Halloween Memories

It's almost here! The night of little ghosts, goblins, princesses, and other fantasies. It sure is different from when my kids were little and w-a-a-a-y different from back in the olden times when I was trick or treating age.

Today we take our cars to a common area and park almost side by side with the trunks or backs open and the kids, in their costumes, come strolling through to claim their treasures. No more door to door. For one thing, I live in a fairly remote area and two hours of trick or treating would garner some poor child a lunch sack half-filled with candies - maybe. The main reason, however, is safety.

Kate and I will go to a venue that we've been doing for the last few years and it's a "treat" to watch the little ones when they see the 'puppy' dressed up as a jack-o-lantern. She's in more family albums than I can imagine and the kids want to "pet the puppy" before they think about asking for candy. The costumes haven't changed much, some new ones, of course, but we still have the ballet dancers and princesses and pirates.

When I was trick or treat age, there was an apartment building or duplex down the block from us that was always decked out like a haunted house. We were terrified of it, but you couldn't have kept us away. The screaming was part of the fun. Some people served hot cocoa or candied apples or homemade cookies. Wow, have things ever changed, how sad! One year my dad was home for Halloween (he was a merchant seaman) and he let me have a party. We went trick or treating and when we got back, we carved pumpkins for prizes (amazingly, everyone won a prize,) and then he made taffy and we had an old-fashioned taffy pull. This night became one of the highlights of my youth.

When my kids were small, we'd "do" the neighborhood, and then because it was my daughter's birthday, we'd have a post trick or treat birthday party. It gave the parents a chance to go through the goody bags looking for anything they didn't want the kids to have. Even then we had the 'razor blade in the apple' scare.

When my granddaughters were small, we'd go to the pumpkin patch and they'd each pick out the perfect pumpkin and, with Grandpa's help, they'd carve their own 'friendly' jack-o-lantern. As they grew older they would go to a harvest festival and then come to the house with friends and do a little trick or treating in our neighborhood.

When I was volunteering with the Lung Association, I had a Bear Costume, not unlike the ones you see at Disneyland. I would wear it to "Say No to Drugs" events and various other community functions. One Halloween, my husband and I went next door. He stood out of the line of vision and hit the doorbell. When the neighbors came to the door with the candy, there stood this bear with an empty wine glass in her hand saying, "trick or treat". He came up behind me with his glass and a bottle of wine and the four of us had a really good Halloween!

Halloween has always been a fun night and Katie and I will try to continue the tradition. Happy Halloween to all of you! Wishing you many treats and no tricks!!!

My Kinda 'Saturday'

It was a perfect Saturday today even if it is Wednesday. The little square on my calendar was empty. Don't see that too often anymore. We slept late, didn't get up until almost 7am and then only because I was ready for my coffee. Sat and enjoyed my coffee while I thought about planning my day, fed the animals, made english muffins with p-nut butter & honey for my breakfast and decided not to plan the day but to just let it happen.

Took the broom out of the closet where it lives and swept all the floors, put away the dishes from last night and cleared the mail from the kitchen table and decided I'd earned a rest. Watched a couple of the shows I missed Sunday night and then we went outside. The weather was ideal, high of 63 degrees, mild sunshine. Great day for walking behind the lawn mower. Katie's ecstatic, no more fear of getting lost in the tall grass. Still need to edge and to take the blower to the walkways, but not today.

First, I feel a nap coming on and then I should catch up on some of my reading. It's my idea of a perfect 'Saturday' and just the right afternoon for enjoying the view from the porch rocker.

Don't Slip on the Carpet!

A friend of mine was here this weekend to drain my swamp cooler and cover it. He always blows off the roof while he's up there. With the weather we've had recently, and my house being surrounded by oak trees with some pine and manzanitas in the mix, he really laid a thick carpet of leaves around the house. Unfortunately, it started raining within minutes after he left and I didn't have the opportunity to blow the leaves off the walkway, deck, or front drive. It looks like Fall has literally fallen, everything is covered by this carpet of wet, slippery leaves. We had a dry day today and hopefully will again tomorrow so maybe I can get the blower out Wednesday and at least clear a path. With all this rain, I need to break out the lawn mower as well; Katie's becoming lost in the tall grass.

All my Halloween and Harvest decorations are set out and in another week, the Halloween stuff goes back in the box and the Thanksgiving decorations come out. My two oldest were born this time of year. My eldest will celebrate his birthday on Nov 5th and my daughter was a halloween baby. She thought it was really cool that on her birthday everyone got to put on costumes and went door to door and they all got candy and goodies. This coming weekend Katie and I will participate in 'Trunk or Treat'. This'll be our 4th year. She wears a jack-o-lantern costume. (I wear warm clothing and a jacket.) Weekend after next we return to standard time. The church ladies' Holiday Boutique is that weekend and I'm busily painting Christmas tree ornaments. Can the holidays really be that close? Next thing you know, it'll be snowing! Where in the world has this year gone?

I Can't Hear You!

I'm sometimes overwhelmed by today's technology. Actually, I'm overwhelmed by yesterday's technology - I haven't graduated to today's yet. My cell phone does many wondrous things, or so I'm told. I've even learned to text with my granddaughters. I can make & receive calls, use the calendar, the calculator, and the camera ... sort of. I'm told, as simple as my cell is, that it does so much more. I expect I'll never know.

I do what I think is a lot on the computer. I like not messing with carbon paper or White-Out. I've learned to send photos with my emails, I can now post on Facebook and, obviously, I blog. Earlier this week I even used a GPS when we went to the coast. I cheated - I know how to get where I was going; I thought it'd be a good test.

But at this time, my favorite piece of 'hi tech' is the DVR or TIVO or whatever you use to record your favorite shows for viewing later. Until November 3rd I watch none of my shows in real time. I DVR everything. It affords me the opportunity to not only fast forward through commercials; we've been doing that since the invention of the VCR, (ever notice how short an hour show really is?) but I'm no longer insulted or talked down to or lied to by any politician or PAC. I haven't seen one political ad since I decided to watch everything at least an hour after it broadcasts. That's not to say I'm going into the booth ignorant, I am studying the issues, pro & con, and the candidates, such as they are.

There is a time and place for this particular technology ... the time is now. Let's hear it for recording and the ability to fast forward. That's 'hi tech' enough for me and that gets my vote!

Getaway

Tuesday morning my friend Karin and I dumped the two dogs, a cooler, and a couple of overnight bags into the car and left the mountain and headed to the coast. Now the nice thing about going to the coast from here is that we have to go through wine country. However, we only stopped at one winery on the way down this year. Eagle's Castle is very different from the typical winery and I wanted Karin to see it. It looks like an old castle, is surrounded by a moat, and has very interesting period rooms and items. Yeah, I know, I should have remembered to take the camera out of the car. The good news was, since I still have E/C wine in my rack, we got away cheap.

We drove to Cambria, a little town with motels right along the beach. We stay at a motel where they allow their VIP's (very important pets) to bring their people.
There's a large lawn in the center of the complex for sitting out and drinking wine with your crackers & cheese. Too bad it was so foggy and damp when we got there. But it worked out. We went down the road to another winery in a little town called Harmony, population: 18. I heard they've had a population explosion and are up to 22.

We found a dog park on our drive back through Cambria and stopped and let our dogs get out and stretch their legs. The weather here was beautiful and we just sat back and let them enjoy themselves for awhile.

Katie and I have been coming to this particular "dog-friendly" motel since 2004 and it's a wonderful spot. Directly across the road from the motel is a boardwalk that runs along the beach which affords us long walks. There are large families of ground squirrels under and along the boardwalk which affords the dogs great excitement and spurts of increased activity.

We were so tired from the drive that we stayed in for dinner. We'd brought sandwiches thinking we'd stop along the way; fortunately that didn't happen so we were able to enjoy our chicken sandwiches with the cheese & crackers in our jammies.

Wednesday, before checking out, we walked the boardwalk for all we were worth. You'll see in the pic's, Katie's little legs (and the rest of her) are much shorter than Koda's. She walked two to three times Koda's walk. She's still tuckered. Here's a shot of Katie and Koda at a viewing point.
Katie found a tree stump that had petrified and made a great resting spot.
While we were checking out, Koda made friends with the resident (rescue) pup at the motel. (A little Mutt & Jeff here?)

Back into Cambria for lunch. That little town really decorates for the holidays. There were harvest and halloween decorations everywhere. Went to a little mexican restaurant that has a dog-friendly patio in the back and had lunch and then headed back north. Made a couple more stops and then hit the highway. The dogs slept almost all the way home. They weren't nearly as excited as the day before. You could almost hear them saying, "are we there yet?" We were home by 6:pm, dog-tired, pardon the pun, but refreshed and planning our next excellent adventure. Now we know the dogs travel well together and we travel well together. We felt a little cheated about not being able to sit out, watch the ocean, and do the wine & cheese, but the rest of the trip was so much fun. Katie and I slept like the dead last night and are ready to face the real world again this morning.

Scary Story?!

Earlier this week my friend Judy asked in her post, "what's the scariest thing that's ever happened to you?" Without a doubt, the scariest time in my life was just a few years back when I dove head first into panic & anxiety. But I'm not going there, at least not now.

When I was 9 - 10 years old we lived in a haunted house. No joke; for real. You wanna talk scary? Especially for a 9 or 10 year old. And to add insult to injury, it appeared that the bedroom my baby sister and I shared was the only area in the house that the spirits called home.

I would wake in the middle of the night and "they" were taking a train through our room or they were hanging out waiting for the train. I apparently made them very angry when I woke and interrupted whatever they had going on. They'd pull the covers off my bed, throw my toys around the room, dive into (or through) my face, wreak their havoc, and simply terrorize me in general.

I hated bedtime. I was terrified of my room. I'd wake the house for any number of nights in a row. My mom wasn't buying any of this until one night when she came in to quiet me down, she saw 'the baby' - my sister - in her crib pointing at, and following with her eyes, something my mom couldn't see.

Unknown to me, my mom took a small bottle down to the catholic church; came back with holy water, and sprinkled the corners of my room. This kept things at bay and quiet for a month or two or three and then they returned. This became a routine; the haunting would start, my mom would sprinkle holy water in the corners of the room, the haunting would let up and the cycle would again repeat itself.

The day we moved from that house was one of my happiest. I never looked back nor went back. Even now I would not spend a night there for any amount of money ... I'm pretty sure you couldn't get me to go in there during the daytime. That, Judy, is my 'scariest memory'.

The Saga Ends

For those of you who remember the Sears Saga; it is ended, over, fini', done. My new freezer is sitting in the laundry room chilling and waiting to be loaded.

Thankfully, all my appliances are covered by Sears' Maintenance Agreement. However, it has only taken since July to bring this adventure to a close. I believe I related that the tech' discovered it needed new parts and he ordered them. After some weeks they were delivered. At least I thought they were delivered. I was looking at cartons, parts, packing lists - one of which read "order complete" but some yahoo's computer didn't have the input yet so I was told that they weren't really here and I should call to reschedule the tech' when the parts arrived. Say what?

Tech arrived. Parts: no good! Tech reordered parts. Here we go again! Last week the new parts arrived. Two days later, the tech' returned and rebuilt the freezer. The drawer still wouldn't seal. Tech was here over three hours. He called it in and said, this isn't happening, it needs replacing. Some genius at Sears asked how close it was to closing & sealing. Tech responded "approx. 80%,I can slide a dollar bill in and out of the gap so it's allowing air in." Genius: "Will she accept the fix?" Tech: "You're much further away, why don't you ask her?" My response: "This isn't horseshoes, close don't count. If the genius would like to come get the freezer and use it for his children's food, he's welcome to it." Tech & genius: "Guess that means 'NO'!"

Tech advised that report had to be sent to manufacturer for review and disposition. I won't put in writing what I replied. He gave me a card that they'd received a week earlier with a "problem resolution phone number" on it. No promises, give it a shot!

I called the next morning and nice young man said, "why have they dragged this out for so long?" I simply expressed my concern that after all this time my neighbors must have me figured as a cougar and that the tech and I must be having an affair. He's here almost every two weeks for 2 to 3 hours each time. Fifteen minutes later, when he'd finished laughing, I had an authorization number for the cost of replacing the freezer. That evening I'd been to Sears, the new freezer had been "purchased" and delivery / pickup scheduled.

Out with the old, in with the new!!! And it only cost me four months of pure frustration. With what Sears spent on the tech's time and the funky parts, they could have given me the Taj Majal of freezers. I'll admit, I love the bright, corporate mind and I really love messing with them. I'd prefer doing it over a shorter period of time but it's not how long you play the game, it's that you win!

It's Apple Time

I read a post a few days ago about apple picking and it sent waves and waves of warm memories flowing through me.

My dad made killer apple pies! They were loaded with apples, lots of cinnamon & sugar, and usually a handful or two of raisins. Warm from the oven with ice cream ... didn't get any better than that. Unless, of course, he was making his lemon meringue pies. He was the king! Marie Callender, eat your heart out. No one has ever come close!

I thought about my mother-in-law and her empanadas (the mexican version of a tart or turnover). Everything was made from scratch and the aromas in her house were wonderful. Grandma made empanadas stuffed with everything from apples to beans to chili. Apple empanadas & wine, it was some goooood eating!

Before my husband took sick, we had a neighbor who would go to visit a friend in the mountains about this time of year and come home with bushels of apples. Originally, I'd peel, core, slice, season and bake them but when he retired (my husband, not the neighbor) it became a joint effort. I bought him one of those gadgets that peel/slice/core all at the same time while you crank the handle and that became his job. Then I'd make applesauces and apple butters, pies, breads, muffins, brown bettys, empanadas, and freeze apple slices for later. The house smelled nummy for days and we had a freezer full of Christmas gifts ready to go. The fact that by the time we were done neither of us could stand the sight or smell of an apple for the next month was a small price to pay. Oh yeah, it was also his job to clean all the sticky off the kitchen floor. It was a lot of fun and we shared a lot of laughter; we had a good time working together in the kitchen turning all those apples into marvelous treats that lasted us until almost the same time the following year.

All the places you go, the trips you take, the things you buy and do and isn't it funny where the warmest memories are?!

Sound & Light Show in the Mountains

Last night was a hum-dinger! Katie woke me shortly after midnight totally freaked. It was the thunder & lightening storm to put every other storm I've ever tried to sleep through to shame. Poor Katie's terrified of a normal sound & light show so this was major panic time. It didn't help that I had my window wide open and the noise was increased accordingly. And then, of course, the animals feel all the electrical impulses.

I got up, got her a benadryl to help calm her and went on a hunt for the cats. They weren't anywhere to be found and then they suddenly appeared out of nowhere, velcroed to each other. No telling what they'd been hiding under, but they were very best of friends at the moment. The storm calmed and we all went back to bed and, eventually, back to sleep.

It stormed off and on throughout the night/morning and we were up and down until a little after 4:am when not only did the storm increase with a vengeance, but it set off a neighbor's alarm system as well. That fool thing went off for about half an hour, shut off for maybe 2 minutes and back on again for another 20 minutes.

It was a glorious light show and the percussion symphony was extraordinary. But at my age (just short of 68 years) I prefer sleeping at night. The cats, as cats do, have put the night behind them and are exhibiting that attitude that felines are famous for. Katie, however, will need extensive therapy. The benadryl has worn off but not the effects of last night and ... don't tell her, but ... we may have a repeat performance tonight. I'm fully expecting to see a For Sale sign by 4 Paws Realty out in front of the house by this time tomorrow.

We (Almost) Went to the Animal Faire

The annual Eastern Madera County SPCA Animal Faire was scheduled for today. It's one of the most fun days of the year and a great fundraiser for our local SPCA. We have contests for the dogs and their people, information booths, demonstrations, food, and an abundance of great raffle prizes. The day starts with a "Tails on the Trail (pledge) dog walk. The pooches, with their person, walk a lap around the park then down the trail along the river, back up to the parking lot and into the park again. For those pets who want (or need) there's also a Blessing of the Animals by a local priest in honor of St. Francis' day. It's a great time enjoyed by dogs and their people alike.

Until this year ...


"Rained out? Oh no! What about my blessing? Hope it gets rescheduled!"

We'll Sing in the Sunshine

What'd you do with it? Where'd it go? It was here a couple of days ago.

Day before yesterday, we were on the verge of record breaking heat. It was triple digits in the valley and even hit triple digit in the foothills. The temp' gauge on my front porch was pushing 98 degrees. The west coast was right smack in the middle of a good old-fashioned heat wave and the sun was super bright!

God didn't turn the lights on yesterday morning or today either. Or maybe someone or something stole our sun and took it to a distant galaxy far, far away. Or maybe it just plain forgot to get out of bed. Whatever, the sun is missing and hasn't been seen in two days. Long enough for an A.P.B. to be issued. Not complaining about the weather itself, it's comfortably warm though a little muggy. While just a bit dreary out, the temp's themselves are actually kind of pleasant.

But enough is enough. We don't need or want him to wear himself out being ultra bright or ugly hot again - warm and pleasant is fine, but I rather think it's time Mr. Sun either broke away from his captors or got himself out of bed, whichever, and showed his beaming face again.

And if God turns the lights on tomorrow morning, we can sing in the sunshine.