Halloween Costume Themes

It's Halloween!

The night to get dressed up and go and visit all the neighbours.

Halloween is fun.

It's even funner if there is a 'theme'.

I've tried a few themes over the years.

How about Santa and Rudolph?

Isn't that the cutest Santa EVER?  YES.  I think so.

Or how about Anne of Green Gables....and a POTATO.

Now that's fun.

Then we did the Wizard of Oz....and even I got in on the action.

And then there was the year of the clowns!

So this year I suggested another theme.  I wanted to let Lydia be Goldilocks and Johanna, Grady and Sophie could be the three bears....and Jack could be the big bad wolf.

But they all just looked at me like I had lost my mind.

There is NO big bad wolf in that story.

Oh yeah.

We aren't doing a theme this year.

But it will still be fun.

Brenda

So I can remember.

I thought about it.

I need to blog.

I took my first blog year and I made it into a blurb book.  The layout isn't exactly how I wanted it....the text is all together for each post...it's not separated with photos in between....but the photos are all there and the text is all there....so it's all good.  You can see it here.

When I was uploading the photos from the blog onto the book, I could see each of the photos flashing on my screen.  It was emotional.  It was this past year of my life....right there in front of my eyes.

So much has changed.

And yet so much is still the same.

I am so very blessed.

From about the age of 12, I have been writing on my calendar.  Every single day I would just jot down what happened that day....where I went or what I did.  It was just a simple idea.  My sister did it on her calendar too.  It wasn't really personal.  It was just a way for me to remember things.

I don't remember things very well.

I can look at the cover of a book and know that I read it....but I don't remember what it was about.

I can watch a movie and half way through realize that I have actually seen it before....but I don't really remember it all....so I can keep watching it.

So, when it comes to life....it can just go by and I will completely forget about what happened.

I just need to be reminded.  All my little notes on my calendars tell me everything.  Sometimes I can remember the entire day just by reading a couple of simple lines about where I went or what I did.  It's amazing.  It makes me remember.

There were a couple of years when I stopped writing on the calendar.  Johanna and Grady were small and Terry was working away....and life became a blur.  And I actually don't remember those years...and I don't have the calendars to remind me.

Then Terry asked me to start writing on the calendar again.  He loved my little notes.  He also loves to get out the calendars and say "remember when....." or "it's been five years since so and so died because we went to their wake on this night".

The other night he said that the blog is so much better than the little squares on the calendar.

And it is.

It just freaks me out a bit when I think about it....it's not just for us to read....anyone can read it.

But I need to tell our story.

So I can remember it.

Brenda

One Year

As of tomorrow, I have been blogging for one year.

I started with the meat birds....it was my very first post.

And yesterday.....we had the meat birds killed.

It's a circle.

There are so many things that are the same.

We are ploughing the fields, feeding the cattle hay again,  pulling on the insulated rubber boots and getting ready for the hunt....and winter.

I mentioned to Terry the other night that it would soon be one year.

I told him that I was finished.

I blogged for a year.

I'm done.

I was surprised by his reaction.  He said NO.  He told me that I couldn't stop now.

I haven't decided for certain yet.

Brenda

A Marshmallow Cobweb Halloween Cake

I received an order for a Halloween cake.

So I searched Pinterest for ideas and I found this amazing marshmallow cobweb cake here on The Cake Blog.

I took the cobweb idea and I did this....

I made a pumpkin cake and covered it in a purple buttercream.  Then I piped on the orange letters.

I outlined the letters in melted chocolate and I piped an orange swirl along the bottom of the cake.
I also made some spiders with the melted chocolate.  I just piped them onto some parchment paper and put them in the fridge to harden.....and I didn't take any photos of them.

Then I left the cake in the fridge overnight to let the buttercream crust.

The spider web was pretty easy to make.  Just melt a cup of marshmallows in the microwave for 30 seconds and then stir them up really well.  Use your fingers to just stretch the goop across the cake all different ways.

It really looks like a cobweb!

 

Then I placed the chocolate spiders on the cake.

 

 

 

 

I can't wait to deliver this later on today!

 

Brenda

A Leaf Craft

Craft time!

Get some coffee filters.

Paint them orange and red and yellow and green.

All over.

Let them dry.

Then cut them into leaves.

Get some brown paper and make a tree trunk and branches.

Stick it on a window.

Stick the leaves on.

Beauty.

Brenda

Out for a Drive

Some days are crazier than others.

It was one of those days.

I needed to get out.

And go for a drive.

I asked the girls if they needed a drive....and they said YES!

We loaded up.

And went down the road.

 

 

Well....would you look at that!

 

 

 

Awww....the sun on my back....it feels so good!

 

They quite enjoyed the view.

 

As I drove, I thought....Does this make me a redneck?

 

Oh....the sun...it's just heavenly!

We arrived home safely thanks to old reliable.

It was not my idea to go for 'the drive'.  Jack has been wanting to move these 3 ewes for a few days now....and I figured I may as well just 'get it done'.

We moved them from one farm to another.

They are now in with the ram....with the hopes that they will lamb at 'the right time' for them to become the 4-H show lambs for next year.

We will breed the rest of the ewes a little later.

We weren't just 'out for a drive'....we were hauling sheep.....in a van.

I hope that doesn't make me a redneck.

Brenda

Watching a Tree

I've been watching this tree for the last couple of weeks.

 

 

 

 

It changed.

 

But it changed a little too fast and I missed getting a photo when it was at its 'peak'.

 

Jack suggested that I take a photo of it every week for an entire year.

 

I thought that that was a pretty neat idea.

 

Brenda

Seven Pounds of Butter

I bought seven pounds of butter last week.

I thought that amount would be enough to get me through Thanksgiving weekend.

It wasn't.

At Sunday brunch we were out.

I had to go and buy some butter.

And Thanksgiving hadn't even happened yet.

On Thursday I made pies for the market.

And buttertarts.....with butter.

Then I had two cake orders on Saturday.

This one needed to be 'mint green' because that was the wedding colour 45 years ago.

This one was a pumpkin cake....with buttercream icing.

There is at least a pound and a half of butter here.

I hope I didn't kill anyone.

That's a lot of butter.

We were invited to a party on Saturday night and I made up another double batch of the pumpkin cake and I made it into cupcakes.

That was another pound and a half of butter.

But it was worth it.

Aw Thanksgiving.....you were butterlicious.

Brenda

Metcalfe Fair

We attended the last local fair for this year on the weekend.  It was the Metcalfe Fair.

Johanna and Jack wanted one last walk in the show ring....for this year.

One last wash up.

 

And dry off.

And set up.

 

The two of them showed at exactly the same time....in two different barns.

Which made me run back and forth.....like some crazy, mad woman....with a camera.

 

One last walk back to the barn.

They had a good day.

Johanna's heifer is now out in the field.  She will be bred and hopefully produce many beautiful calves for us.

Jack's market lamb was put in the auction sale.

It was bought by a very good lady who donated it to the Shepard's of Good Hope.

Fair season is over.

wait a minute....

FAIR SEASON IS OVER.

I just had to shout that out.

Brenda