New Halloween Decoations for 2009

I know some of you don't particularly like Halloween, but I do. I really do. When I was a kid, I used to ponder for weeks what I was going to wear for my costumes each year. My very favorite was a Genie costume reminiscent of the "I Dream of Jeannie" costume but with my tummy covered. I don't dress up much any more, but I do love to dress my home. These are my new decorations for 2009.

The tall black candlesticks are turned on with a switch and flicker in the dark. Bwahahaha.

Paper lantern that also lights up with a AA battery


Screen printed wooden witch

Glittered plaque

You can't have too much glitter can you?

Anyway that's what Martha and my daughters say.

Screen Printed wooden Ghost

What else can I say?

The next three items are ones I made this year. This is a song that I learned when I was a little girl and have taught it to my kids and grandkids. I have never met anyone else who knew this song until a couple of weeks ago when my neighbor was over and she started singing it. I was shocked! It was not just a Cowley thing then. I had googled the song last year and couldn't find it but I found it this year and found it had 3 verses. Hooray!!

Click here to read and listen. Witchessailing

This is fabric backed and embroidered. The silhouette is stitched on felt.

This is a table runner that Amy and I made together. A paint pen was used to draw on the webs and I used orange and black trims on the ends.

This is a banner made from scrapbook paper, cardboard, ribbon and crepe paper and sprayed with glitter. You will need to enlarge to see this one.

After tonight I will be ready for Halloween. We are carving pumpkins and eating taco soup at Colett's. This is our tradition for several years now. Pictures of that to

follow.

Washington Redskins

I have blogged about my weird dreams before and how sometimes I can't wait to wake up to tell everyone how marvelous my nocturnal manifestations were. Well last night was another one of those. I must have heard at one time that American Indians don't like the name "Washington Redskins". Now to be truthful, I don't know anything about them. I know they are a team of some kind, Baseball? Basketball? Football? College team? Professional team? I don't know and I have no idea why I would even think of them (day or night), but the new name that came to me in my dream was..... ta ta ta da...the "Washington Red Hens". Yep that's right! Now who would complain about that name? Chicken farmers would have more exposure and I can't think of a single chicken that would express their outrage, nor would the sky really fall. I can't wait to get to sleep again. The brilliant ideas just keep on coming. Remember this one?

The O's Have It#links#links

I love sweatshirts, hot chocolate, and fires in the fireplace. I love pumpkin pie, ghostly decorations, fresh apple cider and soup with cornbread muffins. I love going for drives at this time of year and finding groves of trees that have mantled themselves in the colors of flames. This week Wayne and I took a drive around Utah Lake and through the small towns that we found at the end and we went to see the colors of the Nebo Loop. We were almost too late this year. What happened? It was 90 last week and 34 this week. The leaves changed so rapidly that it was hard finding a time to go see them. Each season, as I see the beauty of my surroundings, I am reminded once again how much God loves us and how he gives us variety in our lives to make our souls sing. I was singing this weekend.

There was a picnic table in the middle of this grove of trees, most of which had lost their leaves. How fun is it to walk on this carpet and hear the leaves crunch beneath your feet? It was almost a surreal feeling to be in the middle of it all. I wished for a rake so I could fashion the footings of a home with many rooms like I did when I was a little girl. Did you do this? I spent hours under my parents large cottonwood trees forming the edges of my home. You need to enlarge these photos for full effect.

Wayne in front of the lake


Utah has several types of maple trees so we get the colors of red, pink, yellow and everything in between. The scrub oaks and quaking aspen also reflect their beauty.



We didn't get our trip to Sundance to ride the ski lift this year. Can we still do this before the colors are gone? If not, here is a review of last year. The O's Have It: Sundance

The Chefs

We are a "foodie" family. We eat together often, we collect new recipes and cook them for each other, and we like to go out to eat at restaurants that we haven't tried. Wayne and I subscribed to the Food Network Magazine a few months ago and we have been having fun reading through the recipes and looking at the beautiful food photos. I am not a prolific cook even though I think I am a good one. It's just not something I like to do, so I try to find recipes that Wayne can work up for my benefit and I will gladly be his guinea pig for any new ones. He is a wonderful cook and in 40 years, I can count on my fingers the dishes that really just didn't work out.

In the September issue there was an article about the secrets of chefs. I thought there were some interesting and sometimes disturbing facts about the chefs that were surveyed.

Here are some of them.

1. Many chefs said they are rather picky eaters and they hate eggplant, liver, oysters and tofu.

2. However, chefs hate picky eaters, and when you ask for substitutions, they get annoyed. They don't believe people who say they are allergic to an item. Now this bothers me because I am allergic to celery and always have to ask if there is any celery in the items I order. I have been to the hospital a couple of times because I accidentally consumed some.

3. When chefs eat out at another restaurant, they avoid eating the pasta and chicken because they know how overpriced these things are. They like to order things they don't or can't make.

4. They like fast food and the majority cite Wendy's as their favorite fast food restaurant.

5. Only half the chefs interviewed graduated from cooking school. The other half worked their way up the cooking ladder.

6. 71 % of chefs give special treatment to food critics and 63% give special treatment to celebrities.

7. Three fourths of chefs say they have seen roaches in the kitchen, but most of them rate their kitchens as clean.

8. Some chefs admit that if you don't eat all your bread in the bread basket, you might find it in the next customer's basket.

9. Menu "specials" are often experimental dishes.

10. Only one chef said money bribes will get you a table when the restaurant is booked.

11. 90% of chefs said it is fair to penalize a waiter for bad service. (That is contrary to what all experts say, since they share tips with the bus boys.)

12. They say 20% is what they tip.

13. The saying that you shouldn't order fish on Sunday is probably wise since restaurants don't get fresh deliveries on that day.

14. They hate working on New Year's Eve more than any other holiday with Valentine's Day as number 2, but they like it when couples get engaged in their restaurants.

15. Nearly 60% said they would like their own cooking show on TV.

16. Only 13% have seen another chef do something unsavory to a meal.

17. Wine is marked up 2 1/2 times it's value.

18. Chefs cook even when they are sick or have cut themselves.

19. 25% of chefs say if they dropped food on the floor, they would pick it up and cook it anyway.

20. Most chefs will urge servers to influence your choice to specific dishes on the menu.

21. Most chefs have gotten inspiration from other restaurants...that is why most restaurants carry molten lava chocolate cakes. It's what the customer wants.

22. If you want to be a chef, be prepared to work hard. Most work from 60 to 80 hours a week, work holidays, and earn less than $75,000 a year as compared to waiters who make an average of $662.00 a week in tips and often don't pay taxes on it.

23. Beware if you are a vegetarian or a vegan because some dishes labeled as such may actually have animal blood poured into some sauces.

What are your favorite restaurants and why?

Look Up!

This is the roof our home.

Going, going.....

Gone!

As Wayne and I were driving home one evening, we saw just above the mountain, a beautiful rainbow half. It hadn't really rained, but the air was very warm and humid and there were a few sprinkles here and there. The light refraction was just right and this is the result. I ran to get my camera and in 5 minutes it was gone. I felt it was a privilege to see one of God's little manifestations just for my benefit. As I visited with my neighbor though, she seemed to think it was for her too. Whatever!! I love things that make my soul happy. Then in the same week we heard a whooooshy noise ( I know that's not a real word) and ran outside just in time to see a hot air balloon right over the top of our house. Now I men RIGHT over as in 3 feet above the point. We thought it would hit the roof. Wayne looked up and said "Good Morning" and they returned the greeting in kind. Once again, I ran to get my camera and I snapped a few shots and in 60 seconds they were gone. I didn't get the shot when it was directly over the front porch but I am sure in the back of their minds, they may have thought that a landing was eminent.

What is the lesson to be learned from this week? Is it to always look up, or is it to always have my camera with me? Maybe both.