Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Seasons Changing and So Do We

While the temps have just begun to reflect the change from summer to fall, the last few days are hinting that winter isn't far off. I don't mind the cooler weather and am happy to have turned off the AC.  After surviving far too many recording breaking days of 100+, anything under 80 feels like heaven.  But the newest addition to our family isn't very happy.

Toby, a 2 1/2 year old gray cat, came into our lives a month ago.  Several times throughout the year, when the cat population becomes too high, our local Humane Society gives away free kittens and cats.  I hadn't intended to take a new pet home, but out of curiosity we decided to see what was available at the latest give-away.  After getting a number and walking through the crowd of people hoping to adopt a new pet, my youngest daughter and I weren't able to tear ourselves away, even though we were told that it was entirely possible there wouldn't be any kitties left by the time our number was called.  As it turned out, Toby, who was being fostered by one of the employees and wasn't in the facility at the time, was the last cat available at the end of our four hour visit.  We took him in a heartbeat.

Toby's description mentioned that he was a great personal assistant, and he's already proved that to be true.  His favorite spot to snooze quickly became the window that overlooks over my desk.  This was fine with me, until the temps started to dip into the low 50s at night, and the daytime temps stopped reaching 75.  To Toby's utter disgust, the window had to be closed.  All the windows had to be closed.  So now when he discovers that his favorite sleeping spot will no longer accommodate his bigness, he gives up and settles for the top of my desk.  At 34 inches stretched out from head to tip of tail, that's more than half of my desk, and I've spent quite a lot of time moving him so I can see the bottom of my computer screen.  He still doesn't understand that assisting doesn't mean keeping me from working.

We're happy that, instead of a tiny kitten that would have needed training, we found Toby.  Or he found us.  It appears that he and I will be enjoying the changes of the seasons together.  I'm already curious to see what he thinks of the view out the window when the snow begins to fall.

Monday, October 17, 2011

What's your favorite costume?

It's almost the end of October, and Halloween will soon be upon us.

I love Halloween. And yes, it's partly because I'm a candy kind of girl. Don’t even get me started about chocolate! LOL

But for the blog today, how about we stick to something less fattening?

Let's talk about getting dressed up for the Big Night of trick-or-treating. Of course, like me, I'm sure you've worn many, many costumes over the years, from the most simple to the extravagantly elaborate.

As a teenager, my favorite costume was dressing up as a hobo. It was easy. It was cheap.

Heck, it was do-it-yourself:

Torn jeans, one of my dad's old flannel shirts, a pair of filthy, stinky sneakers my mom thought I'd tossed out long ago, and a worn-out bandana from the rag bag—and I was good to go.

Oh, along with the liberal application of black marker and eyebrow pencils to add that special down-on-my-luck touch. (smile)

My all-time favorite costume, though, was comprised of an old billowy ball gown with a "diamond" inset at the waist and a long gauzy train, strappy sandals, a pair of elbow-length gloves, and a "diamond" tiara. I felt regal and royal and really, really grown-up. That was probably the year I turned seven. LOL

And it does show that I've always been a romantic at heart, doesn't it?

How about you? Please share your favorite costume ever—one worn by you or one of your kids or grandkids!

All my best to you,

Barbara

~~~~~~

Barbara White Daille
http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Halloween...Scary Story

October…

The month when leaves change color and begin to fall.


When farmers finish harvesting their crops and prepare the fields for winter. When days are cold, then warm, then rainy, then sunny all in the same week. The month when birds fly south, and apples and pumpkins are picked. The month when football hockey and the World Series compete for TV viewers.

However….it's Halloween that steels the show in October.


A night when wherewolves, Vampires and Witches walk together. When Princesses, Fairies, Batmans and Supermans share the sidewalk with Harry Potters, Hermonie's , Buzz Lightyears, Green Army Men and Aliens.

In honor of Halloween I thought it would be fun to share a scary tale. I came across Campfire Tales - The Scariest Urban Legends Ever at
http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/horrors/ss/Campfire-Tales.htm
and recognized a story from my youth—a slightly different version but the same general premise.

Scary Story #6 "The Boyfriend's Death"



A Girl and her boyfriend are making out in his car. They had parked in the woods so no one would see them. When they were done, the boy got out to pee and the girl waited for him in the safety of the car. After waiting five minutes, the girl got out of the car to look for her boyfriend. Suddenly, she sees a man in the shadows. Scared, she gets back in the car to drive away, when she hears a very faint squeak... squeak... squeak... This continued a few seconds until the girl decided she had no choice but to drive off. She hit the gas as hard as possible but couldn't go anywhere, because someone had tied a rope from the bumper of the car to a nearby tree. Well, the girl slams on the gas again and then hears a loud scream. She gets out of the car and realizes that her boyfriend is hanging from the tree. The squeaky noises were his shoes slightly scraping across the top of the car!!!


I bet you remember a scary story from your childhood...want to share?

Marin
www.marinthomas.com
Check out my new Blog "All My Heroes are Cowboys" at
www.marinthomas.blogspot.com
A Rodeo Man's Promise (Dec 2011)
Arizona Cowboy (Feb 2011)