Trick or Treaters

I love getting Trick or Treaters. This year we had two hundred and twenty. I kept tally on a piece of paper. Thank goodness we had lots of candy. Last year we ran out and while Aaron was at the store I was ready to start handing out pudding packs and sticks of gum. Even though we had lots of candy, Aaron was sad to part with any of it. Oscar made a go of trying to snatch a few pieces too. (above pictures)

Besides keeping a count of trick or treaters, I write down the funny stuff they say... (looking in the candy bowl) "Ooooh, that's beautiful!", "Oh sweet! I like this place!", "Good reflexes!" (on my answering the door quickly), (inhaling the fog from my fog machine) "Mmmm that smells good.", little girl -"I like your house!", little sister with her echos - "I like your house."

posted on 10/31/2003 :: link :: (0) comments

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One candy apple from Gro-Moore Farms was all it took to start a trend. I needed a steady supply of candy apples, so I was forced to produce them at home. They were delish. The making of the candy apples are documented on this project page. Not that they were really hard, but they are more work than caramel apples... a sticky, sticky business.

The cruel irony is that after a week of eating them for lunch, I had a dentist appointment yesterday. Luckily they hadn't caused any damage yet.

posted on 10/30/2003 :: link :: (0) comments

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I got a couple questions concerning my mantle picture...

1. I didn't get those cameras from work... they hardly have anything more than a few months old there. No, those are the fruits of my mom's yard sale scouring labor.

2. I got the glass candy corn at Oriental Trading Company, where all things are cheap and plentiful!

posted on 10/29/2003 :: link :: (0) comments

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Another Halloween project. I can't resist the colors black and orange. This time it's a Halloween Garland made of felt. Fairly easy, pretty inexpensive and looks nice hanging from the mantle.

posted on 10/28/2003 :: link :: (0) comments

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Yesterday was my Fifth Annual Pumpkin Carving Party. The rain let up just long enough for us to scramble out to the field and grab our pumpkins. We were almost done when I see Aaron dump his pumpkins and start sprinting for the "Biggie Section". The mutant, humungous pumpkins. He selected the biggest one he could carry.

Everyone else seemed to make due with their normal pumpkins and Chuck even carved a teeny little Snacky Jack Alien pumpkin. Aaron carved his pumpkin into the likeness of Oscar and Oscar was not amused. (The giant pumpkin seeds that came out of that pumpkin tasted horrible toasted by the way.) No worries because we had plenty of pumpkin pie and pumpkin ice cream to eat. More pictures here...

posted on 10/27/2003 :: link :: (0) comments

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My faithful little friend Louie passed away last night. He was 12 years old, which is quite a ripe old age for a parakeet. I got Louie my freshman year of college and he went with me to graduate school, my first apartment and my first house.

His little chirps will be missed.

posted on 10/26/2003 :: link :: (0) comments

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I got the scoop on the newest Method cleaner. It's floor cleaner! They don't have it on the Method web site yet. (I had to take a picture of mine... Wegmans won't be calling me to do product photography any day soon)

They have it in lavendar, lemon and mint. I got the mint. I asked Aaron, "Which scent do you like better?". He came back with "Ummm, you don't have a mop." Fine! I got a mop. (not that I don't mop.. I use one of those wet jet swifter thingies) Now I can't wait to mop. Whoah... did I say that?

posted on 10/25/2003 :: link :: (0) comments

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These are the ice creams I will be eating for the next three months...

October = Pumpkin, November = Apple Pie and December = Peppermint.

Thank you Edy's.

posted on 10/24/2003 :: link :: (0) comments

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Aaron came home from the pet store with a Nylabone PopPup Potato Bone. You stick it in the microwave and it puffs up for a crunchier texture. Sounds yummy, yes?

I was intriqued.

So we pop this thing in the microwave and we can see it swelling up... we take it out and EWWWWW! Gross! I... I.. I... words cannot describe it. We set it on the floor and Oscar just sniffed and stared at the monstrosity.

Finally when we broke it into little pieces, he saw fit to nibble a few bits.

In the future Aaron is not allowed to go to the pet store without Oscar there to approve purchases.

posted on 10/23/2003 :: link :: (0) comments

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This past weekend, with four adults and a car seat to transport, neither my bug nor Aaron's Jeep was going to do the trick. So Aaron decided to rent a car. When we were at the rental desk they said, in the midsize vehicles they had a Chevy Blazer or a Pontiac Aztec. Without hestitation we said "We'll take the ugly car".

I have always been attracted to peculiar vehicles. A lot of people think the Aztec is really ugly, but I was curious about it. Joel and I have had many heated discussions on the design elements of the Aztec or as Joel would say "it's lack thereof". Free of commitment, I got to tool around in the Aztec for a weekend and can now say it is pretty comfy to ride in and has a ton of trunk space. It's no bug though.

posted on 10/22/2003 :: link :: (0) comments

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Even though I have been busy painting, I couldn't let Halloween go by without some sort of spooky craftiness.

I have Halloween dishtowels, handtowels, washcloths, potholders... but no tablecloth. I couldn't find any I liked in the stores, so I set out to make one myself. JoAnns has a lot of seasonal fabrics, and this is what I came up with. More pics on the project page. This was a quick project, made even easier by using material with lines on it.

posted on 10/21/2003 :: link :: (0) comments

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Aaron's niece Kira is cuteness incarnate. She drew this super picture of Aaron and I. (Click on it for the larger version)

Most excellent for a two-going-on-three year old.

Aaron is the large green figure and I am the bitty blue one. She got the proportion between the two of us just about right.

She started to write her name under Aaron but it suddenly turned into a box. I think it's a chair for him to sit on.

I love it. I am going to frame it and hang it in my house.

posted on 10/20/2003 :: link :: (0) comments

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We braved another day of gray clouds to go to Gro-Moore Farms. Aaron's niece fed the goats and wandered around rows of pumpkins. I liked the goats too. Nothing like cracked corn to make you a goats best friend.

posted on 10/19/2003 :: link :: (0) comments

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Today we took my future in laws to Niagara Falls. It was drizzly all day, so our time was more well spent at the Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum. What is is about the world's largest collection of dryer lint and eight legged cows that we find so fascinating?

posted on 10/18/2003 :: link :: (0) comments

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Aaron and I were trying to think of the cool places we wanted to take his fam while they were in town. Today we went to Strong Museum and Dinosaur BBQ. Strong Museum is great for kids... they have sets from Sesame Street and a mini Wegmans, where they can check out food with tiny conveyor belts, scanners and cash registers. I wanted to play too.

Dinosaur BBQ was self serving in that Aaron and I were hungry for it. We love their bbq ribs and at Wegmans we get their bbq sauce, potato chips and now they have Helluva Good dip too.

posted on 10/17/2003 :: link :: (0) comments

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Treat

Is there anything more simple and beautiful than a Rice Krispy Treat? It is becoming one of those things that I can eat at any time and eat unlimited quantities of. I had one at Starbucks last night and it sparked something. Aaron's brother, sister in law and niece are coming to visit for the weekend.... it's his brother's birthday... so Aaron was ordering him a birthday cake and I had a sudden desire to just make him a giant rice krispy treat birthday cake like Martha makes. Self serving? Yes. Still a good idea? Yes.

A google search turned up an image of a "microwave treat maker". Alas when I went to the site the treat makers were gone. It looks like it makes perfectly square tightly packed marshmallow treats. I could make them at work in the microwave! Well, they didn't have the treat makers, but I did see apple baking dishes which I now need.

posted on 10/16/2003 :: link :: (0) comments

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Boo

Of course I had to get the Halloween edition of Boo Berry Cereal when I saw it. The rest of the year I only see Count Chocula so I was all over that. And the box was so cute. In my enthusiasm (and ravenous hunger), I may have eaten too much Boo Berry. The thing is... and how do I put this delicately... large quantities of Boo Berry cereal has a rather colorful effect later on down the road.

Am now wondering about the Franken Berry.

(Joel thinks the Franken Berry looks like Kelsey Grammer... what do you think?)

posted on 10/15/2003 :: link :: (0) comments

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It ain't easy...

I may have mentioned before that Aaron and I have been painting my upstairs. Today we completely finished my larger spare room. It is now called the "green room" or as Aaron calls it... "Kermit's room". (pictures to be added to the project pages soon)

When we were at Sherwin Williams picking out the paint, I saw a woman holding up two paint chips squinting at them as though she was making the hardest decision of her life. The colors were "cream" and "sand". Virtually indistinguishable shades of cold oatmeal. I grabbed two of those chips... brought them home, wrote a big "NO!" on each one with a sharpie and hung them in my computer room.

Next... the stairway....

posted on 10/14/2003 :: link :: (0) comments

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Fire!

I got Aaron a firepit for his birthday and we decided to break it in last night. It is so warm and toasty. I love how the fire looks against the copper. My neighbor came out in her pajamas to see what it was. It also did a nice job roasting wieners and toasting marshmallows. I think we are going to use it to have a smores cookout on Halloween!

posted on 10/13/2003 :: link :: (0) comments

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A few early pumpkins

I am planning on having my fifth annual Pumpkin Carving Party the weekend before Halloween. But that is too long for Tina to wait for Snacky Jack pumpkin seeds. Snacky Jacks are small pumpkins with green seeds that are either hull-less or they have very thin hulls. At any rate eating them is like eating peanuts, there are no hull shrapnels getting stuck in your teeth.

Must - have - Snacky Jacks. We went out the pumpkin patch to pick up a few. Tina got eight. I took some pictures, because for some reason, pictures taken in pumpkin fields always turn out amazing. Back home, I toasted two of the three SJ's I got. Oscar was disturbed by them, especially when they sat in his bed.

For more info on these seeds, the pumpkins are actually called Snack Jacks and you can order seeds to grow them here.

posted on 10/12/2003 :: link :: (0) comments

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Squirrels-6 Me-0

Those stinkin' squirrels! I bought six ears of brightly colored Indian Corn at the pumpkin patch and hung them on my porch railing in a festive manner. Soon I noticed two ears had been eaten clean. I knew it was the squirrels. I had a bout with them this summer when they were taking bites out of my tomatoes. I fixed their wagon by sprinkling hot peppers on the ground around the tomato plants.

This time Aaron got some habenero hot tabasco sauce. He sprayed it on the corn. Friday morning as I was backing out of the driveway, I noticed a squirrel run up, nibble the corn and then run away. Hah! Burnt his little squirrel tongue! Hah hah! I drove off to work laughing manaically. (At this point Greta must be horrified... she loves squirrels... I like 'em too, just not when they are munching on my decor) I thought I had them licked.

This morning when I got up two more ears were bare and two ears had been carried off. Turns out Aaron had watered down the hot sauce. NO! Slather it on full force! No mercy! What do I have to do? Tie Oscar out there all day?!

posted on 10/11/2003 :: link :: (0) comments

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Candy Lips

Being bombarded by Halloween candy at every twist and turn? Try Lotta Luv's sweet lips line! I spotted them at Target... stuff like Tootsie Roll lip gloss, Sugar Daddy lip gloss, Blow Pop lip glosses, and Jr. Mints lip balm. There is also stuff out there flavored like Bubble Yum, Twizzlers, PEZ, Cinnabon and even Twinkies. All fat free! You might see me sitting at a stop light someday gnawing on my lip balm.

I was amused that Aaron had been dipping into the Halloween Reeses Peanut Butter Cups I got for trick or treaters (I bought two big bags of candy at Target to get the free vinyl Halloween tote bag), so I got him the Reeses Cup Lip Gloss shaped like a peanut butter cup and hid it in the candy bag with a note. I know he is a guy, but guys gotta keep their lips moisturized too, so it might as well be with something that tastes like a Reeses Cup!

posted on 10/10/2003 :: link :: (0) comments

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Cameras... past and future

Tonight at Sit & Knit, Sarah was talking about how much she wanted one of these digital cameras. She mentioned something about it being a tri-holiday gift... birthday, Christmas and anniversary all rolled into one.

Lomo now has a Pinhole Camera hailing from the days of yore. Or is it yesteryear? On the other end of the spectrum, Nokia is planning on releasing in 2004 a Digital Picture Medallion. It's a wearable necklace that displays images sent to it via infared from your phone. Cool!

Now if you could send pictures from your pinhole camera to your necklace....

posted on 10/09/2003 :: link :: (0) comments

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Aaron and I are in the process of painting the rest of the rooms in my house we didn't finish before he left for Bahrain. We were at Home Depot getting a few supplies when I spied the big display of Disney Colors Paints by Behr.

It looked like the Buzz Lightyear line was made just for me. My dining room's "Alien Green" and foyers "Mickey's Pants" were all there. We generally only use Sherwin Williams, but this sure was tempting. The color chips came shaped like Mickey's head. I took one of each... I don't know what I'll do with them but I couldn't resist! Aaron just shook his head when I trotted out of there clutching a whole stack of them.

posted on 10/08/2003 :: link :: (0) comments

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Carrots

Another gardening season has come and gone. I have updated the garden project page.

The last veggies to be harvested were the carrots. A nice haul this year. Oscar lent a hand digging them up. There was another freak-of-nature too. The Snuggly Carrots. Two carrots twisted together. I don't know what it is with my weirdo carrots... it's not like I live near a nuclear plant or anything.

posted on 10/07/2003 :: link :: (0) comments

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I finally picked my "surprise we're not purple!" eggplants. I made breaded eggplant for supper. It's an easy meal... slice the eggplant, dip in egg, dip in breadcrumbs and fry in olive oil. We eat them with spaghetti sauce and parmesean cheese. Mmmm-mmm!

I slipped a couple of green tomatoes in there too. No, we are not from the south but we luuuuv fried green tomatoes!

posted on 10/06/2003 :: link :: (0) comments

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Pugoween

This morning Aaron and I took Oscar to Pugoween. It's an event held by the Pug Club of Rochester. There were scads of pugs for Oscar to sniff and romp around with.

I made Oscar a sailor costume for the costume contest. Aaron was driving me bonkers... insisting that the uniform be as accurate as possible.

I almost had a Martha moment after the contest. (We finally watched the made for TV movie "Martha Inc" on the DVR) Oscar did not place in the contest and after making three hats to get one that looked right I thought I was going to have a lima bean/merlot fit. A pug dressed as a cowboy won. "That costume is store bought! Is everybody here an idiot?! Didn't I ask for merlot?! Where are the lima beans!?" (You would have to see the movie to get that)

But Aaron got me out of there before I hurt anyone and Oscar still had a great time. He looked cute and was a hit with all the ladies.

More pictures... (link fixed)

posted on 10/05/2003 :: link :: (0) comments

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Barktober Fest

This is a big weekend for pups. Today we met Sarah and Denis at the Barktober Fest Walk. Oscar braved the drizzly rain and raised $90 for Lollipop Farm. Oscar was a social butterfly as he greeted his ol' pals Molly and Murphy and made new friends with a Jack Russell, St. Bernard, Great Danes, other pugs and many many Basset Hounds.

After the walk we went inside to see the vendors. It was a canine madhouse. I almost took home a dog walking around with a sign on that said "I'm available!" The kitties there looked disgusted. More pictures...

posted on 10/04/2003 :: link :: (0) comments

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You wouldn't like me when I'm angry

We went to see John Lardieri of Twin A sing at Milestones this evening. They were supposed to go on at midnight, so we sat at the Spot sucking down coffee 'til 11:45 and then headed over. John was already playing, and after two songs said "Thanks for coming out tonight... this is our last song." For some reason they started early. I was an angry little gumball. Anger growing... fury building...

What we heard of John was great. I think he is going to hit it big. He has a wonderful voice... sorta Sting-like. There are mp3's on his site... check them out. "Sugarcane" is the best!

posted on 10/03/2003 :: link :: (0) comments

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Only 84 more shopping days!

Since it is now October, Christmas decorations should be popping up in the stores pretty soon (actually I saw a row of stuff at Target last week). So it's not too early to post about the Christmas album Maybe This Christmas Too. Guster has a song on it! "(Mamacita) Donde Esta Santa Claus?" Note that none of them speak Spanish... and all three of them are Jewish.

I will probably need last year's Maybe This Christmas also. It has Coldplay's "Have Yourself a Merry Christmas", Ben Fold's "Bizzare Christmas Incident" and the much sought after Bare Naked Ladies and Sarah McLachlan's "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen".

posted on 10/02/2003 :: link :: (0) comments

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Weird dog. Weird bread.

Yes. Oscar is wearing two collars. He was wearing one, then he went and got the second one out of his basket and brought it to Aaron. He wanted to wear it too. So he walked around all this evening with two collars on. Nutty.

What is he looking at? A loaf of banana bread. I wanted to put chocolate chips in it like Joel does, but all we had were mini baking M&M's. They melted a little and the color ran. It looks a little... odd.

posted on 10/01/2003 :: link :: (0) comments

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