Obligatory Pumpkin Photo (304/365)

 
'Tis now the very witching time of night,
When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out
Contagion to this world.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616), British dramatist, poet. Hamlet, in Hamlet, act 3, sc. 2, l. 388-90.

TIME:  5:52 PM
PLACE:  The front porch
SUBJECT:  Jack-o-lanterns

MonkeyBoy, StellaDella and I carved our pumpkins earlier this afternoon.  MB’s is on the right, and SD’s is on the left.  DramaQueen was busy with her BFF and didn’t help this year.  The three kids and I made our trick or treating trek a bit earlier than usual this year.  We started a little bit before 6pm while it was still light and were pretty much finished by 7pm.  When we returned home, DQ and I relieved HandsomeHusband of candy duty.  I brought Oreo outside with us to greet the masses…she enjoyed all the attention she received.  And so, another Halloween has come and gone - I hope yours was an enjoyable one!

Monet Tree (303/365)

 
No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace
As I have seen in one autumnal face.

John Donne (English, Jacobean poet, preacher, and metaphysical poet, 1572–1631)

TIME:  5:59 PM
PLACE:  S. 13th Street
SUBJECT:  Fall Tree

As I was dropping DQ off at her BFF’s house and taking SD to a birthday party, DQ and I noticed that a strange phenomenon.  The sun was setting – which was unusual in and of itself, we haven’t seen the sun for many a day this past week – and lighting up only the top halves of the trees.  The leaves were glowing and It was a beautiful sight.  I hope to see the sun again tomorrow…I’ve missed it so.

Poultry-geist (302/365)

 
A chicken and an egg are lying in bed.  The chicken is smoking a cigarette with a satisfied smile on its face and the egg is frowning and looking put out.  The egg mutters to no one in particular, "I guess we answered that question."

Unknown

TIME:  10:12 AM
PLACE:  Rainbow Ranch Petting Zoo
SUBJECT:  Buff Cochin chicken 

One of the nice things about working part time is that I can volunteer as a parent helper on school field trips.  SD had one today to the Rainbow Ranch Petting Zoo.  2 teachers, 6 adults, 21 kindergarteners and 23 first graders boarded the bus a little before 9am.  4 other adults followed in cars.  It rained yesterday so we were prepared for a muddy farmyard.  Luckily there was a break in the rain this morning while we were there.  We saw rabbits, goats, swans, ducks, deer, horses, zebus, zebras, donkeys, miniature horses, an ostrich, an emu, sheep, llamas, a peacock and a cat.  There was even a farm dog (a Great Pyrenees) named  “Stella.”  At the end we wandered through a corn maze.  We were going to eat a picnic lunch in a local park, but after we re-boarded the bus it started raining heavily again, so we ended up going back to the school.  The kids enjoyed themselves and behaved for the most part…a successful outing!

Picture of Helen (301/365)

 
I opened up that old book
Photographs took me back
To your room
To your room
Pale green eyes
Strong and kind
I looked at a picture of Helen
I woke up in your room
Photographs took me back
To your room
To your room

I heard it in your voice
In a place so close

Walter Salas-Humara, “Picture of Helen”, The Silos, The One With the Bird On the Cover. Voltone Music, BMI and MCA Music, BMI, 1990

TIME:  4:18 PM
PLACE:  Front yard
SUBJECT:  Chrysanthemum 'Helen'

Every fall, I purchase some Helen garden mums.   There is a reason for that.  We purchased our home from a sweet older lady whose name was Helen.  In fact, I lived in the house next door for six years with Helen as my neighbor.  She and her husband moved into the house around 1934 when they married.  They had one daughter.  When I met her, she was in her mid-seventies and had been a widow for over 30 years.   Her daughter had moved out of state.  I loved visiting and speaking with Helen.  She would tell me stories of her life and listen to my tales of work and social life.  She was a guest at my wedding to HH.  “I wouldn’t have missed seeing you as a bride for the world, Susan.”  she said.  She also always told me that I looked like Princess Diana.  She rejoiced in my first two pregnancies and sent over casseroles to help out after DQ and MB were born.  All too soon she grew unable to manage on her own and moved in with her daughter.  We purchased the house from her and I still sometimes refer to it as “Helen’s house.”  She is still living down in Tennessee with her daughter.  The mums I plant are a tribute to her.

DramaQueen Turns 12 (300/365)

TIME:  10:46 PM
PLACE:  The living room
SUBJECT:  DramaQueen – at age 11

  
And thou shalt in thy daughter see,
This picture, once, resembled thee.

Ambrose Philips (1675-1749), British poet. To Miss Charlotte Pulteney in Her Mother's Arms (l. 7-10). . . New Oxford Book of Eighteenth Century Verse, The. Roger Lonsdale, ed. (1984) Oxford University Press.

TIME:  10:47 PM
PLACE:  The living room
SUBJECT:  DramaQueen – at age 12

12 years ago, DramaQueen entered my life and my heart.  I remember that day well.  I was already 6 days past my due date and went to my Ob-Gyn, Dr. B.,  that morning.  Nothing was going on.  He was pretty sure I would go on my own, and wasn’t planning on inducing me until November 1st.  I left the office depressed.  My sister was with me and we went to the mall next door, then out to Lebanon, IL to see if my Aunt (my mom’s sister) was in line for an alleged shipment of Beanie Babies (remember that craze?).  After we spoke to her and went into one of the shops, I experienced what felt like gas in my intestines.  By the time I arrived home, I knew I was having contractions.  I laid on the couch to watch Oprah and waited for HH to arrive home.  When he arrived home, I showered and timed the contractions, which were about 25 minutes apart.  They were all in my lower back and hurt horribly.  During one, the phone rang, HH answered and handed it to me as I was in pain.  It was my good friend, Denise, finding out how I was doing.  I told her through my gritted teeth that I think I will be having this baby soon.  Before we left, HH also insisted that I set the VCR to tape “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” so he could watch it later.  *shakes head*  

We arrived at the hospital a little before 7pm.  When the admitting nurse learned that my water hadn’t broken, she looked skeptical about me staying.  Nevertheless, she hooked me up to a monitor in triage.  Each time I had a contraction, the baby’s heart rate would drop like a rock.  HH beckoned the nurse to come in and review it.  She looked at the EKG and told me that they weren’t sending me home, and I would be having a baby soon. 

Things went pretty quick after that.  I was checked into a room and Dr. B. arrived.  He suggested that the best course of action would be a C-section as the labor was putting the baby in distress.  I looked at HH and we both nodded.  They prepped me for surgery.  I remember how cold the room was and the sting of the needle for the spinal anesthesia.
Dr. B. and an attending came in and went to work.  There was pushing and pulling and at 10:47pm, I heard the cry.  DramaQueen had entered the building.  HH cut her cord and I got to see her - she was perfect.  Soon I was put back together and they wheeled us back down to my recovery room, where my mom and sister were waiting.  HH held her for awhile and the picture of my husband sitting in the hospital chair, holding our first child is etched forever in my mind. 

Before they moved me to my hospital room, Dr. B. came in to see how I was doing.  He told me that I would of probably had to have a C-section anyway – Not only did DQ have the cord around her neck, but she weighed in at a hefty 9 pounds, 12 ounces and was 21 3/4” long.  Now she is 5 foot tall and weighs more than her birth weight.  Tonight, I took her to dinner, just the two of us.  Afterwards, she requested to have ears double pierced (do you see the new silver studs in her ears?).  We shopped for some clothing and she chose 2 skirts, 2 shirts, a pair of tights and some “Twilight” shoelaces with “I *heart* Werewolves” printed on them.  Happy Birthday, DQ – I love you so very much!

Cocooning (299/365)

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me
And just forget the world
Forget what we're told
Before we get too old
Show me a garden that's bursting into life

Quinn, Jonathan; Lightbody, Gary; Connolly, Nathan; Wilson, Paul; Simpson, Tom, “Chasing Cars.” Snow Patrol. Eyes Open. Polydor (UK), Interscope (US). 2006.

TIME:  5:40 PM
PLACE:  The backyard
SUBJECT:  Cocoon

It’s another dreary and rainy fall day.  HH, DQ and SD all were not feeling well and spent this Monday at home.  I went into work this morning from 8:45am until 1pm.  When I returned home, the dog needed to go out.  While standing outside waiting for her to finish, I noticed several of these on the bush by the fence.  I’m more than certain that they are some sort of chrysalis.  I must admit to feeling a little jealous of what is inside it.  Lately I wish I could insulate myself and hide from the outside world.

Bullseye (298/365)

“The odds of hitting your target go up dramatically when you aim at it.”

Mal Pancoast, author

TIME:  6:23 PM
PLACE:  The kitchen
SUBJECT:  Shotgun shells & target

HandsomeHusband took MonkeyBoy to a turkey shoot early this afternoon.  On the first round, MB’s shots hit closest to the target and he won $50!  Good shooting buddy! 

I told MB about the time HH took me to a turkey shoot.  It was when we had first started to date.  The shoot was outside at a nearby VFW Hall.  I remember HH shot first, then it was my turn.  I had never fired a shotgun before and was a little nervous.  HH showed me how to hold the shotgun and how to sight the target.  I could hear the guys behind us making jokes about my shooting ability.  I shut them up, right quick.  I won that round and a 20lb ham.  They then turned to HH and started on him…and how his girlfriend outshot him that day.