October Draws to a Close

I bought the holographic picture in a frame a couple of years ago.  

This year I decided to spruce up the frame a little with fabric scraps.

Finished these two eccentric skeletons.

Oops, almost finished, I just realized I haven't added his arms,

which were still drying from a last coat of sealer.

The skulls were from Dollar Tree, I think.

We took a day trip to Natchitoches a couple of weeks ago

and I liked this skellie outside of a shop.

 Bryce Eleanor drew the tiger below--
with some shrink plastic they turned into earrings!

Lucky me, I got a pair!

She's eleven, almost twelve, and I love that she keeps working at her drawing.
Practice and persistence!

From these drawings that we made into stuffies when she was five--

she sat in my lap and we sewed them together--

 to the tigers on the earrings!

One of my favorite sites to visit is A Mighty Girl, and my favorite Halloween costumes are homemade.  A Mighty Girl selected some favorite costumes from past years--many of which are characters from books the girl's have read.  

Suffragette

Scientist Ada Twist

"Cadence is 8 and has wanted to be an entomologist since she was 5.
This year, she asked to be a praying mantis for Halloween."

The last one cracked me up because when Mila was a little,
she wanted to be a bottle of vinegar.
I think she ended up as a spotted puppy.

Check out the some of the others at A Mighty Girl:  Jane Goodall, Amelia Earhart & Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Who and Harry Potter characters (especially Moaning Myrtle), Mulan, Julia Child--they are all wonderful and fun!

Incoming Mail

Annie's envelopes are always beautiful, inside and out!

 She makes her collage  cards out of 5 x 8 index cards folded in half

so the inside in lined and perfect for writing.

I love this idea and will, of course, probably copy it!

 I love the washi tape on Iliana's envelope

 and the black cat on the back!

and the note card inside :)

The Red Wrigglers--My worm farm wrigglers love anything I put in the blender with a little water and turn into a chunky kind of smoothie.  Their latest favorite was chunky Brussels Sprouts smoothie.  

Garden--the lettuces, kale, onions, green onions, and chard are doing well.   Petite carrot seeds (I like the petite carrots, not the big ones for my salads) have sprouted.  If I can do without tomatoes, my salads will be available in just a few steps.  Not that I mind purchasing cherry tomatoes, because I don't mind at all.  

Happy Halloween!

Creepy, Crawly Creatures

More Halloween.  

 in progress

Incoming Mail

from Iliana this beautiful Teesha Moore postcard!

Notice how the P.O. obliterated the bottom.  ??

Teresa's card cracks me up!

A photo from a Halloween party in the past.

I love the stamp, but everything in white is actually shiny gold.
It is a beautiful stamp, but my scanner doesn't want to pick up metallics. 

Outgoing

None of the shiny, shimmery, metallics show up here either.  :(

postcard to Suzie

Books/Reading

One paranormal and three historical mysteries.

October Is Flying By

First Halloween Mail--postcards

to Hannah

 to Max

to Mila (another one inspired by Jacki Long's faces/collage

to Bryce Eleanor

to Carla

to Ricky & Teresa

 I'm waiting for my new Halloween stamps to arrive.  

Here are the First Day Covers 

Books/Reading

I'm a sucker for children's books.  So many have such gorgeous or funny illustrations that are difficult to resist.  They make great gifts for children or adults and some of the illustrations are worthy of frames.  I just posted about some wonderful new purchases of children's books on my book blog.  If you are looking for gifts for the youngsters in your life (or for those who remain kids at heart) check it out.

Recently finished:   The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl by Theodora Goss, the conclusion of the trilogy that began with The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter.  

This trilogy works perfectly with October.  A mash-up of classic literary from favorite mystery/supernatural books like Dr. Jeckyl & Mr. Hyde, Frankenstein, The Island of Dr. Moreau, Rappacini's Daughter and Sherlock Holmes.  

Almost finished:  Strangers at the Gate by Catriona McPherson.  Suspenseful and twisty.   

Maybe...Fall Is Here

On Oct. 4, we finally got rain!  And a little cooler weather (low 90's) that has refreshed the garden.  Soon I'll have to pull up annuals that have continued to bloom with zest, but while they continue to bloom, I resist.  The low, bushy zinnias I planted this year have been such a delight of color, and I'm collecting a few seeds to try next year.  Not that I have a problem with buying the plants, because the way they spread out was so fast, covering more area than I anticipated.  While tall zinnias are still a favorite, these low-growing ones have been a wonderful surprise.  

In July, she was staying on the stepping stones-- 

deciding to nest in the centers of the zinnias.

Leaving the orange ones alone...

UPDate:  

Oct. 7, today.  We went from 93 yesterday, to a predicted high of 73 today!

YAY!!!

Halloween

Some favorites from last year are now appearing.

This little lady and her companions are from a couple of years ago. 

Fee was at the camp this weekend, 

so I started bringing Halloween downstairs

a little at a time.

Continuing to work on a few new projects and postcards.

Awesome Teachers!  These are so funny :)

Two examples

 Aren't you sometimes confused by urls like those in the second column?