HALLOWEEN COSTUMES THROUGH THE YEARS

I've had so much fun the last couple of hours going through Halloween pictures from years past dating from 1970 to 2008. I've always sewn so the majority of these costumes I made. We have always maintained a costume box, so that they could be recycled. That's why you see the same costume on two different kids; or in the case of Daniel Boone three different kids (2 different generations dating from 1975 to 2007). Have I ever told you how FRUGAL I am?

The second generation!

I see where a gypsy blouse has become a pioneer girl's blouse 23 years later.

Hope you enjoy this look back as much as I have.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

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I will be away for a week while my son has surgery on a shattered elbow. I'm not much of a nurse (the kids discovered that early on), but I can drive, cook and iron a couple of weeks of shirts for him.

See you soon.

Sally

I'm linking to Mary's blog, Little Red House, for mosaic Monday. Be sure to stop by her beautiful blog to see all of the mosaics.

MOTHER NATURE

Mother Nature paid us a visit Sunday night. When we went to bed, we knew it was snowing; but didn't think too much about it. But, at 2:30 am we were awaken with a bang! In the upper right picture below, that is our bedroom window hiding behind that fallen branch. Our shed also took a hit from another big branch.

The willow tree is always the last to lose its leaves. It couldn't support the weight as there were just too many leaves left in combination with the snow.

The entire tree will have to come down. It was our grandkid's climbing tree and the one that held their swing - they are devastated. We're thankful that the house and shed didn't sustain any damage.

Below was the tree in its kid-loving days. It served all of us well.

Please stop by Susan's at A Southern Daydreamer
for more views of Mother Nature's wonders.

COLOR IN COLORADO

Mary at Little Red House

is hosting Mosaic Monday. Please check out her blog for her beautiful mosaics and a list of those participating today.

A WONDERFUL VISIT

Yes, that is our smoke detector. It played a part in a great visit we had today.

You see -- Bob and I had invited Mary of Mary's Meanderings and her husband, Bill, to come for lunch. We also had invited some friends of ours that serve as prison missionaries for Mary and Bill to meet, as Bill does prison missionary work. Everyone had assembled and were ready to eat lunch. We were having the best time visiting; I got distracted, and you guessed it -- the smoke alarm went off telling me I had forgotten the garlic bread that was browning in the oven. Bob calmly announced, "Guess lunch is ready!"

How embarrassing, but I cut around the really burnt part and lunch continued.

Not only did the bread get a little toasty, but I was having such a good time that I completely forgot to take any pictures to blog about.

Mary brought me a set of her white pumpkins made from old sweaters. Aren't they wonderful? If you haven't become a reader of Mary's blog, please stop by here and introduce yourself. Her heart of gold shines through her blog.

It was a great day of fellowship.

OUTDOOR WEDNESDAY

On almost every Sunday afternoon we go for a little drive. It was such a beautiful, Fall day this past Sunday that we decided to do something a little different.

We took a helicopter ride over our town that sits at the base of the Rocky Mountains.

Here I am all strapped in with a headset taking in the gorgeous views.

This is our neighborhood on a bluff overlooking the river.

In the far background is the Sangre de Cristo mountain range.

The river!

Coming into the landing on the Abbey grounds.

What a fun excursion that was!!

Please go by Susan's blog, A Southern Daydreamer. There you will find our gracious hostess plus a list of the other participants.

VINTAGE THINGIES THURSDAY

As a child I was so thrilled when I learned to read. My Mother always read a lot; so I figured you were all grown up when you could read by yourself!

We went to the local library every week, plus my parents always gave me books as presents for my birthday and Christmas. Below are three of my favorites from my childhood. They all have copyright dates from the early 1940s, and two of them still have the price of $1.25 written in pencil on the inside cover.

Hansel and Gretel was a favorite not necessarily because of the story, but because the illustrations were so colorful and they had moving parts - an early pop-up book.

I loved my "The Story of Jesus" book because my Grandmother was always reading her bible and telling me stories from it. This way I could read about Jesus all by myself.

And finally -- "Sally Goes Shopping Alone"! I loved shopping with my Mother, so what little girl named Sally wouldn't have loved a book that seemed to be written just for her. I was definitely a 'shopper-in-training'!!

Suzanne at Colorado Lady is hosting Vintage Thingies Thursday today. Please check out her blog for a list of the participants showing off their vintage things.

And finally, we have had our heavy freeze in Colorado and the flowers are all gone for another season. I rushed out the night before in the dark and picked these. "The last roses of summer" are always so intense in color and as huge as a dinner plate.

SHOW AND TELL FRIDAY

So just what do I store in that big cupboard?

Since it is Show and Tell Friday, I guess it is time to open the doors to view one of my addictions.

I've been collecting German Lustre dishes for over 20 years. I got started when I inherited some pieces from my Grandmother. Then I kept finding them while out junking, friends began to give them to me as gifts, and now after amassing over 140 pieces; I'm addicted!

German Lustre was in the early 20th century quite common and inexpensive. The dishware was an alternative to the more popular and expensive hand-painted dishes of that era. The cheaper variety were decorated with decals which with a magnifying glass, you can see the tiny dots that make up the decal. After the decal was applied, color around the edges was added, then a glaze containing metallic oxides was added. This gives the dishware that rainbow shine. Most of these dishes were made in Germany.

I've found the dishes in all forms and sizes. Above in the front is a butter dish, and below is a square cake plate; and in front are sets of children's play dishes.

Most have floral decals of primarily roses, but about a third of my collection have fruit decals.

I've often found dishes with the same decal used, but with different colors on the edges. That is a cheese keeper in the front below.

This cracker jar belonged to my grandmother.

The plate below has pretty Fall leaves with the fruit. This particular manufacturer always used molds with pretty, fancy edges. Most are marked on the back with either a manufacturer or just Germany.

I have dishes shaped like leaves, all sizes and shapes of pitchers, and a couple of berry sets.

Below is a very large plate, relish dishes, a bone dish, a pin tray, and toothpick holder.

I have many more beautiful plates and large bowls to show, but I'll save those for another day and another post.

Be sure to go check out Cindy at My Romantic Home.
She is hosting this party today, and you just know she will have something marvelous to show along with the other participants.

PITIFUL PUMPKIN PARADE

Most years we have an acceptable pumpkin crop from our garden. But this year it has been pretty pathetic. We don't know if it was too much rain at the wrong time, or too little water at the right time. Plus, the bees were confused, and we had a cross-pollination issue with our large pumpkins and our small gourds. Not a pretty sight.

What you see below is our entire pumpkin yield - 7 miniature pumpkins.

At least there were more than three so that I can participate in Three or More Tuesday hosted by Tam at The Gypsy's Corner.

Please check out Tam's blog for a list of the participants in today's event.

Hope you are enjoying Harvest Time!!

Sally

OUR DEAR CAITLIN

Your days of shopping in the 'PINK' aisle of Wal-mart have come to an end.

Now you are a beautiful teenager ready for new experiences and new responsibilities.

Happy 13th birthday, sweet Cait!

Where have the years gone?

All our love from Grammy and Papa


On this special PINK Saturday, I'm linking to Beverly's blog, How Sweet the Sound. Check out her blog for other pink deliciousness.

Also, please check out Mary's blog, Little Red House for more participants in Mosaic Monday.