Pumpkin Carving - My Favorite Fall Activity

Guest post by Jewel Cole

My favorite fall activity has to be pumpkin carving. Whenever I look at the round, bulbous exterior of a pumpkin I am reminded of the countenance of a orange headed man and how it would be so nice to carve a face into it. Every time fall approaches I am suffused with this urge, and as a result I quickly venture over to the local pumpkin patch to spend the day selecting the perfect pumpkin in which to carve my masterpiece. I know people will tell you that a pumpkin is too elliptical to serve as a human head, but I disagree. A pumpkin is how a head is supposed to be, and it is this reason why pumpkin faces seem prettier than human ones.

When I go to the pumpkin patch, I like to select a pumpkin that is perfectly ripe. I have the children join me, but usually they run off and do non-pumpkin related things. They and my wife have no interest in my obsession with pumpkins and pumpkin carving. They wonder why I do not even eat the pumpkins, but merely carve them and then throw the insides into the trash. This is because I cannot stand the taste of pumpkins and pumpkin pie. It has nothing to do with art anyway. Whenever I go to the pumpkin patch with the family, I always set my home security alarm(offers adt). You never know when criminals will strike, and it keeps our possessions safe.

Halloween Already!

Contribution by Saul Martin

I can't believe Halloween is finally here! This year the kids are going as a witch and a mad scientist. Since Halloween is on the weekend this year, it will likely be a weekend-long holiday. Both of the kids' school parties are on Friday. That night, the Kiwanis are sponsoring an fall festival downtown, so we're going to hit that after dinner.

I've heard everyone's going trick or treating on Saturday in our area since it seems wrong to celebrate Halloween on Sunday. So we will likely watch spooky cartoons all day Saturday with direct tv deals until it gets dark outside.

I only allow the kids to trick or treat in our neighborhood and in my parents' neighborhood. They don't bring in as much candy as I did as a child. We used to hit every street in town. But time's have changed and they don't need all that candy anyway.

There really isn't anything planned for Halloween on Sunday, so the kids and I will probably make cookies and caramel apples and watch It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. I can hardly wait!

The Best Animated Movie

Thanks for the guest post by Kristofer Bartlett

“UP” is a little word with a lot of meaning when it comes to the Pixar animated movie starring the voice of Ed Asner as Carl Fredrickson. The beginning of the movie has Carl as a young boy who falls in love with the rough and tough neighbor girl Ellie. Ellie has a scrapbook that she wants to keep track of her adventures in. Carl marries Ellie and through a directorial masterpiece, the movie runs through their lives in quick sequences up to the point where Ellie passes away and Carl is now alone at 78.

His house is about to be torn down, but crafty Carl who sold balloons his whole life ties thousands of them to the fireplace grate and runs them on strings up the chimney. The helium finally breaks his house free of the foundation, and he is off on a whim to fulfill an adventure of Ellie's that she never was able to live out.

Wilderness Explorer Russell, who had stopped by Carl's house to win a patch for helping seniors, gets taken along for the ride. The rest of the movie is full of adventure showing that we are never too old to do something new. Dug the dog, who can talk because of an electronic collar, steals the show. This is the best animated movie I have ever seen on Direct tv Sheridan MT.

A Chip Off The Old (Butcher) Block

After the leaves are raked, it is completely natural to think about improving the decor of your home. While the weather soon becomes too cold for major renovations involving gaping holes in the foundation or walls, a look is swiftly changed by careful choices. Halt dog hair in the kitchen by adding a utility sinks to the basement or garage. replace the rickety metal rocker greeting guests on the front porch with an adirondack chairs that handle the chill.

I have considered adding a butcher block island or counter to the kitchen, but have been disappointed to find many economical islands are actually shipped from China or Vietnam. I recently contacted the Butcher Block Co. and am pleasantly surprised that their products are made in several locations in the United States. Most of the lines they carry come from Vermont, Illinois, and Upstate New York. Of course, the product line could change from time to time, so inquire with the company directly about individual items of interest.

Our annual NASCAR weekend

The article written by Frances Blevins

Once a year, my husband and I pack clothes and a cooler, load up the RV, set the home security alarm (LOOK for more information) and head to Texas Motor Speedway for a weekend of fun at a NASCAR race. Sometimes we attend the spring race, but it is usually the fall race where we have the most fun.

We used to just go to the race on Sunday, but have since learned that the true way to experience a NASCAR race is in camping on the infield. You get to meet people, cook out, have some drinks and spend two to three days enjoying the atmosphere in the infield. And besides, on race day there is no better place to sit than literally in the middle of the action. While it is fun for the two of us to go alone, we have an even better time when we load up a few friends we trust.

Our favorite thing to do at the race is set up an awning outside and cook out. We even like to cook a little extra for the "neighbors" in the infield. We don't like to get too crazy, and things get hairy at times in the infield, but we do have a good time and come home happy and with stories to get us through until the next year.

Homemade Costumes for Everyone!

Thanks for the article from Antone Medina

I have been a seamstress for 10 years now and counting. I love making clothes for my children, their children and neighborhood kids as well. Every year around Halloween I sit in front of the satellite TV from expertsatellite.com to watch "Leave it to Beaver" and make my grandchildren their yearly costumes.

This year my two granddaughters are going to be fairies and my grandson is an elf. It took me a total of 40 hours to complete the costumes but they came out absolutely stunning if I might say. On Halloween night they came over to put their outfits on and show them to old grandma! They looked very precious and I think I think I used a whole roll of film to capture there loveliness.

I'm going to be incredibly sad when these days are gone and I hope that someday I will be able to make my great-grandchildren costumes as well. I am also getting old and my hand do not quite work the same way they used to, but I am no where near to old to stop making my children happy!

Getting Punchy

Somewhere in the 80s, my siblings and I were given hook rug kits that helped us make panels that helped us easily make strawberry, mushroom, smurf or unicorn pictures in the illustrious medium of shag rug. Lately, some of my relatives have been giving Punch Needle Kits to my cousin's children to decorate clothing or pillows with in lieu of carpeting the house with even more shag owls.

Instead of sinking a needle into fabric, you press or punch a pen-like wand into the fabric along the line you wish to decorate. A single line embroidery or a sculptured 3D effect can be chosen to fill in the entire design. For beginners, iron on a design to Quilting & Clothing Fabrics in order to have a guide, and then punch away. Pre-made kits are available in a variety of themes, or you can try your hand at freestyle. I would recommend at least using a fabric marker or a pencil to create a path for the punch needle, otherwise you might get carried away.

Have you tried punch needles? If so, what did you think?

Saving Halloween as Spiderman

Guest post written by Kristy Thompson

I think that being a super hero is probably a kid's greatest dream. So once my son started buying a bunch of comic books with his allowance it didn't really surprise me. It also didn't surprise me when he told me that he wanted to be Spiderman for Halloween. He's especially excited about it even more because there's a Broadway play about Spiderman coming out, which we've promised to take him to sometime.

But now I'm just worried about making his costume. I browsed a whole lot of websites and blogs for some patterns and instructions on how to sew him a costume with my clear internet and I think I finally have enough directions to be able to pull it off.

Now, I realize that sewing a costume is frightening to most people, especially when it comes to doing a full body one like Spiderman. But I'm just going to make a simple spandex jumpsuit and then a separate cap. Plus, I'm going to use fabric paint to paint most of the details on it, like the web.