Good Evening All!
Hope every one's Halloween was Spectacular! I hope that everyone on the the East Coast is safe and sound. I know Halloween was the last thing on your minds. My heart goes out to all of you as you try to piece your lives back together. May it be a swift and painless recovery.
And now just to confirm......I am still alive and kicking. Somehow time managed to slip (speed) by me. I can't believe it's been over two weeks since I last posted. An old friend of mine called me out of the blue yesterday to make sure nothing happened to me. :) She is apparently reading my posts and when the second week passed she decided she should check. I feel so special (go ahead, insert whatever comical remark you have here). Thanks for calling Petra! I miss you and love you!
Ok, I was going to start from where I left off a couple weeks ago....but since I am 100% sure that most of you want the low down on "The Night" I will work my way backwards.....
**warning - mini novel in progress**
Anyone who knows me will not be surprised to know that I took my normal 'Halloween Vacation' time. This is for set up and tear down. :)
Wednesday morning I woke with absolutely no motivation at all ~ a terrible thing for the bestest day of the year! After two (or 3?) cups of coffee and aimlessly wandering around the house I got dressed and reviewed what I needed to get done. Then I set off to work. I had to attach the panels together first. And of course got no cooperation what so ever from the panels or the wind. Ever try to set up large, super light walls? No? Well, it was a chore let me tell you. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I cursed ~ I wonder if my neighbors sit and watch while giggling wildly. After I finally got them screwed together I stood them up. Cue the wind....I thought I was going to go for a free ride. I eventually had to tie them down to keep them from blowing away. So imagine feet and feet of extension cords now coupled with almost invisible fishing line.....yes, that was my yard. :) I do have to say that once I got past the aggravations the panels looked pretty damn good. YAY! Then I brought out the table and began setting up everything around it. I had to use a smaller table this year (my big one is chock full of projects - imagine that). Got the fire pot out and set it up. After a few hours (3? 4? lost track) I realized that I had forgotten to get the apple cider. And, OMG how could I have forgotten the PUMPKIN? Yes, I totally forgot to get my pumpkin. I don't know where my brain has been ~ I've really missed it. LOL. So I got the cider and pumpkin. Then it was time to go and get the grand kids.....Had to have Amy 'babysit' all my stuff. I really don't think any of the neighborhood kids would mess with anything (they all know I would hunt them down and hurt them) but I didn't want to take any chances. So off I went.....an hour and twenty minutes later. Sally is now home from work and throwing dinner together....just subs and chips. Good thing though. Bbbbuuuzzzzzzz goes my phone....my neighbor's ~ Barry and Amy and Barb ~ are already out in my driveway. It was cute...you would have thought they were there to watch a movie. Chairs set up, drinks in hand. :) So now I am running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Bite of sandwich, do this. Bite of chips, do that. Bite of sandwich, run downstairs to finish this. It was a whirlwind! Mean while, Sally was trying to get the kids to eat so they could get dressed.......long story short, everything worked out well!
Got all the lights on (then of course, one strand went out, then another). Amy put all the candy in my new Pumpkin bucket, Barry got the fire pot going (I think he was trying for a blast furnace) and I finally slowed my pace down a little. That was when it started to hit me that I was missing decorations....WOW, I forgot to put out several things, my walkway lights, my yard witch, my Halloween tree. Man, I felt like I betrayed my decorations ~ how sad is that? HA!
Then the kids slowly started coming...a few here and there. Then I started seeing some of the neighbors I know. Before I knew it darkness had settled in. And then the cars started coming. And more kids! After I factored in how much candy the grown ups had eaten I think we had about 80-90 kids this year. I'm glad I got the extra this time. We closed up around 9 or so, things had really dropped off by then. The fire pot sat in the middle of the driveway for the night ~ you could melt steel with the heat coming from it! I think Barry was trying to heat the whole neighborhood. LOL! Here's some visuals for you.......I wish you all could have been there!
Jack with the candy collection for this year
panels and table - mid set up
my last minute pumpkin - speed carving
with a really BIG knife :)
don't worry, i still have all my fingers!
the grand kids all dressed and ready to go!
Lawton making a scary(?) face. LOL
all my spookies waiting to do their jobs....
*photos are left to right, didn't get a panoramic shot this year*
the new panels (and my short table, blah!) and my
new big pumpkin bucket (bowl)
sitting around the blast furnace.
check out the two in the center....SPOOKY!
my speed pumpkin. tried a new way this year.
cut from the bottom and then set over lights wrapped around
a jar. it was so bright. will be doing this again in the future.
My wife was actually off for the entire weekend! So we decided we were gonna go on a nature hike, she likes to take photographs. We went to
Cloudland Canyon in Northwest Georgia. It had been getting warm in the afternoons for the last few days....so this thought crossed my mind - "maybe I should take some shorts, ya know, just in case it warms up". Wow, once again I really miss my brain. Neither one of us ever contemplated the obvious fact that we were going to the mountains. So neither one of us grabbed a coat. Yes, I know.....how stupid. And yes, it was! It was 10-15 degrees colder. Which put it about 50-55 degrees. Add to that the howling wind on the top of the mountain. I was a popsicle. At least for half the trip....down. The scenery was beautiful. There were two waterfalls, we visited both. Lots and lots and lots and lots (get the picture? HA) of steps. I am so proud of Sally. Two years ago she would have sat at the top of the mountain and waited for me to come back. She has done so well with her weight loss. She was leaving me behind. When we got to the bottom she looked at me and said "I never knew how much I was missing". I am so very proud of her!! Then we crossed back and went to the other fall. We had to go over a metal grate bridge....you know, the ones you can see straight through. Yeah, well, fear of heights here. I have nightmares about the bridge between upper and lower Michigan (metal grates). Anyway, after I located the support beams, I walked across on them. And we went down, down, down. More pictures, more 'oh wow' and 'that's really pretty' from my wife. When he headed back up - and let me tell you, it was an UP - it suddenly got warm. WOW! It was at this point that we started realizing that there was more people. When we got there I think we were like the third car in the parking lot. When we got back to the bridge there were photographer all across it. I stepped out onto the support beams and started walking.....half way across I realized that one of the photographer had his equipment right in the middle of the beam. I stood and stared at him until he moved his camera then I walked by....'thank you'. My wife and I both laughed after I got to the other side. After a few stops on the way up we finally got to the top! A half a mile doesn't seem like a long way until you have to climb it! We had a great time though and that was all that mattered.
That was Saturday morning....
Saturday evening we were invited to a Halloween party. And Sally actually wanted to go! Talk about a mind melt. I just stood there starring at her for a couple of minutes. I was in shock!
So I met Sally after work on Friday to go shopping for a costume. A couple of hours later and many, many outfits later, she finally picked one out. I helped her pick out the accessories to go with it. She was after 'a devil', however, when we went to look for a horned mask, they were all really cheap and cheesy. So she decided on a different mask all together. It's kind of a bird/mardigras cross. Really pretty.
So after our morning hike (which became late afternoon) we headed home to get ready. Sally rocked! I had more than enough costumes to choose from, so I threw something together. We got to the party around 7:30. Really gorgeous house, right on the corner. Everything looked great! Our hosts, Thomas and Alex, were really great guys. Sally works with Thomas (Tom is what he prefers). Had a great time, danced, laughed and just enjoyed myself. Sally had a really good time as well. I foresee more of this in the future. Guess I better get my butt in gear and back to the gym so I can keep up with her. :)
Here's the photos.....
looking into the canyon from the top
i really liked this rock formation, close to
the first waterfall
in front of the first waterfall. another group of
people had come in behind us - we asked them to
take a photo of us together. really nice people!
this is the bridge (metal grates)
you have to look but you can see them.
evil things!!
this is looking up. right around the bridge, so only
about half way down :)
the second waterfall.
from the side....don't ask why, i have no clue.
and yes, these are my photos not my wife's.
i haven't had the chance to look through hers yet.
dressed for the party....our ghosts had to get in
on the shot. no, there was no reason for this
streak.....spooky, i know!
ready to dance the night away!
our hosts, Thomas and Alex
hard to see in this photo but Thomas has
a pair of knockers that would make Dolly jealous. LOL!!
Sally towards the end of the night
Alex insisted on a picture of her with her mask
(stole this from Alex's facebook page)
the kitchen spread
Alex 'floating' down the stairs
And then on Sunday I went to
Cirque du Soleil! It was the Totem show! My wife got me tickets as an early Christmas present. She's so sweet! I went with my daughter and her boyfriend. The show was great, this is my second trip to a Cirque show. They are truly wonderful shows. If you get the opportunity you should really go. You won't regret it! My daughter managed to sneak a couple of photos at the end of the show. They get really weird about taking pictures inside the big top.
me and my baby!
the very end of the show - everybody on stage
Monday night I made an angel food cake to take to work. I added some orange flavoring to the mix and made a sugar glaze to go over it. It was so good!
the glaze is suppose to be orange and black
a little color inside :)
And now for some closing shots........
these little (not so little, about the size of my thumb)
buggers were up under my hay bales when i
was putting my decorations away.
lots of them too!
and my discount shopping for next year!
a new fogger (will make two), black light paints, a 'crazy' wig,
black mask, orange stripped tights, yellow stripped tights (for
a couple of new witches for next year) and some gloves (hoping to
attach some 'claws' to them)
I do believe that's all for this post. I hope everyone that came by my page earlier today will come back....I saw a lot of activity from earlier today. Guess everyone wanted to see the photos! I really do appreciate all the support and feedback from everyone! See you all again soon!!
til then...
Be Good, Be Safe, Be Happy!!!
TTFN
Oh no! Halloween is less than a year away! LOL!
