Pumpkins

Ok.  'rents, don't be mad.  I know you were here for 4 days and *extremely* helpful with the mayhem.  But, I inadvertently made this once you left.  That is very uncool.  Although perhaps it happened because someone left the pumpkin mess on the counter (with so many bodies, I don't know who!).  If they had been left on the table, or tossed out, it wouldn't have happened.  But, there it was when I got home, so I cleaned them and roasted them and they are good.  If you come next year I will roast them for YOU to eat while we are out on the candy grab.

I surely have a weeks worth of posts related to Halloween!  But here, pumpkins.

We were supposed to carve the dumb things the weekend before... as a get-together with another family.  Of course, once I bought all the pumpkins said get-together was canceled due to illness.  And carving pumpkins at our house falls under the D-A-D category, so they sat on the stoop all week waiting for his return from Korea.

Here is the jet-lagged Dad doing the carving thing on Halloween:

Yes, even though he almost cut off his finger 3 weeks ago, he is still in charge of knife activities.  I'm that bad with a knife.

Man, this post is very non-linear.

A-man picked the mutant pumpkin.  Good choice, with that cyclops action and all.  BUT, the trait that led to bumps apparently also led to uncarvable skin.  This was not happy for A-man.  He got over it.

littleT was quasi-forced into scooping out his pumpkin (like his paternal grandmother, HATES having messy hands)

The end product!  (well, not really, those roasted seeds are then END)

Anyone else notice that I never talk about yarn?  it says I will, but I never do.

halloween bloodbath

Ah, Halloween past. It is this time of year that we made a trip to the Children's ER in Boston with littleT (I think he was 2).  We were at home, hanging, and little Mr funny bones was doing a silly dance with a blanket over his head.  To him it seemed really funny as it was a crocheted blanky that looked like spider webs, so he could sort of see through the knotted holes... but not really.  You can picture it no?  His parents yelling "Tomas, stop, you're going to get hurt", and him tripping on the blanket and flying into the chair (which we ironically had already dubbed the blood money chair).  bigT scooped him and said "oh yeah, that's stitches".

So, I walked A-man over to the neighbors, who were actually having a Halloween party, and they thought we were there in costume!  (notice my shirt was not exactly clean).  No, we're serious, we have to go to the ER, can you watch A-man?  Which of course they did, because they were great neighbors... another Boston thing to miss.

Three stitches.  To sedate, or not sedate?  we chose not, as he had been eating candy and we were worried he'd aspirate.  Which meant I had to pin my baby down while he screamed insanely in my face while being stitched up in his field of vision.  NOT FUN.  But you wouldn't know given the smile here, would you?  Actually, this picture is pre-stitching!  the one above, with the popsicle was post-trauma.

There's a scar, but its tiny and fitting, and i think i unknowingly stare it a lot.  love that little guy and all his little things that make him so one-of-a-kind.

Yeah, that hurt

storm.  BIG STORM.  crazy, crazy wind.  how crazy? 

crazy enough to take down 50 foot trees (can you spy the buried picnic table?)

what's that thing sticking up?  oh that's the crabapple that went down with the pine.  ouch, i didn't want that one pruned out

uh, lady, why is there a pine tree growing in your maple?

insta-bushes! 
sadly, not permanent, and once we cut it up there will be a lot less privacy from the road


So, that is 2 trees down, blown west to east.  Here is tree #3.  This one was a welcome pruning as it was dead.  This tree has blown from south to north, did I mention crazy wind?

Then there is this pathetic specimen.  Sure, it looked healthy enough, but no roots!  It is tree #4, making our house surrounded on three sides by downed trees.  Clearly I should just be happy that our house did not blow away.

Thankfully, my parents were planning a weekend visit and brought their chainsaw along.  Pakka is da man!

The picnic table is completely in tact!  amazing.  but, man is that a big bare spot.  i'll get over it.  eventually.

for example, this makes me feel better.

What is it?  
It is grandpa's upcycling!

A winter fort!