My Calendar says October........

Good morning....My calendar is telling me it is October 29th but the weatherman is saying there is snow in the forecast! Thank goodness it's only heavy rain mixed with snow for Long Island but not far from here, and I mean NOT FAR from here, they are predicting quite an accumulation! Upstate New York (literally 45 minutes away in Westchester County) they are looking at 6-10"! And I was talking to my cousin who lives in Brookfield, Connecticut and she is expecting 8-10"! Wow! The weather patterns are sure changing here. I sometimes think we have already lost Spring as a season as I always remember the clear definition of seasons! Going from winter coat to a spring jacket before shedding that for Summer. Now we go from Winter coat to bathing suit and Spring is just rain, rain, rain. According to the news channel we did have snow in October back in 1991...not recalling that one.

So today was supposed to be my Halloween party. It has been postponed till tomorrow when the sun is going to shine! Luckily 99% of my little guests can still make it! Preparations are still happening. I am making my cookies & creme dessert (also called Cookies 'n Cream Scream graveyard of pudding dessert ) and I decorated my Milano cookie gravestones for both that dessert and for some of my cupcakes. I made all my cupcakes, and I will decorate those tomorrow morning. I made these yummy mini pumpkin cakes with coconut pecan icing. Our guests will also enjoy chicken nuggets, homemade mac and cheese, pigs in a blanket, mini meatballs, chilli dip, seven layer dip, spinach dip, rice krispy treat pumpkins, brownies and more! I can't wait to see all the little ones having fun! They'll be having a grand ole time playing hot potato, bean bag toss, sack races, "fishing" for pumpkins (the candy filled plastic ones!), pin the nose on the pumpkin and this year we got an inflatable bouncy castle. I will be posting lots of pictures!
Today, once when my husband gets home (he's putting in a 1/2 day today), we are off to meet our good friends Mary & Guy at the Deepwell Mansion haunted house and then on to their house for snacks and to see their Halloween decorations. They don't have any children but you would think they do! Mary decorates her house for Halloween like no one else I know! Traditional Halloween, not scary! She does an amazing job and my kids love going there and seeing it all!
Have a great Saturday!

October is flying by like a witch on a broom!

Are you feeling that way too? It was just October 1st! and I was in Amish Country. These days are speeding by! October has been a good month for us though! We've gotten a lot of things done and there are more fun things coming up...namely our Halloween party on Saturday.My favorite time of the year is Autumn! I just wait for it all year! Strangely our leaves haven't turned yet. I've heard it's cause of all the rain we had and Hurricane Irene. She not only brought so much rain but knocked a ton of leaves off the trees.

I want to welcome my new followers! Thank you so much for taking the time to check out my little blog! I really appreciate that you would take the time to read it. Welcome friends!

Saturday we made our applesauce! Caitlin loves this job, and she was all smiles. The apples were so naturally sweet we didn't even have to add sugar! and that's me saying it --one who likes EVERYTHING sweet--I put three sugars in my coffee...with half & half (now you know in case I come to your house for coffee). The apples were SWEET! Yummy. We are big applesauce lovers. It's a staple at our dinner table most nights. Mom and I peeled the apples, (that's some 'em in the big pot) then I boiled 'em up till they were soft and mushy. Then we passed them on to Caitlin who turned them into applesauce. A great day. Then it was back to more decorating and prepping for the party!

I've been wanting to show you my haunted house and finally got a decent picture of it. My Dad made this for me in 2001. He was an engineer by trade but loved carpentry and had made us all many things. Years ago, he made Santa's workshop for us all (my brother, sister, me & one for himself) and we decorated it all . I always loved mine so much. I love dollhouses and miniatures. I asked if he would make me a haunted house, and he did. He also made alot of the interior out of wood (including the tables, fireplace, chairs) and I added the accessories, the witch and the rest of the stuff. I just love this haunted house and cause it was made by my Dad, who passed away in 2005, I cherish it. I add to my haunted house most years when I find some suitable accessories. It stand proudly in my foyer.  I hope when you look into it you get the feeling of a witch's house with dust and cobwebs, brooms and hats and SPIDERS!!!

When we visited Salem in April, I had an idea and I was glad I remembered it for Halloween. I always write things down cause otherwise my good thoughts and ideas can be fleeting... I have always loved the logo for the Salem Witch Museum and I always save the bags. (I am bag hoarder, ladies). I framed one of the bags in a plain black frame! I think it looks so cool! Don't throw your bags out---some of them can be artwork :) That's one of my new decorations!

You know the old saying..Curiosity killed the cats..but satisfaction brought them back.....that's the nursery rhyme. Well, I have some very curious kitties. And they don't get less curious as they get older. No way! Well, you know how I tell you that when my husband is working on a job for an old house or building and he comes across stuff that's worth saving how he brings it home? Bless that man...Well, he worked all weekend and on Sunday night brought home an old chair ( I didn't photograph it yet, next post) and an electrolux vacuum cleaner that still worked. I'm an Oreck girl myself but I would never turn away a good working vacuum! Especially since my sister is in love with her electrolux so I knew it was a goodie.  Let me tell you, that vacuum wasn't in my kitchen for ten minutes before old lady Dutchess had to sit on it! Then Robin came to investigate, followed by his Momma (Mommy Cat)! I just had to laugh. Hope you get a chuckle looking at Dutchess on the vacuum as well. Silly pussycats!

Sunday, we are planning to head to Deepwell Mansion in St James for the annual haunted house they hold as a fund raiser. I posted on it last year as well. It's a favorite thing of ours to do and it's for a very worthy cause. Deepwell Mansion is one of those beautiful OLD Long Island mansions that have fallen on hard times. Over the years it has been restored to it's glory by volunteers. They hold wonderful events to raise money for its upkeep. The haunted house is one of them. It's not a SCARY house. It's a traditional haunted house. They decorate this beautiful structure tastefully and visiting it  is like:  "encountering an old house on a road when your car broke down and you are looking for a phone, and you find this old house and go in."  You know, like every sitcom that ever had a Halloween episode! THAT kind of haunted house.  But that's the best way to describe it. The doors squeak (for real). I love a house that has genuine squeaky doors!!!!  A favorite place to go for sure and it's for a good cause. They ask that you contribute any amount at the end of the house tour. If I ever win Lotto, Deepwells Mansion will be on my list of receivers.....Then we also visit the St. James General Store, which is on the road behind Deepwells. It's the oldest continually operating general store in the country. Small, adorable and with it's all original counters, beams, floor planks....all the good stuff. Don't worry--I take pictures. or again, check back to last year's post!

Guess that's it for me! I have to run out to get some more stuff for the party and then clean this house up a bit more! Have a great day and make sure you enjoy this beautiful season!

Apples & Pumpkins!

Apples & Pumpkins! Picked fresh! Our family headed to upstate New York on Sunday to the town of Warwick in Orange County for a lovely day of apple and pumpkin picking. We visited Masker Orchards, and I have to say I was unsure of what we would find since Hurricane Irene had done a lot of destruction. We found trees that had Empire, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, and Cortlandts. the macs (what was left of 'em) were on the ground so I assume they collect them and sell them for horses. My husband said they probably gather them, cut off the damage and salvage what they can to make their famous Masker Apple pies......could be. I was happy my Mom was able to join us and she enjoyed her time picking some. She has been suffering with herniated disks so a nice day out was good medicine. We picked two bushels. Now it'll be time for apple sauce, apple dips and apple crisp and whatever else apple I feel like making. Caitlin loves making applesauce, and we all love eating it! After we picked the apples, we had hot dogs at their stand. I don't know but hot dogs taste sooooo good when you've been working hard outside! Really good. Billy and I took Billy and Caitlin into the corn maze and yours truly was the first to find her way out....thank you very much! I'm usually the last.

After apples we drove the short distance to our pumpkin farm. I won't go on and on about my love for the pumpkin farm we go to. Read last October's post for that! The Manno Farm...love it love it love it. CLOSED. Yes, I said CLOSED. With a big sign that read "See ya next year. No pumpkins due to Irene." ..........sadness throughout the car. Then my Bill saves the day with a great suggestion. Let's head towards home and hit exit 9 Sleepy Hollow and get our pumpkins there! And that's what we did. We went to Sleepy Hollow (another of our FAVORITE places) and don't you know there was a festival going on and right at the famous bridge where the headless horseman galloped across were pumpkins for sale! I told Caitlin these pumpkins were grown from the earth that the horseman himself probably rode through so these were amazingly special Halloween pumpkins.....I believe they are. No, really I do. Then we saw the headless horseman, and he rode around waving to us all and then came off his horse for pictures. Such a beloved story. Historic Hudson Valley in upstate New york is filled with stories and tales such as those. If you don't know, Washington Irving, the author, lived right there and that's where we went. Fun day and then it was home and don't you know that as soon as we deposited our pumpkins on the floor of the kitchen, Robin and Mommy Cat had to check them out. Nosy kitties!

I wanted to show you a couple of the things I got in PA....I got this adorable pot to hang over my stove that says "Country Cooking" from Yoders. I also got this tin sign from Almost Paradise on Rte 30. Love it. More photos in future posts!

The telephone with the birds I had purchased a while back from a catalog but just hung it recently. I collect resin birds and wildlife stuff like that. I want to thank Laurie from My Home For the Holidays blog who so sweetly offered to meet up with my family next time we visit Amish country. That's so generous of you. You are a lucky gal to live there. That's what I tell my cousin Jo from Bittersweet Cottage all the time too.

I started making my witch's broom bags and vampire lollipops for the Halloween party. I'll post pictures when they're done. They are cute!

I was in Walmart the other day and I was thrilled to see they are bringing back their craft and fabric department. I was shocked. Years ago they had such great stuff and I had made a bunch of cool Halloween pillows from fabric I bought from them and many other craft items. Then they closed up the craft section!!! At the time they said not enough people were making crafts and they preferred to buy them :( I was sad. I'm crafty. I like to make 'em.......So I was surprised when I went last week, and I saw a man putting out big reams of fabric and he had rows of shelves and hooks for craft items and sewing machines. I asked what was going on, and he said there had been a calling for the crafts to be returned in all their Long Island stores! It seems because of the economy more people stay home and look to occupy their time so Walmart had been hearing from it's customer base to BRING IT BACK! Hurray!

Well, time for me to get rolling here! Have a great day!

I've Been Meaning to Catch Up!

Good Evening! All I can say is this post was supposed to happen several days ago but I just never got the chance so before I settle down for the evening, I thought I'd do some sharing. I usually enjoy blogging around 5:30 in the morning with my cup of coffee and a kitty or two or three next to me. This will work out just fine!

The week just flew by, didn't it? Last weekend we went to one of our favorite places: Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. I wish I was still there as it was such a quick trip I feel like it didn't even happen although I loved every single second I was there. I think the anxiety of whether or not we were gonna make it at all is what made it a little difficult. We had tried to go in June, and had to cancel. We thought we would go in July and also take the kids to Hershey and had to cancel that too then our last plan was to go on the Jewish holidays-Thursday- Saturday since our school was closed. Changed that too and ended up packing and going Saturday morning and coming home Sunday. But boy am I grateful to go! We had to keep cancelling because my husband's construction company is keeping him busy and in this economy I feel blessed and humbled that we are that lucky so we will cancel as many things as we need to. Lancaster ain't going anywhere, right? And I wanted to go when my husband would not be on his phone in the car :< the whole time :( Well, he wasn't on the phone and completely enjoyed his time there but the rush of going took a toll on him because he didn't get any rest like we thought we would. We did as much as we could though I couldn't linger in some stores as long as I wanted to because they all close at 5pm and they are closed on Sundays except for a few. So we felt rushed but we enjoy shopping and driving through the farmlands and we did that. My husband actively participates in shopping, which I love, and he picked out some nice items for our bedroom when it's done. We had hoped it would have been done already but we spent this past year building up our business with equipment and that's where the money has to go. So I can look forward to my new bedroom for 2012 and getting that finished once and for all. We tore down our house in 2008 and finished our whole rebuild except for the second floor.

We had a great dinner at the Steamboat and it was so lovely to eat while being serenaded by a gentleman who played piano and sang. I felt special! Caitlin was so intrigued by the gentleman playing and was actually singing along. I had tomato bisque and steak delmonaco. Yummy. It was the special so we all had it. After dinner we returned to the hotel and we rested our weary shopping bones in the pool and hot tub. I can get used to that! BUT when we came home Billy was very busy all week and now he is not feeling well. I know he is just over tired and exhausted so a day or two HOME is the remedy for that. He couldn't move this morning. It just caught up to him! So he rested all day and said he's only going in for a 1/2 day tomorrow so that he's rested for apple and pumpkin picking on Sunday. What a guy! Back to our trip, one of my favorite spots is a store called the Intercourse Trading Post. It is owned and run by a husband and wife and they are always there. Always! I think he has great prices and gets a lot of unique country stuff. He always recognizes us immediately, chats with us, his wife even hugged me ---on the way out of the store this time they gave me a beautiful orange mum. Such a generous couple.

I got some great stuff from all my stops. I was sad to see one of my oldies but goodies is now closed: The Flower Patch. It was an Amish business run out of her barn that had expanded nicely since we first visited her when she opened back in the very early 1990's. We bought beautiful dried flower arrangements from her and more. I'm hoping she closed because she retired and not because of lack of business. I'll miss you Flower Patch on Rte 340. Anyway, I will show you what I bought in some future posts. The brooms for sale in the photo above are from an Amish Farm. We bought 5 dozen brown eggs from her. I love the black brooms so much. I'll have to put that on my list of things to buy. The key to shopping in Lancaster County is to "follow the homemade signs." You find the best Amish stops. Right on their farm, in their barn or in their house. It is incredible.

I really love the lighted branches they've been showing in all the country decorating magazines and I've seen them many times in the stores. I took lots of photos of them in flower arrangements at the different stores we went to but they are pretty expensive. The cheapest I saw them for was over $20 and that was only two short branches. I've decided to make my own. I bought a few sets of rice lights (a short strands) and I'm working on making them! Improvise! I think they will come out good.

I'm still working on my all my Fall & Halloween decorations. I added my ghosts to the hallway with my haunted house light up. It looks awesome in person. I hung them from the hooks of my Boyds Bear shelf. Now I have to begin work on my party favors,

Pot roast was for dinner tonight and I made some yummy corn muffins. Comfort food heals the soul! I truly believe that. There's been a cold snap in the air and when my son came home from school and smelled the pot roast he said "I'm glad you made that for dinner tonight, Mom. It makes me feel cozy."

Speaking of comfort food, I was surprised to see the author Phyllis Pellman Good who has written my favorite cookbooks (Recipes from Quilters, Lancaster County recipes and tons more) opened a store in PA right on Rte 340 called the Good Cook. It sells kitchen gadgets, pots, etc plus her cookbooks of course. I'll have to check that out in future trips.

Well, have a great night!