Happy Halloween ! :-o

It's that spooky time of year, dear friends, 

when things go bump in the night and 

 eerie shadows flicker. 

I've been doing a little Halloween decorating......

just a little. 

We don't get Trick or Treater's here, tucked deep 

into the spooky forest, but you never know
who might pay a little visit! 

Come inside on this All Hallow's Eve and 

we'll bravely face the witching hour together. 

On this pagan night of appeasing evil spirits,
I have added a few (hopeful) deterrents.....

The 'Kitchen Queen' Hoosier cabinet

gets a new ghoul amid flickering candlelight. 

Sometimes smiles can be sinister.....

I just found the vintage spice tin at Diana's new Etsy shop, 

A Cottage on the Cove.

Whole cloves for making a witchy brew  <l;-o

The owl keeps watch for skittering goblins.

Wise words stitched onto black cotton.

Just as a reminder. 

xoxo

Candle-light illuminates dark shadows

where phantoms may lurk. 

I keep myself busy, nervously baking treats, so as not to be tricked. 

Long into the evening, I work to mollify 

those who wish me harm, working quickly before

shadows get too deep. 

Ghostly apparitions float over a sugar cookie pumpkin patch. 

I keep a watchful eye out the kitchen window - 

for headless horsemen and witches on brooms. 

And black cats that might cross my path. 

(Wonderful hand-made card from a dear blogging friend)

Jack O'Lantern sports a jaunty hat. 

But don't let his happy countenance fool you........

It's a night of

haunted mansions and full moons.....

Spooky trees and flying bats. 

and innocents lured to creepy places.....

Boooo! 

(This wonderful diorama is another find from 

A Cottage on the Cove ) 

Small children wander unawares....

Gaily dressing up and begging treats. 

While we, as elder's, keep watch for 

lurking shadows. 

..

O

So, while murders of crows gather at twilight, 

and we send our children out to knock on strange doors, 

remember.......

The Gobble-uns will getcha

If you

Don't 

Watch

Out! 

You can read this wonderful childhood poem

by James Whitcomb Riley,  Here.

xoxo

Weekend at Suncadia

Hello, dear friends, we are coming to the end 

of the beautiful month of October.  

My family thought it would be fun to celebrate 

all the October birthdays (we have 3, including me)

by renting a lovely, rustic home in the 

Cascade mountains, here in WA state. 

They chose Suncadia, the beautiful resort 

where my youngest son and his wife were married

just 3 years ago. 

It was a windy, rainy weekend,

which made for some dramatic clouds as 

we drove over 3015 ft. Snoqualmie Pass. 

This time of year you never know whether or not

you will encounter snow on the pass, but we 

were lucky.

Here we are approaching the summit.

Once over the pass, we could see a break in the clouds.

We found ourselves on a high plateau full of
beautiful fall color from black cottonwood, cherry, maple
and larch.

After just a two hour drive from home, we find our exit.

We arrive at our rented house with the late afternoon sunshine,
which was the only sun we saw the rest of the weekend.

No matter, we had plenty of room to stretch out and relax
with 5 bedrooms and two large living areas on 3 floors.

The house was in a lovely community of rustic
homes with interesting architecture.

Once inside, we all dumped our luggage and
chose a bedroom.

I wish that I took more photos inside,
but you can see a small glimpse, here,
of the beautiful woodwork.

The lower level was built into the hillside
and opened out to the back views.

The covered deck off the main level.

Pretty forestland.

This area was not too far from the devastating wildfires
of this past summer.

We had one of the driest summers on record......
especially on this side of the mountains.

A nice place to sit.

The view.

We were on a high ridge with a deep river valley below.

The neighboring houses on each side.

Large windows brought the views inside.

My little grandson's try to escape :)

The loves of my life.
xoxo

My four with grandchildren....soon to be joined
by twins.
xoxo

My grandson's by birth, my granddaughter's
by choice.
xoxo

Happy hearts.

We managed to take a nice walk in between
rain showers.

We admired the houses on our walk.

This was my favorite.

It started to rain quite heavily on our way back. 

The orange markers are to keep vehicles off the landscaping. 

Each home was different and used several types of 

siding, including rock, wood and weathered galvanized 

metal, which you can see here. 

They all had big garages and gabled roofs.

I could definitely live here.

You know, with the spare millions
 that I keep under my mattress.
Haha!

With a big family like mine to split the cost,
you can afford to rent one
for the weekend, though!

We make it back, thoroughly drenched, to
delicious smells coming from the kitchen.
Everyone was in charge of making a meal
and we ate very well!
Home-made sauce and spaghetti the first night,
and a taco bar with all the fixings, the second.
Also, full breakfasts and lunches, along with
yummy baked goods and snacks.

We played games and laughed and talked deep into the night.

And had a wonderful birthday celebration with gifts and
chocolate ice-cream cake.

All too soon it was time to go.

As we make our way through the gilded
mountains towards home,

We count our many blessings
of time spent together,
love for one another,
and a new generation to carry on the
hopes and dreams of all of our ancestors,
who risked their lives to come
to this beautiful country,
so that their children and children's children
could enjoy the fruits of their labor
and live in the land of the free.

xoxo


Today I am linking with:

Thankful Thursday

Won't you join in?

xoxo