Tag Archives: journal

Oct30

The Magic of The Pumpkin

Posted on by
Image

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

With Halloween almost here, kids all around us are getting their pumpkins ready for the spookiest night of the year!  Some still have to be carved, and some await the night when they can be lit up, and take part in the scary evening called Halloween.  All the children are planning their costumes, some even make them as we did when we were kids.  Now-a-days all the stores have them,  and  in some ways they are a little bit disappointing!  Remember when we would plan an outfit for weeks, trying to think of the scariest costume possible, getting the make up ready, the bags or pillowcases ready, and then Mom would insist we put on a coat or jacket?  Well that ruined the everything didn’t it?  Somehow we got through it, and came home with copious amounts of candy that we’d have to hide from our siblings, and parents!

On Sunday, Papa and I went out to visit with two of our grandkids.  When we arrived the kitchen table was covered in brown paper, the pumpkins and carving equipment all around.  They had carefully been punctured in all the right places so the selected picture could be carved into the face of the pumpkin!  The kids did most of it, but when it came to the real detail, they eagerly handed all the tools over to their mother.  You should have seen the look on Mom’s face!  Of course, she knew she’d get to do all the “difficult carving!”  But carving a pumpkin is a messy venture, and does anyone look forward to slimy internal muck, and seeds?  The pictures the kids chose for the faces of their pumpkins were rather interesting, one being a cat, and the other the head of a wolf!  It wasn’t difficult to know who chose the kitty, and who chose an intimidating wolf face!  A girl – 6, and  boy – 8, exactly.   I always wanted to carve a pumpkin with something different from triangular eyes, nose, and jagged teeth in a wide smiley mouth!  Why didn’t I ever think to do that?   As the faces were finished, we all had to admit, they turned out pretty well, even though Mom had to do all the finishing up!  After the carvings were completed, pumpkins cleaned out, and lights put into the insides, they truly were going to add to a  ghoulish Halloween night!

But wait, there’s more!  As we looked around for the large bowl of guts, and seeds from the insides, they were nowhere to be found…….we looked everywhere,  nothing!  Finally, I knocked on my grandsons bedroom door, and upon being told I could enter, there  precisely in the middle of  his big double bed, was the bowl of pumpkin seeds and guts!”  Upon asking him why he had taken the bowl into his room,  he looked at me with eyes that said, “Grandma, don’t you know?”   and replied, “Room fragrance!”  Of course, what could I have been thinking!   Apparently there are more things than I realized for a pumpkin to do than just be scary, and  one of them is to  provide much-needed room fragrance for eight year old boys!

Oct29

Built In Obsolescence

Posted on by
Gallery

This gallery contains 3 photos.

Did you ever purchase something, only to have it last a very short time?  We all have, the big joke is just about everything we buy has Built in Obsolescence!  When I was a kid (here it comes) things lasted, I remember my Dad saying that all the time, “These things are made to last!” […]

Rate this:

Oct22

What Doesn’t Kill Us…

Posted on by
Gallery

This gallery contains 1 photo.

After being out of work for a while, and prior to working for an organization that didn’t treat him very well, my son-in-law John became part of the Kirby Team!  Kirby, to its credit is a long-standing company that manufactures vacuum cleaners here in the Good Old USA!  There seems to be more, and more […]

Rate this:

Oct21

Just A Lazy Rainy Day

Posted on by
Gallery

This gallery contains 1 photo.

All through the night the rain came down!  The sky was still cloudy, and drizzling, we were being given a fresh new day to experience.  Everything smelled cleaner, the plants looked happier, and fresher!  There was no watering for us to do, for mother nature was doing it for us! How does one find energy […]

Rate this:

Oct16

The Murder of Crows!

Posted on by
Gallery

This gallery contains 1 photo.

Last week during  a gentle night-time rain, I laid awake for the longest time just listening to it softly giving my plants a drink of water, and washing away the grime from everyday life. Rain is very soothing, I love to hear it, smell it, and stand in it. It’s even better if we are […]

Rate this:

Oct15

Back From The Great State Of Texas

Posted on by
Image

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Dallas! What can I say, and where do I begin? It’s quite a place, we didn’t realize how interesting it would be. I think we had the idea that it was dusty, dirty, and we would see a lot of longhorn steers, and oil wells! Maybe a cowboy or two! We were so wrong! I said I didn’t have any expectations, that was true but, I did have a misconception. Sorry Dallas, I was wrong! There was so much to see there, and of course we couldn’t begin to cover it all! But we did see the flavor of the city, and that was enough to make us realize everything, and everyone needs to have a chance. The tall buildings are an architects dream, and freeways confusing.

For starters, A Friday night service at the temple was new for me. This was a Conservative Jewish Temple, and we had never been in anything conservative! The service was long, and really interesting. The Hebrew chants, and mens choir were quite something. Saturday morning began the Bar Mitzvah, and almost three hours later we hobbled out exhausted and in awe. Again the entire service was in Hebrew, steeped in custom, and tradition, the mens choir was heavenly! It felt like we had stepped back in time, and were privileged to be part of this celebration. Let me not forget to mention, after every event came a banquet of food, drink, and quality time with friends and family! I said I didn’t have any expectations, that was true, but in my wildest imagination, I couldn’t have imagined a three-day Jewish food fest!

Mostly we enjoyed getting to know a wonderful young man who is so bright, well-mannered, and has a brilliant future ahead of him. Talking to him was a delight, and learning about his dreams, and ambitions was very special. The ability to visit and get to know both he and his brother whom we hadn’t seen in many years was heartwarming.

The sketches I was able to do, on this three-day event is Zentangle style, inspired by all the Yarmulkas! They were everywhere, with different designs, and colors! Two of the sketches were done on the iPad one in the airport being balanced on my knee! Let me not forget to add that we couldn’t leave Dallas without another Sunday morning Brunch…just another food fest for family and friends.  By Sunday afternoon, we rolled away from the family, feeling like we’d been stuffed like a turkey at a Thanksgiving Dinner!

Since we were in Dallas, a place neither of us had been prior to this trip, we decided to spend the entire Sunday afternoon at the Dallas Museum of Art. I loved it! This was a great museum, and I thank David Weiner, Les’ nephew for the recommendation. By the time we left, we were on our last leg. Every moment was worth while, and we may even return to this interesting place in Texas for a another visit, another time!