Happy, happy!!

Day #304 - Trick or treat...

We're ready for the ghosties and goblins tonight. When we were at Costco, I found boxes of individually wrapped packages of pretzel sticks, so along with the traditional candy, hopefully the little munchkins will be happy with their treats.

Day #303 - Snip, snip...

Hair cut night. And no, I don't go there because they have "scruples" - it's a hair product. ;)

Day #302 - That Darn Cat!!

*sigh* Anyone want a cat... free? Remember that beautiful vase we had and the beautiful flowers that Beth sent?? The operative word here is h-a-d. This is what it looks like now.

Our rotten cat, who has now risen to the top of my sh*t list, waited until I forgot and left the room before he jumped up on the mantel and knocked it off, shattering it, breaking flowers, and scarring the hearthstone. Miserable animal!

The remaining flowers are in Lew's office for now - with the door closed.

Day #301 - Rack o' wood...

After twenty-some years, our old wood rack finally rusted away so Lew got a new one this season and started filling it today. A frost is predicted for tonight so we might be needing us a toasty warm fire real soon.

Day #300 - Fickle flowers...

So, I poked my head out the patio door this afternoon, and surprise, surprise! Peeking out from under the leaves that are falling were these pretty little purple sedum flowers. The surprise was that (1) they're flowering ... again and this late... and (2) the flowers are purple. They were bright yellow the first time! What an unexpected treat!

Day #299 - Dr. Daughter...

We spent the most delightful afternoon with Ginny, who we haven't seen for waaaay too long. She was attending a medical conference in VA, and we met up with her at Dulles Airport for lunch and a few hour visit before she had to fly back to Texas. A really fun way to beat a miserably rainy day!

Day #298 - Bouquet de fleurs...

Wow, what a beautiful bunch of flowers Lew's daughter, Beth, sent to congratulate him on his retirement. The fall colors are just gorgeous. Buster thinks so too; he's had the audacity to jump up on the mantel... twice!!... for a closer look-see. Baaaad kitty!

Day #297 - Real men do eat it...

Sometimes I just impress the heck out of myself! I like quiche. I've eaten it many times. Lew likes quiche too. In all our years of cooking, though, we've never made the stuff. Tonight I did something about it. Presenting my very first quiche... not only did it look delicious, it was!

Day #296 - HAC maintenance...

Even though summer doesn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon - we've got all the windows open today - it's time to check the heating system to make sure it'll work when we do need it.

Day #295 - Stocking up...

Our larder was getting low so a trip to Costco to replenish was the order of the day. I get in sooooo much trouble when I shop there! Who needs 5 lbs of mozzarella or 20 rolls of paper towels?? lol Good thing we have storage space...

Day #294 - 1 potato, 2 potato, 3 potato, 4 ...

Cold weather means soup at our house and since our freezer supply was getting low, I baked a bag of potatoes today to help remedy the situation. Twice-baked potatoes and baked potato soup are up there on our list of warm-your-bones comfort food.

Day #293 - Scenic route...

This pastoral scene with its pretty little red tree caught my eye as we drove through the woods today admiring the changing colors of fall in our area.

Day #292 - Practice makes perfect...

...and the man's wasting no time practicing his relaxing skills and getting into this retirement thing.

Day #291 - Retirement benefit...

Lew is retiring - tomorrow is his last day. Today his company/co-workers had a retirement party for him and along with a generous gift card, gave him this GPS. Isn't that cool? He's been playing with it for awhile - I think he likes it. ;)

Day #290 - Seasonal colors...

In spite of the goofy summer weather we're still having, I've been putting out more seasonal decorations. This little pretty lives on the kitchen table during the fall months.

Day #289 - Furry fauna ...

The fauna were restless in my yard today. Between the birds and the squirrels, my beasties were going nuts. This little guy was especially busy and spent a good bit of the day digging, eating, and burying acorns right outside the door while the cats stalked it from inside.

Day #288 - Ooops...

My oxygen man came today to check the concentrator, deliver some full O2 tanks, and pick up some empties. He conscientously went about his work, we chatted a bit, and he left. He called a couple hours later... ooops, he forgot his O2 meter and bag of other tools of the trade.

Day #287 - Birdie berries...

As I looked out the window this morning, I noticed gobs of birds almost fighting to get into the dogwood tree. Now I know why. It's absolutely covered in these juicy red berries... I've never seen it with so many. Our feathered friends are feasting!

Day #286 - Sunny flowers...

Lookit what we found! While we were out and about today, on a road we don't travel that often, we came across an entire field of sunflowers! It was just a huuuuge mass of happy yellow faces - really an awesome sight. Several others had stopped to take pictures too, and one lady I talked to, who has lived nearby for six years and traveled that road regularly, had never seen them before.

Maybe whoever planted them is going into the sunflower seed business - they'll sure have one heck of a harvest!

Day #285 - A man and his mouse...

Me, messing with my camera, taking a shot of Lew messing with his computer...

Day #284 - Decisions, decisions...

We're having a terrible time finding an area rug we like for the new family room. Today we discovered we could kind of make our own, or at least choose our own colors to go on pre-designed rugs. At the moment, we're going with the lighter brown (Canyon) for the body of the rug with Fudge, Ivory, and/or Black as the accent colors. Now we just have to decide on a design...

Day #283 - You CAN teach an old dog new tricks...

We've recently started roasting a variety of veggies, and oh my, what a delightful change from the traditional steamed, boiled, stir-fry, etc. methods. I don't even like squash, but want to try a recipe that sounded good, soooo...

Day #282 - A penny for your thoughts...

...and that's how it all started.

There have been two pennies under my pillow every night since I uttered those words to Lew 26 years ago. He's a keeper. :)

Day #281 - Sun beauty...

My beastie girl, Zoey, in a favorite sunny spot, soaking up the rays and warming her belly.

Day #280 - Scarecrow season...

This smiley guy gets hauled out of storage every year about this time to brighten up the front of the house and watch over the pumpkins.

And a bonus photo - this is what I did with some of the subject in yesterday's photo - yummy apple bread.

More on the odd little cart...

Okay, here's the story of the cart photo I posted on October 2. It's an eighteenth century Chinese cart. Don't know what kind of cart, just a cart to transport stuff, people, whatever. I just knew it was some kind of Asian something!!

Anyway, according to the store owner, it's not for sale. He keeps it as a landmark and to draw attention to the store... and it works! He said it creates a lot of interest... someone in the Midwest has a picture of it on his blog too! lol :D

Day #279 - An apple a day...

Apples from our visit to the orchard, waiting to be pared, cored, and chopped for apple bread. Or maybe just sliced and dipped in caramel apple dip. Or maybe chunked up in a bowl of milk, sprinkled with brown sugar and a dash of cinnnamon. Hmmmm... decisions, decisions... 'course, we could do all of that and then just go back for more! ;)

Day #278 - The Way of Muffins...

You're all familiar with Thomas' English muffins. Well, back when they relocated their baking operation from New Jersey to CT and Frederick county, the county even named a road for them. I always thought it was just a skosh too cutesy, but whadda I know?

Day #277 - Remember when???

I'm going to assume that I haven't passed over into the Methuselah age yet and y'all will know what this is. In this era of computers, there's probably not too many of these "antiques" left, but I still have some elements that went with my IBM Selectric II typewriter. I even have a *gasp* manual Remington! Anyone else?

Day #276 - I see you...

I've been meaning to do this forever and just kept forgetting, even when I was desperate for a shot. Funny how the obvious isn't always. (I took this shot with Lew's camera.)

Anyway, this is my camera. Lew got it for me a couple of Christmases ago and I just love it and the instant gratification of digital. I can't imagine going back to a film one.

Day #275 - Not your typical covered wagon...

We've passesd this corner in historic Frederick umpteen times and this strange wagon/cart has always intrigued me. Especially the wheels and decorative wood work on the sides of the cover. It sits outside an antique store, unprotected from the elements, which clearly isn't helping to preserve it in any way (you can see rotting fabric on the cover.)

I'm not really into antiques, but this piece fascinates me. One of these days I'm going to go in and ask what the heck it is.

Day #274 - Match play...

Still messing with macro...