things round here #3

Have been on the quiet side. The new house is moving along well and we hope to be in it by Christmas.
The leaves are in full turning mode, and I must say that I can not get enough of them. So, Senior and I decided to load up the kids and take a day trip to the mountains. His stepdad is buried up there, and as we did some of his moms ashes over his grave, it was only fitting we paid our respects.

 

Down here in the lower elevations, the leaves have gone into full changing mode as well.   The colors are brilliant and makes me happy with our decision to move up here, I love having all four seasons,and being surrounded by the brilliant colors.

 



 

This is NDs  other pumpkin he was growing, it grew flat, So, since he was entering the schools "Book Character Pumpkin  contest" he chose it to be his "Headless Horseman" From the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. He said the thing look distorted an extra level of  creepiness.

 

And after his paint job:

NW deicded the day before all pumpkins were due that he too wanted to have an entry-I went out and bought a small one and he chose "Frankenstein" :

 

 

In other news, our oldest NW went on his first camping/fieldtrip without us. The entire 5th grade goes every year. I have began making cuts in those apron strings. but I can't help but feel that a part of me is missing. Senior and the boys are my heart, and right now a part of my heart is not here. Senior and I miss him terribly. And even though he won't admit it, I know ND misses his older brother too.

He loaded up a large backpack Tuesday night so much to the point we all thought he would fall over backwards..lol  It was funny watching him hump that sack. The kids boarded a bus and left yesterday morning and will be home tomorrow afternoon. I know he will be excited and full of stories of the trip. I can't wait to have him back and hear all about his adventure.

-JUGM

what scares us

Today being Halloween, I thought of my childhood fears, and as a child what always scared me the most.
For me, I had several : Witches,  strange noises, ghosts. But what really got me shivering with fright was CLOWNS.
I guess it was because as a child we had a creepy clown marionette. It was much like the one in the picture. My brother thrived on my fear of it, and would hang the dreaded thing over my bed and scare me with it. He would make a throaty sound and pretended it was talking to me. Another thing he would do was place it strategically in my closet and leave the door open, so I could see it from my bed/ I was forced to either hide under the covers, yell for my parents, or get up and slam the closet door shut.
I was so thankful for the the day that the strings broke  and my mother finally threw the evil thing out.
But, I seemed forever scared by the puppet, and to this day I still find clowns of any sort incredibly creepy.
So, on this Halloween...I ask you what are some of your childhood fears? 

Happy Halloween!

Yesterday we carved our pumpkins the one to the left of the big one is suppose to be a dragon, and the other small one Was suppose to be a phantom face, but it got really messed up..oh well. It still looks cool.

Halloween is that one day of the year when some believe the veil between this world and the next is dropped long enough for the other side to cross over and pay us a visit...   While I am not absolutely sure about that, I do know I have seen some pretty compelling evidence to make a person scratch their head and wonder.
Much like the  video below, it was taken a week after the death of Michael Jackson by Larry
Kings Film crew...   Watch it and it will make a believer out of you! 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN !!!!!!!

Wednesday...

Fall has certainly made its impression on my area. Windy, cloudy and misty. Temps down in the 50s here. Feels wonderful, and very seasonable. I think I will ask Senior to get my Fall decor down from the attic.
Halloween is around the corner and approaching faster then I hoped it would.
The boys had all kinds of wonderful but scary things they wanted to be for Halloween this year, so we wrote them all down on paper, and put them in a hat, tossed the hat around and Senior picked.
They will be Zombies.
 My sister will cringe, my mother will say "ewww why? "  And I will sit back and smile. 
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A few folks have asked about my brothers girlfriends teenage son. Remember him? My brother picked him up in a walmart parking lot, he had been homeless.
Well, he moved the kid in with him in upstate NY. He escorted him to the nearest Army Recruiter, and he signed up for delayed entry. The Army has a program with one of the local colleges and with that he is getting his GED.  I am happy to report that it does look like the kid is getting himself straightened out, and will soon  be working on what we all hope will be a great Army career.
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Remember my niece is getting married ?  If there is one thing that can cause family arguments, its a wedding ! The shear money they are forking out is mind boggling, and I am perplexed on how my brother in law who is a mail carrier is going to pay for it all.
Most definitely one of those platinum weddings you read about all the time. My brother and I have guesstimated they are dropping at least $25,000 on it. And they have a guest list of over 300 people.
When Senior and I got married, our wedding was $1700.00 and, we paid for it ourselves.  We planned it in 6 weeks. This particular wedding is not until May of next year.

Sorry, my mind is really boggled right now over $25,000 for one day...  It just..."WOWs" Me.  But yet I know, there are people out there who spend more. 
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So now its off here, laundry is calling my name, kids will be out of school soon, and dinner plans await. Have a fun "Hump Day"

-JUGM

Cool Mornings, and Warm Afternoons

We have had a cold snap. Jack Frost has blown his cool breath across the area and its been in the 50s here in the mornings.. for us that is BRRRRRRR Cold.
But it has warmed up to become a beautiful fall day. The pumpkins are out in massive droves. Halloween is around the corner. I must get on to SENIOR about getting my Halloween items down from the attic.

The baby fish are growing, you can now make out their little eyes and tails. We only have 5 of them left. So I hope they make it.

The other day the boys ran in yelling for me to go out back with them, a butterfly was laying in the grass. Very  beautiful one in deed. Not sure if its a Monarch or not.  ND is an aspiring entomologist. I mean what boy isn't.?  If there is a bug within a five mile radius of our house, he will find it. When Seniors mom passed we found a book with pictures of every possible insect in the world. He likes to carry it around and draw them. So, when he say this butterfly in the yard, he went completely nuts, and hoping it wasn't dying. Explaining nature to a 6 year old is really hard.

A new antique shop has opened in town, I must see if one day Stephens Sweet Wife would like to come up and go off antiquing with me. I am in need of more old canning jars....okay, so its not really a need. Oh gosh, I can see Seniors eyes rolling at me! 

Finally almost done with the baby album I have been working on, only three more pages to go and I can gift it to my friend. She use to be NW and NDs Preschool teacher, so I let the boys pick out a month to design, they chose March and April. 

Got to ride around the community yesterday with our assistant community manager person. She does the inspections for the Homeowners Association. I was her little secretary writing down all the addresses she is sending violation letters to. Well, the political signs are actually getting out of hand around here. People are acting like its a competition of who can have the most signs in their yards.So, she had to send out an email to all residents about it, plus mailing a letter. It is a violation to have any sign other then a "For Sale" sign up. So, I am sure there will be some ticked off people around here.

The VP debate tonight! This will give the American people a good chance to look at Paul Ryan and get to know him. I hope he does well against Biden....

Welp, its time to go get boys from school...can't wait to hear about their adventures.