Halloween 2024

November 2, 2024 8:59 pm

After missing out on Halloween last year due to the whole family being sick with COVID we got to make up for it this year.

We carved pumpkins on the 30th. The girls each really participated this time with not just coming up with designs, but helping scoop guts out and Heather did almost her entire pumpkin herself.

Corinne's design used the eyes to make ears. Heather's is a cat sitting in silhouette. I added a side view of a cat to make a whole feline crew.

Corinne and Heather were both cats from the Warriors series. Heather was Firestar and Corinne was Graystripe. Jess did face paint for them to complete the looks.

Corinne's friend was supposed to Trick-or-Treat with us last year, so we made that happen this time.

I've been putting the smoke machine out on Halloween since I got it, but just a little wind will clear the smoke almost immediately. So this year I pointed the smoke machine at the ceramic jack-o-lantern we have. So smoke fills the pumpkin and then drifts outs of the eyes, nose, and mouth. It was a much more effective result.

Thanksgiving 2023

November 23, 2023 8:30 pm

Thanksgiving was a quiet day at home. I took the week off. On Wednesday, I helped the girls make a pumpkin pie.

We played part of a game of a new board game I got on Wednesday from a Kickstarter called Familiars and Foes. You play as the familiars of a group of captured witches/wizards. You have to work together to defeat the foes and rescue the witches/wizards.

Easter 2023

April 10, 2023 7:04 pm

After a long, wet, and cool winter Spring finally decided to show up. Our foxglove and wisteria are doing quite well at the moment.

I spent Saturday cleaning up the outside of the house. Finally got the backyard cleaned up from all the windstorms we've been having. It was quite a mess, but now it actually looks alright.

I planted pumpkins and wildflowers in the planter box. The pumpkins have sprouted, maybe we'll actually get one to grow this year.

I planted an elderberry tree last year, which then got fried by a heatwave. I figured it was gone, but it's trying to regrow from the roots now, so it may yet survive.

We dyed Easter eggs on Saturday evening and the Easter Bunny stopped by on Sunday morning. Then we made cake pops, because why not?

This little critter was hanging out on one of our heavenly bamboo plants: