October Wrap Up

Happy Halloween!

We attend an annual Halloween party that has a specific theme. This year it was “dead celebrities’ “.

Terry and I were Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. Ha!

I’m not quite old enough to have actually watched their show when it was in primetime back in the 50s, but I did see the reruns. (cause we only had one channel on our B&W TV!)

I made the vest from a pattern my daughter and I used when she was in high school. Christie Brinkley is very young on the cover! I made it a wee bit bigger.

I also made the skirt that I wore to our annual community trunk or treat. Also a very old pattern that I enlarged but way too much. I took it in and it’s still a little too loose–room to grown into? (I hope not!)

I used this great fabric from Alexander Henry “Endless Love” that I ordered from Fabric.com.

On a side note, when I went out to grab the above sample pic, there is a notice that Fabric.com no longer exists. You have to order from Amazon!

A skill I learned this month!

How to change ukulele strings. Actually easy, but I was intimated. I’ve managed to change them on four ukuleles so far. Thank you, YouTube. Next month–banjo strings which I have tried before which resulted in snapping strings that fly up and could put an eye out.

Something I cannot do!

Grow Succulents. Another one bites the dust. Not the first one I have killed! One day it was healthy, the next day dead. I know it looks like I overwatered but I’m pretty careful about only watering when it was super dry. Poor baby.

In case you think I just can’t grow indoor plants, here is what my husband refers to as my “jungle”….

Books!

Thanks to my trip to DC, I had plenty of time to read the first book for this month “The Night Watchman” by Louise Erdrich. This book is set in 1953-54 and relates much of the Native American’s experience living in North Dakota in that era. I really enjoyed this book. The characters were interesting and I learned something about life as an American Indian.

Next up was “The Night Circus” by Erin Morgenstern. I don’t remember where I got this recommendation–I should write this stuff down because I wouldn’t go with that source again! I really didn’t like this book. I only finished it because I was waiting for the library to tell me another book was available. (I keep several on hold.) I didn’t like the plot or the characters, and I found the ending deeply unsatisfying. Too many characters and too many words and way too slow.

Then I finished my month’s reading with “Lucy by the Sea” by Elizabeth Strout. I love her books. According to the list of books on her website, I’ve read all but two and the electronic library doesn’t have them. Guess I might need to actually go to the brick & mortar building and see if they are available! I love her characters. They are all flawed but it is just real life. Her novels include characters that pop up in her other stories. This book starts out the month of Covid lockdown so it was easy to relate to. The loneliness, the despair, the anxiety. You’ve been through it, so you can relate. It was easy to read which was a relief after “The Night Circus”.

And just some pics from my yard!

A visitor–or perhaps a resident. Discovered this gopher tortoise under our deck yesterday. Very unusual for one of these guys to choose to leave in the wetlands. They are more for the dry prairie. We don’t often get coyotes for the same reason. But we said welcome Friend Tortoise. Hope you like your home!