Pumpkin

Isn't the taste of pumpkin something special?  I always wonder why we reserve this time of year to make pies when we could enjoy a good pumpkin pie just about any time.  But I'm as guilty as the next one.

We will have two of them on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, when the whole clan shows up for the holiday experience at our house.  It's usually chaos with kids running all over, cats hiding under every piece of furniture, and the downstairs warm from a fire in the wood burner.

It's a simple time with lots of conversation and maybe some football here and there.  It's a prelude to the Christmas season, although my favorite radio station already converted to 100% Christmas music already.  I turned it off yesterday as soon as I heard it.  Really.  I'm just not ready for that and they play the same 50 songs over and over again.  When was the last time you heard a really good NEW Christmas song?  I think it might have been Kelly Clarkson about four years ago.  Otherwise, it's the same old, same old.

When I forgot and turned it on again later in the day, it was Elvis Presley singing one of his classics.  By the time Christmas comes around, I can barely stand it anymore.

They do play, "Oh, Holy Night," on the station which is wonderful whether it is Josh Groban's version or someone else's.  In fact, any of the REAL Christmas music that celebrates the birth of Jesus is fine by me.  It's the silly stuff I can do without.

Thanksgiving barely gets an aisle in the stores before it is marked down 50% and then taken over entirely by the Christmas stuff.  This year I don't think I am getting one thing for decoration.  Usually, I'll find some doo-dad but this year I made things and will have a good time trying them out.  There was a great idea on the Internet for cranberry/popcorn garlands and I made about 12.  It was rather tiresome crocheting all of the individual popcorn pieces, but the result is good and will last for years and years.  Stores easily too and the garlands don't tangle either. 

I love candles and will use some of them this year as usual.  The glow is so peaceful and calm.  We have a few battery operated ones for use around the kids.

Well, today is OSU football and they claim that the team can clench the Big-10 (really Big 13) with a win over Indiana today at noon.  Or that's what I saw when I was looking up the game time. 

Now it's off to do the bathrooms and the tub, and some other stuff too.  I sold my first painting!  A guy from my high school class bought one of them.  We were conversing via email about one of our deceased classmates and he asked me what I'd been doing.  I told him about our wonderful watercolor class and he wanted me to send him some pictures.  So I did.  And now he bought my "Yellow Coneflowers at Stan Hywet," painting.  I told Peg that this will be known in the future as our "Stan Hywet Period."  Of course, we laugh about this.  We laugh about a lot of things while we are working on our art.  It turned out to be the best class ever!!  And I did send a picture of the coneflowers to my University of Akron continuing education art teacher who now lives in Illinois and she loved it.  That was really awesome for me.

I'll find some cardboard and pack up the watercolor to send to Bay Village, and I sure hope Mike and his wife like it. 

Have a wonderful weekend!!