Octoberfest Two

The snapshots above were taken at the Octoberfest event, which was held at a bed and breakfast facility out in the country.








We enjoyed the event, on this sunny but very brisk October day. I wore a turtleneck knit shirt under a heavy turtleneck cotton sweater, along with a denim jacket. Mother wore several layers, too, and Hubbie opted for a flannel shirt and lined work jacket. We felt sorry for the ladies demonstrating crafts, who wore flimsy pioneer dresses and bonnets. They were wrapped in shawls, and I'm sure they were wearing shirts and pants under the dresses, but they were still shivering. One of them said that they nearly froze all day yesterday, while they demonstrated for around 500 school children visiting the event.









I got a nice surprise in the mail when we got home from the event...one of my photos has been selected to appear on a local bank's 2009 calendar. I have no idea which of three or four photos that I submitted was chosen, though.







For supper tonight, we decided to have a choice of hamburgers or turkey burgers, with sauteed potatoes, and corn on the cob. Later, Hubbie and I watched our favorite football team play a great game, only to go down in heartbreaking defeat when they lost by only one point in the last couple of minutes.

Octoberfest

This morning, we went to an Octoberfest event at a bed and breakfast facility about 40 minutes from our home. Last Monday, a water aerobics member invited me to the event, hoping I would bring along my camera and take snapshots for the regional newspaper. The snapshots above are some that I took, though they are not ones that I'll submit to the paper. These, and a few more that I'll include in another blog, are some I took for myself, because we love animals and country charm scenes.

We got a false start at 9:30 this morning on our trip to the festival. When we were about six miles from home, I realized I had left the lithium camera battery on the charger at home. So we turned around and came back to retrieve it. At that point, Hubbie decided the van needed gas, which meant a stop at a filling station. Finally, about 10 a.m., we were on the road to the festival.

The festival revolved around demonstrations of frontier life skills, such as quilting, canning, butter churning, corn shelling, knife sharpening, etc. The festival also included a western arts entertainer, who brought along the very gentle Brahman steer above. Children delighted in sitting in the saddle on the steer's back. The entertainer did a number of rope tricks as well as whip cracking, as he joked with the crowd.

I snapped a number of photos, mainly of children enjoying the event, but also of the folks who were demonstrating country arts, which I'll submit to the newspaper.

While we were at the festival, we sampled homemade biscuits, butter, and strawberry preserves, and then, since it was lunchtime, we each had a free hot dog. This would not have been my choice for lunch, but since there was nothing else available, I ate one. Our appetites were not satisfied when we got back home, so Hubbie and I ate bowls of fruit. I had a cup of hot chocolate with mine, and Hubbie had coffee and fig newtons with his.

Friday, October 17

It was pretty nippy this morning going to the pool. I wore fleece and a denim jacket, and ran the heater in the van. The water in the pool was warm, though.

Nature provided a rather unusual sight this morning. Even though the sun was pretty high above the horizon in the east, the moon was still clearly visible against the blue western sky. An airplane, shining white and silent in its flight thousands of feet above, appeared to glide just below the rim of the moon. The moon was still visible at 9:30 a.m., when I left the college campus to come home.

Our regular aerobics leader was not there this morning. Apparently, she ended up in the hospital last Wednesday following our session. She complained to several of the water aerobics members that she was feeling very tired, and her heart was racing. She saw a doctor right away, of course, who did blood tests and then sent her straight to the hospital. The blood tests revealed that she is very anemic. She is undergoing further tests, but no one knows yet if doctors have arrived at a diagnosis.

Regarding the water aerobics member whose car was hit by a pickup truck when she attempted a U-turn last Sunday...she's still hospitalized. We don't know the extent of her injuries.

Another water aerobics member, a lady in her 80s, was hospitalized last week to find out what is causing a blockage in her digestive system. She has been unable to eat since last Thursday, and is currently being fed intravenously.

One of the members this morning, upon hearing all the bad news, exclaimed, "My gosh, what's happening to us? We're dropping like flies all of a sudden." It has been a bad year for serious health problems in the group (my own heart episode among them).

One of the three alternate leaders took over the session this morning. Of the other two alternates, one has not shown up for a long time, and one hasn't been attending lately because of a very ill sister, who, sadly, died yesterday.

The alternate who led us this morning often has problems that prevent her from coming to water aerobics, too, so I don't know what we'll do if she's unable to attend.

After I got home from water aerobics, Hubbie and I shopped for groceries at the WDCS, in expectation that Niece would be visiting for the weekend. But when we got home, Mother said Niece had called to say she can't come after all, because of car problems. We're disappointed, but we understand.

Since we had time to spare this afternoon, I put a pot of chicken broth, with onions, celery, carrots, and parsley on to simmer. The broth went into the freezer, to be taken with us to Branson, where we'll add noodles for soup.

After that, Mother and I watched the 2001 musical version of "Jekyll and Hyde," on DVD, starring David Hasselhoff. This musical is okay, if not an award winner. Hasselhoff is adequate, but not quite believable, in the role of Jekyll (combing and tying his long hair back as Jekyll, and then letting it fall over his face as Hyde doesn't convince the audience that he has "transformed" to the point that supporting characters no longer recognize him). I like the singing voices of supporting cast members better than I do Hasselhoff's. It was a physically challenging role, though, and Hasselhoff was plenty muscular enough to meet the challenge.

Well, the mama cat and six kittens are back. I don't know where they've been, but as I was leaving the driveway this morning, mama cat came sprinting across the lawn to the garage. Later, the kittens were with her. Today, a couple of the kittens let Hubbie pick them up and pet them. Maybe they are making "nice-nice" so we'll keep feeding them.

Thursday, October 16

Today was my last day at Cardiac Rehab. At the end of the session, I was told I could sign up for another three months, but I declined, because there will be too many other activities competing for my attention during the upcoming holiday season.



It was rainy and cool when I left the house this morning, so I needed my umbrella. I think this is the first time in my six months at Cardiac Rehab that I actually needed to use it, although I think I carried it into the facility once, when there was a threat of rain.



When I got home from Rehab, I put a pot of chili on to cook. Mother insisted on coming over and chopping veggies for it. For some reason, she really enjoys chopping veggies by hand. This is a new no-salt recipe that smelled great as it simmered for a couple of hours, and was flavorful when we tried it for supper.



Once the chili was cooking, I decided to watch another scary movie on VHS tape...this time, it was "Cujo," Rated "R," for violence. Dee Wallace stars in this 1983 adaptation of a novel by Stephen King. I hadn't seen the film in several years, so I didn't remember the story line...but I never forgot the scenes of mother and child trapped in an automobile and being terrorized by a rabid St. Bernard dog. I rate these scenes right up there with the "Psycho" shower scene and the opening scenes of "Jaws."

Another movie I watched on VHS tape this afternoon was "Jekyll and Hyde." I don't remember ever seeing this 1990 film version, which strays quite a bit from the original Robert Louis Stevenson story. The movie, rated "R" stars Michael Caine and Cheryl Ladd. In this version, Jekyll has a love affair with his married sister-in-law. This is not my favorite adaptation of the classic story, even though Jekyll's transformation into Hyde is much more horrible than can be portrayed in a stage production. As for costumes, the enormous bustles on Ladd's dresses are comical.

The movie ended about 5:30, in time for Hubbie and I to head down the road to a local college for a panel program that discussed how the current financial crisis, the Wall Street bailout, and the upcoming presidential election might affect Americans. The theme for the discussion seemed to be, "This too shall pass."

We were back home by 7:30 to try what the discussion panel recommended...avoid TV news, relax, and find a diversion. Our diversion was to watch a couple of favorite one-hour shows.

Wednesday, October 16

The pool felt wonderful this morning, and the drive over to the college was pleasant, with temps in the 70s.





The story from the pool today is that one of the members was involved in an automobile accident last Sunday and spent some time in the hospital. No one seemed to know what her injuries are, or when she'll be able to return to water aerobics. An article in the newspaper tonight stated that she was hit by a pickup truck as she was attempting to make a U-turn.





I saw this lady at the art gallery last Friday evening during the artist reception. As she was leaving the gallery, she called out to me, "See you at the pool on Monday." It's a good thing we don't know what the future holds...otherwise, we might never leave home.





When I got home from the pool, I called the members of our scrapbook club to remind them of our scheduled meeting tomorrow afternoon. I learned that two of the members cannot be at the meeting, because they will be attending the funeral of a by-marriage relative, who was killed in an automobile accident yesterday. We weren't acquainted with this 35-year-old man, who was the son of a candidate for sheriff in our community. The ladies at the pool said the man, who was not wearing a seat belt, was thrown from his vehicle when it rolled over in the accident.





Another member I called said she has company coming tomorrow, so she is unable to be at the scrapbook meeting. Since three of the five of us cannot meet, we have cancelled the meeting for this month. We will try to get together in a couple of weeks for an outing to another town, where a new scrapbooking store opened recently.





Since today was such a nice, balmy day, we decided to take Mother downtown to look around the new antique mall, and then go see the artist exhibit at the gallery, where Mother picked up a few of the fundraiser Christmas ornaments to use as exchange gifts during the season. At the antique mall, I bought a large and very pretty woven straw basket with leather handles that was priced inexpensively. If I don't find a use for it in my house, I can use it to create a gift basket.





Tonight, we used the last of the leftover turkey in a casserole for supper. It's a new dish that calls for rice, onions, red bell pepper, mustard, light sour cream, and mozzarella cheese, and it was very good.

Later, we watched the final presidential debate, which neither elightened us further, nor changed our minds about the candidate of our choice. We're just grateful that the campaign is FINALLY in its last weeks. We are more than ready to cast our votes.

Tuesday, October 15

We awoke to rain this morning. Predictions were that wet weather wouldn't arrive until later this evening, but then TV predictions often miss the mark. The front must have come in yesterday, because it was cloudy all day. We even debated whether or not to hang the flag for Columbus Day, but finally chanced it, and it was okay.





Daughter-in-Law called yesterday afternoon to report on Son's and her trip to visit Granddaughter, who is in Army basic training. While they were on the base, they needed to visit the food court, and asked Granddaughter to guide them as they drove. Granddaughter said she didn't know how to find her away around the base by automobile...."The only way I ever go anywhere is by marching or running," in drill formation, she said.





Daughter-in-Law also said that Grandson developed a deep abscess from a boil that he stoically refused to have treated by a doctor until yesterday, when swelling and fever drove him to seek help. He ended up in the hospital to have a procedure to drain the abscess, which had become staph infected. He stayed in the hospital overnight last night, and is due to go home today. The procedure left a hole the size of a small orange, Daughter-in-Law said, which must be treated and packed twice a day for a week or so. A home health nurse is to assist with this. Grandson is, of course, taking antibiotics.





Today, I was almost late getting to Cardiac Rehab, because I was playing on the computer and lost track of time. Even with a road construction delay on the way, though, I still arrived at the dot of 9 a.m. and was allowed to begin my exercises right away, while the rest of the group attended an education session. So I finished at my usual time, just before 10 a.m.



Household chores occupied the rest of the morning, and then after lunch, Mother and I watched "War of the Worlds," a PG rated movie on DVD, starring Tom Cruise. There have been very mixed reviews for this film, but we find it scary enough for our October-fest library. The special visual and sound effects are pretty spine-tingling. These effects are even more dramatic on the big screen, which is how Hubbie and I saw it when it came out in theaters in 2005.



The original 1950s movie terrified me more, of course, but then I was only about 13 years old when I saw it for the first time. I remember how jumpy I was as I hurried home from the theater in the darkening afternoon following the movie...every leaf rustle made me cringe in dread of a sinewy four-fingered hand reaching out to grab me. This older version of the movie is also in my library, and we'll probably watch it this week, as well.

Before supper, I went to an arts council meeting, which lasted until after 6 p.m. I tried to escape as soon as the meeting was over, but didn't make it to the door before the council director insisted that three of us pose for photos for the newspaper. The object of the photos is to promote the pretty Christmas ornaments that we've made to sell as a fundraiser. I'm not crazy about being photographed...I prefer being the photographer.

For supper, we had canned navy beans (rinsed to eliminate some salt), prepared with onions, garlic, banana peppers and spices, along with baked potatoes and boiled turnips, as well as corn muffins and low fat biscuits, with light margarine and honey.

Later, I went to a community theater board meeting that ended at about 8:30 p.m. At home, Hubbie watched a two hour and forty minute movie entitled "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford." This 2007 movie stars Brad Pitt as James, along with Casey Affleck as Robert Ford, and Sam Shepard as Frank James. It's "R" rated for violence and sexual references. As with most films, it has had mixed reviews, but many said it is slow and boring. Hubbie also thought it was slow...not enough action to keep it really interesting. I only caught the end of it after I got home...at the point where Robert Ford shoots charismatic Jesse James in the back of the head and then is reviled for his cowardice.

"Dracula" Movie

After a four-day fall break for the college, the pool was open for water aerobics again this morning. The water was cool, but not unbearable, and felt good. The weather was warm this morning, too, though a bit misty. I wore a fleece outfit over my swimsuit, and thought I might have overdressed, but by the time I left the pool, the fleece felt good.

The story from the pool this morning was that there was an accident on the winding, downhill road leading into town from the south, but I didn't learn what kinds of vehicles were involved. Usually, the accidents on that hill involve 18-wheelers traveling too fast around the curves of that highway. There was no article about the accident in this evening's newspaper, so maybe we'll find out more tomorrow.

While I was gone to the pool, Hubbie took the truck to a town about 30 minutes away to have the transmission fluid changed, and other services done, as per vehicle manual recommendations. A couple of days ago, he replaced all the tires. He took these precautions so we don't have to worry about problems with the truck on our trip to Branson in a couple of weeks. The truck has never given us any trouble, but it is a 2001 model that has had no services beyond the routine ones like oil changes, so it was due for some attention. We figure maintenance is a whole lot cheaper than buying a new truck.

When I got home from the pool, Hubbie and I made yet another trip to the WDCS for a few items we failed to get yesterday. I don't know why we can't seem to plan our grocery lists better, so we wouldn't have to make daily treks to that store. It's a good thing the store isn't far from our home.

After lunch, Mother and I made a couple of more greeting cards, and then we settled in to watch another fit-for-Halloween movie..."Dracula." I taped this one on VHS a few years ago, but never watched it until today. It's a public television offering that puts a different slant on the chilling Bram Stoker story. This dark and brooding version is not for folks offended by sexual references.


In this movie, Count Dracula goes to England to give Lord Holmwood a "transfusion," which is supposed to cure him of a venereal disease contracted through his philandering father, who passes the disease to his wife, who then passes it to their son (Lord Holmwood) at his birth. Lord Holmwood hopes to purify himself so that he does not taint his own wife, Lucy. Instead, before Lord Holmwood can be "cured" and consummate the marriage, the vampire possesses Lucy.

Turkey Dinner and Horror Movies

The potted mums are finally in full bloom, so here is a shot of the arrangement in our front yard...pretty much the same one I do every year. At Thanksgiving, the scarecrow will be replaced with a turkey. The arrangement is nothing special, but we enjoy it.

We slept late this morning, and then I skipped my exercises in favor of making a grocery shopping trip to the WDCS to get the items we'll need for this week's menu.

At the store, a couple of employees were discussing an incident that happened earlier, when authorities swarmed the place to apprehend a young lady who had escaped juvenile detention. The story was that the girl was wrestled to the floor, where she squealed that she was pregnant (I suppose to avoid further manhandling). We all wondered why the girl chose this store as her haven after escape. Maybe she just didn't know where else to go, thinking that if she went home, she would surely be found, while no one would suspect that she'd go "shopping."

We had a pre-Thanksgiving lunch today...turkey breast, roasted in the slow cooker along with carrots, onions, celery, and spices (but no salt), served with mashed potatoes and gravy, a green bean and corn combination dish, and canned cranberry sauce.

For an hour before lunch, Shih Tzu took up a post in the kitchen, sniffing the air as the meat cooked, and whimpering for a sample. She scarfed a plate of dog food with turkey topping at noon. Now, she is contentedly snoozing.

The rest of us made a pretty good dent in the meal, as well, although there is plenty left for another meal tomorrow night. To maintain its fresh taste, I wrapped the turkey in a double layer of plastic wrap, making sure to squeeze out all the air around the meat.

We don't know where the gray kitten is today. It didn't show up to eat this morning, so we wonder if mama cat came back in the middle of the night and retrieved it.

We also wonder why the hummingbirds haven't left, yet. Either they haven't left, or some are stopping by to feed as they journey to their wintering grounds.

The Bradford pear trees in the community are beginning to turn, but some with reddish leaves that are falling prematurely. Our local Extension Services agent fears this might be a sign of slow "pear decline." We have a couple of young Bradford pear trees in the yard, but they seem to be okay.

What I've noticed about Bradford pear trees is that if they are planted in a row, the first tree in the row will become tinged with color in the fall, and then one by one, the rest of the trees seem to follow suit, almost like a painter slowly brush-stroking each of the trees with color.

The rest of the day after lunch was relaxed. Mother went home, and Hubbie and I watched a couple of movies that I'd recorded on DVR. One was a 1996 Stephen King film, called "Thinner," and rated "R" for violence, about a very obese man who rapidly loses weight, to the point of becoming cadaverous, after being cursed by a Gypsy in retribution for hitting the Gypsy's sister with his car and killing her.

The other movie (2007), titled "Primeval," and "R" rated for graphic violence and some language, is about a news team that goes to Africa to bring back a legendary 25-foot crocodile. They do battle with not only the giant reptile, who ultimately chomps most of the characters, but

also with an evil warlord who is also out to get them.