Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!

I was out to Will Poultry buying some chicken wings and blue cheese when it occured to me I was only around the corner from the Central Terminal.  Tonight there will be a live 6 hour special on TV from the program Ghost Hunters on the "haunted Central Terminal". 

It was a dreary day, perfect for some pictures so I took a spin over.  I was really surprised there was no one else there, although there was a police car posted on all sides which wouldn't let you go any closer.  I walked up as far as I could and got a few shots. 

Isn't it beautiful?  Think I may look into volunteering there as Buffalo makes it's first steps towards restoration.  http://buffalocentralterminal.org/you-can-help/volunteer-with-the-ctrc/

Random Acts of Cleaning

Also known as why my house never looks clean.

I start out in the living room.  Take down the globes from Mom's vintage chandelier to wash them.  To accomplish this I need to stand on a kitchen chair.  As I go to return the chair back to the kitchen I think to myself, those chairs really could use some cleaning.  So, I dig around underneath the kitchen sink for the furniture cleaner.  While doing so, I decide I have too many bags stuffed under the kitchen sink and I pull all the bags out, put a limited number back in and ditch the rest.  Use the furniture cleaner and clean the chairs.  Wow, they look so much better.

Well, back to the living room.  Clean off the table in there, dust all the picture frames, take the globes off the student lamp and take them into the kitchen and wash them.  Okay, I'm not going to get distracted again ... so back to the living room.  Really working my way around the room and realize there is a big stack of coupon sections from the last couple weeks paper.  Time to get rid of those, but first let's go through them and see if there are any coupons worth clipping.  Fifteen minutes later, I've managed to cut out $3 worth of coupons but did rid myself of the pile of papers.  The coupons will then make it to the lazy susan on the kitchen table where they will stay until they have expired ... never even making it into my purse.

Time to get the globes for the lamp, so I dry them off in the kitchen and realize my clean sink now has splatter marks and soap all over it, so after putting the globes back on the lamp I go back to the kitchen and clean the sink. 

So, I've got a clean sink, the kitchen chairs are clean and the globes are done from the living room.  When Nick comes home I'm going to have a hard time convincing him I didn't spend the day watching TV!

It's Fun To Stay at the YMCA ...

Can't think of a better way to start the day than turning on the car radio and hearing the sounds of the Village People.  Besides that, it is supposed to reach 70 degrees today and we are in Buffalo.  It's Octobber 27th and I haven't broken out the socks yet.  Even left the windows open at home, so I'm sure the cats have found a nice little perch in one of the open windows.

To add to the wonderfulness of the day, my brother had his last radiation treatment and my daughter gets the cast off her foot tomorrow morning.  Sure hope it has healed properly as someone is not too fond of using her crutches.  What were they thinking when they gave her a walking cast?

Another awesome pumpkin

My daughter and her friend carved pumpkins.  Here's the one she came home with.

It began innocently enough ...

While perusing my favorite message board I stumbled on a post titled "What should I bring to a potluck?"  While scanning the replies I came across a recipe for pumpkin bars.  What the heck, I have some canned pumpkin.  Why not try them?

So, I gathered up all my ingredients and had to dig a little deeper than I thought for a couple of them.  The next thing I know, the entire contents of my lazy susan cupboard are spread out on the floor and kitchen table.  That is when I realized, I'm a spice whore.  WTH?  3 containers of garlic powder (2 of them open).  Not to be outdone were the containers of black pepper, anything containing garlic, all their Italian seasoning cousins and not to let the baking supplies feel left out ... 3 containers of cinnamon, 3 packages of expired yeast  and enough sprinkles to decorate my Christmas cookies until I die. 

So, I weeded through all the duplicates and expired stuff and think I filled up half a kitchen trash can.    I really hope those pumpkin bars were worth it!

I love Halloween!

And I have passed that love on to my daughter.  Although I have tired of the pumpkin carving over the years, fortunately she has picked up where we have left off.  Here's this year's effort. (so far)

I'm sure there will be many more, but won't let her carve any more till it gets closer to Halloween.  So, we will probably be off to get some more pumpkins this afternnoon and hopefully get some foliage pictures while there is still foliage left.  I have really been slacking this year.  Although I did manage to get these cool shots last night while Nick was outside grilling.  Isn't that sky gorgeous?  And the rainbow was just the icing on the cake!





Is there any job more boring?

Than folding laundry.  This job has to be tops on my least favorite job list.  (although emptying the dishwasher is a close second!)  Heck, I'll even leave some of the clothes in the dryer to take a ride with the next load just so I don't have to fold them.  But chances are, some of them are mateless socks anyway which just end up in a basket in the laundry room forever until one day in a purging frenzy the whole lot of them just gets tossed in the garbage.  Where do the mates of those socks go anyway?

I am the Queen of unfinished projects

When I go into our spare bedroom, they mock me as I try to find something.  That half finished wine cork wreath, vintage handkerchiefs waiting to be framed, stacks of material and scrapbook paper.

Why do I do it?  Why can't I be likeNick and finish one project before moving on to the next one?  I like to think that's how creative people are.

Here's why ... Is there anything more inspiring than rows of cotton material waiting to be made into a quilt or new curtains for our bedroom?  Thought about that one as I was laying in bed this morning trying to ignore the cat who was pawing at me to get up.

Or a pattern waiting to be made into a Halloween Costume?  (Or in my case, a disco dress - think next High School reunion! - what the hell, I'm planning it.)

So, I decided to do something.  Got out the starch and the vintage hankies and ironed and starched and ironed and starched some more, and this is the best I could do.  No wonder the woman in Crystal Beach had someone frame them for her.  Oh well, they'll look cute hanging over our bed.  Still have 4 more to go!  Aren't the ones with the purple in them beautiful?  Finally bought something at Miss Josie's Antiques after longingly looking through their windows every time I get my hair cut.



Stuff

Another week flew by.  M&M got a lecture at the orthopedic surgeon about using her crutches.  Fortunately, the x-ray showed the fracture in her fibula healing properly.  Think the whole cast thing is more of an inconvenience for me than anyone.  The arguing about using crutches, the driving back and forth to school and the trips downtown to the orthopedic surgeon.  Plus the uncontrollable urge to say I told you so for joining the gymnastics team.

Birthday lunch at the office today for Dave and one of the freeloaders reached into the pizza box one too many times.  This time I slammed the box top on his hand and told him perhaps the people who paid for the lunch might like a chance to eat first.  Perhaps even the birthday boy.  If this doesn't work, I swear the ex-law brownies are coming out!

Took Monday off since there is no school and I feel like the world's worst mother making my poor kid stay home alone whenever there is a school holiday.  Might be a good opportunity to make some cut-out cookies after we have o-d-ed on apple muffins, apple crisp and apple bread.  Why, oh why, did I have to buy that half a bushel of apples?

Hoping we may get out this weekend to get some foliage pictures.  Don't want to venture out near the stadium on Sunday, although doubt there will be that much traffic as it is the first time in 4 years that a home game has not sold out.

Off to the cottage tomorrow morning to get the last of the patio furniture put away for the winter and the grass cut one last time.   And then MORE hockey tomorrow night.  I game down, 81 to go.

What a great block party!

It was the worst weather we had in 4 years and the best turnout!  At least 5 new families with some great food additions.  Barbecued wings from our new neighbor across the street that would put LaNova's wings to shame.  We need to invite Leon to some more neighborhood events.  All in all, it was great food and great friends.

The fire company brought a truck and the kids scrambled up onto it.  Kim had a bike decorating contest for all the little ones and there was a contest where the kids tried to wrap each other in toilet paper. 

The evening ended with a fire in the driveway and lots of leftover food to eat while watching the Bills get their asses kicked the next day.