Happy Halloween 2009!

My son and I had quite the day today. He woke up talking about his costume, he kept talking about his costume; we went to the store, we baked cupcakes, we made sugar and ginger pumpkin cookies, made a small tray for my friend and her mom, and finally he was able to PUT ON his costume! We went trick or treating around the neighborhood and then took candy to hand out at hubby's work - 'Cause he was upset that he had to work tonight. And finally, finally, as I write this, my little guy has fallen asleep on the couch watching a Halloween cartoon tonight. Too much Halloween! I got stuck being a pirate wench again this year, at my husband's request. I really am starting to believe that he is just a touch afraid of me when I say that I'm going to pull out my favorite witch hat and dress up as my alter-ego at Halloween! :)

It has been a LONG day. I'm going to turn back my clocks and hit my pillow. I can't believe that when I wake up tomorrow it will already be NOVEMBER!

Another October has arrived.

Funny isn't it, how time passes, things change, but then they stay the same?

My son, who begins planning his Halloween costume nearly as soon as one Halloween ends, has just this week decided that he will be Spiderman this year. We ordered online as I could find not one Spiderman costume in local stores that was anywhere near his size. Now, I must wait and hope that it arrives in time!

Sorry for the time between posts! I hope and pray that everyone is well and happy and enjoying this Fall. I have only today checked in with my online family and I am ashamed to admit that it has taken me this long to check in with you.

Lori's recent post about her stop at the Chicago Quilt show brought both smiles and tears. I am so excited for you Lori, your journey is truly that, YOUR journey and I am blessed by sharing it with you by reading your adventures and your discoveries!

I have connected with Snick, Betsy, Flinty and Robyn on FaceBook, and we share a "hello" and little life snippits there thru the week which is great! Anyone else on FaceBook? Come by and say "hi"!

Six years ago today we paid our final respects to my Dad.

July 31, 2003 was an exhausting day.

I remember while I was driving myself, my son and Mom to the cemetery she looked right

at me and said, "let's just skip this and keep driving until we get to Disneyland"...

And as I sit and think about that statement, and if you had known my Dad, I think he would have liked it if we had just gone ahead and celebrated his life at the Happiest Place on Earth.

He sure loved to go there, he liked to GO anywhere!

I miss you Daddy.

A strange happening of events...

The afternoon of July 16th:

I spent a couple of hours hanging candle holders and a large Jackson Pollack print on the "blank" wall in my living room. Hubby came home and actually complimented me on my artistic balance, which was a shocker, as usually he isn't too thrilled with my decorating ideas. A short time later as I was logging on to the computer, my son was watching "Ghostbusters" and singing the theme over and over again, the print crashed to the floor directly in front of me, chipping the corner and hanging by one end of the strong (professionally installed) hang wire. This same print had spent the last year hanging over my side of the bed in our bedroom up until this afternoon. That was weird. I plan to take this into a frame shop for repair and to find out if there was a problem or if this is something...else.

July 19th:

4:30 AM and I am awakened. I take a moment to try to think of what had woken me and then I smell it. I turned me head and look at my husband, he turns and looks back at me with a questioning look. He said, "you should go check the stove" and I asked him why. I took another sniff and said, "do you smell that" and his answer was "gravy". I said, "onions" and he again said "gravy". We (he) decided that it must be the neighbors cooking something so strong that we could smell it in our house. Not that this has ever happened before, or that is it 4:30 in the morning. We fell back to sleep. While making breakfast this morning, it hit me. Today is Sunday. EVERY Sunday when I was a child, my father would "brown" a roast beef and huge chunks of onion in a large pot. He would turn the oven on low and put the pot in so that when we came home from church there would be a nice pot roast waiting for our Sunday dinner. THAT was the smell. I swear it! Of course, there was no pot roast in the oven when I got up, but wow, that was strange!

By the way, no hearts for a while...Just in case anyone was wondering.

Fireworks were fun, food was (over) filling, and the heat took a miniature break as a nice breeze blew in and cooled us down to a chilly 99 instead of the 112 of July 3rd!

My son and I made bouquets for my mom and dad and took them out to the cemetery in the early afternoon. I kinda lost it then...and when the classical music came on to the fireworks over Washington D.C. and Boston Harbor on television last night I felt like my heart was being wrung out. My dad would tell me the name of each song played, he was always on the edge of his seat, so excited for the Holiday of the fourth of July. I sat, listening to the music and watching the fireworks, with tears running down my cheeks. I finally concluded that Dad had THE BEST seat to watch his beloved Boston Pops celebration and finally, finally I could stop the tears.

One of my favorite memories of this day was the year that both my husband and my father were racing away as they lit those oh so necessary fireworks in the front of my parents home. I can still hear mom and I telling them, like the little boys they seemed, to "be careful". My mom actually went over and rolled up my dad's pant legs so that he could run! A really great memory. I'm SO glad that I have those, but at the same time, it hurts, so much to know that they are no longer here to share these times with us again. I am now the only one in my house who enjoys potato salad and deviled eggs. Dad loved both. Of course I had to make them, for tradition sake, and I sat at the table and thought of him, as I attempted to enjoy these treats myself.

In response to the inquiries about the work on the house:

I am beyond disgusted and stressed to the point of blowing the bathroom up!

The maintenance man came to work about three times in June. He told me that they found a spot on his lung, cancer. He told me that his girlfriend was moving back to her hometown, several hours north of us, and that he was planning to move with her. He promised to complete the work here before they moved. And then... He stopped showing up, would not return my emails or phone calls, and finally I sent a registered letter explaining that he had not completed ANY of the jobs that he was commissioned to complete, telling him that I felt that he had betrayed my trust and taken advantage of us, and demanding that he either refund us or complete the work in the next ten days. The plan now is small claims court.

The tenth day is tomorrow. Any bets on him showing up for work??

Happy July 4th!

http://www.july4th.org/

The Boston Pops is an annual event at our house - My dad started me watching it on TV years ago and we watch it every year, in honor of him, AND because its fun!

June 3rd

Today would have been my parent's 54th Wedding Anniversary.

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad. I miss you both so very much.