Photo Friday: Halloween!

October 31, 2014Leave a comment

That’s right, it’s All Hallows’ Eve. For the first time in a very long time, we didn’t hand out candy tonight. Not that we ever had many kids stop at our house before, but since we’re in the country now, it seemed rather pointless to buy candy for trick-or-treaters who will never stop.

This is also the first year we took Cricket and Thumper trick-or-treating. I found a Scooby Doo costume for Thumper at a local secondhand shop, and Cricket went as his best pal, Shaggy. Miss Tadpole was a goddess, and Bubbles wore his football uniform, a Rebel football player one last time (this year, anyway). He went trick-or-treating with his dad, though, so I’ll have to wait a year to get a picture of all four of them together in their costumes.

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The boys were disappointed this morning when I wouldn’t let them wear their costumes to daycare, but while my stitching was good enough to hold up through this evening’s candy hunt, I didn’t trust it to hold out all day, especially the way Thumper likes to romp around (his costume required a bit of sewing (by which I mean about four hours’ worth because I had to hand sew it all) to make it wearable). I needn’t have worried, though – he faceplanted while tearing down a darkened street on the final leg of tonight’s journey and split a seam in his shoulder, but my stitching held up perfectly. 🙂

What do you do for Halloween? Do you hand out candy, or take the kids around, or both, or neither? Don’t forget to check out Charnele’s blog and see what she’s up to on this spooky holiday. Happy Halloween! 🙂

Photo 365 #85

October 31, 2014October 29, 2014Leave a comment

And now, a point of clarification about yesterday’s reference to Cinnamon Batman. Cricket has been insisting lately that he is Cinnamon Batman. The other day, he came up to me and we had the following conversation:

cinnamonbatman C: “You can’t call me Cricket – I’m not Cricket Kauffman anymore. I’m Cinnamon Batman, so you can call me Cinnamon Batman now.”

M: “Why Cinnamon Batman? Why not just Batman?”

C: “Because I like cinnamon toast, and Batman likes cinnamon toast, so that’s why I’m Cinnamon Batman.”

If he had his way, he’d wear this for trick-or-treating, but since the high is only supposed to be around 40°F and since there’s no way we’re getting anything warm underneath that shirt, Mr. Cinnamon Batman is just going to have to settle for being Shaggy to Thumper’s Scooby Doo. 🙂

Photo 365 #84

October 30, 2014October 29, 20142 Comments

I walked in the living room a couple nights ago and found Cinnamon Batman sitting quietly with his as-yet-unnamed sidekick. They were watching Scooby Doo, Thumper’s favorite show.

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This is proof that they can sit nicely together in the same space. It’s also proof that Thumper needs a bit more practice at dressing himself, given that his shirt is on inside out.

Oh, well – he’s happy with his style, so who am I to complain?

Photo 365 #83

October 29, 201414 Comments

I bought chocolate and coffee this morning because I can’t think of a better way to spend my royalty check (thanks, Amazon!).

chocolatecaffeine

Well, perhaps I can. After all, there are always more books that need buying and more pop that needs drinking. 🙂

Photo 365 #82

October 28, 2014October 27, 20144 Comments

The photo ops on Saturday lasted into the evening with a beautiful sunset (for a pretty morning shot, check out my Instagram feed). I was getting supper ready when I noticed that the trees on the western edge of our yard looked almost like they were on fire, so I headed out with my trusty phone camera and snapped some pictures.

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Surprisingly, the boys behaved while I was outside capturing the sunset. As a matter of fact, the only bad thing that happened was that I ended up with some puncture marks on my tummy, thanks to Miss Opal. Apparently, she thought I was the perfect cat tree because she climbed me more than once and my thin T-shirt was no match for her tiny kitty claws.

Oh, well – she’s too cute to stay mad at for long. 🙂

Photo 365 #81

October 27, 2014Leave a comment

Saturday was an absolutely glorious day, and I just couldn’t resist spending time in my yard taking pictures. The sky was bluer than blue, the sun was shining bright, and my trees finally figured out that they owed me a little color before Winter claims their remaining leaves.

These are two of my favorite leafy shots, though there were several others. I hope your weekend was just as beautiful as mine!

Photo 365 #80

October 26, 2014October 24, 2014Leave a comment

It’s taken a while, but we’re finally unpacking some more of the boxes from when we moved, including the ones containing our Nintendo and the games that go with it. Well, the Nintendo emulator, anyway – our actual Nintendo was apparently damaged during our move.

Anyway, Seymour, Bubbles, and I enjoyed a rousing game of Duck Hunt the other night, much to Thumper’s amusement. I’m still not sure which was more entertaining – the game or Thumper’s reaction to it. He was absolutely enthralled, and the only thing that got him to stop shouting, “He got him!” or, “He missed him!” was when we turned the game off and sent him to bed.

It was pretty hilarious.

What are some of your favorite video games?

Photo 365 #79

October 25, 2014October 24, 20144 Comments

The flowers Seymour bought me last week have been steadily wilting, so I’ve been trying to capture their glory for posterity.

daisy

This was my favorite flower of the bunch. 🙂

Photo Friday: Haunted

October 24, 20149 Comments

There’s an old hospital in the town I work in. I’m not sure how long ago it closed, or why, really, because the building now houses a doctor’s office and a home health care agency, but shuttered hospitals never fail to arouse my curiosity (this despite the fact that, for me, there’s something inherently petrifying in the thought of ghostly physicians of yore (thanks, House on Haunted Hill)).

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This particular building also hosts a haunted hospital tour each October. I’ve never been through it, but it does sound fun (though not for Cricket and Thumper, as they’re too little to see the amusement in being terrified). Tomorrow night is the last night for it this year, and all the proceeds are invested in the community, which makes it fun and beneficial. 🙂

Don’t forget to stop by Charnele’s blog and check out her haunted photo.

Have you ever been through a haunted house? What was it like? Would you do it again?

Photo 365 #78: Recipe time!

October 24, 2014October 22, 201412 Comments

The other night I whipped out one of my mom’s old recipes for supper. I hadn’t made it in ages, and it just sounded good. Something about this time of year makes me long for childhood classics: hearty soups, savory casseroles, and the like.

The title on the top of the recipe card is “Help for Hamburger,” but growing up, we never called it that. We called it what it was – Hamburger and Rice.

I can hear it now – what’s so comforting about something so bland?

Well, dear readers, this dish is anything BUT bland. Check it out:

hamburgerrice Help for Hamburger (aka Hamburger and Rice)