The ghosts of pumpkins past

Since Halloween is almost here, it seems like a good time to revisit pumpkins that lived out their brief lives with us in the past. May they rest in peace!


Oh, no...I can't seem to post more than one picture at a time. So I guess I need to go see what the issue is with Blogger.(I'm still new to this.) The ghostly quartet will have to be the only photo for now. It was a hastily carved last-minute idea that I took from the back of one of those cheap pumpkin carving kits.
Although I've done much better carvings, these guys still make me smile. Boo!

The light at the end of the tunnel

I am one tired blogger today. Work has been bearing down on me. This week I will probably put in close to 70 hours, which doesn't leave much time for anything at all. I love my job. I love the people that work for me. But I need a break! Halloween will be a truly special day this year...because it is the beginning of my much needed week off!

Husband and I will probably go camping for a few days during that week. I am so looking forward to it! There is a campground beside a river that is only about 15 miles from our house. Although it is close to home and not as exciting as some camping trips we've taken further away, it will be super easy to pull off without planning overmuch. If we forget something (or need to come home and feed Mr. Marco!) we can be here in minutes. This will be Ginger's first camping trip so we actually prefer to be closer to home, in case it doesn't go well and we need to bring her back. It's a nice place, too, even if it is nearby.

The park rangers cut up fallen limbs into firewood and stack it neatly into woodpiles at each campsite. Free firewood is a good thing! It's never very crowded. There is a beautiful wooden walkway built over the river (and through the woods, haha!) that we love to explore. It will be nice to build a fire, roast weenies, and do some stargazing. It will do us both a world of good to get away for a few days. We love to camp!

We will of course put off leaving until mid week. Halloween is going to be fun in our new neighborhood, and I wouldn't miss it for anything! We will probably go mid week and stay two or three nights. Husband's birthday is the following week so it will be an early birthday celebration for him. And late October/early November is when we have our peak of fall color this far south. The nights are chilly (mid 50's) and the days are warm (low 70's)...perfect camping weather! I can't wait!

Wordless Wednesday~ The Huntress Moon

One lovely surprise!

I had a wonderful surprise waiting for me this morning! Rue from Rue and Hyssop (one of my favorite blogs!) gave me an award! I am touched. Thank you so much. This made my day!

Confession time

I knew that I was doing something wrong. I was even kind of sneaky about it.

I tried to deny what I knew in my heart would happen. I abandoned reason and common sense and vowed that this time, this time, I would have the fortitude and willpower to overcome temptation. Well, my friends, I'm here to come clean. To confess. To bare the ugly truth. I did it again.

I bought my Halloween candy two weeks ago and I've eaten it all.

Mid month update

Seasonal quote:

"I'd rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion."
-Henry David Thoreau

It's been a beautiful month so far. We're getting some real color in the trees, the neighborhood is filling up with fall/Halloween decorations, the air is crisp and cool, and the sky is that deep lovely blue that we only see in October. Last night the crescent moon looked golden and the stars were bright in the drier autumn air. It's so nice to be outdoors this time of year.

The birds seem happy that the busy summer season is over. There are house finches that live in our yard that raised 4 clutches of babies this summer. Now all the young adults flutter around the camilla bush and the Bradford pear tree by our kitchen window, singing and preening all day long. They were all born (hatched, rather) in the old birdhouse that sits on a post by the window. We watched mom and dad care for babies all summer long! They did a good job, and now they have created their own small flock.I am so glad they have decided to stay around!

I've been up to my ears in work lately.  (Hence the scarcity of posts!) I haven't had a complete day off in two weeks. We are setting Christmas displays at my job, and it's been a ton of work. My boss visited yesterday and told me my store was beautiful, so the hard work is paying off! I am worn out though, and finally I have two days off (in a row!) to relax. Well, not relax, exactly. Because while I may have a beautiful store, my house is a complete pigsty! Almost every room is in need of some serious cleaning. I'm going to try to put in a mighty effort today and get enough of it done so that tomorrow I can really relax and do something fun. All this extra work will lighten up at the end of the month, and I actually have a week off from Oct. 31-Nov. 6!  I can't wait!

It's pumpkin madness!

I keep buying pumpkins lately. I'm going to have quite the lineup of jack'o'lanterns on Halloween night! So far I have one biggish orange pumpkin, 3 medium sized orange pumpkins, 1 medium white pumpkin, and a pile of little tiny baby sized pumpkins and assorted gourds.

They're all lined up on our front steps right now. I need to go pick up some new rechargeable batteries for my camera so that I can post new pictures. The street I live on is finally getting some nice color, and pumpkins, halloween decor, and potted mums are adorning lots of houses already! There is a church selling pumpkins cheap right down the road...I wonder how many I'm going to end up with because of driving past on my way to work every day! :)

Welcome October!

It's October 1st, and where the heck did September go?! It seems like last month just flew by. We are finally getting some color in the trees around here, but due to the lack of rain in the latter half of August and the first 3 weeks of September, I'm not sure that the colors are going to be all that vivid this year. We did make up most of the rain in the last few days though, thanks to the tropical storm that cruised up the east coast over the last few days.

Ginger is restless and I've got to take her for a long walk this morning before work. She mopes when it rains, and being a real high-energy kind of dog she needs her daily trek around the neighborhood! Thanks to the rain and my getting called in to work early yesterday, it's been several days since we've gone and she keeps looking at me reproachfully. It looks like it may start raining again any minute, but I'll just have to take an umbrella with us. Otherwise I'm going to have a mad doggie on my hands!

So now I leave you with the first of my halloween themed links to celebrate the month! I found this over at another blog, buried in the archives. It's Halloween Hangman! Loads of fun, and the skeleton on the rope will taunt you if you guess a wrong letter. Too cute!
http://www.dedge.com/halloween/