No Trick or Treaters for us this year

I've used a picture of 2 of the Amazons, and a picture of one of the doxies, so maybe I'd better put a picture of Marco in this blog. This is a nice picture. He's relaxed and happy ~ I think we're having dinner at Cap City Diner, and if I remember correctly, Aubrey snapped the pic. We had dinner at another "diner" this evening.....O'Charley's. Tonight is actually Trick or Treat, and it's really raining. Hard. For as long as I can remember, Trick or Treat night was the night before Halloween, and this year they changed it, whoever "they" are. Unfortunate. Last night was perfect. It would have been a great night for beggars. This evening is a bust. I imagine only the hardiest ghosts and goblins will be out this evening. So to cover my sorrow, we ate out this evening. Otherwise, I'd be sitting by the door, waiting for Trick or Treaters who would never come.

Tomorrow is November already. It's the month of my brother JEFF's birthday. I know I haven't mentioned that I have a brother, and I feel really bad about this. I want to rectify this situation, so I'll mention his name. Also, my stepdaughter Amy has a birthday in November. We have birthdays in every month except April. Mine is coming up next after Amy, but I don't even want to think about that one. Age is just a state of mind, but the state of my mind isn't all that great. I'm afraid I'm just getting old. But we won't go there tonight. It was enough of a bummer about Halloween. Anyhow, Trick or Treat everyone, and we'll see you in November.

Little bit of white powder

Buddy is our cover boy today. This is a pic of Buddy when he was younger and thinner, but that's the way it goes with the best of us.

Younger and thinner, ah yes.

Anyhow, regarding that little bit of white powder.......let me go back to yesterday. I was feeling Martha Stewart-ish, and decided to try out a recipe I had for "holiday bread." It was a neat recipe for pumpkin bread with little chocolate chips and walnuts in it, and the icing was a confectioners sugar, butter and cream mixture. Yummy. It made 2 loaves. I carefully laid out all the ingredients, buttered and floured the pans, and got out my trusy KitchenAide mixer. This was going to be great. I carefully measured and mixed and poured the mix into the pans ~ two of those "air bake" pans with 2 layers of aluminum (or whatever) so they would bake just right. I put them in the oven, and decided to fold a load of laundry that had just buzzed dry in the dryer. That took me about 5 minutes. Next on the agenda, clean up the kitchen. I put the measuring thingys in the sink, and I started to put away the flour and sugar and stuff. It was just about then that I noticed the box of baking soda. A brand new box. Still unopened. Damn. How in the world could I have missed the baking soda? And is baking soda all that important? The recipe only called for a teaspoon of the darn stuff. I looked in the oven. The breads looked like they were starting to bake. Rats, too late to mix in baking soda. Well, it smelled good already. Maybe all would be okay. I decided to just see what happened. I mean, what alternative did I have at that point? Needless to say, 1 hour later, the bread was just as flat as it had been when I put it in the oven. It didn't rise at all. Maybe a millimeter or so. I was so disgusted with myself, that I didn't even try a little bite to see how it tasted. It looked like hell, and no way was I going to set it on the table for dinner, or take any of it in to work. Who wants to advertise that they are a failure in the kitchen. Not me. And I hate to admit it, I must have inherited a little bit of temper from someone in the family, because I threw away the bread ~ pans and all. I'm done. No more bread. It's just that simple. Next party, I'll bring chips and dip.

Okay, more tomorrow. I'm mad all over again, just telling the story. I think I need a glass of wine before Heroes is on t.v. in a few minutes.

Nighty night all.

Soggy party

October in Ohio isn't what it used to be!

Our Halloween Party at cousin Jen's was wet, windy and soggy underfoot. Marco and I got slightly lost on the trip over, but eventually found our way. (How many times have we been there??)

Jeremiah made a great bonfire, but the wind changed direction so much that there was a real chance of getting burned up if you were standing too close to the fire. I think the temperature was in the upper 40's. Just not like some of the beautiful fall days we've had before.

The little kids looked cute in their costumes, as kids always do. Three of my grandkids were there. The oldest, Kayla, now has her learner's permit. Wow. The twins, Jared and Jessica, are growing like crazy; they are about shoulder high on me. I haven't seen them for weeks; it was good to get a hug.

Justin made a "corn hole" game in his wood shop class at school, and really did a good job. There were a couple of new kittens in the garage that I hadn't seen before. The "guys" watched football in the den much of the time, and the "ladies" chatted. Jen made a big pot of chili, and it was good. Jens doxies had halloween collars on, and they looked cute, too. I don't think our doxies would like dressing up, even with only collars....

We stayed about 3 hours, and then headed for home. Nice day, but crummy weather.

First short blog

Just did it ~ created my blog site. I'm ready to start, but have to leave in a few minutes for a big Halloween party. I was afraid I wouldn't get set up in time, but I think everything looks okay. "Blogger" is easier than I ever thought......it's only taken about 20 minutes to set up.

Soooo.....I've got my space organized, and all I have to do is keep all the stuff I want to write about in my mind. Hopefully, the weather will hold up enough to enjoy the party, and be able to post a few comments about it.

Oh ~ to the left is a pic of me, and to the right is a pic of Sunny and Baby, my 2 Amazons. With 1 husband, 4 kids/and spouses, 8 grandkids, and 8 pets, plus a LOT more family members, I've got a lot to write about, so come back and visit as often as you can. Comments welcome too.