even like tomatoes. So when the first freeze rolls around, it's easy to be ready to give them up.

Here, not so much. I have been lucky the last few summers to have ripe tomatoes the first of August…or so. This year not until after Labor Day. Oh my anguish with the shorter growing season of this elevation and northern latitude.

So I pick the green ones to extend my access to homegrown tomatoes.

Maybe not vine ripened, but garden grown.

Dearest Sister tried to get me to see the wisdom in giving up the growing of my own for the purchasing of them from the local farmer’s market, but it was folly on her part.

See. There is always next year…this summer was late…and coolish…and really noone’s tomatoes did well…

(I don’t always listen to her, but don't tell her that....)