To Fright or Not to Fright

Do you like scary movies? Personally I'm not a horror movie kind of girl. I can probably count the number of scary movies I have willingly sat through on one hand.

I remember watching Bela Lugosi walk slowly towards his prey in Dracula (1931). I was at a friend's house and while our parents chatted away in another room, the Transylvanian import was wrecking havoc in England. This was a movie that would not likely have aired in our den at home. I remember that the female victims were light deer in headlights, mesmerized by his terrifying gaze. I, too was frozen in fear and thankful when my mom walked in and said it's time to go home.

Unfortunately, my new fear of vampires didn't stay behind, but came home in the car with us and settled in for good. Now, I worried that sounds at my window might be a vampire bat trying to get in and opened closets with the notion a terrifying figure in a black cape might emerge. I had no interest in joining or even rubbing elbows with the undead.

So now all these years later I still avoid scary at all costs. My list of "Scary Movies I Have Endured" is like a badge of honor, a list built on personal acts of courage and great determination on my part. So here it is the list of scary movies I've watched (at least the one's I have not completely blocked from my memory.) Laugh away you terror fanatics. You are braver souls than I.

Rosemary's Baby
The Birds
Godzilla
Coma
The Omen
Psycho
Jaws
The Shining
Poltergeist
Alien
The Others
Sleepy Hollow

What Lies Beneath

The Sixth Sense

I know, I know, where are the really scary slasher films? Hmm, not on my list.

Classic Jack-o' Lantern

Of all the Jack-o' lanterns on google search this is my favorite. There are fancier ones, but I like how straight forward this one is. I'm looking forward to carving our own "classic" this weekend.

Is it Monday Already?

The weekend flew by too fast as usual. We managed to squeeze in the dance class, soccer class, grocery shopping, laundry, etc. Other than that we mostly just chilled out at home which was fine with me.

Summer clothing needed paring down & packing up. And more bags were filled for the goodwill. I'm continuing my attempts at lightening our load and clearing space.

This week the focus will be on getting spooky and into the Halloween spirit.

Boo!

Hurray for Friday

It's been one of those weeks and I couldn't be happier that it's Friday. I'm trying not to over plan the weekend but there's a ton of stuff I'd like to get done.

I've got huge to do list of chores, but I'm also trying to come up with a fun fall outing for us. What are your favorite Fall activities?

Still Life by Henri Matisse.

Lady Bug on the Loose

Lady bug, lady bug
fly away home

Wednesday night we found a lady bug in the bedroom and my daughter became very concerned about it's welfare and instantly attached to it. The little thing had no spots which made it a bit of an oddity and perhaps more deserving of sympathy.

I scooped it up on a card and it ended up flipped over on it's back. Once we got it righted, it was very still. My daughter was very worried that it wasn't moving any more.
I told her it was scared and she looked very sad and asked "Is it scared of me?" I reassured her it was just scared. I blew on it gently and it started to move. She was delighted.

I asked her if we should put it outside. Her lower lip went out and tears were immanent. "No, I'm going to miss that ladybug." It was pouring outside, so putting it out the window did seem cruel. After a discussion of where it should live and more concern about Lola the cat getting it, we settled on leaving it near her dollhouse in the other room. Of course it made off and now there is a ladybug on the loose, but tears were spared.

Quilting blocks designed by Phyllis Dobbs. Pattern available at the TLC.

You Are a Very Clever Mommy

The other night I caught my four year old using flattery to get me to put together her Lego Thomas set. I kept insisting it was bedtime, while she kept encouraging me to bend to her will by handing out compliments.

"Don't worry mommy, you're a very clever mommy, you can put it together" or "Good job, you're a very clever mommy." Clever is obviously a new favorite in her arsenal of vocabulary words. Of course it was hard not to take the bait or the compliments, so Thomas and his carousel were built before bedtime. You are a very clever little daughter.

Escapism #2: Le Happy

I'd like to be hanging out in "Le Happy", whatever it is. I'm sure there must be cocktails involved.

Photo from the series Vanishing America by Michael Eastman.

Strange Fall Sightings

This morning while waiting for my train the sky was all shades of red toward the east and it made me think of a saying my father taught me - "Red sky at night sailor's delight, red sky in morning sailor take warning."

I was pondering what bad weather might be lurking ahead, when I suddenly turned around to spy a giant rainbow in the sky behind me. I was pleasantly startled. It was not raining and seemed to have no real reason to be there. I imagine the morning air was full of moisture, but preferred to see it in a less scientific light and decided it was hanging there as a good omen.

Yesterday, I was walking around downtown and came upon a tree that was half in bloom with what looked like white apple or cherry blossoms. It stopped me in my tracks and I took a photo just to convince myself I wasn't making it up. There was a honey bee happily gathering nectar, who I imagine, did not care that it's October and was just delighted to enjoy his flowery treat.
Now, I wondering if strange sightings come in threes. I'm excited to see what else October has to offer.

Cider and Roast Corn

This past weekend we braved the crowds and went apple picking again. So different from our previous outing when barely anyone was there and the trees were overflowing with apples.
We had to look hard for apples we could reach and a quiet stretch of orchard where we could enjoy the perfect fall day.

We managed to pick a nice mix of apples and fill our basket, before climbing into a packed hayride. We finished off with cider and roast corn. Cider and doughnuts might be more traditional, but the corn was amazing. Piping hot and buttery with a nice seasoned salt, the corn was a perfect contrast to the sweet cold cider and crisp fall day. Oh and we took home a bottle of cider and a bag of doughnuts for later.

Fall

My daughter was explaining "Fall" to me this weekend. "The leaves fall and so it's Fall and we have to hurry up so we don't miss it."
She's very excited to rake and make leaf piles. And indeed the leaves have started to fall suddenly.

The long grass under the cedar trees has turned golden brown and the deer have moved in from the back woods. Now they are spending their days resting together in the grass. They chose their spots, sometimes shifting configurations a few times, before settling in. It's almost like a scene from a safari, all these elegant heads and long ears sticking up in the grass.

The male deer are suddenly very visible with their antlers fully grown. Jousting playfully or just making a grand entrance. Surprisingly they often show up in pairs or small groups as well.
The twins that were born this summer visited this weekend, their spots are completely gone and the edges of their ears have turned black. Their coats have lost the burnt reddish brown of summer and are now like mocha - a sure sign of fall.

Hopefully this great weather will hold so that they deer can enjoy sunny naps and we can enjoy deer watching and jumping in lots of leaf piles.

Monday Inspiration: Be Courageous

I just feel like I'm going to need it this week!

Cabin Fever

There's not a lot, not to like on David Coote's Design site. His cabin's design's are beautiful and light filled while still appropriately rustic. I particularly like his addition of a green house section to one of his designs. I wouldn't mind escaping to one of these spaces for some streamlined living, even if it were just in my back yard.

Via A Well Traveled Woman

Never Small Again

Last night my little one was talking about how her cat Lola was small like her. Lola (or Whoa Wa) is by no means a small cat. There are times when I am feeding her, that my daughter cautions me not to give her too much food or she'll become too big for the house and have to live outside. Looking at Lola, you could almost picture this scenario coming to life.

I was amused by Lola suddenly being referred to as small and remembered where some photos of Lola as a kitten were stashed. I pulled them out to show my little one. Lola was once truly small. She came into my life at the McCarren pool in Williamsburg. Approximately four weeks old, I needed to feed her with a special tiny bottle for weeks. She was just bigger than my Nokia cell phone.

At first, when my daughter saw the photos, she insisted it was not Lola. When I finally convinced her it was, she burst into tears. "Lola will never be small again." I could not get her to stop crying. She was so genuinely upset by the loss of smallness. Upset that she did not get to have or know the little kitten in the photos. She just cried and cried, saying over and over " but Lola will never be small again." I tried to comfort her by telling her Lola wanted to grow up and get big. It took at least a half an hour to restore her mood.

The photos are tucked away again, but I was saddened too. If my little one only knew the pangs I feel each day as I witness the loss of small. You my sweet little one are growing everyday and will never be quite so small again.

Testing 123

I'm blogging on my iPad for the first time today on the train. I'm very pleased indeed to be able to use my train time productively. I usually hand write posts on the train and need to type them later, if I get the chance.

No More Kisses!

We have entered a stage of not wanting kisses. This coincided with turning four. At least that was the initial excuse. "No more kisses now that I'm four years old!" Now I also get - no kisses when Thomas is on, no kisses when it's dark outside, when we are drawing , in the car, and the list goes on.

There's some hope, as I'm sometimes told "No more kisses till I'm five years old." So until next year, I guess I'll be sneaking kisses while she sleeps. I'm hoping this phase passes more quickly than that. Oh and if you're wondering, Hershey's chocolate kisses have not been banned, which makes me think bribes may be in order. A kiss for a kiss!

Monday Inspiration: The Power of Small Things

I'm going to try and use the power of small things this week and see if it works. It seems to reason, that small positive steps will add up, in the same way small troublesome things seem to snowball.

So it's Monday morning and I'm going to try and take a positive attitude in to the week and rather than become overwhelmed with all there is to do, just work on taking small steps, getting little things out of the way. Let's see if I can get a snowball of good rolling.

Here's an inspirational post from Professor G for anyone else interested in exploring the power of small things.

Image: Small Things Work # 755, Martin Creed.