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But first, here is Joe wishing you a Happy Halloween! He's a little embarrassed as he's having to wear last year's costume, but he still enjoyed seeing all the kids come to the door.
And in fact, handing candy out to the kids and talking to them has always been one of my favorite things to do. Talking to mom on the phone tonight we were thinking back to years ago and sharing favorite memories. I remember huge groups of kids and parents walking the neighborhood when my kids were young and it was so much fun. Mom told me a story of a lady that she said probably started getting ready for Halloween two weeks ahead of time. They'd go to this lady's house to trick-or-treat and go inside to her dining room table and choose from homemade cookies, popcorn balls, etc. Sadly, that sort of thing is but a memory now.
Now, we have a very warped and nerdy sense of adventure. Earlier today we decided it would be fun to see what would actually happen if we set a bowl of candy on the porch with a note that read "Honor System, Take 2 Please". If you look just to the right of Joe in the photo above you'll see the video camera we set up for the experiment (and we did fix the curtains so that the camera wasn't noticeable).
Up until about 8:00 I handed out candy and enjoyed every moment of it. Then we were ready for the experiment. I set the bowl on the porch, we turned off the inside lights, shut the door, activated the camera and waited. In the next hour only two groups of kids came to the porch, possibly because they saw the front door closed.
The first two kids came up to the porch and the older of the two read the sign out loud. Then she counted her candy "one, two" and helped the younger one with her with their candy "one, two" and off they went. The next two more kids came up and read the sign, then they were quiet for a minute. The next thing you hear from them is "We can be good, can't we?" and they each took two pieces of candy. As they left the porch they called out "Thank you bowl!"
When we watched the video after bringing it all inside we burst out laughing at the "we can be good, can't we?" statement. I guess there was an instant of being torn, but good won out.
And it did our hearts good to see how the kids reacted. The best part was that there was still candy in the bowl when we brought it in. If children are our future, we're in good hands based on the kids that visited our porch tonight.
It just hit me that if I want these to be posted before Halloween that I better get a move on! Both of the projects I'm posting today were done at our last Stamp Club. I just love how talented our demo is - she never disappoints.
Every time I look at this project I get a gigle out of the stamps. Mr. Skeleton has such a put upon look on his face. And it really is a darling little project - we used a die cut for the package portion, then tied the top with beautiful wide ribbon.
Next we made a little bit different candy bar wrapper. This one has a ribbon wrapped around the candy portion and you can pull it out that way. Very clever! And when I read the sentiment stamp that says "Friend Good", well it makes me laugh as well.
These projects are the extent of my Halloween since we really don't do much for it. I'm tickled pink with how cute the ideas are and am actually amazed that this candy bar has been on my desk for as long as it has without me eating it. ;)
The theme for our potluck at last Friday night's scrapbook night was Halloween. I had no idea what to bring, so figured I on bringing my Easy Apple Pie. But then Friday morning while I did a little blog hopping I stumbled on the cutest thing - Mummy Dogs!
I could obviously use a little practice on my mummy wrapping, but I thought they turned out really cute. They were a hit at the potluck, even though I forgot to put their little mustard eyes on when I got there. If you do decide to make these for your crew I will warn you that it takes longer to wrap crescent roll bandages than what I counted on, so I got a little rushed towards the end.
Here's the layout that I finished that night. You might recall our little mud "misadventure" here. I guess my theory is that if you can't laugh at yourself, well you should!
And every single time I read the title on this layout there is a certain song that starts going through my mind. I'm not so sure I think it's as cute as I first thought! :)
It's Friday and you know what that means around here - time to reflect on some favorite things of the last week. And if you want to see more, head over to Suzanne's blog at Living To Tell The Story to see what others have to offer.
1. Lynne's birthday. Our baby girl turned 24 this last week and we celebrated by all going out for dinner. Besides the fact that the meal was fabulous and one of my favorite places to go, it was special because of us all being together. Time together was shortened somewhat as she had other social obligations and had to leave, but really that's as it should be when you're 24.
2. My beloved granddaughter Brooklyn at the pumpkin patch. We absolutely have so much out there and I can tell that in the coming years we'll enjoy it even more. The fresh air and the carnival atmosphere is so fun. This year was beyond crowded since we had rain for the two weeks prior to our going and this day was spectacularly beautiful.
3. Knitting - or more specifically, sock knitting. It doesn't matter how many times I knit a sock, I am still fascinated by the entire process. I wonder who first figured out this mess with all the needles? I'm certainly glad they did though as it is very satisfying to me to knit a pair. I wonder if their last name was Sock.....
4. Lindor Truffles - Oh my word, why has nobody told me of these before? I bought a bag to take to a crop last Saturday, then forgot them at home. Really what's a woman to do but eat them herself? The beauty of these is that one is really all I can eat, so it might be that these are better for me than other chocolates because I don't eat a million and four.
5. BSF - I love that every Monday night I pick up a girlfriend, we visit and laugh all the way to church, then the next few hours are spend in prayer and Bible time. The time spent with the Lord and knowing that I can count on that time is priceless.
There are so many foods that just say autumn to me and among those is apple pie. Oh I do love pumpkin, but apple pie just gives me a picture in my mind of a grandma carrying the pie proudly to the table.
This recipe uses fresh apples, so not as quick as a can of pie filling. But the beautiful part is that there is no rolling out of the pie crust. Instead you just mix it, spread it and bake it. And oh the house smells so good.
Quick Apple Pie
6 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into bite size portions
1 T cinnamon
1 T sugar
2 t cloves
Preheat oven to 375 and place apples in a pie plate. Sprinkle the cinnamon, sugar and cloves evenly over the top.
1 stick of butter, melted
1 egg
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
Stir the four crust ingredients together and spread over the top of the apples. This batter is very thick and sticky, so do the best you can and know that it will all work together in the end.
Bake for 30 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. And think fondly of your grandmother.
I'm linking this to Rhoda's Recipe Party - go and see how many great recipes have been posted! Also linking to the Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life As Mom.
I'm a few days late, but I'm going to post anyway - my daughter turned 24 on Monday! The entire family went out for dinner on Sunday night and I cannot believe I didn't get my camera out for pictures. That's ok - we were living in the moment and appreciating our time together. And my word did we ever eat too much, even including cheesecake for dessert.
Does anybody else look at their children and wonder where the years went? I always called her my little ray of sunshine when she was a baby. Every time I would go in her room in the morning she'd be standing up in her crib with a smile that would light up the room.
And while I do miss those days I wouldn't go back for anything. I'm enjoying the lovely young lady that she has become so much.
I had to kind of sneak around to get her card made since she lives at home again and sees what I do. Luckily I went scrapbooking on Saturday with some friends and was able to get this done. (the stamp is Crazy for Cupcakes by Stampin Up)
