Whatever Wednesday - Pumpkins and Fall

Has America fallen?   Nah - I doubt it.  We don't know WTF has happened yet.  So let's enjoy the Dallas Arboretum pumpkin fest.  This covers October and  November.   Enjoy!

Misty fern  glen.  Always so pretty

Me with a fake huge armadillo.  No sling.  Week  11  - the shoulder is healing - slowly, but it's all about time.  Many weeks to go

Ray's face at the Pumpkin  Village Saloon - there was no free whiskey offered.  Well,  shucks!

 There were a zillion  pumpkins everywhere.  So amazing and lovely.  As a member, I'll  take  credit!

Tuesday

Monday Moments - Democracy and Vote

 Tomorrow is election day.  Darn.  It's a bit scary, in my opinion.  I'm writing and doing this for my dad (see above from January 2023)  (he passed in May 2024) who could not vote this year.   But after January 6th 2021, my father asked my brother to get the forms to change his voter registration.  He could no longer stomach the antics of the Republican Party.  I am proud of his choice as a Navy veteran and a man of honor. 

We'll see what happens.  Alas, because of so much disruption, we probably will not have an outcome tomorrow night.  And that's sad, ridiculous, and (to me) not America. 

The central tenet of every democracy in the end is trust -  Bill Clinton 1993

We, the people, elect leaders not to rule but to serve - Dwight D. Eisenhower  1953

The first rule of democracy is to distrust all leaders who begin to to believe their own publicity -  Arthur M. Schlesinger, R. 1960    (hello......DJT....ugh)

and finally from Walt Whitman  Song of Myself 1895  Leaves of Grass

I speak the password primeval, I give the sign of democracy

By  God! I will accept nothing which all cannot have their 

counterpart of on the same terms

Good luck all.  We'll see what  happens and I fear for women in particular.  And frankly, the English language, depending on what occurs. 

 

Finally Friday - Ramble into a Weekend

 You know what?  No doubt, your local community puts on "free" events.  That's your tax dollars at work. 

Ray and I took advantage of Bedford Beer and Brats in the Pumpkin  Patch.  This benefited our local library and was a perfect October Saturday. (10/19/24)   Gorgeous weather.  Great music - The Trinity River Ramblers (see pic) - and food trucks, plus beer. 

It was a ten minute drive. Free parking. Free admission.  The goal was entertainment. Partake of food and beer and buy pumpkins.  Win. win.  Nice family event that started at 3 pm.  The band was excellent.  We stayed a bit for the second group, but then headed home.  So handy. 

Support your local community events! 

All Hallow's Eve

Wednesday is visiting us this month.  Kids that approach for candy get to hear her playing the organ

Yes, Ray has new LED lighting on the house. He can program anything  from  his phone. Orange one night. Purple  another. Or both colors pulsing.  Spooky

Indoors, I have some fun decor

Have a safe and amusing Halloween. Boo!  Don't eat too much candy. 
 

Halloween Week - Boo!

October Spooktacular fun at our house

Ray's new pet spider

 The pumpkin heads got relocated this year.  Instead of hanging from the pergola, they get to spend time with our yapon holly tree. 

Hope it's a scary week. Watch out for black cats crossing in front of you. 

Finally Friday - Under the Harrow by Flynn Berry

 Nora takes the train from London to visit her sister in the countryside, as she does often. But when she walks into Rachel's home, it's quiet.  No dinner aroma. Instead, she finds herself at a murder scene. 

C.S.  Lewis  wrote in A Grief Observed   We are under the harrow and can't escape

Flynn Berry's Under the Harrow follows Nora's stunned and adrift path.  back blurb - An unsolved assault in the past has shaken her faith in the police, and she can't trust them to find her sister's killer. Distressed and in danger, Nora's fear turns to  obsession and she becomes as unrecognizable as the sister her investigation uncovers. 

A riveting psychological thriller and a haunting exploration of  the fierce love between two sisters, the distortions of grief, and the terrifying power of the past, Under the Harrow is a fabulous  debut novel. 

Indeed, I've read and reviewed more recent  novels by Flynn Berry. However, going back and reading this, her first, I'm even  more  impressed  by her writing.