A Walk Among the Tombstones

Saturday hubby and I saw A Walk Among the Tombstones. I liked watching Liam Neeson, but I would have preferred to see him in a less disturbing movie.

A lot of the action was hard to believe, such as people getting up and walking after being shot several times, but overall the acting was good. And thank goodness the director didn't feel the need to show every gory detail. I mean, when a knife comes down you know there's going to be blood. I don't need to actually see it.

Overall, I agree with the current IMBd.com rating of 7 out of 10.

Playing With Paper

Jonah and I had fun in grandma's hobby room yesterday. While Jonah played with punches and stickers, I made Halloween cards. You'll find some of my creations at DGPaperDesigns.

By the end of the day, I also finished decorating and filling seven goodie bags for my favorite trick-or-treaters. So now I'm ready for Halloween and can concentrate on our October trip to the Smoky Mountains. Can't wait!

Busy Weekend!

I've become so delinquent with my blog lately primarily due to my revived cross-stitch obsession. I find myself picking up my needle and hoop every chance I get. I've completed numerous small projects as well as two larger ones, a beach scene and a Thanksgiving pattern. Currently I'm working on a seaside scene for Jonah's new room. His room will have an ocean theme; and Elliott's will be all about Lego.

Speaking of the new house, I took this shot last week. Of course things are further along now. The two-car garage door is in as well as the back patio and driveway. (The doors will eventually be painted a beige tone to better match the siding.) Plus all the drywall is up on both floors. They just might be in by Thanksgiving after all!

We had a sunny warm weekend. Too warm for my liking this time of year. Yesterday the RealFeel was close to ninety degrees!

Nevertheless, we enjoyed two events this weekend. On Saturday we sweated our way through Taste of St. Louis. Our first stop was Kid City where the boys scored lots of goodies, including bike helmets, banks, books, sling bags, and water bottles. My daughter said the new bike helmets, which both boys needed, would have cost her at least $60. So thank you Kohl's for that contribution!

At lunch time, hubby and I bought food from a couple of the many restaurants represented and settled in for a cooking demonstration under the big tent. During the pre-show, the host handed out tickets to the evening show to a few lucky people. I was one of them!

I was so excited because I really wanted to see Duff Goldman from Charm City Cakes but didn't want to pay $100 for two tickets. My daughter ended up joining me, which was a rare treat – time together with no kids!

After Duff's demonstration, The Urge performed, which we quickly realized was the main attraction. Although there were many seniors enjoying the show, I thought it was uncomfortably loud. And all the songs sounded the same to me. I was, however, in awe of their energy!

Today, which was thankfully cooler, we went to the Faust Folk Festival at Faust Park. The FFF has been a tradition for us for many years. One of our favorite demonstrators is Jude Doesch who makes cornhusk dolls. Every year she patiently helps the boys make "primitive action figures" out of cornhusks. I own two of her creations.

I bought the taller witch from Jude several years ago.
Don't remember where I got the little one.

This lady I bought today.

And now it's time to face another week. Tomorrow is the one-year anniversary of mom's passing, but I have little-to-no feeling about it. To me mom was gone many years before her body gave out. Alzheimer's is a strange disease.

More Dental Work

Two weeks ago I had my six-month checkup with the dentist. X-rays revealed three more fillings need to be replaced, one with a crown.

I can't express strongly enough how much I hate the thought of the upcoming procedures, one of which will happen today. The other two, including the crown, I'm putting off until January when there will be enough in our HSA account to cover the $600+ out-of-pocket cost.

So this morning I'm feeling a bit sorry for myself. I'll be happier later this afternoon when I'm safely home after today's torture.

Love-Hate Relationship

Fall has always been my favorite time of year. I'm sure the fact my birthday is in October has a lot to do with it. As a child I knew when school started and the leaves began to turn, my special day was just around the corner. And because my birth date is October 29, my parties always had a fun Halloween theme. What's not to love?

Of course it's been a long time now since I've gotten excited about my birthday. Yet I still love fall: the decorating; the festivities; the celebrations; and, most of all, the temperatures. But there's also a part of fall I hate – the ragweed.

As soon as ragweed starts producing pollen I have chronic post-nasal drip that causes a sore throat and upset stomach. The best remedy I've found is to take time-release Mucenix every morning and Benadryl at night, and to stay indoors as much as possible.

This fall has been worse than ever because of all the rain we've gotten. While I love how green everything is, I'm frustrated with having to take pricey Mucenix and nightmare-inducing Benadryl. And who wants to stay inside when its 70 degrees and sunny outside?

Yes, fall and I have a love-hate relationship. But it's still my favorite time of year.