These spooks came to our house in Salado on Halloween night. They cleaned up on candy and filled up on hot dogs and cake. We had an iChat with a couple of spooks from Plano. Electronics brought us together on Halloween and made it a memorable time. We had a large number of trick or treaters but fortunately didn't run out of candy.
It's now on to Thanksgiving.

Happy Halloween

Halloween was very special this year with our Hogwarts student and ghost.

Had a great weekend. Started out on Friday night with attending a Music in Salado event at the Silver Spur Theater. Heard a fantastic string quartet.
The most fun was a gathering of the whole clan of grandkids in the bottom land on Saturday. It was a beautiful day for camping . We cooked out with enough food for an army. Michelle made some of her famous chili over the campfire. The temperature dropped in the evening as we gathered around the campfire for ghost stories until very late. Everyone had a tale and most of them were funny rather than scary. Maggie had written her story and read it using her scary voice. The whole affair was simply fantastic. Thanks to Mark for getting us together.
On Sunday we traveled to Bryan/College Station with the Maedgens to see the Southern Living Ideas Home. It was something else. About 2 million dollars worth of something else. Then went to the Bush Library and saw the exhibit of 100 tall Texans. Very impressive.
A great weekend.

Just finished “The Thirteenth Tale.” An interesting and eerie tale set in Yorkshire in the north of England where in the story it’s always, rainy, cold or foggy with the fireplace going to keep you warm and your imagination racing and your attention constantly glued to the pages, It’s also a ghost story but not a tale of terror. A dying famous English author who has never told the truth about her real life story decides to tell it to a bookish girl who has written a few biographies. The girls goes to this creepy home of the author and hears the story as the author gradually slips away. She has to dig for the truth and confirm much of the story through other sources. It is the story of mistaken identity and you don’t know who is who until near the end, It involves a crazy mother who is off to an asylum and her equally crazy brother who stays at the family mansion which is in decay. There are twin girls who grow up in this weird environment with a housekeeper, a gardener and a governess who stays for a while and studies the twin girls along with a local doctor. A ghostly figure is also present and you never find out who this is until near the end when a huge fire destroys nearly everything yet reveals and changes much.

Another great day of pumpkin carving on Saturday, getting ready for Halloween. This time in the bottom land with Andy's three. The weather was perfect. Had fried chicken and Dr. Pepper, followed by the carving and painting session. The pecan trees are loaded this year and we picked up some pecans and I nibbled on these during the art work. Grummie straightened the barn which takes me back to Loblolly days. What a great day and time of year. There are some moments in which I wish time would freeze, this was one of them.

Halloween is on the way

We are getting into the Halloween spirt. The kids and I carved some pumpkins today and had fun setting them out tonight. Millie helped too. Molly will be going as a pirate, Matt a hobo and Mary Kate a princess was again for Halloween. Millie ate some of the seeds. I hope she doesn't grow a pumpkin in her stomach.

Bill Preucil

Melissa with Julia and Mr. Preucil. Bill Preucil is responsible for bring viola suzuki to the United States. It was a real treat to meet him and for the girls to take classes from him.

North Texas Suzuki Association

The North Texas Suzuki Association brought us to Texas Tech Universtiy in Lubbock this weekend. We all had a great time and enjoyed visting the campus and seeing the Texas Tech Band perform.

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Today, I did what I enjoy most, getting ready for Halloween with one of the grandkids. Mary Kate spent the afternoon with us painting pumpins and helping decorate. Grummie made cookies and we sat on the porch in the beautiful fall afternoon watching dusk linger and the leaves fall. It doesn't get any better than this.

In Disguise

Jasper High School library staff in disguise!

Have just returned from our trip to St. Augustine, Florida. Stayed at the Grande Villae Golf Resort. It was great. The only problem is that I developed a cold but it didn't slow me down a great deal. St. Augustine is the oldest town in the U.S., Ponce DeLeon, the Spanish explorer, discovered the place in the early 1500's. It is supposed to be the most haunted town in the US. We were searching for the Fountain of Youth and for Ghost but didn't find either. Saw the old hotel where Marjorie Kennan Rawlings lived. It is now a Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum. We toured it just to see where the author had lived.
On the way home we went by Jackson Miss, and took the above photo of Eudora Welty's home. Would like to go back someday and tour it. The food was great during the entire trip. The only problem was the cold and almost having a wreck on the way home. We survived both and are most happy to be back in Salado.

Pittsburg 1980 Class Reunion

Writing to you from downtown Mt. Pleasant next to the dance floor at the magnificent Executive Suite Hotel. We are having a great time seeing all the folks Becky grew up with. Very fun group of people who genuinely are enjoying being around each other.