Outside My Window ~ 10.31.10

Outside My Window…are howling winds….rain….ghosts….goblins.  🙂  Kidding…..couldn’t resist.  Yea, my kids tell me all the time I’m not right.  We actually have a gorgeous morning.  The temperature at 11:47 a.m. is 64ºF, sunshine, blue skies with some high clouds painted across the sky…not enough to diminish the sunshine though.  Our forecast high is 68ºF for today with a low of 45ºF for this evening.  Sounds like the kiddos trick or treating tonight may need jackets or warm clothing under the costumes.  If I remember right, the costumes I use to buy for my daughters were quite thin and on cold Halloween evening we would have to get creative so they wouldn’t freeze while trick or treating.

I am thinking…about some of the Halloween’s past when I would take my girls trick or treating.  One of the funnier ones was once when they were both quite small ~ it was one of our earlier ones after my divorce so the kids were probably about 7 and 4…maybe a year older.  Some of the houses in the neighborhood got quite creative at that time with decorations and props.  This one particular year, they were both dressed as brides ~ my oldest was a vampire bride, the youngest was a pretty bride ~ as she put it.  One house had an “old woman” sitting in a rocking chair on the porch with candles and pumpkins all around.  My youngest strode up the driveway confidently while calling out to her older sister  to follow her.  She was on a mission for candy….the oldest was lagging behind because we were tying shoes.  The youngest  got to the porch and announced “trick or treat” when suddenly a “scary monster” jumped out of a trunk beside the old woman.  You really had to be there to appreciate it but as soon as he came out of the trunk, the youngest let out a blood curdling scream that lasted the entire length of the driveway as she fled from the monster ~ grabbing her sister by her veil as she ran by her in the driveway, which forced her to run backwards…all the while objecting to being pulled.  She didn’t realize she was saving her from the “monster”.  In a word…hysterical ~ I laughed so hard I could barely stand.  The homeowners were very apologetic….the woman said she had tried to warm the “monster” not to jump out as soon as she realized Cailin was so young but was too late.  They gave both girls an extra helping of candy, and all was well….except Cailin wasn’t quite so confident walking up the driveways of the other heavily decorated homes.  🙂

I am thankful…my evening of babysitting is over.  Don’t get me wrong…I love babies.  I loved my babies.  I loved raising them, taking care of them….but I had them at a much later age than most and it was a little tough.  I realized why it is better to have your babies while you are young…as you get older, the task of caring for infants becomes a little harder.  And babysitting babies now ~ I’m too old for this!!  I watched a little baby boy last night for a few hours while his mom and my oldest daughter attended a Halloween party.  The little guy is cutting teeth and add to the fact that he was in a new place with new people didn’t help his mood.  He was quite fussy….and today, I’m quite tired.  🙂

From my kitchen…will be beef tips and noodles with asparagus this evening.  Today I’m planning on making some fresh bread…nothing like the smell or taste of fresh bread.

I am going…to finish some house cleaning once I get this published.  Later this evening my youngest and I will be watching a scary movie of some sort in the dark…not too scary though.  🙂

I am hoping…that we are able to find a good used vehicle for my youngest daughter soon.  She has saved some money and ready to make a purchase.  It is a scary road to travel when you buy a used vehicle….I don’t know much about cars and I’m a little afraid we could end up with something that will require work down the road.  Fortunately there are more tools available to check on the cars history than there use to be.

I am hearing…the ticking of my many clocks….activity in the neighborhood ~ my wind chimes singing a song to me today.

Around the house…a mostly clean house but there is more to do.

Plans for the week include…research on some used vehicles….possibility looking at cars this week….and work, work, work.  🙂  I’m so looking forward to the holidays when I will have several days off in a row. 

A picture I’d like to share with you…Samhain is a time when some believe the veil of consciousness that separates the land of the living from the dead is at its thinnest.  This veil is made thin by the God’s passing through it to protect and attempt to hold back any spirits crossing into our plane with the intent to do harm.   Our ancestors protected themselves from this threat by carving faces into vegetables and placed them in windows.  It was common practice to leave a candle in the window as well…. to guide earth-walking spirits along their way and to leave plates of food for visiting spirits.  Today, people place jack-0-lanterns with candles on their porches and give out treats to visitors.  This is an image I have created which I call The Veil….

Happy Halloween…….Happy Hallowed Evening………Happy Samhain!  Light your candles, carve your pumpkins and leave out your treats…..you never know if one of those spirits may slip through the veil….  😯