what a finish!

26 halloweens ago

Elise came across this photo and said she wished she had the knit sweater...it was SO cool. It had reds and yellows, greens and oranges and big buttons of different colors. Circa 1981 in Grandma's living room. Nice memory:)

trick or treat

We went through a lot of candy yesterday, with a close to record number of trick-or-treaters. Several of Ellie's friends came around in costume, but she opted to hand out candy instead, which left me to take Aliyah around the neighborhood.
Still doing laundry from the camping trip, and everything else smells like the campfire. Ellie and Aliyah are dancing tonight, and Eva, Rick and Paul are watching the Pac on Monday night TV. Wedding invites are almost done. WooHoo:)

a few more camping pics from this weekend

Mom and Elle

Fun in the leaves!

light stick kids at sunset

These photos are favorites of mine, although in person they were very cool, they might not have the same effect here.

view from hammock

Some Lake Winnebago photos from camp...

day 2 camping

chilly tonight, but great for camping

Just a few pictures from the first night at camp.

fat kitty

Yet another Lena photo...she is a stitch. Reminds me of Buddha. She is certainly comfortable in her skin :)

kitty and hair tie

Eva's cat Lena is obsessed with hair ties. Weird...but makes a cute pic.

random pics

First two pics are of Henry and his Mom, next is a cool pic of Eva which she took, and lastly Stick and Rick (Drumstick and Richard to be precise.)

globetrotters

Elise just e-mailed that she and James are going to Europe next August for 11 days. How exciting. It's work related for James, but Elise will fly out separately, and join him to tour London, Paris, Venice and some German cities as well. How nice for them. I must send them a few St. Christopher medals for a safe trip. You know those catholics :)

busiest work week in a long time

I feel badly about going away for a 4 day weekend, and leaving my fellow staff to the funerals here at the parish. It's been the busiest week I can remember, at 7 funerals this week and last, and more plannings on the docket. Our little camping outing to High Cliff State Park will be a welcome respite for me. Rick and Eva will join us on Friday after classes. Elle and I will set up Thursday, with Paul joining us Saturday evening through Sunday. Jo's really busy too with the art auction event at Roncalli on the weekend, but if she finds time she might join us for the Saturday haunted hayride with the kids. Years ago Eva used to wander around the woods and play violin music for the Little Farmer during their Halloween event. One year, Eva was dressed in a flowing dress, and one little girl thought she was a ghost! Funny. Tuesday nights at home are quiet. It's the only day with nothing extra after school, so we're planning to carve pumpkins and roast seeds...always a lot of fun. I also caught a UW soccer game over the weekend. The weather was great, and they won. It had rained before though, and the uniforms were all mud. Wouldn't want to clean them :) I must try to get a picture of Aliyah today. Her school had wacky hair day, and she looked just like Don King!

lena's halloween costume

Spooky!

Thanks to Eva, our photoshopper, we can share this pic.

resident ghost

Couldn't resist adding this so close to Halloween. It's our resident ghost. Thanks to Eva for the pic!

cool pumpkin pics and wedding invites

I must get moving on finishing the invites. They are so labor intensive, and it seems like they never get done. When Elise was here, we worked on them, but had to order response card envelopes, not realizing they didn't come with the order. Paul hasn't yet finished the map he volunteered to make, or the info on hotels, but the Pac has off today, so we'll work on getting these things done. I bought stamps last week, and Elle put them on, so everyone is helping out. We had a great day yesterday relaxing and working in the yard. We're still cleaning up from homecoming TP, as it has rained some and turned into a sloppy mess. I dropped Elle off early for choir practice today, and she'll sing for our 10 AM service. Last night there was a swiss steak dinner at church. I couldn't go, but judging from the parking lot, it was well attended. Rick's working on Eva's car, replacing the brakes. He's a terrific mechanic. He's in aviation school and has his pilot's license, so fixing brakes is simple. (He tells me.) Today looks to be as warm as yesterday, so hopefully we can spend some time on the trails. Hit me with the warm weather:)

fall fun at the farm

Henry spent the afternoon in his outdoor cage...I can't remember many October days when we've been able to have him outside. The high today was 75. Elle and her friend Lisa, drove the golf cart all around Stan's farm today. They were gone for hours, and wore down the battery. A neighbor came with his 4 wheeler (and 2 collie dogs) and towed them in! Otherwise, I cleaned a little for Stan and picked some apples and concord grapes. We also got a little firewood for our camping trip next weekend at High Cliff State Park. We'll be there Thursday through Sunday.

wedding musicians

This is from a recent wedding Eva and Paul did with friend Mike Marks. Tonight is very busy. I have a funeral for a 14 day old infant...the Mom went to school with Eva. Paul's off to play at the Holiday Inn for a private party, and Eva has a chamber music concert at UW. Elle is invited to a pizza/movie party at a friend's house, just 1 block away, which is nice. Tomorrow, another funeral is planned, followed by a trip to Stan's farm for apples and a pressing for cider :D

rainbow day

The storms made for some great rainbows yesterday afternoon!

easier day today

This morning I plan to visit Stan on the farm. He had a tumble in the barn, and broke his glasses. They'll need to be replaced. He's understandably sore today, but nothing was broken...except maybe his pride:) He's 86, but still enjoys his independence. Afterward, there's a luncheon for a co-worker who's retiring, and then I'm off to Edith's to get the bustling finished on Elise's gown. Hopefully, we'll get a chance to hike a little this afternoon before the second round of storms.

helping a neighbor

Today was a very good day. I was able to REALLY help a neighbor. You all might remember I blogged about a Mom who lost her 7 month old baby (Karen) to a DUI accident. The Dad was injured so severely, we thought we'd lose him also...in fact, we were waiting for possibly a double funeral. Miraculously, he survived. He is recovering slowly. However, he was the only one working in the household, so things have been really tough for the family. They are in the process of becoming US citizens. Our Deacon Ric did a home visit, and saw that they had NOTHING in the home as far as furniture. So tonight we cleaned out the garage and gave them our excess. We had lots of stuff we never use. How great to be able to help those who really need it. My spanish is weak (so I could not understand) but the family was grateful...very grateful. Again, count your blessings folks.

Shower pics!

Good-bye to Elise

We're heading to the MKE airport to send Elise off to Tennessee. Her flight leaves around 10. James is also gone until Wednesday. I have an appointment later this AM, and then may try to upload some photos from yesterday's shower.

tp'd

Fondy won their homecoming game:) Elle had a good time marching in the parade. Eva and pals went out afterward, and it was a fun evening. This weekend is very busy. I'm on my way out now to the new church to take photos of Elise in her wedding finery, for Timmy to paint from. Actually, Aunty Jo is taking the photos, and I'm entertaining her darling children...and they are very darling ;) Getting ready for the shower tomorrow. We've been baking all day to get the cake ready; it took 5 rounds of different sizes. House smells good !

Eva's new pictures

Eva had fun this weekend, taking senior photographs for a friend, Michelle. I thought they were nice, but especially LOVED the first photo-shopped "paparazzi" photo. Too cute. Otherwise, things have been dullish. Elle dances tonight, and Aliyah and I are walking a trail from 5:30-7:00. Aliyah loves coming home as it's getting dark, and we tell scary Halloween stories, which makes it fun!