there's a beluga

hanging out in my sinus cavities. That's how I've finally managed to describe how Mommy is feeling to the Peanut. It's kind of backfired though, she wants me to take it out so she can take care of it. on the plus side the barnacle in my throat seems to be shrinking, now if I could just get rid of the bend you over, breath stealing coughing fits I'll almost be feeling back to normal. Of course the cold meds are to be thanked for that.

I'm just pleased that the Peanut has so far managed to avoid the bug from us. keeping our fingers crossed and washing our hands like we bought shares in the hand soap industry. We got started on our holiday shopping on the weekend. We're going handmade/vintage wherever possible this year. We have three gifts off the list and about ten more to go not including the Peanut or ourselves. Next on the list is for the nephews we have six on the list, the rest are on the gift draw (wow time flies it seems like yesterday that they were watching Mumbo on the VCR and crawling into my lap for a story) I'll be doing another gift giving post in the next few days if the cold doesn't tackle me again. hope you are all feeling well and keeping the flu and the cold bugs at bay

Thousand Words Thursday

I'll keep this short, I'm battling a bug, coughing, sore throat and sinus problems are keeping me under the radar. Fortunately the Peanut doesn't seem to have a barnacle in her throat (the peanut's way of saying I have a sore throat) yet so she me get our of this unscathed, I'm keeping my fingers crossed. and limiting lovin's to kisses on the cheeks and foretheads (the Peanut's word for forehead) and hugs and snuggles whenever they're required.

The light outside our window was just too good to miss, the dark
looming clouds and the glowing autumnal leaves begged to be
photographed, so I obliged.

The candy coma

is continuing here but only because I've hidden the goods from the Peanut and the husband. Last week was a rough one, as was the week before with sudden cases of bad sinus colds and too much to do and a lot of it not getting done.

On a positive note our Toilet has been revamped with water saving plumbing type things, the wall behind the tank is sparkly clean as is the back of the tank since we took the opportunity of getting a good bathroom cleaning in while the the toilet was in pieces. My husband is not a plumber but he did an awesome job and there is no longer the soothing sound of running water coming from the bathroom.

This week we start our holiday shopping. On my side of the family we draw names. With one grandma, two parents, an uncle, four siblings and their significant others, and 10 kids the holidays could get pretty pricey so we draw names. My husbands side of the family is a little easier and a little trickier but there are less of them.

This year the husband got my Pa. Pa is my second dad. He's a rough gruff cowboy farmer who thinks that a covered wagon camping trip is the epitome of camping, with a wagon that includes a small battery run fridge and heat and a fold down bed from an old camper I don't think he's that far off. He built his covered wagon from the base of an vintage wagon and added a hand sewn canvas my Uncle (a upholsterer and glass artist) made and slowly added little luxuries as he thought of them so that he could entice my Mom into going with him.

He keeps Draught horses and a few cows and he's the mighty machine Grampa in the family.

This year we're doing the buy hand-made route again adding to that we've included vintage to the list of acceptable purchases for gifts as well. To look for Pa we looked in both handmade as well as in the Vintage section of Etsy. Without giving away what we've decided on I've listed a few picks to suit the Pa. When possible I'll be browsing local artists and arts and crafts venues.

When I'm buying for someone on Etsy I take into account their hobbies and personality, among a few different terms that fit the Pa, I also went looking for "covered wagon" in the Etsy search. This term brought up these things from Susantique, MaineMooseToys and CountryWindows on Etsy:

Prairie Chick...Vintage Covered Wagon Still Bank by Banthrico
if Chicago from Susantique: Vintage covered wagon still bank by
Banthrico Inc. of Chicago.Lots of detail cast in base metal with what appears
to be a copperwash, and there is a lot of patination that has occurred
over the years. Coin slot is on the bottom. Key is long since gone.

Measures 4 1/2" x 4" x 2 3/4".




AVON-DECANTER-COVERED WAGON from MaineMooseToys
was first sold in 1970 and last sold in 1971.
CONTENTS: 6 oz. WILD COUNTRY AFTER SHAVE.
Dark amber glass bottom,white painted top,gold cap,
with Original box. Around 4 1/2 inches long.



Old Wagonin Sepia from CountryWindows:
An old wagon that did havethe cover on it at one time, bu was
taken off. The days when peope traveled across country in
covered wagons. This print is 8x10 inches

Of course there was a lot to choose from on Etsy but these items really caught my eye and were on the short list. The final picks aren't here. My Mom reads the blog and you never know who may be looking over her shoulder. I will post links to the shops that we did buy from once we've made our purchases, in the meantime the shops listed here have some pretty incredible items to choose from. If you have the rough gruff cowboy/farmer type on your list these are pretty good places to start your gift search.

Are you buying online and handmade this year?

A Thousand Words: Light show

fireworks on Halloween

what you get if you give a 3 year old a glow stick at
bedtime to ward off the scary dark

Delay!

I had meant to follow-up on the blog-house-keeping from Monday yesterday but I was sidetracked with Mom duties. There were scissors, glue, glitter, paint and marbles involved and it was super fun. There was also outdoor fun with the magnifying glass.

Juggling online work and Mom duties can be kind of tough, there are days when I feel that the Peanut has ingested entirely too much PBS or CBC kids for any one's good just so that I can finish writing a listing description or a blog feature, other days I have a nice balance and still others I just want to devote 100% to the Peanut.

So back to housekeeping:

During Mrs. B's 31 days of Halloween I entered a lot of the giveaways, there were so many great items up for grabs that I couldn't wait to check in each morning to see what the prizes were. I've already mentioned that I won two fabulous prizes. My ghost ornament has taken up permanent residence in the kitchen window above the sink.

In addition to my little haunter I also snagged Yarnigras' super cool Skelepins. Val, of Yarnigras is one busy lady; always working on something whether it's cooking and baking, reading, making mosaics, sewing, or crochet. I received my Skelepins in the mail just in time for Halloween week. I chose one in each colour and then let the Peanut choose which one she wanted on her coat. She of course picked the bejewelled and sparkly red one, I took the more subdued gray and the husband's coat was decked out in the black. We've gotten so many comments on the pins and I can't wait for next year to wear them again. Make sure you go check out Val's blog, it's worth a read just to see all the goodies that she made for the Halloween season.

In addition to winning a few wonderful little Halloween treats on Mrs. B's blog, I also participated by offering a treat of my own. I'm mailing off Ghost Moon to Tywonna; the winner of that giveaway today. I've also included an extra special little treat picked especial for Tywonna; I hope she likes it. Mrs. B will be getting a nice thank-you note in the mail sent today as well. She did such a stellar job of organizing posting and announcing winners that I thought a little more than a thank you message in the comments was called for.

I'm done, Housekeeping all kept, now it's time to set off on a post office adventure with the Peanut.

Photo-tag

Heather from Joy de Vivre photo tagged me!

I'm up to the challenge of course.

Here are the rules:

1. Open your first photo folder.

2. Scroll to the 10th photo.

3. Post the photo on your blog and tell the story behind it.

4. Tag people to do the same.


This is the Peanut having her first bath at home. At the time she was less than thrilled and she's probably wishing that it was dinner time instead of bath time here. For the first few months we bathed her on the table in the dining room of our apartment, Other than the fact that this photo brings back so many memories of those first few days as a family instead of a couple, this photograph also features my Dad who passed away when I was 15. An enlargement of his passport photograph is framed int he background.

I'm not much for tagging with these things, If you want in on the photo tag fun follow the rules and let me know, I'll check ou your photograph and the story behind it too.

Yesterday was a day of catching up, resting

and recovering. Last week with the husband home sick for two days and getting ready for Saturday's festivities; things got left undone which meant that come Sunday morning the house was a mess and the laundry was in arrears.

So yesterday was catch-up time and nap time and walk down the hill to the independent grocery store and pick up a few things for dinner time.

Our Halloween was the best yet even with the small number of Trick or Treaters we had come to the door. Our neighborhood is surrounded by schools, there are at least three elementary schools within walking distance from our house and I see kids walking to and from school all the time. I was sure that we would be swamped with kids. I even asked our neighbor how many kids she usually gets each year (she said about 100) and we bought for that number and then added more. We were covered in every sense of the word for the onslaught but it didn't come.

We left a little later than I thought we would and we were the only ones on our block for a good 45 minutes. This meant the Peanut was loaded down with treats galore on her travels. We sent the Husband home after 45 minutes to answer the door and hand out our offerings. We loaded his pockets down with treats to make room for more and when it was all said and done the peanut scored a huge salad bowl of chocolate and (as she says it) lommy pops and other candies.

We weren't far behind the Husband on our trick or treating and when we arrived home there had been no-one to the door. We got our first treaters at 8:30 and our last at 10:30. Our visitors reached just below 20 and that's including the 6 university students going door to door to collect for the food bank. So we are loaded down with the Peanut's treats and the left overs from our offerings to the spooky crowds. Our gingerbread house and people will be candied to the Nth degree this year.

In the lower mainland where we live Halloween isn't just about the candy it's also about setting off fireworks and other loud explosives. From our living room window we could see the fireworks going off as close as a few doors down and as far away as the tall condo's by the large shopping center in Burnaby. It made for a very loud night.

Last year the Peanut didn't really "get" Halloween until the part where she started to pay attention to what the nice people were putting into her bag. This year she was excited about the festivities well in advance and is already looking forward to next year's parties, activities and trick or treating. How did your night go? Did you have few visitors to your door this year? Celebrate your beloved dead? Did you go to a party? The Rocky Horror Picture Show? Or did you have a quiet night in with a scary movie?

It wasn't just my laundry and house cleaning that I've been neglecting; I have a few blog housekeeping items that I'll be posting about tomorrow. See you then.