Real-Life Halloween Decor

I had an unwanted house guest last week.  A spider.

I was rummaging through the hall closet, as usual only partially paying attention to what I was doing.  I glanced into my sewing room, and--still half-distracted--saw the BIGGEST spider EVER.  

Okay, I didn't really SEE it.  The shades were down, and I could see the outline of the spider through the shade.

I walked across the room, not believing what I was seeing.  

Is that huge thing really a spider?  Duh, Fran, you know it's a spider; you knew it from the hallway, before you even walked into the room.  

Is someone playing a joke on me? No, Fran, the window is not locked;  the top sash worked its way down and the spider very easily came into your warm house to escape the dipping fall temperatures.

Use your imagination, if you will:

Here is a picture of the light shining through the shade.  It's a Roman shade, so there are rings along the back where the cords raise and lower the shade.  The rings, one of which you can see in this picture, are approximately the size of a dime.

On Spider Day, I could see the shadows of all of the rings, with the exception of one ring.  That one ring had a huge spider superimposed on top of it.  We know that the ring is the size of a dime, and the spider was much larger than the ring--I'm not exaggerating--it was HUGE.

I was not thrilled to have a real-life Halloween decoration in my house.

My first thought was, "I hope that spider doesn't move, because Mr. Terrific won't be home from work for a few hours." ( And Mr. Terrific is the spider-killer in this house.)

My next thought was, "Take a picture of the spider so that if it moves you can show Mr. Terrific how big it was ."

My last (semi-coherent) thought was, "OMG!! I have to get this spider myself because if it moves I just CAN'T let it hide in my house!"

And all through this thought process I was on my tip-toes, sort of gently running in place, the back of my fist balled up against my mouth, doing my version of a dance called What-am-I-going-to-do, What-am-I-going-to-do, What-am-I-going-to-do-about-this-spider.  Finishing the dance by shaking my hands up and down in front of my face as if I'm fanning myself.

Coming up with a solution.

Lucky Caitie, home from school last week for her fall break.  I called her into the sewing room.  I pointed to the window, "Do you see that?"  Her eyes widened.

"That spider is outside, right?"  Uh, no, sweetie, that's why I need you.  She starts doing her own version of the spider dance, except her version only involves her head shaking back and forth, "No. No. No. No."

Shhh,...Caitie, just watch the spider while I go get my vacuum, okay?

I come back into the room, vacuum in tow. I'm going to use the wand attachment to suck the unsuspecting spider into oblivion.  I need Caitie to verrry slowwwly angle the bottom of the shade away from the window so I can slide the wand behind the shade.

 There were no last-minute attempts by the spider to jump to freedom, which would have prompted Caitie and me to really amp up our spider dances.  I'm happy to say that Operation Suck Up the Spider With My Vacuum was a success. 

Random Thoughts, and How to Freeze Fresh Basil

What I've been pondering lately:

1. Time flies when you're having fun.  Caitie will be home for six days for her fall break this month, and I'm really looking forward to--WHAT?!  It's over?!  Where did the time go? 

2.  Speaking of fun--I went to B.J.'s to buy candy for the trick-or-treaters.  As usual, I passed over the fun- size bars and bought the big ones.  Is it really more fun for a kid to receive a teeny fun-size bar instead of one of these?  I think not.

3.  And more fun--Let's Go Red Sox!!  We were at the game on Saturday when the Sox clinched the American League Championship.  Yeah!   Yes, I took this photo (yep, the blurriness gives it away). That's Koji Uehara in the upper left, with his arms raised.  I wish I could have captured the enthusiastic round of high-fives that came after I took this shot.  If you've never seen Uehara's enthusiasm after he pitches, check out this MLB video (particularly the 0:08 mark where he slaps an oblivious Shane Victorino across the face)!

4.  My first selfie, EVER.  And probably my last.  Blurry, of course!  Attempting to capture the moment at the playoff game.   How is it possible to hold an iphone at arm's length, straining said arm and hoping to extend it at least a couple of inches longer than you possibly could, while trying to hold steady AND push the camera button while TRYING to maintain a pleasant expression when all I really wanted to do was roll my eyes and give up.  I know it can be done, because I've seen others do it.  I look like I'm photobombing.  Just another one of my many shortcomings, I guess.

Okay, time for today's recipe.  

Selfie

Stream of Consciousness on a Wednesday Morning

A totally selfish post.  As if my thoughts and wishes would ever matter to anyone else but me!

 My favorite peonies, blooming on the side of my house by the driveway.  I see them every time I get in and out of my car.

They've been blooming for 3 days now.  I snap a picture every time I pass by.  

I snapped this picture this morning after I dropped my son off at the train station.  Then I decided to count the peony pictures in my phone.

There are 18 pictures of the same flowers!  I won't bore you with them all.

But it made me start thinking.  How cool it is that I can so easily snap pictures with my phone all day long.  How awesome it would have been to have had a camera phone when my kids were younger.  Which led to this thought: I wish I had started my blog 20 years earlier, so that I could have a really awesome photo journal of my kids as they grew up.

Instead of impulsively taking pictures of everything that catches my eye--like big fish in the supermarket--I could have a phone full of images of my kids.  If only there were camera phones back then.  If only I had a cell phone back then.  

~1997~

If only I was blogging back then.  If only I had internet access back then.  

~2009~

At ages 22, 19 and (almost) 18, there's no way my kids would let me blog about their current lives.  And there's no way they'd let me post pictures.

But if I had started this when they were younger, they would have been fair game.  

This 'n That

Where do I start?

Okay, first things first.  I do not have a new recipe to post.  I've been making lots of oldies but goodies, like pasta, broccoli and chicken which was the recipe that started this whole blog.

Nothing I've made recently has been good enough to blog about.

This was the pot roast that I made in my crock pot earlier this week.  Ick.  First and last time making pot roast in the slow cooker.

I've been spending way too much time trying to figure out my blog header.  Or should I say lack thereof.  Several months ago I changed the layout and the graphics, and you have no idea how frustrated I've been trying to put the header back together.  I can't figure out how to layer a photo onto the header!  Caitie is coming home for her fall break in a couple of weeks, I think I will cajole her into helping me figure it out.

I painted my dining room today.  Or maybe I should say that I continued my kitchen/dining room painting project.  

This is how I left it last week, when I didn't have time to finish.  The new green is pretty close in color to the old green, and unless you were looking at this particular spot under one of the windows it was hard to tell that my walls were painted different shades of light sage.

As I was finishing up my painting I was thinking of what my next painting project would be.  I don't like anything about my kitchen and since there is not a remodeling possibility in my near future I was thinking that I'll paint the trim as well (hard to tell in the above photo but the wood is an icky knotty pine).  And I'm going to paint the icky oak cabinets.  

And then I wondered, is it possible to paint the icky tile back splash?  And what about the icky counters?

I think I've overused the word icky.

I'll switch gears, from icky to magnificent.

I'm so happy that my garden is still producing an abundance of magnificent flowers so that I can surround myself with their magnificence in my icky kitchen.

I'm not kidding about the abundance part.  The more I clip, the more they grow and bloom and multiply.

Some of the zinnias are even having twins!  I've never seen double blooms like this before.  Magnificent.

Next post, I think I'll write about Gus.  My magnificent little southern boy.

Busy Time

So much going on over the last few weeks.  I've been waaaaaaaaay busy!!

Remember the bed I made last month for my niece's dog, Milo?

I think he likes it.

Doesn't he look comfortable?

Too bad he roots for the wrong team.  I'm a die-hard Red Sox fan, and I wish he had better taste!

 I bought this framed print at an auction.  I love the simple rose print, matted with sage-colored silk.  The gold frame, not so much...........

So I painted the frame.

Then I got busy in my kitchen and dining room.  I did the semi-annual decor switch.  I like red in the fall and winter, and plum in the spring and summer.

So into the attic went the red valances.......

.........and the red rugs.

And up went the plum-colored valances (in the dining room),

cornices (in the kitchen),

and rugs.  This is the dining room rug,

and these throw rugs are in the kitchen.  And then I switched the dishes.  And the pictures on the wall.    

And the towels, potholders, napkins, placemats and dog dishes.  Yes, dog dishes.  Out with the red, in with the plum.  For six months.  Then I'll switch back.  

I started thinking that it's been several years since I sewed those valances, so maybe it's time for a change, time to freshen up the look and sew something new..........and then I stopped and gave myself a reality check.  Maybe next year.

I've also been spending lots of time at the ball field!  Evenings spent coaching a team of 13 to 15-year old boys (we are currently in second place in our 10-team league), 

and afternoons watching Erin pitch for her high school softball team.

And then it was time for the Senior prom (that's Sean in the middle, behind his date in the pink and white dress).  

Yes, Senior prom and then.........

his graduation!

And this past weekend, a graduation party for Sean.  Which means that for the last month, I've been frantically trying to get my garden in shape for the party.

 Filling the planters on the front steps......

 and on the deck..........

 and by the back door........

and by the driveway..........

 and then hoping that I can keep them healthy and thriving!

 The hanging baskets..........

at the front door.......

 the boxes on the deck..........

 the window boxes,

 newly installed for this year.........

wondering if I planted the right flowers for the amount of sun and shade that they will receive?

And in the midst of my preparations, goofing around with my camera, taking pictures of the perennials that are currently in bloom!

 The clematis......

 dianthus.......

and my favorite peonies.

And a new favorite, in my deck boxes.  I don't even know what this flower is called, but I love the way it's starting to trail down the sides of the containers.