HALLOWEEN GREETINGS

Halloween has always been a fun time at my house, as far back as I can remember. 

Even before it became trendy with the public at large… I was wearing costumes and decorating with orange lights, pumpkins, ghosts, goblins, black cats and skeletons… inside and out. Back then, I was the only one that did, on our street… and the children and adults loved it.  

Nowadays, it seems like everybody is all in. Halloween is a Tour de Force.  Sadly, this year though… as with most other things, the holiday has been all but canceled. 

That is too bad. Costume parties were always part of the tradition. With kids bobbing for apples and eating goodies in the shape of their favorite monsters… their parents sipped exotic drinks… and scary music played. While, dry ice created a spooky atmosphere for the festivities. 

These things will be sorely missed. Trick or treating is a rite of passage. You go from begging for candy to handing it out when you reach a certain age. Social distancing kind of puts a damper on all that, doesn’t it?  No doorbells to ring, only drive-by candy giveaways this year. 

Though just in case, 

i have a stash of candy ready to go… 

if i don't eat it first.

LOL

And because it is Halloween, 

I’m still wearing a costume of sorts. 

It’s all about the mask, isn’t it? 

 

To all my family, blog buddies 

and friends...

ENJOY!

CANDLES & FLASHLIGHTS

It has been an interesting night. My hubby and I ate our dinner and then settled down to watch some television around 8 pm. About halfway through the show, there was a loud bang. He said it must be thunder. Shortly afterwards, the power blinked on and off. We tried to get back to the show we were watching and once again the power blinked on and off. My husband used his cell phone to call the power company. They told him they’d check into it. A few seconds later the power went out again, on and off.  Then totally off. We sat in total darkness for a few moments trying to get our wits about us. Then my husband  got a text message saying 1500 people had been affected and power would be restored by 2:30 am. We shall see. It’s now 9:15pm. I’m using auxiliary power from my computer to type this. It gives me 10 to 15 minutes to operate before shutting down. Fingers are crossed this gets fixed soon. Meanwhile, using the cell phone light to guide us… we were able to locate two flashlights and a couple camping lanterns, making room to room navigation much easier. Of course there are always candles. Thank you… Yankee Candle, Chesapeake and Tuscany for my ample array of them. At first, we decided to ride out the darkness, sitting in the glow of ambient light from artificial means. But after a while, the conversation waned and we were dozing off. So we decided to take our rear ends into the bedroom and go to sleep. 

I’ll update when I can, later.

I’m back. Around 1:15am I was awakened by the light on my nightstand coming on. Hurray the power is back. I got up, powered on my computer, then went into the kitchen to take my meds. I take 15 pills a day. After that was done, I got myself a big glass of ice water and went to check a local website to see what had caused the outage. Unfortunately, no information is available. So I’m  headed back to sleep. On the dresser… I have a 3ft. Christmas Tree. I turn the lights on before climbing into bed every night. When I clicked the button on, I noticed the lights were very bright and the colors appeared to be washed out. This was unusual, but I was tired and I fell asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow. I remember thinking before I drifted off, please don’t let it start a fire. When I awoke 4 hours later, the room was pitch black. I wondered if the power had gone out, yet again? My husband was wide awake and confirmed it had not. He said the lights on the tree had blown, probably from a surge that had hit the line when the power went out or came back on. I don’t understand how it all worked, but I’m upset my tree is now kaput. As you all know… In the past year, I have had four pre-lit Christmas trees of various sizes, bite the dust, that had to be replaced. They were seriously flawed, with little warranty protection from the various manufacturers. I’m frustrated and fed up with the shoddy workmanship of these brands. I suppose this puts me back in the market for another tree before the holiday comes. That will make five replacement trees. But right now, I’m too upset to even start a new tree search. I don’t know if the power outage caused the weak link leading to the tree’s demise or not?  I’m just grateful no other serious damage resulted. I can only imagine if the television had been affected? My husband would be on the war path, instead of me. So now, I’m making a cup of Harney & Sons pumpkin tea to calm me down. Have you ever experienced residual effects from a power outage? Or had to replace as many Christmas trees, as I have in a year?

 

IT's PUMPKIN time

 

Pumpkins are everywhere. 

They dot the landscape. 

I like seeing them scattered about.

I also love snacking on all the concoctions

that can be made from them. 

So rather than write a lengthy post...

I'm going to keep this simple. 

I will show you an old recipe 

for pumpkin pie.

Perhaps, 

you can make use of it...

  like I have.

ENJOY!

(CLICK ON PHOTO) 

to make it larger so you

can copy the recipe. 

i hope this works so

you can read it. You may

need a magnifying glass 

to see the measurements.

A PUPPY, LIFE and INFUSION

On Monday, I go into the hospital for an infusion. It’s my first one and I’m a little scared. I’ve been told I will have some notable side effects. Chills, nausea, diarrhea and other flu like symptoms. They will last a few days, maybe a week. My health has seen it’s share of ups and downs throughout the years. But the past two years in particular have been brutal.  I have so many problems attacking my body all at once, that it’s hard to wrap my  brain around them. Suffice to say, I’m suffering the effects of all these symptoms and struggling to deal with them. As a result, I have found myself spending more time, really appreciating the world around me. The little things… like the cool crisp, night air, filling up my lungs, as I gaze at a million specks of light in the sky. Wondering to myself, what civilizations are out there, and how advanced are they?  Feeling the crunch of brightly colored orange, yellow and amber leaves that have fallen, under my feet, as I walk to the edge of the drive. Later, sitting on my dilapidated sofa, calling my mom, on the east coast. A daily ritual since my dad died. She still misses him terribly. I turn to see my hubby curled up, asleep on his recliner, snoring so loud it rattles the glasses in the cupboard. It makes me smile, just for a moment. I think it’s wonderful, in spite of everything, that my grandchildren are eagerly embracing their teenage years. They are so innocent about the ways of the world, and how cruel it can be. My heart aches for their future. Their puppy Flynn enthusiastically romping around the yard brings instant joy. I love my grandpuppy. Then there is me, running into my oldest at Walmart wearing a bright vest, helping customers use the self checkout. She puts in a forty hour work week at the hospital in the billing department. She hasn’t had a raise in years. After that shift ends, she comes here, to put in another thirty five hours for the week, just to make ends meet. I’m so proud of her. But worried sick about how exhausted she must be. My youngest, so far away from home, grappling with the wrath of covid19. We talk and text. I hear the fear in her voice, amid the hidden optimism, that in the end, everything will be alright. I pray she’s right. My emotional support kitty Mira, is my faithful companion, never leaving my side. It has been a tough year for her and us, missing her sissy Dara who passed. I have two other, dear lifelong friends, who boost my spirits when the bottom falls out and help me celebrate the little victories. And last but not least, I have you… all my sweet, wonderful blog buddies who keep the stories coming, about your life adventures, trials and tribulations. I live vicariously through each of you. It’s enough... my life. So much to be grateful for, so much to cherish.  So… one little infusion, in the big scheme of things, is going to be a piece of cake. It won't break me. And life will go on…