Halloween is a done deal

We never get any Trick or Treaters in our building. I don't even bother to buy candy anymore (except for myself--I love candy corn!)

The place where I live is on a cul-de-sac that ends at a steep slope covered by trees. You can't see the building from the corner because of the dark wooded lot next door. To a kid, I suppose it would look pretty spooky. Having seen a lot of spooky movies, I can understand that feeling.

Have a nice Halloween and remember to Fall Back your clocks tomorrow!

Drunken Punkins

My cousin emailed this to me.
It's topical, if not funny.

There's so little time left to
display Jack-o-lanterns.

(FYI I don't drink.)

Bragging up my granddaughter

This is my lovely granddaughter, a very active young woman and mother of my three great-granddaughters. She graciously shares the girls with me and they spend a week here in the Cities with me every summer. It's great fun.

It makes me feel sad and a little guilty that I wasn't able to spend time with her when she was little. I was working my way through college 200 miles away at the time. I was broke and didn't even have a phone for a year. It was during that period that I resorted to using the Food Shelf. I remember getting large blocks of free commodity cheese and jugs of honey. Being so far away, I couldn't babysit her or give her much of anything.

I am so proud of the fine person she grew up to be. She has raised her girls to be polite yet warm, loving and delightful. So, I now buy gifts and spend time with her children, feeling a little wistful over those lost years when I couldn't do the same for her.

Awwww!

I don't know the story behind this picture, but I find it just too adorable.

Bringing in the Sheaves

Another Fall picture that brings back memories. Around 1954, I belonged to a Lutheran Church youth group. A member of the congregation offered to let us pick up the corn that had been missed by the cornpickers. He would then sell it and the money would be donated to missions.

And, so it was that the bunch of us were out in the cornfield on a frosty Saturday morning walking down the tangled, brown rows of harvested corn. I was surprised that there were lots of golden corncobs lying everywhere. The farmer pulled a farm wagon along beside us so all we had to do was toss it in. By noon, the wagon was filled.

At the edge of the field, some of the Moms had set up a folding table and served up hot chocolate and donuts. Then we got a ride back into town to the church. I only went gleaning that one time, but I'm so glad I got participate in this ancient tradition.

I don't know if farming methods today prevent such wastage, but there must be tons of food that escapes harvesting and rots in the field. I realize now that gleaning is a very noble environmental enterprise.

Having a Halloween Party? You simply MUST serve Kitty Litter Cake!

OK, I know the idea seems outrageous, but I found the recipe in the paper several years ago and passed it around at work. Everybody got a big bang out of it. So, at the risk of offending someone, here is the recipe:

KITTY LITTER CAKE

1 Box spice cake mix
1 Box white cake mix
2 small pkg instant vanilla pudding
1 12-oz pkg vanilla wafer cookies, crushed
6 to 10 regular-size Tootsie Rolls
Powdered sugar
Green food coloring
Method:
Prepare 2 cakes and pudding according to package directions. When cooled, crumble cakes into a brand new kitty litter pan. Then add the pudding and mix. Take 1 cup of the cookie crumbs and add a few drops of green food coloring and set aside. Mix the remaining cookie crumbs into the pan. Next, soften the Tootsie Rolls in the microwave for 10 seconds and shape to resemble droppings. Arrange them on top of the litter pan and sprinkle with the green cookie crumbs. Then sprinkle on a little powdered sugar. Serve with a brand new pooper scooper.
Serves 20 to 24.

(I've never made this myself, but with all that good stuff in it, how could it be bad!)

About having gray hair

This happy bunch appear to be enjoying a cruise on the Thames (note London Bridge in background). They are all having a good time in spite of being old. This might be a shock to many younger folks.

The only things I really don't like about being older are less stamina, achy parts and gray hair. Of course, the only thing I have the power to change is the color of my hair. I stopped coloring my hair a few years ago after having used tints and dyes since my 20's.

I was blond as a child, but after my kids were born, my hair darkened to "dishwater blond". I felt like it wasn't really me--it seemed like I was actually deceiving people by not being blond. So I went through the bi-monthly ritual of coloring my hair. After forty-plus years, I really got burnt-out and let it go gray.

But I'm still not sure about it. Every once in a while, I still get a notion to color my hair again. (Maybe an outrageous color, even.) The funny thing about it is about that time, someone will compliment me on my hair color. This always astonishes me--it's only run-of-the mill gray (or mostly white) hair!

Nevertheless, this weakens my resolve and I decide not to go to the bother. So I keep carrying around this head of colorless hair. I'm not crazy about it but I guess it suits me.