Halloween decorations and Franken-whaaa?

I thought I'd better hurry up and post some of my Halloween decorations because good old Frankenstorm is headed our way. If you still see Halloween decorations on my blog two weeks from now, it probably means we lost power. But we're all stocked up on H2O, batteries, and PB&J. Dog and cat food, too. And wine. The important stuff.

Here is a look at our spooky house (while the power is still on). 

I love this pumpkin tin platter that I bought years ago when my kids were little.

 And this little witch stirring her cauldron.

 A couple of my 'girls' in front of a sweet little Halloween painting I treated myself to.

One of the Halloween houses from our village. Doesn't everyone have a Halloween village? Of course they do.

 Some witches and a pumpkin guys hanging out in the dining room.

Jack and Sally inviting you in. 

 The Halloween tree.

 This is the Day of the Dead shelf in our pine hutch.

More of the Day of the Dead shelf. My little devil guy is hanging out there.

I want everyone to stay safe and have a wonderful Halloween. I'm hoping the storm clears out early Wednesday so the kids around here can trick-or-treat. Otherwise, I guess it's up to me to eat all those Reese's peanut butter cups.

A few new things...

How is everyone doing? Do you all have your Halloween tree up and decorated? I certainly hope so. You don't want a lump of coal in your pumpkin on All Hallow's Eve. I did take some pics of our Halloween decorations which I'll share in a day or two. I have to finish wrestling with Photoshop Elements. Photoshop Elements is a formidable foe.

Here are a few new semi-spooky critters.

Fenris, a Nordic zombie cat

Ingrid, a very surprised rag doll

Merv, another zombie cat (probably distantly related to Fenris)

And dear Lunette, a zombie monster rag doll

I hope to visit everyone soon and share some spooky decorations.
Happy almost Halloween!

Exactly what HAVE I been doing?

I can tell you what I have not been doing.
1. I have not been joining Pinterest (I will, I swear!).
2. I have not been losing weight.
3. I have not been exercising.
Hmm.
In spite of all that inactivity (see #3 above) I have not been stopping to smell the roses. Actually, I guess I would have to stop and smell the pumpkins. Or the pumpkin pie with whipped cream (see #2 above).

What I have been doing:
Writing, and trying to fall back in love with writing after too many weeks of not liking it at all.

I made two little paintings for me. 

A girl who quite possibly has a pair of hedge trimmers hidden behind her back.

And a lady and her trained pears.

I made a new doll for my etsy shop. This is Bernadette. 

I did decorate for Halloween, with much, much help from my DH. I have the best husband. He hoofs it out to the woods every Fall and drags back a dead tree for me to decorate. He debugs it and everything. Pictures to follow.
Not of dead bugs, but the tree.

Happy 10-11-12!

October? Already?

Well, then it's definitely time to put up the Halloween tree. I've been a little busy with one thing and another, so I apologize for not visiting you all. Hopefully things will settle into a mellower pattern, complete with autumn's falling leaves, chilly days, and apple cider.

A girl can hope.

Here are some pics from our latest field trip. Living near DC, you get very spoiled with museums. If you've haven't visited, you should. All the Smithsonian Museums are free to the public, so you can walk in and out as many times as you feel like it.

This is a room in the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History. That's a life-size right whale hanging from the ceiling. It is enormous, but it's hard to tell from this picture. I kind of want one hanging in my living room. I will need a larger living room, of course.

They had an exhibit on bones. Actually it was about cultural anthropology. I want to go back and spend some time looking at that exhibit - it looked really fascinating. All you peeps with a medical leaning would love it.

This is my step-daughter, Amy, making friends with a triceratops. 

I did sneak in a couple of new dolls.

Gilda, a pocket zombie 

Frida

I'll be around soon to see what holiday hijinks my friends in the Blogosphere are up to. I'll be checking to see who is naughty and nice, and by that I mean those of you who haven't put up your Halloween tree yet. Come on, it's October! Time for pumpkins and skellys and bats!