Punkin' Carving 101

Get the biggest pumpkin you can find for your son while on a work trip to upstate New York.

Get a real workout while carving into it's 6" shell with a dull steak knife.

After 10 minutes of huffing and puffing and getting ready to throw it out the back door, complete the hole in the back.

Begin carving the face with the same dull steak knife while your son begins to pull out the guts.

After an hour working on the first pumpkin, get smart and get a power tool from the garage for the next one.

Spend twenty minutes trying to convince your son that the pumpkins won't bite him and that it is safe to go and see them.

Pay way too much money for a green LED strobe light to make the big scary pumpkin even scarier to your two-year old.


HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Update for Jerolyn and Love This Poster . . .

Jerolyn this ham and cheese grinder is for YOU!


Stumbled on this while browsing a new blog that has captured my attention called Swallowfield.

Poster by Christopher David Ryan

D & D Stands for . . .

DECIDEDLY DELICIOUS!

We took a trip to D & D Market on Franklin Avenue
in Hartford's South End today.

The cheese case is a sight to behold.
And see all of the Pizelle cookies underneath it? YUM!


Mmm . . . can I have some proscuitto, please?

"Excuse me sir, may I have a large container
of stuffed cherry peppers?"

Maybe some dry-aged salami?

We just had to buy a bag of these anise biscuit cookies.

Oh, lordy me! Would you just LOOK at this ricotta?

These steaks are absolutely mouth-watering!

Uh, yeah, OK, I'd like to have one of these roasts
for Sunday dinner, please.

Anybody need some beans for their minestrone?
Or perhaps their pasta e fagioli?

Oh, did you say you needed some canned
tomatoes for that famous sauce you make?

Check out this entire aisle devoted just to PASTA!

After D & D we headed to Franklin Grinders.

James was getting a little deliriously hungry
while waiting for his Dad to get his lunch.

Here is a beef cutlet grinder, which I have
since renamed "Heaven on a Roll."

And here is a ham and cheese grinder--SCRUMPTIOUS!

Are you hungry yet?

Somebody Get this Kid a Rake!

My Mom sent James these great Jack-O-Lantern leaf bags to fill for Halloween. I thought it would be a fun thing to do yesterday afternoon. BUT--since we just moved here from Vegas, we don't have a rake! So, I had to improvise . . .

He did manage to "sweep" together a little pile, into which he immediately jumped! (Funny though, all the while he was singing "Clean, up, clean up!")


And a bonus picture of Ella. She is doing so well! Laughing, smiling, and cooing. She is also sleeping through the night YAY!!! We just moved her into her crib the other night (I was so sad) but she has taken to it well.


We plan to carve our pumpkins this weekend, so we will post pics later on for you to see!

"Get the Mail?"

Thanks for the cards Auntie Gini and Grandma! You made my day!

"Punkins, Mama! Punkins!"

* If you make it to the end of this post, there is a particularly hilarious treat for you, that involves a screaming piglet . . .

** Also, these pics are not click-a-ble. I don't know what is up with Blogger, or my web browser, but I can't fix it, and I have to go change a diaper . . .

We visited a local pumpkin patch on Sunday with Kimmy, Dennis and Matthew. The weather was cool and sunny. Even though Chris came home with some pumpkins from upstate New York a few weeks ago, and James' grandfather sent him home with one from Maine, we just HAD to take advantage of one more time to try and find that PERFECT "punkin" (as James calls them).



We started by walking through a little barnyard that was set up, so we could look at all of the great animals that I will one day have on my own farm that I love.

First was a funny pig whose snort sounded more like a dog whining. Chris really liked this pig, and took about a hundred pictures of her and some videos. If he ever gets around to posting on his own blog, you might see them there.

Next was a pen with some calves. This girl was my favorite. I loved her bright eyes and sandpapery tongue. I tried, but I couldn't lift James up high enough so that she could give him a kiss.

I could have lifted Ella, but she was sleeping (AGAIN--remember the apple picking post?!)


I tried to show James how to lay his hand out flat when he was feeding the animals, but he never quite got the hang of it!


James had fun riding around in a punkin cart. For a great little video, visit Kimmy's post.


My men. Everybodys say, "Awwwwwwwwww!" Aren't they handsome??


James being a big boy pushing his cart. It even had pumpkins in it!!


OK, so they had these great little photo things set up, and no matter what we tried, we COULD NOT get James to look straight at the camera!



My little nephew Matthew. SO CUTE!!!


Here are the guys conferring about which pumpkin to get. We especially like the funny, bumpy, mishapen ones. They make great faces!


Did I mention that James had a great time?


And, a very special treat. For those of you who made it to the end of this post, you now get to watch me reliving my childhood, when I was in a pig scramble and won a pig to take home.

I must confess, I didn't try really hard, as I didn't want to mow down any children, embarrass my family, or get thrown off the farm. Maybe next time!

Apple Picking

* edited to add: I fixed the photos so that now you can click on them. Not sure why that happened!

Today we spent the morning at a local apple orchard.

It was James' first time and he loved it!

Ella didn't pick any apples, she was too busy sleeping.

James got to have his favorite treat after we came back in from the fields--a donut! Mmm... a cider donut, no less. I wish you could take a bite!

We filled our bags and came home with Cortlands, Empires, apple cider donuts and apple butter. Now it's time to make a pie!

Ella's 2 Month Check Up

One month stats:

• 7 pounds, 15 ounces (10th percentile)
• 21" long (50th percentile)

Two month stats:

• 9 pounds, 10 ounces (25th percentile)
• 23" long (75th percentile)

She received three shots today, and it was the first time that I ever saw her cry with REAL TEARS. I had told James earlier today that we were taking Ella to the Doctor, and he would say, "No, take JAMESY to the Doctor!" to which I would reply, "Hmmm . . . I don't think you would like it." Well, when he saw Ella getting those shots and then heard her cry, I thought that the look on his face would make my heart break. He was genuinely scared for her.

Note to self: next time Baby Sister goes in for shots, find a sitter for James!

Dress credit: Pollyanna's Antiques (of course!)

And here is another really dark, really blurry video (I need to work on that) of Ella "sleep smiling."