B O O !!! H A P P Y H A L L O W E E N !!!

There was this fairy god mom who needed to find a special blue transparent slipper for tonight's festivities.  She went looking on her motorized green JD broomstick, and landed at a building they call a school.  In there she met with some 3 1/2 footers and asked them if they had seen it.


They did not see it anywhere.  For all their trouble, she gave them a special treat of worms and dirt on cake.  Yummy yummy yummy in the tummy.


She used her magic wand to get the worms to stay in place and look like they're sleeping.

Wouldn't you know it, the 3 1/2 footers thought the worms were gummy worms; not just sleeping worms.

It's been a good day so far.

Happy Hallow's Eve to ye.

ReFormation Sunday

Reformation Sunday for those believers of the reformed faith.


Martin Luther joined us this morning in church.

It was a good service.  We sang only from the psalms something which Martin Luther loved to sing. 

Did you know he was first to provide a hymnbook for the members of congregation so that they too could sing along?

The reflection was about Joshua leading the people into the promised land and each tribe taking stones from the Jordan as a commemoration of the event; the First Nations peoples of Canada and the work that has yet to be done in order for there to be real reconciliation and forgiveness; and the life of Marin Luther, specifically the 95 thesises he nailed on the church door which ignited the reformed movement within the church.  I wonder if he had any inkling of an idea of what he started by doing this.  It sure got him in hot water with the ecclesiastical powers that be.

It was quite a sermon.

On the home front, our power was out for about four hours.  

We went to NM for a drive and a coffee.  The power was back when we got home.

So the muffins are baked for tomorrow.  They will be finished with the topping of worms and dirt tomorrow morning.  I am excited to see the finished results.

It`s been a fiercely windy day with rain.  The skies have been dark and gloomy all day.  It continues into this early evening.

Better days ahead as my grandfather used to say.  Halloween promises to be better.  I hope so for the sake of all the goblins and ghouls who will be outside.

What did you do on your Sunday?

Last Chance ...

I think it's my last chance.  So I made sure I did it this morning.


I took the 19 bulbs out and planted them in my little patch.

I did this because it's getting late in the season and would you believe it, they are calling for snow and rain tomorrow.  Kind of early, ain't it.  Jumpins'! Snow!!! Yuk!!

I am enjoying this day to the fullest.  The sun is out.  It's cold.  It's beautiful.  I'm gonna love it while the gettin' is good.

Have a beautiful Saturday!

Friend-ly Friday

It's a cold, sunny day today.


I need to plant my bulbs before the ground freezes.


I am sad because Co-op is closing permanently.  Just not enough patrons and competition is tough.  This is Co-op popcorn.  It's good.    I'm going to miss it.

Out and about today and I spotted this fall display.

How is your Friday going? Mine has been good.  It's ordinary.  And I like that.

As Ordinary As Ordinary Gets

This is going to be short today.


I was out in the back yard with hubby (while he took his smoke break) and as we were talking - I should say as I was chattering away - I noticed a young eagle flying close by.  The wing span on those critters are something else.


Then I noticed a more mature one and then I noticed six in all doing fly bys.  They were really close.  I wondered if bro-in-law had dumped out dead birds.


AND, of course by the time I got the camera (only seconds really) they were gone or too far away.


I wanted to share the picture of the air space they occupied for those brief seconds.

This second picture shows the eagle condo.  If you look closely, you will see two white spots.  They are mature eagles keeping a look out and guarding the condo.


We've had quite a grey and cold day today.


Our day was as ordinary as ordinary goes.


No school.  Open house and parent teacher meetings with the Scholastic Fall Fair.  Olivia the pig was a popular buy for our child this morning.


J. showed us some of her art work and her journal keeping along with the homemade books that she read along with us.  J. is talking more and more and getting the words just about right.  The consonant sounds are coming slowly but surely.


We spent the rest of the day at home.


I suppose I should start another 'To Do' list again.


J. has had a wonderful day.  It's been relaxing.


I hope your Thursday was a good kind of ordinary as ordinary goes kind of day.


Happy Thursday to you.

Wordless Wednesday

Another day in the life of .... me.


Colder outside.  Windy too.


The leaves are sure falling off the trees lately.  Soon ole man Winter will be upon us.  I feel it in my bones.


My  J. picked out her winter coat to wear this morning.  Good thing she did.  It was sure cold waiting for the bus.


It's a quiet life.  A life that is sometimes viewed as way too short in the end.


There's no need to wonder why people say this when they are almost all the way through their own lives.  The beauty of the good earth alone is a reason for wanting to stick around a little while longer.

Serene, quiet, tranquil, peaceful, solitary.  I suppose all these words really mean the same thing.  I'm just repeating myself.


But there is something to say about the views that are there day in and day out as we rush about in our daily living.  I know I take them for granted after a while, and forget they are there simply for me to enjoy and admire.


There's another place I like to visit when I have a spare minute or two.  I have had a fascination since I was a teenager with the local community cemeteries.  I loved reading the names and dates and wondering about the people they represent.

I find solitude and peacefulness here.  It's always quiet, and there's a thoughtfulness it provokes in me - a thoughtfulness about my own existence and a thoughtfulness about my family tree.

Lately, I realize I have known or was acquainted with a number of the people who now rest in the cemetery.  That brings a new depth of meaning for me as I visit there; almost like a new found reverence for the ordinary and for the people who have crossed paths with me.

I think I have more to learn yet as I look at the view from the cemetery and in the cemetery.  It just may be a better appreciation for what I have and for who I am.

The visit this morning took no more than a few minutes of my time. Then the day picked up with other things to do and other things on my mind.

It's good that the cemetery gives me a gentle nudge about who I am and what is really important as I live out my life.

How was your Wednedsay?  What have you done and what are you still planning to do with it?  Remember there are 24 hours in a day.

My day still isn't done.  I still have commitments before the lights go out tonight.

Tinkerin' Tuesday

Another day, another dollar is what an aunt of mine used to say.  Somehow I think the drudgery of work was implied in that saying.  It's hard work to work.  It is not easy to have to work at something and to succeed at it and continue doing it when your heart just isn't in it.


I think the same is said of a lot of things like the relationships we have with others.  It's hard work to work at something when you feel you're beating your head against the wall.


Then, too, I think she was also implying that inherent in the hardness of working for a living there was also the comfort in knowing that good work paid off even if it still didn't amount to a whole lot.


I don't know why I started with this.  All I know is that sometimes things are hard to do or to get through or even to think about.  It's just hard for whatever reason.


I do know that there can be pure joy and happiness just by being in the presence  of others.  I think right now of my child.  She has so much fun and she's grown so very comfortable in her own skin.


She makes me proud, and I hope I live to see her well into adulthood.


We played in the front yard for a bit this afternoon after school.  I had the camera ready as usual.

It was a good day.  The rain held off until after supper.  Husband got in about 8 pm or so for supper.

Tinkerin' Tuesday was a blast.  It was ok.  How was your day?

The Backside of Somewhere

I took a walk almost immediately after the school bus left this morning.  


I grabbed my camera and a kleenex, and off I went.


I walked a loop around my community.  Half of it on dirt road and the other half on the shoulder of paved roads.


So, here's my walk along the backside of somewhere.


Walking along our driveway, I noticed the leaves have thinned out and have turned colour.

Our neighbour's vegetable/fruit stand has lots of pumpkins at discount prices.

One of three driveways on the nearest walking route that's close to home.

On the other side of the road is farmland.  The electric fence keeps the cows where they are supposed to be.

Raspberries still on the vine.

No dumping in a secluded area of this short dirt road.

Entering sacred land.  Sacred because it provides food for the animals that provide food for us.

The blacksmith's shop at the park.

This is the road I walked for about half of my excursion.

St. Charles Catholic Church is now used as a museum at the national historic site.

The road already taken, and  now the paved part of my walk begins.

The historic Grand Pre Dyke is part of this walk.

Another view of the park from the paved road.

Fifteen crows cawed and cawed as I walked by.  I decided they deserved a picture since they were the noisiest part of my jaunt.

The colours of the leaves are beautiful.  This morning we had dew and it was cool.  It was also a grey day and a good one for walking.

The red and yellows are beautiful.

The milking cows are out and grazing after a morning of milking.  They are beautiful critters and bother no one.

Home again and right back where I started.  It took me an hour and 20 minutes.  Usually it's a bit shorter than that but I tooks loads of pictures this morning.  Even more than is here.

How is your Monday so far today?  I must say that the walk was a good one and it helped to get the endorphins in gear.

Have a great Monday!!!

S'up Saturday

It's another gloriously beautiful day.  Oh-oh, well at least it was.  The clouds are out and the sun is gone.  This morning was beautiful!


My l'il Ms Pumpkin girl is ready for Halloween and for the continuing season of fall.

She's ready to go.  Let's see how well she fares in the various types of weather we get here on the east coast.

This morning the 6 year old went to morning program.  I went to the Farmer's Market for a cuppa JUST US Twelve Apostles... Yum! GOOD!  I bought homemade raisin bread.  It was delicious especially with butter (real butter!) and heated in the microwave.

I also spent time with L'il Ms to get her seated at her spot.

How's your Saturday??

Pumpkin People

I just can not wait until another day.  I have to write this.  I have to share this.


I need to let you know how you can make your very own pumpkin people.  It's easy.  It's fun.  I enjoyed myself.


The ingredients are simple: transparent tape, scissors, 6 or 7 corn stalks, old clothes, hay or newspaper for stuffing, and a pumpkin.


I must admit right here that I am sharing my version of how to make a pumpkin person.  It is in fact based on the book "Pumpkin People" by Sandra and Ron Lighburn.  They are from Nova Scotia and live in the Annapolis Valley.


My instructions are for a child pumpkin person. 


You will need more stalks if you make adult pumpkin people.


O.K. here goes:


1. Get your supplies.  But forget the cat though.

2. Line up 2 or 3 corn stalks.  Leave everything intact.  I only take off the corn husks if they're in my way.


3.  Cut them so that the stalks are able to be put through a shirt.  


4.  Tape them together at each end.  Now you have the arms.


5.  Take 2 or 3 more stalks.  Cut the same length as the first ones.


6.  Tape top and bottom again.  Now you have the body.


7.  Take 2 or 3 more stalks and tape them again.  Do this two times because you need two legs.


8.  To make the body, wrap tape tightly around both bundles at one end to create the neck and at the middle to create the waist.


9.  To shape the legs, separate and bend the two bundles of cornstalks below the waist.  Tape around the ankles on each leg.


10.  Now, you're almost home. Attach the arms about 3/4's of the way up one end.  Tape together crisscrossing the tape.


11.  You should have what looks like a skeleton ready to dress.


12.  Be sure to bend the skeleton arms and at the knees before you dress and stuff him or her.


I decided to make a little pumpkin person this year.  There's not so much to stuff.  I like using any of the corn stalk leftovers and then hay.  You can also use newspaper.

The head is of course a pumpkin.  You make a small hole in the bottom of the pumpkin so you can fit it on one of the stakes at the top.

You can paint a face on it using acrylic paints or buy the dollar store face pieces that you can push into the pumpkin.  It reminds me  a lot like potato head pieces except they're scary. (Or supposed to be.)

Since we're getting a lot of rain overnight and tomorrow, I've decided to let my little pumpkin person rest in the garage until she goes to her permanent spot in the front of the yard.  

I am going to have her sitting down and I will probably tie her to the pole with a rope to help her out.

If you want your pumpkin person to stand, then u need to add 1 x 3 strapping.  It should be longer than your skeleton so that you slide one of the legs down the strapping and let it come out at the neck.  You can use a shorter piece for the other leg so it is stabilized on both sides. 

She wasn't stuffed yet with hay.  Her head is right there beside her.  I haven't quite decided how I shall make her face.

Happy October!  Watch out for those pumpkin people.  They come out after dark when everyone is asleep.

http://www.kentville.ca/explorekentville_events.cfm

http://www.nimbus.ns.ca/Store/CatalogItem/tabid/904/ProductID/5399/Default.aspx?txtSearch=pumpkin+people

I'll be sure to include a completed picture of her when she is all ready for viewing.

October has so many funtastic things within its days.

My October has shaped up real well.  How's your October evolving?

Out of the Ordinariness

I used to think that some lifestyles were pretty boring like living in the country out in  a small village.  Maybe that`s why I had the gumption to travel to and study in various and sundry places.


I know for sure that I have gotten that out of my system.  I am very content to live right where I am, and to bloom where I am planted. I feel like I have put down roots and that they have reached way beneath the earth to stabilize and nourish me.  For that I am very thankful.


While it seems or appears that my life is pretty plain and even dull, I know for a fact that there is so much more underlining it.  There is so much more than the eye sees . . . until you really look.


Today, while it looks ordinary and plain, it was far from ordinary.  It was richly extra ordinary.


This is what I discovered on my walk today.

I hope your Wednesday is more than ordinary.  I hope you find the extra ordinariness within it.

Another Satisfying Saturday

What a busy day it's been.

This morning, it was the S.M.I.L.E. Program for the child and off to the Horton High Craft Fair for me.  It's always great there.  The vendors do an excellent job and the products are homemade and well made.


This afternoon from noon to two, I baked a chocolate cake, made the orange icing, and two dozen Morning Glory muffins.  Way to go!!!  I put a package of orange Koolaide into the icing.  It sure had a tangy taste!!! But gave me the colour I wanted.  I topped it off with brown and orange sugar sparkles.


The cake and a dozen previously made apple muffins went to the hall for the auction tonight.


It's been another beautiful sunny and mild day.  I never know how to dress for this weather.


It was the annual WVFD ladder sit and boot money drop on Main Street.  They have a toll through town so you can drop your coins or bills into the fire fighters boot.

These greet the drivers on the way through Greenwich.

Acadia football is playing against Mt. Allison this afternoon.

I hope your Saturday was truly super!

Everyday is .... So Ordinary.... NOT

I am amazed at the goodness of each day.  Even with the so-called trials and tribulations that come, goodness is part and parcel of it all.


I marvel at the health and prosperity we have as a family, community, nation.


I wish the poor were not so poor.  I wish those in medical need would be helped.  I wish those who are hungry would be full.  I wish those in prison could be free.


It has been a good day.  Grey, rainy, mild ... and full of fall colours and harvest.

There nothing like having a vegetable stand next door!

The colours are beautiful with a wider variety than there was a week ago.

For me, nothing beats a good cuppa and The Chronicle Herald newspaper.  You learn a lot from the paper.  It's all about life and living and even dying.

I am looking forward to the rest of this fRiday and the coming weekend. It's going to be a bit busier.

How is your weekend shaping up?