Frost on Halloween Morning

Happy Halloween.

Our neighbors' decorations.

 

Some Funnies

Any of these you can identify with?

What did our parents do to kill boredom before the internet?  I asked my 26 brothers and sisters and they didn’t know either.
 

I tried donating blood today…NEVER AGAIN!  Too many stupid questions:  
Who’s blood is it?  Where did you get it from?  Why is it in a bucket?
 

When I offer to wash your back in the shower, all you have to say is ‘yes’ or ‘no’.  
Not all this “Who are you and how did you get in here?” nonsense.
 

Today, I melted an ice cube with my mind just by staring at it.  It took a lot longer than I thought it would.
 

Struggling to get your wife’s attention?  Just sit down and look comfortable.
 

Just sold my homing pigeon on eBay for the 22nd time.
 

I grew up with Bob Hope, Steve Jobs, and Johnny Cash.  Now there’s no jobs,  no cash, and no hope.  Please don’t let anything happen to Kevin Bacon.
 

Shoutout to everyone who can still remember their childhood phone number but can’t remember the password they created yesterday.  You are my people.
 

One minute you’re young and fun.  And next, you’re turning down the stereo in your car to see better.
 

Think you’re old and you will be old.  Think you are young, and you will be delusional.
 

There’s nothing scarier than that split second when you lose your balance in the shower and you think, “They are going to find me naked.”
 
Not in jail, not in a mental hospital, not in a grave—I say I’m having a very good day!

Thanks, Marilyn for sharing these. 

Wednesday Walk

 I've been an irregular walker with the Wednesday Walking group.  I did manage to attend yesterday for a walk on the rail trail along Mascoma Lake, about 20 minutes from home.

The sun couldn't decide if it wanted to shine on us.  Some of the fall colors were evident but not spectacular.  It was a 3.5 mile walk with good conversation.

No Water

 ... in the kitchen sink.

Our kitchen renovation continues.  We started with a new floor in 2021 just after we moved here. This summer we got a new refrigerator and contracted for counters and cabinet work.

Tuesday the counters were installed with a new sink.  Unfortunately counter guys don't do plumbing and we had booked the plumber for two days after the install but that was when the install was to be the week before. Changing the date for plumber has meant that we must wait until the 31st for him to come to connect the sink.

Cabinets will get new doors and drawer fronts, and the boxes refinished some time later in November.

In the meantime we are loving the new counters: a quartz mix.

As far as doing dishes since we don't think dishwasher will function either, I tried using the bathroom sink.  Too small, and a ceramic sink is not conducive to dishwashing.  I purchased lots of compostable plates and glasses but still using sink was awkward.  Daughter Sarah suggested setting up a camp sink with three tubs. Daughter Emily has those I can borrow.  That's next on the list to set up.

My Desk ...

 ...gets messy when I make cards.

I'm working on Christmas cards.

One design but have different patterned papers to use.

Twenty made so far.  Many more to go.

A Hermitage

 

In our travels along the main route to and from Priego de Cordoba where we stayed in Spain in September I kept seeing this sign.  One day as we set out for another small town and I knew we would pass this turn off, I told Dan let's investigate.

It was a very winding road up to a mountain top.

The site dates from 1260.

There were only two cars up there.  One from another visitor and the other belonging to Jose, the groundskeeper.  He spoke no English but with Dan's Spanish we learned that the  statue of the Virgin of the Sierra was in the town of Cabra for the month of September. The hermitage where the Virgin is kept for the other 11 months was not open for visiting.  The grounds were.

The scene below is one of the few vistas where olive groves were not the prominent sight.  Jose told us we were looking at horse country.

Below is a small version of the Virgin in a grotto.  Notice the half moon and star.  All the various versions we saw of the Virgin Mary had that symbol.

Jose said we were looking down here on Roman ruins.  Looks like an old bull ring to me.

I imagine the hermitage is maintained by all the leases it has with cell phone companies. The highest point was well sprouted with towers.

We enjoyed our unofficial tour with Jose.

Rain, Rain

 Go away. Come again another day.

Remember that ditty?

I think too many people have been reciting it this year and now the rain just can't go away anymore. Not that it really worked all summer.  For the year we are 7 inches above average.

Here's our rain gauge.

Another Small Spanish Town

Carcabuey was a very short drive from where we were staying in Priego do Cordoba.  In fact when we drove west for other day trips we'd see the fortress or castle at Carcabuey high on its hill.

On this day we found street parking and headed up to check out the castle.

Below is looking back down to the main square.

We passed this tile picture of the Virgin Mary.  It was above a water fountain.

The pathway continued to climb.

This fortress is not in good repair we could tell as we approached.

A mosaic of stones in the pathway.

The only way in was through this gateway.

A sign showed what it must have been like.

Now there is a church dedicated to the Virgin inside the fort. It wasn't open and probably only opens on celebrations.

Looking back down to the gate.

Much of the area was roped off.

Interesting background on how the fort was built, but even more mysterious was why the English translations on all the signage were crossed out.

The town below.

Going back out through gate Dan spied this face above the gate.

We also spied this bull ring.

Back into the town the door to this church was open so we went in.

When we came back out we realized that a christening was going to be happening shortly as the baby dressed in white in the arms of a parent was waiting for the rest of the family to gather.