So, There's a Story . . .

You may recall that a few years ago, we had an uninvited house guest . . . a FURRY little uninvited house guest.  But maybe "uninvited" isn't quite accurate since the little guy definitely WAS encouraged to visit by our tuxedo cat, Stitch.  Remember the mouse guest?

Not long after I finally escorted the little guy out the door, bag and baggage, a few months later, I decided to decorate a small Christmas tree using mice "ornaments" in memory of his stay with us.  Here's an old photo--

The other evening, I started thinking about Christmas--yes, TOTALLY TOO EARLY, I know, and don't judge me--but I wondered if there were any new mouse ornaments out there that I could add to my mouse tree when it was time to decorate this year, and I found a couple on eBay.  So into my eBay shopping cart they went.  But then I started thinking, "Do I really need more mice?  Do I really want to pay that much or should I wait and see what I can find locally?"  I figured I'd sleep on it--by then it was pretty late and time to get to bed anyway.  So I shut down the computer and headed toward my bath.

Stitch was waiting in the bathroom for me; he's funny that way.  He totally knows my routine and anticipates my every next move.  But what caught my attention was the fact that our other cat, Spike, was also hanging around the bathroom--normally she's in bed by that time, or off in the living room doing cat things (whatever those are).  My suspicions raised, I inquired, "Okay, kids, what's going on here?"  Stitch simply looked up at me, blinked, and turned his gaze toward the bathtub.  Dare I look behind the shower curtain?  Ah, but the real question was dare I NOT?  So I did.  And yes, you may have already guessed what I found:  a mouse!  A LIVE mouse!

I must say, it seems I'm getting pretty good at capturing mice and escorting them to freedom.  A little maneuvering with a flat piece of cardboard and a smallish box, and before Stitch knew it, I had his little friend out the back door and onto the patio.

The next morning, I fired up the computer and placed my order for one of those eBay mice.  I think it was some kind of cosmic fate and obviously meant to be.  The little guy arrived today.

Time Flies . . .

It's hard to believe it's been over a month since I last posted!  You all know I love fall, and fall has arrived . . . and you know I love Halloween, and that will arrive before long too.  So, having woken up to the first rainy morning of the year today, and having spent at least part of the day thinking about the season, I thought I'd share something with you that will get you thinking about fall too, if you aren't already.

Hubby and I made a little trip about an hour and fifteen minutes south to visit my brother-in-law and sister-in-law on their "ranch"--they've lived there for two years and this was our first visit.  What took us so long?!  My sister-in-law, "Mumzie," is a very creative person who decorates for the seasons beautifully, and one of her specialties is pumpkins.  Before we left for home, she gifted me with the raw material (i.e., a PUMPKIN!) to make a creation of my own--she has grown her own pumpkins in a big pumpkin patch for the last couple of years and they're beauties!  How lucky am I to get one?!!

Mumzie told me how she creates her masterpieces and showed me some of her decorating supplies, and because she has described her process on her blog, I can share her methods with you.

Here are a couple before and after photos.

 

In a series of posts, Mumzie shows us how to clean and prepare the pumpkins and then how to decorate them.  Take a look a the first one HERE and then continue on by clicking on the related links at the bottom of each post.   Once I've had a chance to transform my pumpkin, I'll share it with you.  Happy Autumn!