Happy Halloween!

 

I did not carve that 40 pound pumpkin. It's probably 5 inches thick! Instead I drew a face with a permanent marker on the bumpy side of the pumpkin. It is sitting out at the corner of the garage where it can be seen down the driveway. After Halloween I will turn it around to the "pretty side" and it will continue to be an autumn decoration until Thanksgiving. Pumpkin orange is such a cheerful color. 

I have a little candy. I will see if we get any kids at the door. It has been a long time since we even tried to get trick or treaters here, what with our long driveway, no sidewalks, and we're on a hill. Long ago we used to place paper bag luminarias along the driveway to welcome candy seekers. 

It has been such a beautiful Fall here. I got over to the nearby park for a walk on Thursday morning. It was lovely.

Wednesday afternoon we spent almost two hours visiting our 99 year old friend Dede. She is not coming to Friday breakfast with us anymore, so we will need to make time to visit her. We took her some Halloween candy.

Thursday afternoon I had an appointment with my neurologist. Once again I know what I don't have, so NOT Parkinson's or Normal Pressure Hydrocephalies. That's good. A brain scan will be scheduled to see for sure.

 I sort of diagnosed myself: hip and lower back malfunctions from age and surgeries affecting balance and gait, type A personality that makes me have to hurry even now that I am aging and that makes me even more clumsy. My doctor said I probably got that right. :-/ Memory issues probably in the "normal aging" range. Not great to hear, but better than the afore mentioned. 

So now October is coming to an end already. Our dark, wet season is beginning. But wonderful color is still outside my window. I'll get back to the park later this morning. We'll turn our clocks back this evening. We'll watch soccer  instead of football on Sunday and the Seahawks play on Monday night. 

This week looks to be dry and we'll get outside to do yard work and enjoy the daylight.

Life rolls along. We just try to keep up.

October Family Fun

 On Saturday morning we took our "kid" to the pumpkin patch. There were some BIG pumpkins. 

We enjoyed looking at all of the different pumpkins, gourds, and squash.

Since the entry fee is applied to whatever pumpkin you buy I decided to buy one, so we went shopping.

We started out with one smallish one, then we had two smallish ones, and then eventually I went for the one big pumpkin.

The corn maze and pumpkin mosaic were a separate entry fee and not something we needed to do. Cool though.

What we really came for, besides some fun, was the produce.

$2.50 for a whole stalk of brussels sprouts.

The price is by the piece, not the pound, so Jill went big.  Of course we bought Kettle Corn.

That's a 40 pound pumpkin, but Jill could handle it. It's now sitting at the corner of the garage, where it can be seen from the street. I don't know if I will attempt to carve it. I might.

If I do we might actually get a couple of trick-or-treaters. We haven't for years. Maybe I should buy some candy?

Then on the way home we treated Jill to some Starbucks. We had fun.

Sunday was our family Apple Cider Bee. We gathered on a rainy morning at my nephew's home on Winlock. It rained, the first real rain for the month of October so far, but we had cover and we know how to dress in layers. 

There were four generations of family present, to cut up apples, to grind and press them, collect and strain the juice, and do lots of visiting and catching up. There were siblings and cousins of three generations plus a couple of "littles" from the 4th G.

When the cider making was done, of course there was eating, lots of eating, and lots more talking. 

This is the family that has ownership the the cabin at Rockaway Beach on the Oregon Coast. After the eating the members of the Cabin LLC had our business meeting. We are an organized bunch. 

And now as I finish up this post on a Monday afternoon, I look out the upstairs window to see the glory of Autumn taking place. What a beautiful Fall we are having, just right for celebrating our beautiful family. 

Rally Round the Vote Day

 Yes, those are our filled out ballots on our breakfast table this morning, waiting to be deposited in the ballot drop box at our local library.

That's the stop we made on our way to the No Kings Rally at the Big Catch Plaza in Des Moines, WA this morning. 

I am still battling sinus headaches, but I needed to stand and be counted. It's always pleasant to be among like-minded citizens exercising our rights to protest and to VOTE!

Besides it turned out to be another beautiful afternoon, just like this one yesterday. A walk in the park always makes me feel better, even when I hurt. 

If you haven't already voted, be sure that you do. It's your right, and also your responsibility. 

Grounded

 The effects of this bug just won't quit. Today my head is under pressure enough that I am dizzy and too out of balance to go for a walk, and that is making me very disgruntled. 

I have been helping a little with putting the garden to bed. I have collected and stored all the the yard art. Today Tom is finishing collecting some of the bigger stuff. Furniture is stored  Yesterday he finished storing all of the tender "danger" plants in the greenhouse.

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And yesterday is when I started this post, but trouble with photos caused me to abandon that effort. 

I took some new photos and checked my photo routing and I think I am back in business. My head still hurts, though.

Some of the "danger" plants that have been moved into the greenhouse. 

Succulent collections 

The red mesh bags hold the tulip bulbs we are recycling to the Whidbey garden. 

Tom's geranium cuttings seem to be very successful so far this year. 

The windows that hang on the deck are now stored in the shed.

The golden hop on the gate has ripening fruit. The fancy leaf geraniums have survived the taking of cuttings and are showing off their leaves, if not many blooms.

The Autumn flag has replaced the summer flag. 

Flowers still bloom.

It is forecast to be 70 degrees today and tomorrow, before we dip back down to 60.

Fall blooming crocus are so pretty. Why do they have to be such floppers?

Maybe they caught my bug.