Well, that was certainly an interesting post about Halloween! Didn't think it would squish itself like that...

The end of the grape harvest is drawing near, but I've noticed there are quite a few vineyards that haven't been picked as yet. Most of the leaves have shrivelled up and blown away, leaving huge bunches of exposed grapes. It's beautiful! I'm going to be sad to see them freeze and die, they smell so rich and luscious. I still have several bunches in a bowl on my china hutch. We don't eat them, I just have them there for the aroma.

Happy Halloween! I love this holiday, and Bob's done a great job building our "haunted outhouse!" LOL We were walking through the woods one day and came across an old tumbled down shack. I thought it would be great to take it apart and rebuild it in our yard as a haunted house. Turns out, it was originally on this property, and a three-seater to boot! (We left the seat in the woods...) It's now home to a skeleton head as well as a ghoul in a cage, which you can't see in this photo. It's lit up at night, along with our 6' spider climbing up the outside of our house.

I've collected a lot of Halloween decorations over the years, but now that I don't have daycare kids or their families to see them, it's kind of a waste, so I took a lot of my stuff to the office and decorated the window. We've had a lot of compliments and comments about it. Can't wait to do a Thanksgiving themed window next!

Quote of the Day:

"It's called getting old," he said.

She said, "I know what it is, I just don't know how to do it."

First Week on the Job

I've just finished my first week of work at the Westfield Republican. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna really love the job, but MAN! this week has been grueling! I've made more than my fair share of mistakes, but they seem to want me to come back Monday anyway. Go figure.

I even got my first article in print! It's just a short piece on the lecture sponsored by the library about the Eriehonan Indians that lived in this area, but hey, it's a start. I've been told that anything I want to tackle will be considered. How cool is that. Who knows, they might even pay me for writing them some day...

Pictures from previous post

Cell phones

Life was so much simpler before cell phones...

I don't deny the convenience of having a cell phone to call the folks and find out just exactly what it is they want from the grocery store, or having the ability to forward my home phone so I don't miss an important call, or knowing I have a lifeline in case of an emergency, but overall, I think life was less hectic without them. I think we have created an added stresser to our lives. We are never away from the office, or the family, or interruptions. A leisurely stroll in the woods is jarred by the not-so-ducet tones of the ringing phone. A conversation is brought to a halt while we answer the interrupting phone. And we all know how annoying it is to be behind a driver on the cell phone, weaving around, slowing down, pulling into the lane in front of you.

I came across a new annoying circumstance with the cell today. I had run into McDonald's (another modern evil) for a quick Coke. In line ahead of me were two women, one of them on her phone. After the nice young man asked if he could help them, the friend not on the phone had to call the name of the other three times to see what she wanted. The reply was, "ohhh... uh, a chicken sandwich," she replied vaguely and she went back to her conversation. Not knowing what KIND of chicken sandwich she wanted, her friend had to call her an additional five times to get her attention. In the time she took to actually pay attention and give her order, we both could have had our orders taken and filled, and gotten out of there! Hang up the phone and pay attention!