Easter Baskets

Last year, I made vinyl Easter baskets for my kittens. They were super cute and I was planning on using them again this year, until I had a vision. I felt like Joan of Arc, standing there in the towel aisle of the department store, glowing with excitement. In my vision I saw eager kittens, delicately tiptoeing down the stairs, at dawn, to find with delight that the Easter bunny had left them towel origami Easter baskets.

I hurried home and looked up how to fold towels into baskets. I didn't use any pins, just the ribbon to make the basket more stable. The tricky part was making the handle stay up. I ended up using a piece of covered wire on which I wrapped two overlapping wash cloths and tied it with ribbon. I also used a couple of wash cloths inside the towel to make the bottom of the basket.

I'm not sure if the kittens tiptoed. They were happy to get new towels and all, but not as impressed with my clever idea as I was.

I know that Joan of Arc didn't have visions of silly craft ideas but I was pretty pleased about my little mash-up. It's hard to be original with so many craft blogs out there. Plus, I don't have to store this year's baskets, I get to use them. Happy Easter!

Oh how I love carving pumpkins! It smells and feels so nice.

I'll dress like a fancy princess for party, but for Halloween I MUST be a witch. My mom and aunt were witches too. I tried to demand that the kittens dress as witches but they have their own ideas.

I think the spooky costumes are the best. I took about fifty pictures of my nephew.

Other costumes are alright I guess. Dan Barney and the kittens did look pretty cute.

My sister Sari was pretty cool dressed as an MJ fan. I can't believe she has a picture of her with Michael.
It's a wonder I don't dress as a witch more days of the year. I just like it.

Homemaking Disasters

Disaster #1 I really thought that spray painting black dots on my big pumpkin was a good idea. It looked better in my head. I'm going to try to scrub it off now.
Disaster #2 I also might have to retire from my canning career. I went from jelly that turned into candy to jam that is far too runny.

My sugar high was pretty far up there, whew!

...and what goes up, must come down. Am I sad that this very fun day is over? No, not really. See, I did everything that I wanted to do, so that makes it okay. It's something to look forward to and something to remember. Plus, all that enthusiasm is exhausting.

I got dress up with my little witches.

I got to build a snazzy trick-or-treat fort.

I got to dance with friends and go to a party at my Aunt Lorelie's where the decorations were SPLENDID.

I got to eat lots and lots of candy, until I got my fill.

...and now, with no regrets, I can float in a sticky sweet sugar coma on this very happy Halloween.

Halloween Morning

I over-scheduled my day with hopes that I could keep out of trouble and not get too excited. That's what I thought. Then, as I watched my kittens silhouetted by the burning sunrise, I felt the excitement building up inside of me with such force that I started jogging in place in the front yard like a toy wound up too tight. I dare say this condition isn't good for my health, and it's a bit embarrassing. I also am feeling a little hammered after lasts night's jump off the swing set.

I went with witch flare this morning. It's not a costume. I'm saving that for tonight's cul-de-sac party. Hmmmm....tonight's party?!

Ring, ring..."Hey Pete, lawyer-shmoywer, it's a HOLIDAY so come home from work right now. I have an idea. Where are your tools? Do you have any Hot-Pockets? I'm craving Hot-Pockets? Halloween is spooky. I think we should call it HOLI-WEEN."

Pete hasn't called me back yet. I have an idea and it's beyond just decorating the trunk for trunk-er-treat. I'd better get to work!

I'm so excited...still!

Happy Halloween!

Oh how I love to embrace the witch inside me, and oh how I love this day.

Really though...I always thought I could fly if I tried hard enough, so...why not?!

My first attempt at hurling myself into the air from off the top of the swing set unfortunately wasn't caught on camera due to the fact that my teen photographer had a wave of shock at the boldness of my stunt and missed the whole thing. I only tried that one once. I was a little shaky after landing.

Eventually I got the hang of it. Actually...hurling myself off of the swing set in a floppy hat is far easier than coming up with a craft for the Second Grade class party, but I think I've got it covered.

Teen Witch is a natural.

She's also very gracious, waving to the passers by. Sigh...

She looks pretty good on that broom. It's going to be hard to put it away tomorrow.

Littlest Witch is in flight training so she uses the safety bar. Safety first.

Happy Halloween everybody. Don't forget to look up, I just might be flying by. (Dan Barney just drove up and he asked me to please get down from there so...maybe later)