All Hallows Eve

Is there anything quite as thrilling as your candy haul at the end of a long Halloween night?!  I remember my triumphant return home, walking into the living room and dumping the contents on the floor for sorting.  I smile now thinking of myself separating out the candy I wasn't quite so enamored with--specifically the Milk Duds (they always stuck in my teeth & that bugged me....don't get me started!) and the Bit O' Honeys (do they even make those anymore?).  I would oh-so-generously share these with my parents; my Dad especially liked Milk Duds.  Win-Win!  Really, who was I fooling?!  I'm guessing they thought it was funny (and predictable) too!

I don't recall there being any sort of brakes put on my candy consumption.  My parents pretty much had the attitude that if I ate too much of it, I'd start to feel sick and hopefully I'd have the good sense to stop eating!  And maybe I'd remember that next time?! (Of course this was coming from my Dad who, as a boy, loved chocolate pudding so much that his older sister decided to make a huge bowl of it to see if he'd ever reach his saturation.  He ate the whole thing and asked for more!)

Many of the kids forgot to say "Trick or Treat" when
they saw this scary guy at the door!

We did our bit to help the little urchins of our little village--full size Hershey bars at our house!  Fun to hear their gasps of delight when they spied them or to watch them skipping down the sidewalk exclaiming about getting a BIG candy bar! A woman in my hometown did the same thing every year--nobody passed by her house.  (It was rumored that some of the boys would switch masks and go back for seconds--boys!)  I was so impressed that I vowed to myself that I was going to do that someday, too.  And here I am, doing just that!  Yay!

What a Crock!

Ever start a project which then leads to several more projects?  That's pretty much the story of my Summer (and Fall!).

Allow me to start with the easy ones (a.k.a....the finished ones):

Don't get me wrong, Mod-Podge remains my dependable, long-time friend & helper....we go back a number of years. (Just the name alone conjures up visions of tie-dye  & hirachi sandals--it's obviously been around for awhile!) However, somebody new is in town, threatening to usurp MP's dominance for my attention. This new relationship was quite transparent from the get-go;  allow me to introduce.... Decal Paper!

With the use of Decal Paper and the ever-satisfying Graphics Fairy, here's what I came up with:

This crock, which stands about 8" high, is actually used as a wastepaper basket in our downstairs bathroom. The era of the sign matches well with the age of the crock. So, what was a boring old crock, is now a stylish accent!  You'll just have to trust me when I say it fits in well with the room decor.  I also like that it's not too cutesy or froo-froo. I actually think when people see it, they assume it's original to the crock!

Another label from The Graphics Fairy and a smaller crock. I'll probably end up putting a plant in this; in the meantime, I just like looking at it!  Again, the graphic seemed to match the crock so well. Timely for Fall, right?

The white terracotta pot with the bees on it is a product of messing around with Mod-Podge.  Again, with a contribution from The Graphics Fairy, I used a bee graphic and experimented with 1) painting the pot beforehand with some leftover housepaint, 2) adhering the bee with MP, 3) letting it dry, 4) gently peeling/washing off the paper the next day while, hopefully, leaving the bee graphic on there, and 5) coating it with some clear poly.

Bee design replicated multiple times to create a border effect.

And while we're on the subject of projects, thought I'd throw this in for good measure.... last week I attended a baby shower for my nephew's yet-to-be-born son.  (Apparently everybody wants to know ahead of time these days? What's wrong with a surprise now & then?, I ask!!)

I figured Gabriel might need some formal attire now & then. His new onesie was quite the hit.  I didn't tell them (but I'll tell you) that the tie was made from an old pair of Mr. P's boxer shorts!  Waste not, want not!

 
Next I'll attempt to show you the big project....the one which makes Mr. P nervous about ever getting his garage back! Really, it's winding down....it's almost finished....

That Grand Old Flag

We had a grand time in St. Louis recently.  Though you might not guess it, besides getting some psychologically much-needed dog time with Klaus, we really did do other things.  An unexpected pleasure was seeing all the September 11th Memorial flags at Art Hill in Forest Park--the green expanse in front of the Art Museum leading down to the reflecting pools and fountains.  We saw them on the news and, since we were mere blocks away, we figured a quick cruise through the park was in order.  Everyone else (and their dogs) in St. Louis had pretty much the same idea! But a good idea it was--they were beautiful--even brought a lump to my throat as we walked among them.

Though it hardly captures it well, I tried to take some footage with my iphone:

The mood was not somber; more of joyful contentment.  Everyone seemed to be having a good time.  And I mean everyone.....look again, you may have missed this the first time around (I did):

The viewfinder on my phone is relatively small, so I didn't see him!:

How curious...he's kinda hard to miss!

Such a glorious day!

P.S. Who needs traveling gnomes?!