HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Are you ready for some turkey?

Can you smell the tantalizing aromas coming from the kitchen?

Turkey roasting, pumpkin pie baking. Fluffy, white mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy and don't forget my favorite, candied sweet potatoes. Add the cranberry sauce, perhaps green beans almondine and potato rolls.

What are your family's favorite Thanksgiving dishes?

Good food, families gathering, football games or afternoon naps, all have their place on Thanksgiving. Don't forget to take a moment and gives thanks to God for all your bounty.

 Perhaps you think you don't have anything to be thankful for, or are feeling down.
No matter the depth of your despair, remember God loves you, and for that, be truly thankful.

What ever your situation, try to have a Happy Thanksgiving.

P.S. Don't eat too much, the leftovers the next day are good too.

                                  HALLOWEEN TRICK

What's wrong with this picture?
Shouldn't it be a Christmas tree with snow on it?

The continuing saga of weird phenomena in the Northeast.

First an earthquake, then a hurricane, followed by a tropical storm that caused severe wide spread flooding, and now a rare, historic, Autumn Nor'easter snowstorm.

Is it too cold for locusts?

Maybe it's just a nightmare caused by what my dear, late aunt used to say, "It must've been somethin I et".

Guess I'll make the best of it and break out the hot chocolate and settle down with hubby to watch "THE POLAR EXPRESS".

HAPPY HALLOWEEN
BAH HUMBUG!

  

THE COLORS OF OCTOBER

Orange, rust, gold, crimson, yellow, and brown, are the beautiful colors of the fall foliage we usually see in October.

Not this year though. There is little of it and what there is appears dull and drab.

A large maple tree in my backyard is usually brilliant with color, but this year as it started to turn the leaves fell before reaching their peak hues.

I don't know the reason for the lackluster show. It could be all the rain we experienced this season. Who knows the cause, all I can say is I miss the spectacular array.

October is the month for pumpkins, corn maize tours, hay rides, cider, hot chocolate, crisp apples, World Series, football, and Halloween.

 The weather is cool in the morning and evening, sunny, warm afternoons. The sky is azure blue with white cotton candy clouds.

October is also the month when we get the news about our health care premiums for the next year. It seems I've heard that the Healthcare Act (also known as Obamacare) was supposed to reduce costs. I'm not sure exactly what they meant by that statement. I don't know whose costs they referenced or what country. All I know is our premiums as well as Medicare premiums are rising, both of which we pay out of pocket.

On a happy note, all the rain made for a great pumpkin and squash harvest. So find a pick-your-own pumpkin patch and let the kids loose to select their prize pumpkin. Mom can pick a pumpkin to make a pie...if she feels so inclined.

That will be a joyful experience.

                   OCTOBER
I can't believe the first week of October is history.
Wasn't it just summer?

As the saying goes, "time flies when you're having fun".

I hope your days are fun-filled.

Here in Northeast PA many people aren't having fun. They are trying to re-coup their homes and lives.

Our area was hit hard with flooding from Tropical Storm Lee, and that was just a week or so after being hit with Hurricane Irene.

One good thing happened, and that was the levee system protecting Kingston and Wilkes Barre held after heroic efforts by many.

My husband and I were on vacation in Florida when Lee hit here at home.
Our two sons were evacuated from their homes in Kingston, along with a friend who lives in Swoyersville.

They all stayed at our home high and dry in the Back Mountain.
After a few days they were allowed back in their homes, because the levee did what it was supposed to.

I was very happy with the gift of modern technology. While we were in Florida I was able to watch live broadcasting via the Internet from our local TV stations WNEP and WBRE's web-pages. Many thanks to them for doing that.

Now we are back home. I sometimes wonder if it pays to go away.
It takes a lot to get ready to go and a lot more to do when you come back home.

Yeah, it is worth it. Anytime I can get to spend a few weeks in Florida is A-OK with me.
Even though while we were there, my husband's back went out on him, and I had food poisoning. We survived and enjoyed the rest of the trip.

We finally got caught up on outside chores, like grass cutting and more grass cutting.
Tomorrow we'll clean out the bluebird houses, so the bluebirds will have nice apartments to build nests for their new broods in the spring.

Then it's time to batten down the hatches for winter. Now that is something I'm not looking forward to.

I sure do hope we don't get the same amount of snow that we had in rain this summer.I don't even want to think about how many feet of snow is equal to the many inches that fell.

Whatever comes our way, we will deal with, since we come from hearty stock here in Northeast PA.

    AMERICAN PICKERS

Have you ever seen this show on the History Channel?

The owners, Mike and Frank, go around the country looking for "ANTIQUE ARCHAEOLOGY", otherwise known to you and I as junk.

But as the saying goes "One man's junk is another man's treasure."

In the little town of Le Claire, Iowa, along the Mississippi River, is the headquarters of this popular TV show.

The store seen on the show, is located in a small alley behind a convience store, gas station, cafe, laundromat. Yes, all of the shops mentioned are in one building. I did say it was a small town. However, the residents of Le Claire are friendly, and helpful.

Back to the American Pickers. The shop is small, the van pictured above sits outside and more than likely not used very much, since Mike and Frank scour the countryside with a newer vehicle. Also outside, embedded in a flower bed, is a an antique Nash car. It has seen better days, but is used as ambiance for an antique shop.

This TV show runs a close tie with The Pawn Stars, another History Channel show, as a favorite for our husbands, ergo why we had to stop to see it on our Midwest vacation.

We wives were in total agreement, the real reason our loving husbands had to stop to see this place was, they were hoping against hope to meet Danielle.

Danielle works for Mike and Frank. She actually keeps everything together, like most women do. She finds places for the guys to search, and then finds buyers for their junk, excuse me, antiques. In other words she is the cog that keeps the wheel turning.

Alas, the shop wasn't open when we stopped by. The men will have to resort to watching Danielle on the TV screen. It's just as well, she's much to young for these "older gentlemen" to make fools of themselves. But, she sure does love to flirt with the male gender of all ages.

So look in the TV listings for the AMERICAN PICKERS, on the History Channel and get a look at Danielle. You will see the store we were at. And girls, Mike and Frank are also pretty easy on the eyes.