Good morning.... Eden, what an adorable conservatory! I can't imagine how DH put that together in a morning. I'm impressed! I do like the idea of the twinkle lights...a fairy house is a great theme. So can you keep plants inside it for the winter, and which plants are you trying? Hope you won't be out of commission with the kitchen for long. Brad is a gem and I hope he knows it. I agree with Denise, you make a great team. Well, Hello Cindy! Mystery solved! :-) We've missed you, nice to see you back. It sounds like you have been very busy. I know how hard it is to catch up once you've been away....we all know [g]...just jump in and don't worry about catching up. Gardenbug...so sorry about your quilt. I hope it can be repaired too. It sounds like a very frustrating situation with DH, but if you realize he is like this about a lot of things, then it does sound like it is the way he is wired. Maybe right now, the grief you are going through has to be magnifying everything else that is a usual problem too. It just makes it so hard to solve problems from a position of strength, so it might be better to let yourself get to a better place with your grief before you tackle problems that can be deferred. Problems have come looking for you for sure and I'm really sorry about that. As for Phoebe chewing everything in sight, I watch that show 'It's Me or the Dog' with a dog trainer solving dog problems and one I remember she suggested for chewing was to take a wet hand towel [old socks?] and roll it up and tie a knot in the middle of it and freeze it and give it to her to chew on. Julie....Loved hearing about the Rideau Canal and what fun you and the kids had when they were little. We would have loved that. I have heard about the Beavertails too, what a treat with hot chocolate, yum! Deanne....glad you liked our fall color. :-) I think it is great you are planning on working from home. Wonderful that you and Doug get along so well that you both can work from home and not drive each other crazy. I can only imagine what gorgeous photos you will be taking with the new equipment. Hard to imagine you could improve over what you have already done. Michelle...that is very close to what Eden has started, how funny. I do love the embellishments and I can just picture Eden with the jigsaw already, Chelone. [g] I forgot that Kenzie and Bella are almost the same age. I hope someone is recording some of the cute things she is saying. You will love having it later. Denise...sorry about your Succulent Orb. I've had very similar incidents and felt the same way. Like the time DH helped me weed and pulled out a small blueberry bush that had just been planted recently. How could he not realize a bush was not a weed?! lol That was a long time ago, so I can laugh about it now. :-) Kathy....you have hit the nail on the head, curious and analytical. I wish I could turn it off sometimes, but it's not so easy to do. [g] I think that is why I enjoy gardening so much, it is a physical activity that does turn it off to some degree. Glad you enjoyed my fall colors. We will be getting rain soon and bare branches will be right behind it I'm sure. I was just wondering, hearing you talk about frost...I had the impression your growing season was a lot longer than ours and assumed frost would be a lot later than us. How many days is your growing season, and from when to when? Wow, on those brugs..I can just imagine how fragrant they were. I thought of Deanne as well. Chelone...do you have a long 'commute' to work every day? Well...nothing new to report from here, except it is very warm for November. Sleeping with the window open still. No new foliage photos today, but here is a Hellebore that has finally settled in from it's move a few weeks ago. I moved it closer to the kitchen door, under our Japanese Maple and I am already liking it there. They really get big! I've added more bulbs and some Japanese Painted Ferns. That area will need a nice sprucing up in the spring with a fresh layer of mulch. Have a good day... :-)

Just a friendly reminder.....make sure none of these folks have diabetes. If they are in a nursing facility, then they are usually monitored/helped in giving out candy. Otherwise kindness and "sweetness" could turn out to be a critical situation. Didn't mean to take the fun out of giving. I love to give too.

When I walked my kids around, I would put out a bowl and a cute little sign saying to take 1 or 2, or whatever. They did! Except one year, we were on our way out when I heard some boys take the whole bowl. I flew out the door, they stopped short of the end of the walkway and sheepishly put it back. I was especially surprised because we KNOW them! My sons quit going out after 8th grade, but this year DS wanted to dress up as a ghoul and have a "haunted porch", I think he missed the TorT! Sadly, it was not only cold and windy, but there was a young-kids party nearby and he looked too scary, so I had him hold off till the older kids came 'round. But by then it was misty, too, so the goblins stayed in. I I don't mind the older kids, as long as they dress up with at least a bit of effort or creativity and SAY Trick or Treat! We had two dancers about 14yrs, very sparkly. When I admired them, they said they had a dance too. It was cute, definitely earned them extra treats!

At the University of Virginia they hold a big trick-or-treat event on "The Lawn" in front of the Rotunda. Students who have a dorm room right on the lawn give out candy from their room. Other groups set up a table and give out candy There are huge lines of kids slowly making their way to all of the dorms and tables Others just hang out and walk around seeing others and being seen One favorite I saw was Leia, Han, and Luke, with Chewbacca on a leash I wore a bat costume I made for a party the previous night and at the end I found a buddy.