Grandma's Spooky House

Is she a bad witch?....................

Or a good witch?..... (Nothing can beat last year's witch. You can read about it in last year's Halloween blog.)

Anna arrives, very excited about her costume and her glamourous magical shoes.....

Julia is flirtatious as well as lovely in lavender.

She's growing up too fast, you say?

Peter is downright scarey!

As a karate kid, Pete proves he has a high kick.

Here are the goblins--I mean, munchkins-- for the party. Note that Nathan came as himself, a teenager. Very scarey!

Wish you were all there with us! Grandma had plenty of bats' wings and witches brew for all of you.

Bet you can't do this.

Can't keep a good witch down. At last I get to wear those high falutin' pointy boots again! Where's my broom? I know I left it somewhere....

At the Wicked Store (Thanks, Bex) you can buy such delicacies as devilish eggs, eerie eyeballs, chocolate mice,creepy crawlers, fingers in dip, and bugs to eat.

"I like the bats."

Can't beat moose poop.

Grandma makes a wicked witch's brew. Anna wants to know how it "steams."

There's got to be an easier way to eat a doughnut.... but not one that brings more laughs.

Do we get seconds? I actually hate chocolate doughtnuts.

Sarah--I mean, Cinderella-- is placing an order with Becca, the waitress. Why is this girl ordering everything sweet?

Let's read that order back: cheesecake, cookies, lemon pie, chocolate cookies...

Those heels are killing me!

The mummy relay races have begun.

Is this single or double ply?

Did you say we have to wind the tissue back up?




Don't I have to breathe?


Becca cheers Julia on. Hurry! We're winning!

The scariest event of the party was not the movie, the games, the food, or my green face and wrinkley neck. It was the moment Rebecca said, "Grandma, have you seen my retainer? I wrapped it up in a napkin."

Oh No! I had cleaned up the kitchen before the movie and had thrown the garbage out. I could have used a little magic here.

That meant Peter held a flashlight in the icy black night while Eliza helped me hold the garbage bag open. Using the tongs, I gingerly sift through the garbage. (Why do I feel like this is deja vu?) Truly witchy work.

Yuck!

It's got to be here somewhere. Shine that light down there past the egg shells, chicken bones, vegetable scrapings. Forget about the smell.

(Could I have orchestrated this, do you think, as a ghastly Halloween activity?)

Voila! We did it. A happy ending to a scarey and spooky party!

Happy Halloween!

The end.

Twas the Night Before....

This is Sherry the night before her marriage. Her sister-in-law Maggie Hoffman has sewn her dress, as well as the bridesmaid dresses, and little Maggie has made Sherry a necklace which says something like "Sherry is getting married to Steve."

There remain a few last minute changes to the fittings. Consider this photo of the bride her "Before" pose tonight.

Pam gets her dress adjusted first. Amy finds posing for the camera irresistible. She knows dresses are important even at this early age.

Next, some of the pearl buttons need to be spaced right for the train of the skirt to hook. Lots of buttons for that pristine look.

You didn't know David could sew? Wrong! He worked away like mad to help finish that skirt.

Now we have to test those buttons. I'm sure glad they invented zippers! How much time do you have in your day?

It's looking better. Just a little longer in front maybe?

Now we can see how the skirt hooks up. Isn't the beadwork pretty?

I bet Pam must be having all those Mom thoughts you have when a daughter is about to take this momentous step in her life. She looks pretty pleased. No doubt she is glad she didn't have to make the dress!

Lisa loos pensive. Perhaps she is thinking that their relationship as sisters is changing with this new guy in the picture. Or maybe she is just wondering about her own future?

I caught a glmipse of these socks under the skirt. Mary Poppins has come home to roost!

I think I like it!

And now here is the "after" picture with pearls and veil.

Can't wait for tomorrow!

BACKWARDS

I know this is backwards, but it was so fun to post the pictures of Sherry and Doug Nevers' wedding that I decided the pictures of the day before would have to wait. So this post is out of chronological order, but here they are nonetheless. The first event of that weekend was our surprise birthday celebration for Dad. Although a few weeks early (his birthday is actually Sept. 15th) we knew it would be rare to have all his children there (except John, whose house sale had not closed), so we held a party in the lobby of our hotel.

Here is our dear Dad. We asked him to smile, and he did. See? Look closer.

)Dad was very pleased, but as usual, he looks rather expressionless. The Hoffmans will change that with some of their shenanigans, as you will see below.

Posing for a picture.

Lisa (--five foot one or two inches )mentioned that she felt like a shrimp next to the boys, so they remedied that.

I found everything funny. Blame Lucile, my mom.

Wally, the older, the serious one, and Doug, the younger and witty one. Wally is an incredible reader and writer. His letters to the editor always seem to get published. He was even asked to write a column in a newspaper. He is very concerned about losing the Constitution and is interesting to visit with. Doug, the one who always looks as if he is about to burst out laughing or has a funny comment to share (and he usually does), is an attorney and a fine musician (--he would debate the word fine--) who would play his clarinet all night long if it would feed his family. He loves playing with an orchestra and hopes to land a position again in the future. (He hasn't played with an orchestra since college.)

Sherry and Doug, to be married the following day, arrive later at the party. Are they not radiant together?

More jokes and laughing.

With my three sisters, Judy, Kathleen, and Mary Lou for

the first time since Mom's funeral in 2007. Judy is our political rights rep; she keeps us all in the know of what's going on. She is so generous with her talents and time, and shares her home with Wally and Dad. Kathleen is a retired awesome schoolteacher. She writes songs and musical programs for children at the drop of a hat, and never runs out of ideas. She is our avid conversationalist. Mary Lou, who is reserved and modest, is an award-winning nurse and-- her kids would say-- mother.

My Silver Bear. I just threw in this picture because I liked it.

Kathy's gift to Dad.

Gary can get Dad to come alive with a smile. With sister Lisa.

My brother Wally, with Lisa.

Dad with all his kids. Judy, Wally, me, Doug in back.

Mary Lou, Dad and Kathleen on the front row.

The party ends but the fun goes on with this family. We do love to be together. That's why we are so glad to know families are forever. The older we become, the more we appreciate the fact that we are sealed together and can continue that association in the next world. It brings a great deal of peace and contentment knowing that ordinance has been performed. Families are the best!