Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween. I love Halloween and always have. I have wonderful memories of getting a costume at Sears or Penney's which would become pj's for the rest of the year.  When I was very little, Moma made us matching black cat costumes. One year, when money was just too tight to buy a costume, I borrowed an old skirt, a scarf and some dangling earrings and went as a gypsy! I loved it.
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When the kids were little, they had store bought costumes, but now with everyone so tall (DS2 is 6'4), they have had to be more creative. Last year, DS 1 and DD went as Dr. Who and his Companion. DS 2 went as Clark Kent, complete with Superman shirt underneath his blazer and white dress shirt.

As a family, for several years we have been watching The Ghost and Mr. Chicken as well as the Great Pumpkin special. We have added a Halloween episode of Gilligan's Island and Andy Griffith. There is nothing really scary or sinister any of these.

When I was looking for a vintage Halloween picture, I found this one. I loved the old Brach's candies. My dad would always buy for me a box of the chocolate stars. They are very difficult to find. Last year, Wally World started carrying some of the Brach's candies. Do you like candy corn? I love it, especially the Indian Corn.

Hope you have a wonderful night with lots of treats!

Whistle Me Home

This picture is from an older issue of Highlights magazine. I had the magazine when DD was very little, and I thought that she might one day look like this. Well, she does!  And, we are having a windy, fall day just like the young lady in the picture.

Good to Be Home

Today was a good day but another busy one.  We were able to go hear one of our colleague's reading  his novel, A Gathering of Eagles, at a local bookstore in the next county over. The author, Dr. Walton Young, is a dear Southern gentleman scholar.  DS1 takes a composition course from him and is learning as much about character and integrity as he is about the basics of good writing. We then went on to Publix, my little bit of nostalgia disguised as a grocery store. Seems the harder we try to slow down, the more things to do land on the calender. This is really more of a concern than a complaint.

I think for supper we will have the simplest of fares: hot dogs and macaroni and cheese.   Tomorrow, the chicken is scheduled to spend time with the crock pot while we are at Church. I have an episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. I might be able to talk everyone into watching.  Last night, I watched an old movie (1954), Three Coins in a Fountain. It was a good movie with stunning scenery from Rome.

The colors of the leaves are beautiful - - - as they are falling quickly from the trees. I love fall, but it stays with us such a short time.  The temperatures are supposed to be dropping beginning tomorrow. There's a big storm lurking off the coast of this part of the country. I don't think we are due to feel much of its presence, but many will, I fear.

Better run and try to get a little laundry done before the day is gone . . .

Victory at Sea

 The Era of the World Wars class has come around again, and I am enjoying it more than ever. I often think that it is my interest in World War II that led to my teaching.  In class, we are about to see the Blitzkrieg turn west. I want to show the students some of the footage from the Victory At Sea series. They are used to programs on the History Channel, color, glitzy and sometimes over-produced, but sometimes not very historic.

The Victory At Sea soundtracks are beautiful. The scores were composed by Broadway-greats Richard Rodgers and Robert Russell Bennett. They add so much to the drama of the footage and narration of the programs. I have them on CD's, and the covers are not nearly as vivid as the old LP covers.

That Time of Year

This is the time of year our family reads Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."We look forward to this so very much. We read the short story from Irvings's Sketch Book and then watch the Disney cartoon.  Irving wrote in a wonderful descriptive style--and if you're not used to the style of that era, you can get lost (so many novels and short stories today read like newspaper copy). DD stated the other night that the story is so much better now that she can really understand what the author is saying. I loved it, and she is so right. She's getting more out of it than in years past. At Christmas time, we read Dickens' A Christmas Carol, then watch the Patrick Stewart version (he is amazing as Scrooge).  I am grateful that the kids still love to do this!

Tuesday at Home . . . Kind of . . .

Today, I have a little bit of time at home with DS2 and DD. We have to get some organizational time in on our homeschool assignments, and this is the day that they get to go to their art/drama class. These classes are taught by a wonderful teacher, Miss Shannon. They are learning art history for the first hour, then DD participates in the drama class where they are working on a production of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." DS2 and I spend the last of that time together working on our school work. The fee for the classes is only $20 a month for the whole family. When DS 1 gets a day off from being Joe College, he is welcomed to attend as well. While they are having fun with their classes, I am sitting next door in the bowling alley (yes, the bowling alley--it's wonderful) grading papers and enjoying a huge diet coke (which would be illegal in New York City).  What I enjoy about this program most is that the kids are having a great time with other homeschoolers. Miss Shannon keeps the atmosphere positive and disciplined. She doesn't crack a whip, but encourages strongly everyone to be kind and Christ-like. I don't think she makes much money, if any,  off of this enterprise; the fees go primarily to pay for the use of the building. But she is such a blessing to all of them.

I hope to load up the crock pot this morning and get the tea made so that when we get home, I don't have a lot to do to get supper ready. Last night, DS1 and I went to school to work for a little while before the debates. I really need some Mom time with DS2 and DD today.  Everyone is so tired--not a bad tired, just a tired, tired. We had the singing convention at Church this weekend and that was just a foreshadow of heaven. But, it was really a lot of work getting ready for it. I hope this weekend we can take it a little bit easy. No complaints . . . just thinking out loud and thanking God for His provision and the joys He gives us day to day.

A Tisket, A Tasket, A Golden Sewing Basket

Well, here is my new sewing basket I purchased at my beloved Hancock's in North Carolina on our break. This picture doesn't do it justice. You can see I am making very little progress on the sampler, but I was able to do some today on the way back home from our morning services. I'll try to get my expert photographer to help with some better pictures soon. I am working on 14-count with two threads.  I am flirting with the ideas of adding some beads or buttons and perhaps a border using a variegated floss pattern. If I continue working very hard, I should be finished in time for the next Presidential election--2016.

"Rascal for President"