Monday Musings

Thanks for bearing with me as I get adjusted to blogging around a different work schedule!  It's been a challenge, and I thank you for sticking with me as I figure out how to work everything in!  I am debating cutting posts down to Mon-Weds- Fri for a while until I get myself back up to speed.   I've been at this new job for roughly 2 1/2 months now, and the final adjustments are working their way through.  One of these days soon, I hope to get that dinner thing on the table on the Saturdays and Sundays that I work before 9 pm figured out!

Trunk or Treating
Are you familiar with Trunk or Treating?  Is that a thing where you live?  It's an alternative to door to door trick or treating.  I know it's big in rural areas - I don't know about cities.

A group, like a church, or a library, or a high school will sponsor a Trunk or Treat.  Parents and kids show up in costume, and then decorate the trunks of their cars.  The kids then have a parade in their costumes, and go trick or treating from car to car.  Our church adds in games and crafts to the event to allow children time to gather and give adults time to set up their trunks.

Our Trunk or Treating event at church was on Sunday.  My kids (the oldest and youngest) manned the trunk of our car and handed out well over 20 pounds of candy.  The youth group operated the crafts and games.  It was a blast!  I had an absolute hoot watching the kids run around in their costumes!

Look at that adorable little Wonder Woman!

Chili Cook Off
In addition to Trunk or Treating, we had the Chili Cook Off!  I did not gain any notoriety as a chili chef, but over half of my chili pot was gone by the time we were finished, so that's good!  Oldest child was home for the weekend, so we put the leftover chili into two quart size mason jars and sent them back with him - along with a rather large amount of food that I had frozen for him to take back over the past month.  He now has chili, meatloaf, white chicken chili, taco meat, vegetable soup, pumpkin bread, and some arroz con pollo.  Hopefully, this will help him out a little on those nights when he gets home late and realizes that he still has to cook something to eat!

Early Voting
Daughter and I went out on the first day of Early Voting for the State of Maryland.  I've taken the kids with me every time I've voted since they were born.  They've always been there, watched the ballots be marked, and have understood the very serious nature of the vote.  I have taken each of them to the voting booth for their very first time, and last week, my baby got to vote in her very first presidential election.  It was honestly a moment that made me cry.  To think that there was a time when women weren't allowed to vote at all.  And here we were, voting together!  What a time we live in!

Corn Maze and Pumpkin Picking
My oldest child might be 23 years old, but this weekend, there was one thing that he insisted that we do.  He wanted to go out to the Pumpkin Patch, take a hay ride, and run through the corn maze!  On a beautiful warm and sunny Saturday afternoon, we went out to the farm, ran through the corn maze, took a hay ride out to the pumpkin patch, and came home with some gorgeous pumpkins!  We had a wonderful time, and we really enjoyed watching all of the little kids running around in costumes!  Just so much fun!

 That corn was a good two feet taller than my 6' tall son!

"I'm Michael Jackson"
I had an older patron come into the library last week who had one glove on her left hand.  She saw me look at her hand, and she smiled and looked at me and said "I'm pretending I'm Michael Jackson!  The steering wheel is cold, but I could only find one glove, so I put it on and "Beat it" to the library!"