Happy Halloween!

I hope all of you ghouls & goblins out there have fun trick-or-treating or handing out candy or whatever it is that you are doing to celebrate.
We don't get anyone out here in our neck of the woods. Kind of nice to not to have to buy the candy, although you know that I DID buy some...it is Halloween after all! Of course, most of the candy is long gone!  I do miss seeing the little ones in their costumes, but then again, I don't miss having to get up & down all night to answer the door & to mess with the rowdy kids. So I guess it has its pros & its cons, just like everything else in life!

Not a lot has been going on here. Which is why I haven't blogged lately. I have had just absolutely nothing...nada...zip.
I have been getting over to your sites, for those of you who have things to write about.
We are all doing well, just nothing going on that is very exciting.

Daughter is getting ready now to go out. If I can, I will get some pictures of her.

Until then, I will show you these couple that I took last week of one of her pumpkins that she painted.

And now I will leave you with a few fun Halloween quizes....

Your Halloween Sugar Binge is Caramel Apples

You have a sweet tooth, but you can feel easily overwhelmed by sugar. You prefer to have your treat cut with something healthy, like fruit and nuts. But don't let the apple part fool you, you can eat sweets with the rest of them. You're even willing to make a bit of a mess if your sweet treat is tasty enough.

You Hate Raisins

You're still a big kid at heart, and to you Halloween means one thing... candy! You want the sweetest, most decadent treats that can be whipped up. And you certainly aren't thinking raisins... *gag*! The last thing you want to think about in the middle of your sugar binge is healthy eating. If you're forced to, you'll eat some fruit flavored candy. But that's as far as you're going.

You Should Be a Mummy for Halloween

You are a silently enthusiastic person. You like to participate in things, but you don't like too much attention. When you get dressed up for Halloween, you really get in the spirit of things - in the most subdued way possible. You are a keen observer, and you love to people watch. You're big on noticing little details. You tend to blend into the background, but you're not tuning out. In fact, you're often the most engaged person in the crowd.

You Are Traditional on Halloween

Halloween is all about the things you've loved since you were a kid. It's a holiday of big traditions for you. You love carving pumpkins, eating candied apples, trick-or-treaters, and old horror movies. You would never be found dressing up as the latest celebrity. You're much more likely to go for an old standby like witch or vampire. Halloween has a lot of history for you, and you're not about to throw it all away for the latest Halloween trend!

You Are Spooky

You put the trick in "trick or treat," and you won't stop scaring people until you scare yourself. You love horror movies, dark spooky nights, and the darker side of Halloween. You save the kids' stuff for the kids. Speaking of kids, you avoid the little candy grubbing monsters at all costs. Well, unless you are looking to give them a little scare. You think Halloween has gotten a bit to sugary these days, and you don't mind injecting a little fright into things.

You Should Be a Pirate for Halloween

You simply have to have the most unique, elaborate, and amazing costume. You tend to hop from party to event, making sure everyone checks you out. Costume suggestions: A geisha, samurai, fairy, or pirate Signature Halloween candy: Skittles Scary movie you should celebrate Halloween with: The Shining

Hello everyone...happy Wednesday to you!

I worked outside on the day that it was nice also. But it was not a pleasant experience. I don't know how many bugs I swallowed (gnats...they were also very bad) and actually had to come in twice to take out my contact & remove gnats that flew into my eyes.
Every time I would come near the house the ladybugs & the box elders would swarm me & get in my hair or on my clothes. Ugh! Just disgusting!
But this was not the worst of it.  I actually had a chipmunk fall on my head!

Ok..well, maybe not actually land on my head, but I was working under a big oak tree & he must have been jumping from one branch to another or something & he missed & fell out of the tree & he did hit the side of my shoulder as he fell right next to me. I don't know who was scared worse...him or me! If you have ever seen Ace Ventura, Pet Detective...I kind of looked like he did in the part with the bats flying out of the cave!  Well, after I finally calmed down from this experience, I went back to whacking those huge mystery plants that we have all over the yard. That is what I was doing, trimming them all back. Well next thing I know as I slam the weed whacker down into the ground to chop up another plant, I hear the most sickening sound of something that I just killed or decapitated...I don't know if it was a mouse, chimpunk or what...but that did it! I had enough outdoor fun for one friggin day!

Not a whole lot going on here really. Hubby is working hard & then trying to get some hunting time in when he can on the weekends.
Daughter is working hard. She got yet another promotion...more responsibility, another raise. So good for her!
I stay busy between the house, errands, cooking, my computer & crafts. I have also started my Christmas shopping. I can't believe how quick this year has flown by.  I have to start now though because I have to mail most of my stuff & also have to be ready for days that I won't want to get out later on when the weather is so bad. And I have a feeling that this is not going to be a very pleasant winter.

I guess I need to get this post submitted & get busy since it is already going on noon!

One last bit of fun...these short quizes are always fun.

Your Autumn Sense is Smell

You are a very sensitive, in tune person, and you have a good memory. You notice all the little smells associated with fall. Of course you love favorite smells like pumpkin pie cooking or a fire burning, but your nose is much more sensitive than that. You also notice the smell of fall leaves, the scent of a favorite sweater, and the aroma of fresh apples. You remember and cherish every detail of the season. In fact, the littlest things about fall give you the greatest amount of pleasure.

Currently The Deep Blue Sea for Beginners By Luanne Rice see related

I hope today finds you all well.
 
So many have the flu right now. I got a flu shot last year for the first time, but don't know if I will get one (or both) of them this year. Do you get them? If so or if not, any good points to make about them?   I am telling daughter that she should get one since she works with the public. 

So after my last post about getting a "dusting" of snow...we got about 2 1/2 " of snow on Monday! Can you believe it!  I have a feeling this is going to be a very long winter!
It did all melt yesterday. It only stuck to the grassy areas also. But now there is more in the forecast for tomorrow & Friday.
Here are some pictures that I took on Monday of our Autumn snowfall....(if you are on FB you probably already seen these..)

Daughter & some friends of hers got together to carve some pumpkins  the other night. One of the girls' little boy came too. She had bought him a decorating kit that looked like Mr. Potato Head pieces...they were so cute!  Here are the results...

Notice the different faces on the little boys pumpkin in the 2 pictures...

Daughter is going trick -or- treating for Unicef this year...

http://youth.unicefusa.org/trickortreat/

This way she gets to dress up & go out with some of her friends AND do something important & worthwhile at the same time!

I got this in an email & had to share!

A DC airport ticket agent offers some examples of 'why' our country is in trouble!
 
1.I had a New Hampshire Congresswoman (Carol Shea-Porter) ask for an aisle seat so that her hair wouldn't get messed up by being near the window. (On an airplane!)
 
2.I got a call from a Kansas Congressman's (Moore) staffer (Howard Bauleke), who wanted to go to Capetown. I started to explain the length of the flight and the passport information, and then he interrupted me with, ''I'm not trying to make you look stupid, but Capetown is in  Massachusetts  .''

Without trying to make him look stupid, I calmly explained, ''Cape Cod is in  Massachusetts  , Capetown is in  Africa ''

his response -- click.
 
3. A senior Vermont Congressman (Bernie Sanders) called, furious about a  Florida  package we did. I asked what was wrong with the vacation in  Orlando  . He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to explain that's not possible, since  Orlando  is in the middle of the state.

He replied, 'don't lie to me, I looked on the map and  Florida  is a very thin state!'' (OMG)
 
4. I got a call from a lawmaker's wife (Landra Reid) who asked, ''Is it possible to see  England  from  Canada  ?''

I said, ''No.''

She said, ''But they look so close on the map.'' (OMG, again!)
 
5.An aide for a cabinet member (Janet Napolitano) once called and asked if he could rent a car in  Dallas . I pulled up the reservation and noticed he had only a 1-hour layover in  Dallas  . When I asked him why he wanted to rent a car, he said, ''I heard  Dallas  was a big airport, and we will need a car to drive between gates to save time.'' (Aghhhh)
 
6.An Illinois Congresswoman (Jan Schakowsky)  called last week. She needed to know how it was possible that her flight from  Detroit  left at 8:30 a.m., and got to  Chicago  at 8:33 a.m.

I explained that  Michigan  was an hour ahead of  Illinois  , but she couldn't understand the concept of time zones. Finally, I told her the plane went fast, and she bought that.
 
7. A New York lawmaker, (Jerrold Nadler) called and asked, ''Do airlines put your physical description on your bag so they know whose luggage belongs to whom?'' I said, 'No, why do you ask?'

he replied, ''Well, when I checked in with the airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said (FAT), and I'm overweight. I think that's very rude!''

After putting him on hold for a minute, while I looked into it. (I was dying laughing). I came back and explained the city code for  Fresno  , Ca. is (FAT -  Fresno  Air Terminal), and the airline was just putting a destination tag on his luggage..
 
8. A Senator John Kerry aide (Lindsay Ross) called to inquire about a trip package to  Hawaii  . After going over all the cost info, she asked, ''Would it be cheaper to fly to  California  and then take the train to  Hawaii  ?''
 
9. I just got off the phone with a freshman Congressman, Bobby Bright from  Ala  who asked, ''How do I know which plane to get on?''

I asked him what exactly he meant, to which he replied, ''I was told my flight number is 823, but none of these planes have numbers on them.''
 
10. Senator Dianne Feinstein called and said, ''I need to fly to  Pepsi-Cola  ,  Florida  . Do I have to get on one of those little computer planes?''

I asked if she meant fly to  Pensacola  ,  FL  on a commuter plane.

She said, ''Yeah, whatever, smarty!''
 
11. Mary Landrieu  La. Senator called and had a question about the documents she needed in order to fly toChina . After a lengthy discussion about passports, I reminded her that she needed a visa. 'Oh, no I don't. I've been to  China  many times and never had to have one of those.''

I double checked and sure enough, her stay required a visa. When I told her this she said, ''Look, I've been toChina four times and every time they have accepted my American Express!''
 
12. A New Jersey Congressman (John Adler) called to make reservations, ''I want to go from  Chicago  to Rhino, New York  .''

I was at a loss for words. Finally, I said, ''Are you sure that's the name of the town?''

'Yes, what flights do you have?'' replied the man.

After some searching, I came back with, ''I'm sorry, sir, I've looked up every airport code in the country and can't find a rhino anywhere."

''The man retorted, ''Oh, don't be silly! Everyone knows where it is. Check your map!''

So I scoured a map of the state of  New York  and finally offered, ''You don't mean  Buffalo  , do you?''

The reply? ''Whatever! I knew it was a big animal.''

Now you know why the Government is in the shape that it's in!
 
Could anyone be this DUMB?
 
YES, THEY WALK AMONG US, ARE IN POLITICS, AND THEY CONTINUE TO BREED. 
 

I don't write it, I just offer it for your consideration. Like manure, you just gotta spread it around.  
 
 

What a difference a day can make

 From one day to another...the colors of fall got more brilliant & then this morning we wake up to a dusting of snow!

Slow down Mother Nature & let us enjoy the season.  Last Thursday I took these pictures around the area where we live. I could tell a huge difference in the magnitude of the colors from just the day before & also since I knew that snow was in the forecast, I knew that I had best capture the beauty when I could!

Enjoy fall from my neighborhood....

Now back at my house.... 

my driveway

around my yard

And this is what my back yard looked like this morning....

Yes, what a difference a day can make!

There is snow in the forecast off & on throughout next week. One day they say accumulations of 2-4" are possible.
I still haven't put out my pumpkins for Halloween yet!

I made a new Chex mix today. A couple of you had wanted me to post the recipe. I got it out of the Taste of Home magazine & then also saw it on one of the Chex cereal boxes. It was pretty yummy!

Snickerdoodle Chex Mix

1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups Chocolate Chex cereal
2 cups Cinnamon Chex cereal
4 cups popped popcorn
1/4 cup butter

In a small bowl, combine sugar & cinnamon; set aside.
In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the cereals and popped popcorn,
In a 1-cup microwave safe measuring cup, microwave the butter on high about 40 seconds or until melted. Pour over cereal mixture, stirring until evenly coated.
Microwave on high, stirring after 1 minute. Sprinkle half the sugar mixture evenly over cereal mixture, stir.  Sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture; stir. Microwave mixture for 1 minute longer.
Spread on waxed paper or paper towels to cool.

I hope you all are enjoying your weekend.  We went last night to one of the community theaters & saw Chicago. We all enjoyed it.
Today, hubby did chores & I spent most of the day in the kitchen cooking & playing on the computer.  I am also in the process of putting all of my pictures from my old computer onto disks. I actually had done this, but only got up to June of last year. So I am finishing this up as that old computer is about ready for the graveyard.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Currently The Geometry of Sisters By Luanne Rice see related