Saturday

Yep.

"Saturday"

That's it.

As simple as can be.

Cuz I'm tired, but I'll be darned if this to-do

doesn't get crossed of today's to-do list.

Actually, I spent most of Saturday and a good majority

of Sunday in a Benadryl induced fog.

We went out to dinner Friday night.

Nothing fancy, just Chick-fil-A.

I had the Asian chicken salad.

That was at about 7 p.m.

I awoke at approx 1 a.m. from a dream

that I was drowning.

It wasn't a dream.

My soft palate and uvula were so swollen 

it took concerted effort to breath.

My chest felt heavy. 

My pulse raced.

And I panicked, which only exacerbated the symptoms.

I knew we had Benadryl tablets somewhere

and after fumbling around for what seemed like forever,

I was able to swallow one.

Just one.

I should've taken two.

Just over 30 minutes later I began to feel some relief,

but never was able to get back to sleep.

I knew my eyes were swollen, but didn't get a good

look at them til daylight.

This

is basically what I saw looking back at me in the mirror,

expression and all.

Yeah.

This was the third episode I've had like this.

So, I guess it's time to do some ingredient investigating.

Anyway,

I'm still not feeling quite up to snuff, 

*cue the tiny violins*

but despite all that, we were able to get some work done on Saturday.

Well, Mr worked and I kind of just, you know...

drug around behind him and tried to contribute as best I could

by doing little things like taking pictures.

That's helping, right? 

Let's cut to the chase with just a few of those pics now, shall we?

 

He cut two cedar trees down.

One was half dead, the other pretty healthy,

but they had to go mainly because they're in the 

way of the shop that will be built next year.

I think, too, that the walnut tree will appreciate 

having more breathing room.

Also...

he dug a nice deep, long trench with his 

grown-up Tonka Toy for drainage from

the SE downspout to keep the rainwater away from the house.

He installed the pipe tonight

and will probably (hopefully) get it buried tomorrow.

Ok.

I'm gonna hit "publish",

cross this off my to-do list,

and hit the hay, as they say.

Thanks for stoppin' by.

We do appreciate y'all.

G'night and God Bless.

October Part IV - Haunted Woods

This is the October post I've really been wanting to put together.

It's also the last October post.
I can hardly believe we're a third of the way through November already!

Mr & Me began a FUN and SPOOKY tradition back in October 2013,

witch which was our first Halloween here at 1920 Fruitland Drive.

We like to call it

“HAUNTED WOODS NIGHT”

*cue the spooky ghost sounds*

It's as simple as simmering a pot of homemade Red Toad Stew (chili) for a few hours.
Baking a batch of homemade corn muffins
made from real corns from real witch's corny toes
(thank you, Jossimo),
(for baking the muffins, not the corns!)

and brewing a cooler-full of secret, homemade witch's potion
(root-beer, of course)
(thank you, Mr & Mrs Brunty).
Throw in a glut of delicious cookies and
peanut butter fudge shaped like tiny pumpkins
(thank you, Mrs Mossi-the-youngest and Mrs Sadler)
and
POOF!

Oh.
Wait!
I nearly forgot to mention inviting our

SPOOKY FRIENDS!

After all, it just wouldn't be

HAUNTED WOODS NIGHT

without them.

Cautiously, I retrieved their coffins  storage boxes out from under
the staircase where the spiders live and,
even more cautiously,
opened the lids that had kept
them imprisoned since their last haunting adventure.
Without so much as a "thank you, ma'am", off they flew to their posts in the
HAUNTED WOODS. 
(If only it were really that easy)

Soon after all the eerie bit players were in their places

(with my iHome hidden in the tall grass among the trees, looping haunted woods sound effects)

our guests of honor arrived...

We were charmed beyond words by our clever 

ROBOT, 

beautiful cowgirl-boot-wearin' 

BUTTERFLY,

adorable 

SCARECROW, 

pretty little 

PIRATE 

(wearing her daddy's  costume from his little-boy days),

and precious 

LION!

And I thought Halloween was fun when their mommas and daddies were little!

Before anyone was allowed to hike up and brave the treacherous hauntings,

Poppo took all our special guests for a 'redneck hayride' 'round and 'round the back yards

in the lawn tractor wagon...

or on his lap because our adorable scarecrow insisted on driving.

And then Nonna, 

who has a particular talent for pulling off the perfect witch impersonation,

obliged the costumed little darlings to

EAT DINNER

before trekking up and into peril.

A body's gotta have some sustenance to survive 

the kind of terror they were about to bravely embark upon!   

When bellies were full and the dark of night had come, 

all entered in, masked with confidence and courage

despite their unspoken tremulous fear.

They crossed the little footbridge, climbed the grassy trail and navigated through

ghosts and graveyards, a cackling witch on her broom, bats and giant spiders,

glowing eyes, a screeching black cat and demented pumpkin-headed beasts.

There was even a werewolf skulking around and 

a masked chain-saw creeper

(that couldn't get his chainless chainsaw to start up) 

who sprang from behind some trees groaning and growling! 

I was relieved and am happy to report that 

the Robot, the Butterfly, the Scarecrow, the Pirate and the Lion

all survived, mostly unscathed, the frightfully spooky experience.

Makes a Poppo and Nonna so very proud!

We were also pleased as punch that the whole effort was such a hit that 

those sweet grandchildren ran in and through our

HAUNTED WOODS 

 several more times

until they were all plumb tuckered out.

Cowboy and Cupcake coaxed me up once with just the two of them

and, oddly, Cowboy disappeared shortly after 

Cupcake and I passed the witch on her broom.

Suddenly I see something aweful coming t'ward me!

It was the big blow-up cat with the angry eyes!

It was marching right onto me and I was sure

I was going to be eaten alive right then and there. 

Surprise, surprise...

It was just Cowboy pulling a prank on his Strega Nonna!

When I'd recovered, 

we went back to join the rest of the family

in the telling of not-too-scary ghost stories while we sat around the bonfire.

 

The Robot, the Butterfly and the Scarecrow's momma 

soon informed them that it was getting late and time to go home.

Cupcake approached Aunt Jossi and asked if she would

go through the 

HAUNTED WOODS

with her once last time.

Aunt Jossi took her by the hand as they headed off to cross the 

little footbridge at the entrance.

Later that night, Aunt Jossi reported that when she and Cupcake were 

alone, walking toward the footbridge, 

Cupcake confided in her, saying...

"Jossi, I think Poppo and Nonna set this whole thing up."

"And I think that chainsaw guy was Uncle Joe." 

We still crack up laughing when we talk about that!

And we probably will for a lot of years to come.

October Part III - Stumps, Holes and Painted Skirts

As far as work around here goes,

we actually got a little of that done 

in October.
I gotta say, though, that
we certainly are enjoying the slower pace
this autumn season has gifted us with.

Not long after returning home from our road trip,
Dean cut down the last two trees in the front yard.

 
The man sure does love his chainsaws.
He cut those old and ragged Quaking Aspens up, stacked the logs on
the side of the road in front of the house and in two days
they'd been carried off by some unknown someone,
presumably for firewood.
That's exactly what we had in mind.

Not long after we bought the tractor,
he dug out all the stumps in the front yard
(five, I think)
and a few others up t'ward the top of our property.

I can't really say that he's been "working" when
 he's out on the tractor digging up stumps.
The other night when Mr & Mrs Brunty stopped by,
I heard him say to Joe,
"Man, diggin' holes is SO MUCH FUN on that thing!"
He and I were talking later about the future retaining wall that needs
to be built out front and how we got a bid from a contractor to excavate
and form it for us for what we thought was an outrageous price.
That conversation ended with Dean saying...
"With the tractor, we don't have to hire anyone. I can do all of it myself.
AND I get to have fun!"
Like I said...
It's a tool for the man and it's a toy for the boy that lives inside him.

He got the skirting on the front porches put up.
I got 'em caulked and painted.

The house feels so cozy and homey inside what-with all the Autumn decor.
Sure wish y'all could come on by.
I've even got ginger-molasses cookies in the cookie jar!
Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to check in.
As always, we appreciate your support and encouragement.
Goodnight and God Bless.

October Part II - Duality

It's a tool for the man to get some heavy-duty work done.

It's a toy for the immortal boy that lives inside that man.

Yes, we bought a tractor in October.

October Part I - Our October Odyssey

I started thinking about this post in the wee morning hours

while laying in bed listening to the cadence of early November rain

on the old walnut tree's wide, yellowing leaves.
(that was yesterday)

My head is swimming with all the things I could go on about

in just this one post.

I'm considering breaking it all up into a few posts,

but I'm also thinking that if I just come back to this one post, 

here and there throughout the day while I'm working on other things,

 perhaps it'll just be all right here.
(that didn't happen)

So, I'll get started and we'll see...

"Our October Odyssey" 

was just what the doctor ordered after nearly three years

of ceaseless work here at 

1920 Fruitland Drive.

Honestly, it's been hard.

I've worried a lot about my husband.

He's healthy and tough and strong as an ox 

-more so than many men ten years younger-

but even the most rugged guys need a break once in a while.

I did everything I was capable of doing to help 

and even learned to do some things I never thought I would;

things like pulling electrical lines and plumbing lines 

and nailing up siding and bolting down sill plates

and laying hardwood flooring and tiling a shower 

and several other construction-type particulars.

Like a lot o' folks, I have a personal 'bucket list',

but my list hasn't ever had 'paint the whole outside of a house' written on it.

Every time I'd toss an empty paint bucket into the garbage, I'd think to myself, 

"I'm gonna add 'paint the whole outside of a house' to my bucket list when I'm done 

and then turn right around and check it off."

Getting in our new truck

(which was a dream to travel in)

and hittin' the road with no particular route in mind

was a wonderful respite.

We had an ultimate destination, but planned our route a day at a time.

We saw a whole lot of beautiful country.

And I must say that October is thee most beautiful month for a road trip,

especially under a low-lying blanket of clouds,

which always seems to make

the autumn reds, golds, yellows and oranges glow.

We traveled from Utah and through Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois,
Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky again, Indiana,
Missouri again,Iowa,Nebraska, Wyoming and back to Utah.

So as not to go into a long, tedious travelogue,

here are only a few highlights...

 We paid a visit to Granny at the cemetery in Madisonville, Tennessee.

Aunt Sharon passed away the year before Granny and is buried next to her.

My Granny buried three of her five children, all taken by cancer,
before her own passing due to old age.

My mother and Aunt Joyce are lonely for their younger sibling's company.

A person expects to lose their age-ed parents,

but two sisters and a brother before their time...

well, that's just down-right sorrowful.

We stayed in the neighboring town of Sweetwater at my Aunt Joyce's place
and left with a few things from my great-grandparent's old farmhouse in Arkansas... 

Great-Granny Burke's rocking chair 

and the little six-legged table she kept in the front room.

And this sweet little "straight-back" chair".

I made the pillow from an old quilt Granny had made.

We wore it out with good, honest use, but I couldn't bear to part with the whole of it, 

so I saved the best square and fashioned a pillow cover out of it. 

That was quite a while ago, though.

This is a 1964 photo of me sitting in Granny Burke's lap, out back 

between the house and chicken coop, in that very chair. 

I've long been a fan of Mark Twain, so a stay-over in Hannibal, Missouri was especially fun.

I'd downloaded "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" to my iTunes account and

Dean and I listened to it on our way out of Tennessee and on our way to

Mark Twain's sleepy little boyhood town on the Mississippi River.

"Barley-corn, barley-corn, injun-meal shorts, Spunk-water, spunk-water, swaller these warts."

I think I enjoyed listening to it this time as much as I loved listening

to Mrs Love read it to me and my 6th grad classmates

after lunch recess way back when.

Do you happen to know why Sam Clemens chose the pen name 'Mark Twain'?

The leadsmen on a riverboat was responsible for measuring the depth of the river

for safe passage. If the depth happened to be two fathoms, he would call out

"by the mark twain" to the riverboat pilot,

meaning the depth had been marked at two fathoms and instead of saying

"two", he said "twain", which is a more traditional way of sayin' "two".

Samuel Clemens was a riverboat pilot for a couple of years before

the Civil War.

There ya go and now ya know.

Last, but not least, was our trip to Nauvoo, which was just over the river from Hannibal.

The last time we were in Nauvoo the temple was under construction.

It was a treat to participate in an endowment session.

Since it was the beginning of the "off season",

we went through that session with only 4 other sisters and 5 other brethren,

most of those sisters and brethren were serving missions in Nauvoo.

I couldn't help but reflect on all that the saints went through in the early

years of the church in there.

I am thankful for those rock-solid saints

who went through trials I can scarcely imagine

and whose souls were woven tightly with 

an indestructible tread of faith.

After leaving the sublime beauty of the Celestial room

on the fourth floor, I was directed back to the squared spiral staircase

and reminded that the sister's dressing room was one flight down.

I descended two steps, stopped and leaned sightly over the stair rail 

to look upward toward the fifth floor - the top of the temple.
The downward view was a sight to behold as well!

I stood there marveling and debating for at least a couple of minutes

and then turned right back around and quietly ascended every last stair to the top.

A sister temple worker spotted me, smiled, and asked if I was lost.

"No. I just couldn't help myself. I wanted to see as much as I can before we leave."

That resulted in a thorough tour of sealing rooms, the bride's room, 
 views from many of the fifth floor windows and finally my descent down the 
stunning true-spiral staircase on the other end of that magnificent temple.
What a memorable gift!
Dean was patiently waiting for me in the lobby downstairs,
but was also wondering what on Earth was taking me so long.
"Oh, nothing but a little tour of Heaven, is all."