Pumpkin Festival 2014

The annual Pumpkin Festival has  been going on since Wednesday.  It will close today at 5. Doug brought his three kids and his girlfriend and her  daughter to the parade.  We watched it from a friends' front yard.  Below are Melissa and the four kids lined up, waiting for candy.

 This is the beginning of the parade.  It lasted 90 minutes.
Below are Mike's aunt and uncle, Dave and Jeanette Hissom, who were parade grand marshals.  They do a lot before, during, and after with the festival and were given this title as a recognition of their time and effort.

 This is the first float. It has the queens and princesses on it.  My camera died right afterwards, so this is all I have that's decent of the parade.  Look in the upper right hand corner.  Most people decorate their yards and I think this is a pretty example.

 Doug and Melissa

sitting in front of our friends' house and festival display.

 Melissa is a city girl so she was truly amazed at the size of this years pumpkin.  It weighs 1, 514 pounds.  Here are Melissa, Peyton, Addy, Dillon, and Doug with Maddy on the big pumpkin.

                     The kids in front of one of the two runner-ups.

There are rides of course. 

Dillon and Peyton are shown here.

It was a fun time, though it was very hot and crowded.  Doug's Addy and Melissa's Maddy are 7 and 8 and both redheads.  We had several clashes of the redheads!  They wanted to do things together, but would both get easily upset.  I loss count of how many deep breaths my son had to take! Ha!

Maddy has never had to share Mama, and isn't thrilled about having to do so now.  Melissa's mother is helping Maddy adapt to this new picture.

It was a good week.  We had pictures taken for homecoming and all went well.  I will post some of those later.  We had them dress up and then we had them change to jeans, flannel shirts, and cowboy boots.  We took them to a friend's field with two gorgeous tractors  and bales of hay.   Wonderful!

Hope you have a terrific week!

Corner View: Make-up

Here  is my basic make-up.

The top two are shades of beige and brown---my two basic eye shadow colors.

I stopped using eye make-up for years, but I started back last year, because folks kept saying that I looked tired.  They rarely say that now.  

I also wear shades of lavender (below).

The above is a base to keep eye make-up from 'slipping away'.  

I also always have a Clinique sample of mascara in a drawer, 

but I prefer Cover Girl.

My two basics. A  very light foundation (I don't wear it in the summer) and my under-eye-concealer(I don't go anywhere without it.

 I have to wear moisturizer as I have very dry skin. I wear mostly Clinique products but do dabble in other brands. For example, my under-eye-concealer is my Este Lauder.
For more on make-up, go on over to Francesca's.

Fall Flowers and Decorations

Pumpkin Festival is next weekend.  It is quite large. Thousands of people will be here in the four days of the festival (Wed. - Sun.).

Folks around here go all out in decorating.  Below shows you what I did.

Back Porch

Garage Door

Front Door (which is actually on the side)

Front Yard

(It's lit up with a spotlight at night.)

 Here are individual vignettes of the big  display.  The usual decorations are scarecrows, pumpkins, gourds, mums, and straw bales.  People will add antique  crocks, signs, chairs (as I did), etc.

 Here are my big mums.  The two local nurseries are quite busy and usually sell out of mums the weekend before the festival.  This year, the one sold out early and they had a huge field full. Luckily I went three weekends ago and got to choose from a great selection.

This week has been tiring.  I ended up missing school on Friday with a fibromyalgia flare  up.  Nothing terrible, just the usual.  I am in the middle of homecoming preparation.   The five seniors have been chosen as have the underclassmen(one each for freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. ) Pictures for them are Tuesday.  The actual ceremony is before the football game on Friday, October 10. Then there is a dance afterwards.  It is tiring, but fun.  I thoroughly enjoy it.

 It fits with something my mother taught me.  She said, "It hurts to sit, stand, lie down, and walk.  It's not like giving in and giving up makes the situation better.  So choose  what you want to do and do it.   If you have to be laid up for a few days after a special event, it will be worth it.    At least you'll be living to the fullest possible for you." Amen, mother, amen.

Five-Minute Friday: Hold

lightly folded hands
holding the  rounded belly
feeling the baby thumps

tenderly holding
the sleeping infant
watching her hands
and feet twitch
with innocent dreams

firmly holding the toddler
assuring  she won't fall
keeping her from harm's way
especially those on four wheels
careening too fast
in your 'safe' neighborhood

holding and guiding the adolescent's hands
as she pours the ingredients
into what will soon be
luscious, delicious cookies

 steeling yourself
 not to show emotion
though gratitude
streams through your heart
as the teen-ager reaches out for your hand
holding it close for comfort
as tears of first love
course down her cheeks

lovingly tucking
your mother's hankie
into her bridal arrangement
exchanging
holding on
for a quick hug
that signals letting go

then once more -
tenderly holding
the sleeping infant
your grandchild

Corner View:Contrast--one barn and four seasons

One Barn and Four Seasons

Spring

Summer

Fall

Winter

And in contrast with weather in some of the other corner views, I present a photo of fall in Southeast Ohio!

Ready for Fall-- Photos of Barns and Countryside and Five-Minute Friday

 The five-minute prompt is "Ready."  My post is at the end of the photos.  I decided to highlight some of my  fall countryside and barn pictures.  The three barns are some of my favorite ones.

 This is my husband's family farm.  It  has long been in other folks' 'hands', but he still refers to it as Grandpa and Grandma Butler's farm.  I use the photo to the right on the back of the photo cards I make with my barn pics.

 The color below is hard to believe but it's real and not due to 'playing with the camera'.

 This was one of the first set of barn photos I made.  It remains one of my top five favorites.

I have not made a card with this one, but may do so the next time I create my note cards.

 This is leaning a bit more towards winter but I love the faded red of the barn.  It's stuck back on a hillside behind a much bigger barn that demands attention but is not as picturesque as this one.

Five-Minute Friday: Go -
I'm ready for fall
for the crisp air,
the vivid reds, oranges, and yellows
of the leaves and plants
as the earth prepares for winter.
I'm ready for the bright pumpkins
and bumpy gourds that
gather in wooden bowls,
mums clustered on
bales of hay
while the scarecrows
buddy up to decorate
the front yard..
It's almost Pumpkin Festival time,
big 'doings' in this small town;
my front yard exhibit
is done
with the  help
of an Irish lass
I call my granddaughter.
I am ready for fall.
Stop.

Go over to Kate's for more five-minute-Friday posts.

Corner View: Rock

Let me start with the acknowledgement of God as my rock and foundation.  That being said, my rock on earth was my dad.   Here he and I are at the WWII Monument in Washington.  His generation is known as the greatest generation: tough, sometimes cantankerous, they helped in many different ways to win WWII and keep most of our world free.  He's been gone too many years, but he is never forgotten, nor are the lessons he taught me.

Barn and last week

This is a barn in Caldwell, Ohio.  It is part of a public estate and the upper part is used for weddings.

 Cool wagon, huh?!

Last week was a  long week for being only four days.  The big bomb dropped on us was a new four-page lesson plan that has to be done for each unit.  For some of us, that is at least two in a nine-week-grading period.  It is enough of a tough task that I will be handing my resignation in early instead of at the end of the year.  I will still wait and go then, but it will be official sooner.  That will free me from some of the other requirements---this was given as an incentive to announce early so they can hire before other school districts.
Other than that, my week was great!
Hope you have a wonderful week!