Oh, how fun. I can see cat-fanciers going nutty for that idea! Last year at Michael's they'd been displaying a few very interesting plastic pumpkin projects-- they took a white one and made it into Cinderella's coach-- it was breathtaking. Others they made into little fairy/Hobbit type houses. It was one of the most remarkable displays I've seen! --Jenn Here is a link that might be useful: My crafting/thrifting/decorating blog

I forgot to add the link to my blog,sorry! Thank you! and go enter my Thanks Giving give-away :D Here is a link that might be useful: Kudzu's Blog

Oh, groan! So the increase in size is "for easier reading?" I don't particularly want my fiction paperbacks to be any bigger, especially if the price is going up by $2.00. I wonder who they asked! Hardcover prices have seemed too high to me for ages. I mean--only about 4 books for $100? And now it may become "fewer than 3 books for $100." If anyone reading this doesn't already know about PaperBackSwap.com, please have a look at it. THERE, you only pay the price of postage, whether for a paperback or hardcover, and many of the books are as good as new. (Of course, sometimes you get an older one.) You can perform a search for the books you want and if they are not available, have them put on your Wish List so you will be notified if anyone makes them available. I was able to order Bound Feet, Western Dress that way just today. Had been waiting for months for someone to post it. The only time I go into a book store of any kind now is when I am traveling and need something to read, or if I must have a book right away to give as a present. It's the library, PaperBackSwap, Amazon (frequently their second-hand books), or Barnes and Noble online for me!

Trader Joe’s carries Pumpkin Butter in the fall. People rave about it. I bought some last year and didn’t care for it. To me it tasted more like pumpkin pie spice and not enough like pumpkin. I love apple butter and it was nothing like it. The consistency was too thin, also, more like a sauce: it would slide right off whatever you put it on. I was on a local gardening forum and someone was talking about making her own pumpkin butter from the pumpkins she grew. It looked so much better and thicker than the Trader Joe’s version that it got me thinking in that vein of how to use my pie pumpkins. (I buy a couple to use on my porch for Halloween, then eat them after. The first year I did this, it was so thin it was good only for soup.) She’s the one that cooked it down in the slow cooker to make it thicker after roasting. Using it in quickbread is far more likely than in any other form. I had a pumpkin cinnamon scone a few weeks ago that was really tasty.