10-11-2015 First Jack-O-Lantern

Today, my son helped GS#1 carve his first Jack-O-Lantern!

Thanks for sharing this picture, son!

Wish we were there to see this in person!

And DD and family had their annual family photos taken!

Can't wait to see the rest of the pix!

10-10-2015 Don't Text and Paint!

Today I learned

"Don't Text and Paint!"

because this is the result...

dropped paint on the concrete!

I decided to take advantage of 

the 80*F temps and clear skies

to paint the trim around the doors and garage

and the porch posts today. 

While in the midst of doing this painting,

my DD texted me,

so of course, I HAD to reply,

and we got this texting conversation started

which I tried to do WHILE painting...

and ended up dropping paint on the concrete!

That will teach me to try and do two things at once!

Took me longer to clean up the concrete than it did to paint!

But, all's well that ends well...

the house trim is now protected for another Iowa winter!

10-9-2015 Fall Colors

GD's helped me make this

seasonal Fall bouquet

for my front entry table

and painted a Jack-o-lantern face 

on one of the pumpkins!

10-8-2015 Pumpkin Patch

DH and I checked out this Pumpkin Patch today...

10-7-2015 One Last Trip

Today was one last trip to the zoo

before it closes for the season!

The train conductor let GD#1 sit in the engine

and showed her how to ring the bell

and toot the train whistle...

and let her do it all by herself for several times!

 She was all smiles after that!

 Monkey-ing around at the ape house...

 GD#2 has her "cheesy" camera smile down pat, LOL...

10-6-2015 Wandering Moon KAL

Finished the first week's instructions

for the Wandering Moon KAL.

10-5-2015 Spiders

10-4-2015 Green Bay Packers 4 and 0 !!! Woo Hoo!!!

Here is my "Scoreboard KAL" scarf so far...

my Green Bay Packers are 4 and 0 so far!

Woo hoo!!!

I'm finding it hard to photograph the dark green...

it always looks like black in the pictures.

I hate it when that happens.

I don't have enough camera and/or photo-editing knowledge

to fix it. So sad.

(DH and I actually recently discussed taking a 

photography and photo-editing class together

sometime in the near future.)

10-3-2015 O the Boov

 Yesterday, I asked GD #1

"What do you want to be for Halloween?"

GD#1:  "O the Boov."

Me: "Do you have your costume already?"

GD#1: "No, it hasn't been downloaded to my house yet."

Well, apparently it was "downloaded" in today's mail

because DD sent me this pix

of GD#1 in her "O the Boov" consume today!

Doesn't she look happy?!?!?

10-2-2015 Two Story Tall Sculptures

Spent 7 hours driving yesterday

to a meeting in DesMoines.

These HUGE (2 story!) sculptures

greeted us in the lobby.

I was curious how the artist made something

so large...it looked like it was ceramic...

and I've never seen a kiln this big!!!

Perhaps the artist made it in smaller sections

and then stacked them?

This type of art is typically NOT my cup of tea,

but it was interesting to study!

10-1-2015 Decorating for Fall

GDs and I went to the garden center

this morning to buy some decorations

for Fall and Halloween...

9-30-2015 GD #1

Making corn candy cookies...

decorating pumpkins...

 

eating apples from the orchard...

 

helping little sister walk up the hill...

9-29-2015 GD #2

It amazes me that a one year old

already knows how to tap, swipe, go back, refresh

and press the home button!!!

Playing Oma some music on the piano.

Carrying an umbrella.

9-28-2015 Cloudy Skies to View Super/Blood Moon

And of course,

our viewing conditions last night

for the amazing super/harvest/blood moon

were cloudy...

But, as we continued to watch

through the course of the evening,

the clouds parted a bit during the full eclipse

to give us a wonderful view!

Now if only I had a super camera

with one of those amazing zoom lenses...

instead of this point-and-shoot snapshot camera!

Wow, wow, wow!!!

What a beautiful sight!

And here is a cool pix I found on the www...

9-27-2015 Blood Moon Tonight

Blood Moon

http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/09/what_time_is_the_supermoon_ton.html

It's a rare occurrence tonight -- a Supermoon combines with a total lunar eclipse. 

The result: Blood Moon 2015.

(A full moon with a full lunar eclipse often looks like it has an orange color, thus some people call it a blood moon.)

Sunday's supermoon moon has something for everyone. (What time is the Supermoon lunar eclipse tonight? See the end of this post for rise times and best eclipse viewing times.)

Not only will it be a blood moon and a harvest moon, but it will also coincide with a full lunar eclipse.

As if that weren't enough, it will also be the closest moon to Earth in 2015 -- a supermoon. You can learn more about it here.

The term supermoon has been around for at least three decades, but came into widespread use just a few years ago.

It was first coined by an astrologer -- Richard Nolle.

Nolle's definition is this: The new moon or full moon has to come within 224,834 miles of Earth, as measured from the centers of the moon and Earth, to be considered a supermoon.

Supermoons are not rare. Tonight's supermoon will be the fifth of six in 2015. The next one will be Oct. 27 at 7:05 a.m. CDT.

However, Sunday's full moon does stand out because it will be the closest moon of 2015 -- coming within 221,753 miles of Earth. It is also the harvest moon and a blood moon.

[Read more about the difference between blood moons, supermoons and harvest moons here]

A supermoon, left, can appear 14 percent larger than a micro moon, at right. (NASA) 

At perigee (or when the moon is closest in its orbit), the moon is about 31,000 miles closer to Earth than at apogee (when it is the farthest away), according to NASA. 

The moon's nearness will make it appear 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter in the sky than a full moon at its farthest point from Earth, according to NASA.

When will be the best time to see it?

Sunday's supermoon will also coincide with a total lunar eclipse that will be visible across most of the United States. (For those with clear skies, at least.)

Here are the times to know for prime skywatching:

*The moon will rise around 6:30 p.m. CDT Sunday in Alabama and hit peak fullness at 9:50 p.m.

*The lunar eclipse will begin at 8:07 p.m. CDT.

*The total eclipse will begin at 9:11 p.m. CDT.

*The moment of greatest eclipse will be at 9:47 p.m. CDT.

*The total eclipse ends 10:23 p.m. CDT.

*The partial eclipse ends 11:27 p.m. CDT

*The moon will set between 7-7:15 a.m. CDT on Monday.

On the East Coast, "The moon enters Earth's full shadow, called the umbra, starting at 9:07 p.m. EDT (6:07 p.m. PDT). The total eclipse begins at 10:11 p.m. EDT (7:11 p.m. PDT). Totality lasts an hour and 12 minutes, at which point a bright sliver of the moon will emerge and grow," according to livescience.com.

On the west coast, Californians can start watching when the moon rises at around 7 p.m. Pacific Time. The total lunar eclipse starts at 7:11 p.m. and ends at 8:23 p.m.

Although Sunday's moon will be the closest one to Earth, it will also appear full for the next few nights as well.

The last total lunar eclipse visible in the United States was not long ago: April 4. Those on the West Coast got the best view.

The next total lunar eclipse that will be visible in the United States will be on Jan. 31, 2018, and will be best seen in the western U.S.

9-26-2015 Peoria Art Fair

DH & I took advantage of this beautiful Fall day

to attend the Peoria, IL Art Fair on the riverfront.

Although we didn't purchase anything,

we enjoy seeing the artwork

and what inspires people.

I found one intriguing jeweler I liked,

some 3D pictures that were amazing,

and this booth of wooden boxes that make music...

which were just beautiful...

the boxes AND the music!
(hmmm...wonder if I can get DH to make me 
one of these boxes?!?!?)

9-25-2015 Iowa Humor

Saw this on Facebook...

made me smile.

9-24-2015 Knitting Retreat

 I spent today

at a "Knit One, Pray Too" knitting retreat

at my favorite rural setting...

invited a dear friend

who I haven't seen much lately

and had the chance to 

reconnect with her.  :*)

When we needed to take a break from knitting

and get up to stretch our legs

we would walk the outdoor labyrinth

or around the gardens.

Next time we'll bring our 'walking shoes'

and go for a hike around the pond.