25 Ways to Wear a Scarf in 4.5 Minutes!

I came across this very neat video and since it's 'scarf season' I thought I'd share it.

I Know This is Silly, But.....

....why are my feelings hurt when someone unsubscribes from my blog? My immediate thought is: "What did I do?" When, in reality, we don't even know each other and she is probably cleaning up her online subscriptions or trying to simplify her life and my blog just isn't her cup of tea anymore. Why do I take it so personally??? I don't know, that's just me.
You may think I only post fluff and don't have a brain in my head.... but I don't think that's true....I am very thoughtful. I try to keep my blog upbeat and somewhat informative, while letting far away friends know what's going on here. I have always had a tendency to want others to LAUGH AT me rather than make fun of me. I am sensitive and my feelings do get hurt, and when something like this happens I always feel that it is my fault. And I do cry sometimes (not over this).
When I am wronged I am more likely to get mad (I know I should say angry but in 'real life' I say mad) whereas some people cry. I realized that it's a tad more easy for me to handle the anger (I usually ignore it) than the crying (of someone else reacting to a situation). One grandson fell and hurt himself and when his brother came into the room he yelled at him to get out (several times) so the other boy went into a different room and started crying...."he hurt my feelings". I was telling the first boy that he shouldn't be talking to his brother that way (but it didn't do any good) and I tried to talk to the other one (to change the subject). I really just wanted to say "For Pete's sake, just ignore him and quit crying, he'll get over it." Maybe it just boils down to some of us are overly sensitive and some easily angered. I talked about it to my grandson (the angry one) and he said 'crying is better'....I think it is just more acceptable.

Halloween Light Show 2011 - This Is Halloween

Had to share this................awesome, expensive, silly...but fun!!!

Happy Halloween!

A Good Day for Shopping

I wasn't planning on shopping but I needed ink for my photo printer........at $43.99 for just the color ink I try to be frugal with it. I finally broke down and bought a cartridge at Office Max. It may have been less expensive at WalMart but I had a $10 off coupon for Office Max (not a lot of choices here) so off I went. HP had a special promotion advertising a free ream of paper with ink purchase so I got free printer paper ($5 value) and $10 off (with $50 purchase) so I found some clearance items (scrap booking paper and a cute little notepad for one of my granddaughters) to get my cost up to $50. I also saw some nice, and inexpensive, 8 X 8 scrapbooks on clearance...do I need one? At least my big expenditure was sweetened a bit.

On the way home my car was beeping at me because I was nearly out of gas so I stopped at Kwik Trip to fill up. Hubby would not be home for dinner so I planned on eating some leftover soup therefore I went inside and bought some cheese-filled bread sticks (not the most healthy) with my coupon for .99, and also got some free bananas with another coupon and then headed home.

I Hate Socks & Some Other Things That I Love

I don't like wearing socks- they scrunch up by my ankles and soon find their way into my shoes and under my feet. So I don't wear 'em until the snow flies.....or buy new socks.....or wear tie shoes.

I hate wearing glasses-they are always dirty and I feel like I am walking around in a cloud. Just after I clean them they slide down my nose and when I attempt to push them back where they belong my oily finger seems to miss the nose piece and land on the lens instead.....and I am back to square one.

But I surely LOVE a piece of chocolate cake with thick, chocolate frosting and a cup of tea after a dinner of fried chicken. That was my favorite meal as a kid- chicken and/or chicken dumpling soup with chocolate cake for dessert. Right now I am settling for a chocolate bran muffin.

Since the weather is cooler and it's getting dark earlier I enjoy curling up in bed under the covers at an early hour and reading a good book (thus ignoring the housework temporarily) on occasion.

I enjoy a feeling of freedom as a mature woman of not having to impress anyone.....meaning I have some confidence in whom I am. I have my own style (or lack thereof???) My house is not perfectly cleaned or stylish decorated and my craft area is usually a total disaster...but that is me and if you don't like it....oh well! I'm glad that I do have confidence so do some things independently of friends or family. I do not need to have someone by my side at all times.

I like working alone- no one is looking over my shoulder watching my every move (that has ALWAYS unnerved me), I can just think better alone, and it's actually peaceful (if the phone is not ringing off the hook).

I love having such wonderful and unique grandchildren (and their parents who are doing a great job) even if I don't get to see them often.

And I love sunshine! After being alive in a world that is SO EXTREMELY complex how can you not love God's fabulous creation????

I hope all my blogger friends have a great weekend!

ARRRGH/Pirates Party Down

Last night was our annual Red Hat Halloween costume party. This year we dressed as pirates....last year I wasn't so sure I wanted everyone to dress alike.....this year I am thinking it's a good idea. Notice that one of our gals appears to be a traitor because I am about the slit her throat and Janice has her sword ready to use if Claire makes the wrong move.

Over half of our group was there. We really had a good time!



Here I am, about to be stabbed with my own sword....fortunately a pirate pal lent me her pistol!



I'm not sure what the nun said to our gal......but apparently Pirate Bonnie didn't like the sound of it.

Another group dressed as nuns at the end and entertained us. One of the 'nun's belongs to our (Lutheran) church, so being the wicked pirates we are, we will keep this photo of for blackmail in the future.

I asked hubby to take a photo of me before I left (it didn't turn out) and he told me I looked ridiculous. That guy doesn't have any sense of fun! If a person is having fun and not hurting anyone else or breaking the law who cares how you look???? Any thoughts?

Wordless Wednesday

We grew some tiny pumpkins in my compost pile.

Thrift store find, he tickled my fancy.

Unique or Ugly?

I like this fruit bowl and think it's unique. I found it at the thrift store a couple of weeks ago and paid $2 or $3 for it. Too much, you say? Well, I've spent more money on worse things.

There are no markings on the bottom so it's nothing special, just different........and I like to to march to my own drummer! And you????

Guess what? Two more months until Christmas............why did I have to bring that up???

Let The Party Begin

Wanna come? Mummy time! Silly or Scary! Fill me up! Once upon a time....! Who stole my nose? These are the party games we played at the costume party at our house yesterday. Ever played them? Not bad if you realize I came up with the games only 2 days ahead of the party.....read on and I'll explain a bit. I tried to think of mysterious names because the boys are too smart for plain ol' simple games.
We had our 3 year old granddaughter for the weekend and 6 year old Jalen usually stays on Saturday nights so he can attend church and Sunday school.
For silly or Scary? I cut out pumpkins and eyes, noses, and mouths for the kids to glue on for their Jack O' Lanterns...and most were forgotten here.




Who stole my nose? is pin the nose on the Jack O' Lantern. Skylar suggested using his Packer helmet for the blindfold....it worked so good that he tried taping the nose onto his aunt Jessica.

The princess playing "Fill me up"....the golfing game.

Mummy time - the kids unrolled the crepe paper to reveal prizes or notes redeemable for a prize (from the bag in the background). They were careful because if you ripped the paper off you lost your turn.

Here's my crazy crew! Even the little one got into the photo.......a big surprise to all of us.

If you wonder why I post so many things about my grand kids.....there are a number of reasons. The older boys in the above photos are the only ones whom I see on a regular basis, my other grands live farther away and I can't be a part of their every day lives so maybe I over compensate with this family. The kids love me and it feels good to be loved. Hubby does his own thing (alone cataloging his sports cards) and we really don't spend quality time together. The kids make me laugh and keep me feeling young. I have a few good memories of my grandmas and I want to make memories with my grandchildren. I attend my other grand kids activities as much as my work schedule allows and they visit as their schedule allows.....life is so busy.

Now to pack up 'trick or treat' bags to mail to the other grands..........

A 3 Year Old and Us

No words needed to describe this smile.
We played outside all afternoon..............it was a perfect, warm autumn day!

She waited for Grandpa to some home and blow bubbles with her.

King Jalen and Princess Mackenzie check out the various (toy food) desserts.

Poor Grandpa takes a beating when the kids are over.

Princess Mackenzie casts a spell.

She's a very active, inquisitive, strong willed, happy, and loving little girl.

The Art of Tablesetting

The Rahr-West Museum/mansion has a lot to offer to the community and I take advantage of a few things. Several months ago we attended Sputnik fest and I often take my grandsons once a month to do art projects. Sometimes I'm even able to sneak in a look at the current display. This month it's the Art of Table settings. At first I didn't think of place settings as art.......but as you will see here, it clearly is. The table in the foreground is "Lunch with Andy (Warhol)". Each participant is asked to write about their theme, what they are trying to portray, inspiration, etc. There is a waiting list for those who wish to have a table.



"THE SONG OF SOLOMON....come hither my love"

My photos don't do justice to the tables..................sorry. I wanted to take photos of all.


This one is "Inspired by Oxidation".

"Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War"

"Artist in Africa" was done by a woman in my book club.

Some tables were very 'conventional' and proper with good china and silverware and others were clearly artistic interpretations. I enjoyed each and every one!

"A Dinner That's Out of This World" was inspired by "Star Trek" .

""A Loaf of Bread and Thou" based on the DaVinci print.

"Capturing Moments", the photographer enjoys a working lunch.

In the background "I Scream, You Scream" is based on a 50's ice cream parlor. The foreground is an "Homage to an Abstract Expression."

"Zen Japanese Rock Garden"

"Christmas Makes Me Feel Bubbly".

I love this whimsical display.

"The Berry Pickers' Picnic"

I love the shabby chic feel to this.

Forty- six table settings are on display for roughly 2 weeks. I made sure I had time to visit this exhibit because I've missed it for the past several years and always love it.

Can you tell that "Table on the Tailgate" was done by a man? I just love people who have an imagination!

I hope you enjoyed this visit to the museum with me. Did I mention that I LOVED every single table???? Thanks for coming along!

Caught/the Friday 56

Join me for Freda's Friday 56 http://fredasvoice.blogspot.com/

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Add your (url)

I've read several of his books and really enjoy them, he has me on the edge of my seat during the whole book. When I found that I could cborrow this book for my ereader on http://dbooks.wplc.info/7F0A6C96-7628-454D-9737-460EC4FD1255/10/355/en/Default.htm I placed a hold on it.

p.56 "Dan moved farther away from the door, toward the back of the trailer, almost as if he wanted to hide the bruises."

Now to get ready for the weekend, our 3 year old and very active granddaughter is spending it with us. Wish me energy and stamina!

Do You Feel Touch in Your Dreams?

Most of the time my dreams are so weird, like this morning I remembered watching some sort of aircraft (6) (not only planes) practising for an air show and then crashing into each other and one landing in the water. I was in a huge bathroom across the road from the accident.....they pulled the guy out and he was OK....where did that come from? I also watched a couple of convoys with 3 and 5 olive green trailers drive past. But sometimes I feel someone touching me, do you? Most recently I felt hubby sit on the edge of the bed and put his socks on and then he kissed me good bye (before work), when I asked him about it he said "No", he didn't come in that morning. Once when I was staying at a friends home I felt him sleeping with me.........he was over a hundred miles away and no one else came in either. I have often felt him sleeping and holding me when he wasn't and it seems so real. Guess it's just wishful thinking.
What are your experiences? Dreams fascinate me.

Wednesday Weirdness

If this picture of the wind, waves, and clouds doesn't make you cold, I don't know what will. It's 46 and we're under a wind advisory....what's with that? A wind adversary? That's just what I need.....hubby won't let me turn the heat on so I haven't taken my (fleece) jacket off since I got home from work. I am not even sure if the furnace works....it went out last winter but we couldn't (and still can't) afford a new one. Hubby is a BIG TIME procrastinator.....maybe he was hoping for major global warming in WI???

For supper tonight we just had some leftovers. I made Chili last night and I am surprised that it turned out not half bad, considering I had to improvise with some of the ingredients. Guess it's time for me to stock my pantry with chili fixin's. Here's the weird part - I had some leftover broccoli that I didn't want to waste so I cooked it and threw it in the bottom of my bowl and added extra veggies and didn't even taste it. Since we ate the garlic bread and I had some leftover hamburger buns I toasted them and make garlic/toasted buns. They were OK, but I'm not in a hurry to try that again.

And here's the good weirdness- in my mailbox was a coupon for a free full size mascara from Clinique! It couldn't have happened to a more needy person (in my opinion).

How's your week going? Any weirdness is your neck of the woods?

Fun In The Fall

Two of our grandsons stayed overnight on Saturday.After we got home from Sunday school the boys wanted to play outside and make chalk paint, it's the invention of one of my granddaughters. The driveway has some decorative painting on it.....hey, so what? I let the boys use the brandnew sidewalk chalk that I got on clearance and my household graters..........I wanted them to be outside and they were!!!!Our 2 youngest grandchildren play with my Nookcolor (I must really love them) while dad (to the baby) supervises.

The day was windy and partly cloudy but the boys were outside almost all afternoon. We walked a couple of blocks to the gas station so J could buy candy. That kid is just like his dad....has to spend every cent he has.

Grandson J was playing with bubbles.....but the bubble gun just turned into a gun sometimes.

In Transition

Webster's definition of transition is:
a : passage from one state, stage, subject, or place to another : change
b : a movement, development, or evolution from one form, stage, or style to another

Autumn is definitely a time of transition.....here in the Midwest our weather changes from hot and humid to warm (we hope) and drier. Sunny, fall days are so sweet.....the air can be crisp in the morning and very warm by mid afternoon; the trees are full of oranges, yellows, & reds; the leaves crackle underfoot. I am beginning to love autumn (except for the fact that I am not fooled and know winter will soon be on it's heels). Fall like weather crashed into this area today after a wonderful Indian Summer. It's inevitable, and we know it....whether we like it or not.

My closet is in transition too. I am slowly packing away capris and tank tops....and bringing lighter sweaters and long sleeve tees out to the front. I dread bringing out the heavy, dark, winter sweaters and turtlenecks. Unfortunately I have a very small closet and have to move things twice a year. Boots, hats, and gloves will be finding a place in the coat closet again also.

Another transition that is inevitable and not pleasant is death. My best friend and her family are desperately trying to make peace with that transition. Not only are her family members my friends...they are my family too. They are the family of hubby's first wife: my step children's aunts & uncle & cousins & grandma. They are a close family and have 'adopted' me into the family, our holiday celebrations are almost always with them....hubby's parents passed away long before we met, his siblings celebrate with their immediate families, and my family lives out of town. Grandma celebrated her 92nd birthday last month with a family dinner at a local supper club. She's lived alone and taken care of herself and been active up until she went into the hospital last weekend with pneumonia. Her mind is sharp and she has decided that she does not want to be on the meds....they make her sick.....hospice has been called in and the family waits, cries, worries, prays, tries to have some sort of normalcy in their lives..... It makes me cry to see them suffering over the eminent loss of their mom, my kids grandma, great-grandma to my grandkids (and her other grandkids). There is nothing anyone can do ......there are no right words- only prayers, hugs, and a listening ear is all I can do. It's inevitable, and we know it....whether we like it or not. I know someday I will face the same heartbreaking ordeal with my mother.

Wordless Wednesday

Cute Smile, eh?

Scrapbook Pages from the Retreat

Here are a couple of the pages I finished over the weekend. One thing I learned was that I could cut out part of a page (as I did with the flag on this page). One other woman was working on a Washington DC page and she had the same paper and cut out the flag ...so I copied it.



This is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. My pages are pretty simple.





















Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial pages.

Sorry for the glare, I did not remove the pages from their plastic sleeves.

Some things I learned from this retreat:

• if it's warm don't bring a heavy sleeping bag



• bring a fitted sheet for my bed



• if I forget my facial cleanser and moisturizer and have to use liquid soap and hand lotion my face will survive (barely)



• bring bottled water



• don't pack in a hurry and at the last minute, lest I forget the above items



• read the packing/travel directions once more before I leave



• bring more adhesive than I think I'm going to need

It was a fun, small, retreat with 4 in a room. Previously I've only shared with the person I've signed up with but it worked out fine. As the 2nd person to retire I didn't wake up when anyone else came to bed or got up. There were not a lot of showers but that didn't cause any problems either because everyone took their showers at different times....or maybe not at all? Scrapbookers are VERY focused on their work (the day goes by really fast when you're scrapping) and willing to share. One gal gave us bottled water, another sold me some adhesive, paper scraps were shared, I gave someone a travel brochure, bff gave a photo to the other gal who was doing a DC album. BTW the food was plentiful and excellent...we ate the last veggies from their garden. Of course, I want to go again.