13 Days of Halloween Blog Chain: Day 4 ~ Inside Looking Out....

Day 4 of the 13 Days of Halloween Blog Chain hostessed by Robyn of Primlish and Misi of 1890 Gable House Musings dawned - and remains - dismally cold and dreary here in Nod.... I regret to report that it's doing that "white" thing outside as I type....  

There's a reason I grew up thinking that snowpants were a Halloween costume.

 

So on this blustery day, I'm inside looking out..... This is the window seat in my dining room (which most of you have seen before...)

 

Always believe in magic.....

;o)

13 Days of Halloween Blog Chain: Day 3 ~ Simple on Sunday....

Day 3 of Robyn's and Misi's  13 Days of Halloween Blog Chain already!

  

 But it's Sunday, and I'm keeping it simple....

Partly because it's Sunday, partly because it's a lazy, dreary, day here in Nod...and partly because I forgot to recharge my camera batteries.

So, here's Day 3:  Simple on Sunday

STEP BACK NON-BELIEVERS!

Yes, I do still hook on occasion, and yes, I did actually finish this little mat I mentioned a few blog posts ago....and in time for THIS Spooking Season.

 ("Black Jack" is a design by Red Barn Rugs....Just for me.  Ok, maybe not....but I got to do it first.  ;o) )

***

Wishing you simple joys my friends!

13 Days of Halloween Blog Chain: Day 2 ~ A Little Bit Batty....

 

It's Day 2 of Robyn's and Misi's 13 Days of Halloween Blog Chain and I'm already falling behind.... Eeek.

Anywho...

Day 2.....

With her post of the tantalizing Vampire Klaus on Day 1, Misi had me dreaming....

But while I willed myself to dream of vampires...and of yummy Klaus in particular, I ended up with dreams of the "bat" version. 

:o(

  

And one kinda bat led to another....until I woke up feeling like this:

 

(I probably LOOKED like that too....No wonder Klaus didn't come around!)

Must've been the full moon....

Wishing You Wicked Sweet Dreams!!

13 Days of Halloween: Day 1 ~ The Witch's Pantry

I likely have no business showing up here posting when I have been so neglectful in visiting your blogs....

But....I just can't help it.

Robyn from Primlish and Misi from 1890 Gable House Musings are at it again.....

This time they're teaming up and hostessing a 

13 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN BLOG CHAIN.....

And YOU KNOW I can't resist anything Halloween!!!

(Besides, I thought it would be a good way to ease (HA!) back into blogging....)

So....Day 1: The Witch's Pantry

 

 

 (Are you up for 12 more days of me???)

Stop by Robyn's or Misi's via the links above to see who else is getting their spook on!

Angelica Flysquirter, the Witches of Giggleswick, and Other Random Stuff

Happy, Happy, October!!!

One of my favoritest months of all!

In my book, it's the official start of the Spooking Season.

 

And, my season started off in the most wicked sweet way when I received this adorable little fella in the mail.....

 

 

A gift from a wickedly funny little witch named Angelica Flysquirter.....

She is perhaps better known to most of you as Brenda from The Rusty Thimble.  You see, Angelica....er...Brenda and 12 other delightful witches (the "Witches of Giggleswick") recently hosted the first annual Witches of Gigglewick Halloween Bloghop.  Not only did the hop introduce me to some amazing artists who share a passion for all things black and orange, but also thirteen amazing creations were given to 13 incredibly lucky winners...  I believe I was one of the luckiest of them all as I won Angelica's Brenda's adorable pumpkin fella.  

I love him to pieces Brenda!!

  

As for the "other random stuff," hmmmm.....not much is new here.

Autumn has begun to spin her own kind of magic, although this year the colors seem a bit more muted and subdued for some reason.

 

 

 

And how's this for random: I'm back to hooking too.....No....not on the corner Sillies.  If you recall, I used to RUG hook quite a bit, but, uh, well haven't in a long, long, while.  For a few panicky moments I actually forgot where I had stashed my cutter....  Anywho....I need to share this with you to keep me on task because I have to have this completely hooked by the end of next week for a workshop I committed to attending.  Eeek!  If you never see this smilin' lil' Jack again, you'll know what happened (er....what didn't happen....)

Till next time....be good....be wicked good!!

Bittersweet....

What was it that Dorothy said???

"...[I]f I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own back yard...."????

Why does it take so long for me to learn some lessons???

I have lamented the (perceived) "fact" that we had no bittersweet in these parts....Although maps indicate that it grows (prolifically and profusely) in our area, I had, in all my years here, never seen it.

I have heard it is so invasive here, that it is illegal to harvest it.

Yet, I have not seen it......

I have searched ditches, roadsides, and thickets while driving (ummm, yeah, endangering all sorts of species of living-kind)....

But have never found any here.....or remotely "near" here....(Nod, I mean....)

Consequently, the last several years, I have taken to searching out those more "blessed" than me and purchasing online strands of the precious berry-laden garland that my soul of autumn so craves....

But today, I wandered to the edge of our very own property, and saw the most miraculous thing....

No berries.....Guess there has to be a "male" and a "female".....but I have hope. 

And hope is a wondrous thing.

Wishing you all a hope-filled day......

 

Seamus and The Bride of Frankenstein.....

Ahemmmm....

Anyone still out there???

Hmmmm....

Once again, I don't quite know where to begin.

I truly had the best intentions of catching up and keeping up.

But, it didn't happen.

And once "it" doesn't "happen," I just don't quite know where to jump back in.

I should give up.

But I can't.

I would miss you all so horribly.

 I'm not going to even try with the "catch-up" routine at this point....too much water under the proverbial bridge I guess.

I had hoped I wouldn't have to explain....that I could just slip back in quietly, but, uhhhmmmm, I guess too much time went by.  So, suffice it to say that the medical "issues" continue....

I had some surgery.....and now look like the Bride of Frankenstein.

I had been having many problems with my vision, one of which was a very limited field of vision..... This was done to help it.....

It helped, I think....but no one told me I would be AWAKE for the surgery.....

Oh...and....that I might, just maybe, be allergic to the antibiotic ointment that I was given to put on and in my eyes....

So, after a few days, I looked like this:

And it went downhill from there....to the point that I couldn't see to even take a photo....

But I am on the mend now.....(well, other than a wayward stitch that got left in.....Good thing my surgeon is so easy on my eyes....if ya know what I mean.... ;o))

And Spooking Season is dawning.....

So....this time around I will welcome it as the Bride of Frankenstein.....

My newest bud, Seamus, doesn't seem to mind.....

 We hope to be back soon......

Welcome Autumn!!!

Catching Up ~ Fluffing the Nest....

Hello goode folk....

I promised I'd be back with an update...and, ready or not, here I am...

I don't even quite know where to begin...While the beginning is usually a good place, I'm not even sure where that is any more.

So, I'll just jump in....

In so many ways, the past 8 months have just been a blur.  As most of you know, we had to put my mum in an assisted living facility around Christmas time this past year.  Not an easy transition for her...and certainly not for some of the rest of us either.  :o(  As we can no longer maintain the upkeep on her home with her limited income going to her care, we have made the painful decision to sell her home....And that means first selling her personal possessions.  Ouch.  Each piece you pull out comes with a memory....and that's hard to say goodbye to.  Anyways, we had a "living estate sale" a few weeks back, and a great deal of time was committed to that and its preparation (and it's not over yet....).  On top of that, as most of you also know, I got ill right at the first of the year and had some other things go wacky....so throw in too many doctor appointments and medical tests, and, yeah, "blur" is a good way of describing 2013 so far.

BUT....as I did mention a few posts back, I managed to sneak in some "therapy" time with a good friend.  I fear, however, that I left some of you hanging.  I mentioned that I brought back a treasure, but it was, at that point, hiding out in the garage....I promised to show it "later," and then disappeared.  So very sorry.  Well, here it is:

 (Please excuse the kitty butt....)

She's a little rough...and a whole lot of primitive, but that's the way I like it.

It didn't take me long to fill it up....

Not saying this is how it will stay decorated, but it was what got thrown in at the time.....  (And, gee, do I spy an OLM jack???)  ;o)

Besides the mum stuff, and the medical stuff, I've been slowly (and I do mean S-L-O-W-L-Y) trying to finish the bath "re-vamp" that we started....hmmm...a year and a half ago???  Still not done, but progress is being made.  (At least the boxes of bathroom stuff is once again IN the bathroom and not in my dining room like it has been for months....).

 (Not the best photo, but the vanity is intended to look like an old apothecary cabinet....I would have liked to gone more primitive, with a painted cabinet, etc., but with all the woodwork in the room and the rest of the house, it would have stood out like a red-headed stepchild....So, I compromised....)

 

 

 (Some of my hand mirror collection....yeah, I need another....)

I will try to remember to share some more photos if when we get it completed.

Anywho....that's a start on the updates.... No crafty stuff going on with me these days....but I SOOOO need to work on getting back to something. I need that balance right about now.

 Be back soon.....

The Ditches of Marathon County.....

 

I've been pulled in many varied directions these past few months.  I promise I'll be back with an update and pay y'all a visit soon.