Happy Halloween!

We had a great group for our annual trick or treat party. And my camera arrived this afternoon!!! It takes great pictures just on Auto. It arrived after lunch and I was so busy preparing for the party and our haunted gingerbread house decorating that I haven't had much time to play with it on other settings.

My haunted gingerbread house.

Parker and his jack-o-lantern. We carved it on Tuesday afternoon. He has slept with it in his room every night since and it sat on the toilet to watch him take a bath!

New Toy!

Still no camera, but my new laptop arrived this morning. I had planned to spend the afternoon working on my Funky Santa but I think I will be playing on my new computer instead. I got a Dell Inspiron with one of the fancy designer tops. When the new camera arrives, I'll post a photo.

We are preparing for tomorrows Trick or Treat Party. Halloween is a big deal here. If the weather is bad we'll have about 150 trick or treaters. If the weather is good we have had as many as 350! I have a large black caldron for candy and I usually give out the whole thing. It should be cold tomorrow night but clear so we'll see how many we get.

Funky Santa

I began quilting my Funky Santa quilt this afternoon. I did some quilting in the ditch with invisible thread mainly as basting. Then I started quilting down some of the appliques.

This photo was taken some time ago. I still don't have my new camera yet. There isn't much to show anyway since most of the stitching I did today is not meant to be seen. I tried recharging my camera batteries today and putting them back in the camera to see if that helped. It didn't.

Pumpkin Patch Photos

A few images of our day at the pumpkin patch. Above - Parker, Jamie and Scare Crow.

The corn maze

Our pumpkin

Jumping in the corn pit

I should add that all of these photos are courtesy of my friend Julie Brooks, aka Jamie's mom. My new camera has shipped but won't be here for about a week.

Pumpkin Patch

No post yesterday because I went with Parker's second grade class to Diana's Pumpkin Patch and Awesome Corn Maze in Canon City, CO. I left the house at about 7:50 am and did not get home until almost 6:30 pm. Canon City is about a 3 hour drive from Alamosa. I forgot my coffee so I had a caffeine headache by noon and not enough Advil, but the kids had a great time. We walked through the corn maze in small groups and got totally lost. Our group never did find the exit but managed to find one of the entrances to get out. All the kids got to pick a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch to take home. The rule was that they had to be able to carry it themselves. Parker and the other kids with a parent on the trip were lucky because they had an adult to help carry. If I get my camera before Halloween (I hope!!) then I'll post a picture of it. There was an area boxed off by bales of hay and covered with an awning that was filled with corn kernels, like a sandbox but with corn instead of sand. The kids had a great time playing in that. Then they got to go on a hay ride and we made smores around the campfire. All that sandwiched between two 3 hours drives.

Other parents took pictures and with their permission I hope to post a few photos of the trip later.

My Lucky Day

You will never guess what I found in the street this morning on the way to the bus stop with Parker - a fat quarter from the Gray Goose (local quilt shop)!!!! I couldn't believe it. It's the strangest thing. Who dropped it? What did they plan to use it for?

I would take a picture of it to post but, alas, my camera is still not cooperating. I ordered a fancy new camera yesterday from Amazon but opted to just use the free Super Saver shipping rather than pay extra for faster shipping. I live in such an "off the beaten path" area that they don't even guarantee their 1-Day or 2-Day shipping to my zip code.

I need to wash my new found treasure since it's a bit dirty from laying in the muddy street. It snowed all day yesterday, until about 5:30. Then maybe I'll make something with it today.

Snow

We woke up to the first snow of the season this morning. I was going to take a picture to post but my camera is not cooperating this morning. Maybe later. I hope a little rest will help it but it has been doing this for months and I fear this illness is terminal. It had been doing so well lately! Luckily I have been camera shopping online so I know what I want to get to replace it. Unfortunately I can't be a new one by Friday when I am scheduled to go to a pumpkin patch and corn maze with my son's second grade class. I guess I'll just have to enjoy to trip instead of playing photographer.