Happy Halloween!

Went first round last night celebrating Halloween at my kid's school.
Tonight is the BIG one.

I hope all of you have a wonderful time with however/whatever you do to celebrate this sweet and spooky holiday.

Most of all, Stay Safe!

Hugs!

Haunting Mists - Holloween's Harbinger

These shots are not too far from my street. Early in the autumn morning, fog drifted in whorls of dancing ghosts streamed across the lake, onto and over the road before me.

I grabbed my camera and took pictures: the top is from the my left, the second is smack in the middle and the bottom pic is to my right.

I wanted to give you a bit of panoramic view of the fall colors barely peeking from behind the rising ghosts of moisture. Pretty, yes?

Remember to click on the pic so it can load to a larger, more detailed image. Enjoy!

Halloween Inspiration

We did it! Carved our pumpkins. Last year we ran out of time. The year before that, we forgot.

This year ALMOST didn't happen.

Seems this year's weather is the pumpkin's enemy.

Most of them are on the ground, rotting. My DH bought three good sized ones on Wednesday

so we could have them for today. By Friday, they were rotting out from the bottom and sinking into themselves.

Yes, he checked them before he bought them, but you can't see what is going on INSIDE the fruit.

And they were not cheap! So, yesterday in the pouring rain, we went back to the farm and asked to exchange the rotting pumpkins in the back of our car for solid ones.

The lady who answered the door was snippy to my DH and told him, "Just do what you have to do." {{HUH?}} She turned around and went back into the house. She didn't want the rotting pumpkins back.

So, he roamed around and around, picking up the pumpkins and trying to make the best decision. So we now have three imploding pumpkins probably only good for seeds and three carving gems.

I will tell you, it's not fun to carve outside with frigid winds ablowing through your coat as if you were in your shirtsleeves.

Brrrrrr.

We did it, though. Want to see? Two were templates we got off of the computer and one is from a design my eldest drew himself. Isn't that cool? Can you guess which pumpkin design is my eldest's???

Bear With Me

Lately, I've been beary absorbed by bears.

Specifically, Black Bears. Which aren't black. They are LOTS of colors. See?

This is a Spirit bear, NOT a Polar bear. The Spirit Bear is a Black bear. Isn't it Gorgeous?

Did you hear about the lady who got bit on the butt? NO? LINK

My co-worker has a remote camera-feed attached to his house. He has it aimed at a deer feeder at the edge of the woods. Bears LOVE to investigate. They don't eat the pellets, it's just fun to play in them; tossing the pellets to the ground, pounds at a time. Sometimes the feeder is a victim too.

He showed me a clip of a sow and her cub. Momma bear was determined to investigate the whole thing, even though it was lashed and bolted and harnessed to the tree. She ripped that sucker off in seconds. Their power is immense!

The cub had the poop scared out of it; all you could see was it's hiney hightailing it out of there at the crashing sound of the huge bin.

It was pretty darned funny to watch and, they move at warp speeds!

No wonder they say you cannot outrun, climb or swim a black bear.

Even an adult bear can climb a 75 ft tree in seconds. As you can see,they don't need branches to use as holds like us humans would.

Pretty impressive, yes?

Grizzley's can't climb trees or so I've read.

Also, neither can you play dead with Black bears because they eat carrion. You will look good regardless.

You can play dead with a Brown bear or maybe a Grizzley, but not a Black. Did you know that?

Good thing the Black bear is, for the most part anyway, a laid back and easily startled creature, PROVIDED no one was stupid enough to allow them to get used to humans as a food dispenser.

I'm getting more interested in them because their population is growing. Sightings are becoming more frequent, even in the suburbs. I think it's really important to find a way to live with them BEFORE they are commonplace. LINK Mostly because once they figure out that you had food for them once, they'll keep coming back.

Persistence, thy name is Black Bear. Don't believe me? Look what Google found for me.

CUTE, yes?

See what I mean?

As much as I enjoy this photo op provided by this very acrobatic bear,

the truth is, this type of behavior will someday cost it it's life.

And that's what I"ve been learning. There are times during the year where bird feeders need to be put up responsibly or not at all. The human and bear contacts will always have one result ; the bear will die.

And it's not fair to THEM. Just because we want our photo ops does not give us the right to endanger them. And justify it by claiming "But they endangered us first!".

WE are the humans, the higher intellect and the stewards of the Earth. And the Black bear deserves that same respect.

And those are just some of the bare bear facts.

*****************************************************

YES I WATCHED MOONLIGHT TONIGHT!!

Oooh, ICK!

My DH was funny. He said, "I thought you had to kill a vampire with a stake through the heart."

LOL!!!

Um, nope, decapitation works quite well too.

And when Beth confronted him about his avoiding her, she's like Hello... "I FED you!"

That is such a funny line.

LOVED IT!

Did you see the PREVIEWS for next week? Tell me they didn't read any Sookie Stackhouse books. I dare you.

It's sooo there!

Amazing Photoshopped picture

This is rated: Spooky









With Halloween coming up, this pic I found by accident is perfect. It truly embraces the holiday spirit. Darth Vader never looked so ... cute?





The caption should read





"Surprise!"





I think someone who is politically humorous would come up with a better caption but I don't do politics per se.
This hit my funny bone juuust right.
How about you?

Plants gone wild

I am a bit tired. Recovering from lack of sleep dealing with a recovering little one.

So...here are a couple more pictures of ... plants.

Fall has some lovely colors this time of year. Everything has matured and bees are buzzing like crazy, trying to get all the pollen they can from the last of the autumn blooming flowers.

Enjoy! and Happy Monday to you!

Picture Perfect Weekend

I decided to knuckle down and write this weekend. I received my last batch of edits over two and a half weeks ago and for one reason or another, namely life issues, I never got around to doing them.

The past few days I found tackling them to be therapeutic in a way. I have so much going around me that I can't control, delving into Addi-baby's world is one that I can.

I was up until 1AM writing. There was no reason to attempt to go to bed earlier as my youngest caught a virus that has a history of producing fevers of 103.9 and higher - much higher. I'm glad he topped out at 104.1 but still, the fever induced nightmares were not a joy to deal with last night.

So, I wrote. A short story that from beginning to end stopped at 2,300 words has now morphed into a longer 6300 word short story.

I read about other author's spitting out eight to ten pages of story every day and wonder how they do it? What is their hourly total when all eight to ten pages is written? It blows my mind.

I see how much time it's taken away from house, kids and general living and I'm only talking about 2, 000 words. I can't fathom how it impacts other's lives when they produce so much more.

Will the words come fast the more I write? Is it because I'm a slow typer? Too much of a perfectionist when I should be only writing? Why does it seem time escapes so quickly when I'm immersed in trying to get words out of my brain and onto paper or keyboard?

All, I know is that I finally did the second batch of edits and am pretty pleased on not only the suggestions and guidance I've recieved, but how it is shaping the story.

What wonderful people I have helping me!!

And yes, I DID catch Moonlight this time. I absolutely appreciated the fact that they did NOT use the "bite that immediately heals" technique. It was more real to see her still bleeding, that it hurt and yet was willing to do what needed to be done to save him. I'm thinking these people who wrote this series must have read Christine Feehan, Laurell K. Hamilton and even Charlaine Harris to get the feel that this series seems to have.

If so, and with research like that, maybe this series won't tank after the first season.Keeping my fingers crossed!

Oh, and the pictures? Also from that Salt Marsh Walk I went on when I vacationed on the Cape. I like sharing pictures, don't you?

Wrong Choice about Wine

I HAVE to shout and Spout about this.

I just saw on the news that WINE makers are dragging their feet about deciding whether or not they should disclose the OTHER ingredients in their products, namely; water, oak wood chips, and, get this ...EGG WHITES!!

I'm steamed on behalf of ALL the LTA (Life Threatening Allergy) sufferers out there who are allergic to egg.
Who would EVER think there'd be EGG in Wine?

They'll never have a chance to die from drunk driving or cirrhosis of the liver; one sip could do the deed within seconds to minutes - depending on if they're anaphalactic.

One 'Wine Writing Expert' claims that the disclosure should NOT be put on the bottles because it will "clutter up " the label. Clutter up the label?

WTF?

Good Cat Hunting

I've heard of a dog on point, but never a cat!

LOL

Isn't it purty? This lovely kitty was at that wedding I went to. All the females at the reception gravitated towards this furry feline to pet and admire it.

I think this clever cat has a good thing going, don't you?

BTW- I say 'it' because I never...um... looked to figure out if it was a girl kitty or a boy cat.

I was thinking ... a guy could take lessons from that scenario at the reception. Have a cute animal and girls will flock to ooh and ahhhh, then it's up to the guy to win some points or hit a foul ball in the game of amour.

Now, this pic is a SPEAKING pic.

What does it say to you?

To me, it says, "I'm too sexy for my fur."

*GRIN*

What I did on my Mini Vacation

Yes, you got it in one. Went to the shore.

Walked the salt marsh.

Took LOTS of flora pictures.

Enjoyed the sunny weather.

Ate lobster.

Wrote more on my story, in the spacious bathroom no less. *grin*

(as weird as that sounds, it is VERY hard to concentrate and write in the same room while Spongebob, Ben 10, Jimmy Neutron and other assorted cartoons are blasting. )

Bought black licquerish strings... I like candy I can play with and then eat.

Played mini golf where I got, get this, THREE holes-in-one. I kicked DH's butt.

**snicker**

Gotta toot my horn whenever I can because I played a rare Excellent game. I guess I wasn't Blonde that day. *gg*

All in all, it was a glorious break from the stress that has lately spiced my life like an ill-placed Habanero.

So, did anything interesting happen whilst I was gone??

BTW- Does anyone know what THIS is???

It looks puffy like seaweed yet was growing in full sun amongst the salt marsh grasses.

I couldn't get near it to touch because it was too far and I'd fall into the brine, or stagnant DEEP crevices of the marsh. So, I used my telephoto option as far as it would go. Can you see the detail enough? Enough to identify this very strange plant kissed with the color of autumn??

In any event, sure is pretty, yes?

Have a great Monday, all!

Hiatus Time Again

Not much to say because I don't have the time to say it.

I'll be having a bit of a rest for a few days, so don't expect to see this blog change. I know, it will be boring, sorry about that.

I went to my library book sale last night and purchased five Audio Books and 29 print books.
Even Lightening by Dean Koontz, upon vigorous recommendations by Marianne and Judy.

Once I read it , won't be able to say I've never read him because I will have.

I hope you find yourself some good reads whilst I'm away.
I hope that the weather cooperates whereever you are.
I hope that if you win the lottery, you'll remember me monetarily. **GRIN**
Well, I can dream, can't I??

Have a terriff Weekend everyone.

Drives me Buggy

I came home from work the other day and there on the foundation by my back door was, what I thought anyway, a carpenter ant. A REALLY BIG ant.

We've had battles with them before but never this late in the season and NEVER such a huge size.

When I walked closer, I noticed it was a bit piculiar. I had mail in my hand so I used it to flick it off of the foundation and onto the ground. It moved FAST!

So now I am wondering,

What is this bug???? Can anyone identify this creepy crawlie?

I really would like to know if this is related to the ant family in any way. What can it harm? Is it harmless?

I was afraid to let it crawl on my hand. But not so afraid not to get some interesting shots so I could identify it. Except I can't figure it out.

Does any one research Bugs? I'd LOVE to know what this is.

BTW - if you click on the pic above it loads bigger so you can get a GREAT idea how the body is segmented and the brilliant blue/black color of its body.

If I wasn't so nervous about it biting me, I'd be fascinated.

HOW does seeing this bug make YOU feel?

The Next Day

I'm officially a year and a day older. Yeah.

Today was crazy!

We had a wedding to go to at 1PM and before that I needed to clean the house, go food shopping so the sitter and my kids had munchies, come home, make Ham and Pickle for their lunches and then get my new duds on.

The sitter arrived while I was still sprucing up the bathroom.
I finished, threw on my new clothes I got from J C Penny the day before ( ON SALE) and we went out the door.
I felt confident that I had the card, the $ for the gift and the most important thing, the directions to the church.

Well! Wouldn't you know, unseen by me, the directions had fallen out of my purse and were still in the house. We were about 3 miles away when I went looking for them and found they weren't there.

That's when the shit hit the fan.

Seems I'm PMSing and I didn't realize it.
My DH and I don't really fight ... we argue but we're basically civil about it. Not today.
My ADD antics got to him today and it was bitter and angry and very UNcivil.

When we got back home, I raced to where I had my purse on the table and sure enough, there were the directions as plain as day.

I grabbed them, hugged the kids again and off I went.

At that point I was pretty emotional. I Hadn't forgotten them. I Hadn't Messed up. It was a simple ACCIDENT that could have happened to anyone.

I said, "it was an accident, it was right were my purse was. The paper fell out."
The response wasn't what I expected or appreciated and I let loose.
I did something that in 22 years of marraige I'd never done.
I screamed at my DH.
Literally screamed.

"I wasn't WRONG!!"

Needless to say, the drive was quiet after that. I won't tell you what we said to each other but profanity was never used.

I am not sharing this for you to take sides and say "Awww, Michele" .

No, I'm saying that God still works even when you are angry at yourself and you feel like shutting the world out. You can't keep HIM out.

He works when you least expect him to.

He was working overtime today.

Seems I, due to procrastination, sent in the reply late so my friend had to find a place for us to sit since the seating arrangements had already been done before my reply was received.

We ended up sitting with the BEST people we could have sat with. The people we NEEDED to sit with.
Turns out that this couple has been married for over 35 years and SHE also had ADD.
After questions and answers vollied back in forth it became crystal clear that I have the same issues as her. She has the same problems as me.
We were and are kindred spirits.

She was God send, a gift.

I almost was in tears to hear that the things I do, or in my case DON'T do are inherent in my condition and are not because of laziness, or defects per se and most certainly are not done to be contrary to my very organized and structured husband.

We ranged on topics from our house needing cleaning after our cleaning, our laundry battles, our procrastination tendencies, our forgetting meals in ovens or defrosted food in microwaves, or the fact that we both, BOTH are on the computer a lot more than our husbands are comfortable with. And BOOKS...she's worse than me. Her books have taken over half her basement! I've 10 years to catch up. LOL

The point of this is that after meeting and talking to these people, my husband felt better able to cope with me and I felt better about me.

When I'm PMSing, I am very sensitive and emotional. To say that I was on the road to a depressive episode today is an understatement. I think it's been about a year and 1/2 since I"ve been on one and Praise to God, this one got derailed by being with people who not only understood but are THERE in a way regular folk who have no dealings with ADD could ever understand.

What started out as Hellish kind of day ended up life affirming and positive.

And, I feel loved.

These past two days have been an emotional rollar coaster. Yes I had a wonderful birthday yesterday, but you also know what stressful episode snuck in to keep it interesting.
Here comes today. I was at a low point but now am on the upswing.

You never know what you're going to read when you come to visit me on my blog, do you?

Have yourself a good Sunday and remember, things ALWAYS find a way to get better - because you have someone up there who loves you.

Birthday Girl

That ME!


Today is VASTLY different than last year.

This year, my boss cooked me a CHICKEN dinner at work!

I had roasted chicken, Acorn squash, new baby red potatos and CAKE!! a Lemon Cream Cake!

I had LOTS of spicy and delicious Comments on my MySpace.

My MOM sung me Happy Birthday on my answering machine.

I had wonderful outpouring of well wishes from my LASR family.

I had Awesome and cute E-Cards from my blog buddies.

AND the BEST thing that happend ot me???

A nice gentleman burned rubber and had smoke POURING from his rear wheel wells as he slammed on his brakes in order to avoid killing himself at a high rate of speed if he'd connected with the back end of my van. He swerved and did some amazing side of an embankment driving in order to miss me. What would have happened to me? I wouldn't be here typing. My kids would not have had anyone to get them off the bus. No one would have known about my catastrophe.

So see? It was A GREAT gift this stranger did for me. He controlled his out of control car enough to leave us both unharmed.
I pray to God that he doesn't make the same mistake again on that stretch of road.
The next person may not be so lucky.

Of all the gifts I could receive on my Birthday, safety is the best.

Wouldn't you say?