145: Happy Halloween!

144: "things that go bump in the night"

 "From ghoulies and ghosties and long-legged beasties, and things that go bump in the night, good Lord deliver us."  Most of us are at least familiar with the "things that go bump in the night" part, but perhaps you don't know all of the old Cornish prayer.  Tomorrow is All Hallow Eve or as we call it Halloween.

There are so many aspects of Halloween, but one of my favorites is the carving of pumpkins.  I have so many fond memories of the sticky, gooey, hideously messiness business of carving pumpkins when the kids were young.  We always ended up with pretty traditional carvings.  The modern stencil kits and all the fancy plastic knives were unheard of then. We used steak knives and hoped for

                                                the best.

Oh, I know that some mothers and fathers said "You can only eat two pieces of candy tonight."  Not at the Hunt's house.  No, Sir-ee!  It was a candy free for all!  By the next day, they were so sick of candy we were free to toss the whole left over mess, after Bob and I picked through and ate all the really good stuff like Baby Ruth, Snickers and of course, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups!

The early "jack-o'-lantern" was actually carved from a turnip.  In the late 1800's British mischievous boys used them to frighten late night travelers.  Catholic children used them when they went door to door to represent the souls of the dead while begging for "soul cakes" on Hallowmas (All Saints Day, Nov.1)  Their prayers for the dead were exchanged for "soul cakes." 

According to legend though, the jack-o'-lantern took its name from a drunken Irishman known as "Stingy Jack" who tricked the Devil into promising he wouldn't have to go to hell for his sins.  When Jack died he found out he had been barred from heaven, so he journeyed to the gates of hell to demand his due.  The Devil kept his promise and doomed Jack to wander the earth for all eternity with only an ember of hellfire to light his way.  Thenceforth he was known as "jack-o'-lantern.

Who could deny this famous "Jack?" When he said "Here's Johnny!"
that movie scared the dickens out of me!  Pretty amazing for a punkin!


Living in the country has it's advantages, 

but boy do we miss the little "trick or treaters!"

143: Up, up and Almost Away

                                  
                            

Maggie took her maiden flight a couple of days before the plane left for the air museum in Santa Maria.  Unfortunately, Bob was in the hospital when the guys came and transported it.  But he felt good enough on that Friday to attend the welcome dinner for the pilots and members.



                                                                         Preston was the first person to have his picture
taken in the plane in the museum.  We were all
guests of the museum for the air show that day.

                                   Robby was able to get his picture taken last week
                                      when he and Trisha were here from Switzerland.

This young lady was a Coast Guard Air Crewman  and the first person to have her picture taken by request in the museum.  As you can see our little plane is in good company and we couldn't be happier.  It will be well cared for and enjoyed for a very long time.  Maybe sometime you can come to Santa Maria and have your picture taken.

Santa Maria Museum of Flight
3015 Airpark Dr.
Santa Maria, CA    805 922-8758

142: Around the corner

Bob and I were outside sitting in the swing enjoying the pleasure of each others company.  You work

all your life to earn the time to do just that...and not feel guilty about it.  No where to go unless you want to, nothing to do unless you want to.  Hours filled with that kind of pleasure.  Sometimes it takes

something to remind you how lucky you are to be able to do just that.

Bob was sick a few weeks ago, really sick and suddenly we both thought, "Holy crap!  We still have things on our "bucket list" to cross off."  One day you're fine and the next not so much.  Then our friends Holly and Floyd Coppersmith, who have been in poor health for several years, nearly died last week from carbon monoxide poisoning from  a brand new, top of the line heating and air conditioning system.  They will survive but will be in the hospital for several more days while the doctors try to clear their bodies of the poison.  

You have no way of knowing what is around the corner.  That's probably a good thing.  I've always been a bit of a health food foodie and Bob always says, "She makes me eat all this stuff and I'll probably get hit by a bus crossing the street."  I suppose that's part of the risk isn't?  Just a roll of the dice, an ill wind, wicked salmonella. But you have to be vigilant just in case you don't get hit by that bus.  What if we live to be a hundred?  What then?  So, now that we have had our little wake up call I think I'll go make some brownies and lemonade and then head out to the swing to enjoy a little more relaxing with my favorite husband, because I'm expecting a shipment of wheat germ and a new "Cooking Healthy" cook book and we all know what that means.

141. Respect

Sinjin, an extraction from Hebrew meaning God is Gracious also Saint John.  Karate is a martial arts form from Okinawa, Japan meaning Kara - empty and te - hand.  The Gi, pronounced Gee, with a hard g as in gosh, is the three part white uniform of the student of Karate.  It consists of the shirt, the pants and the belt.  The belt changes color as the student rises in his studies.  These are new words to us but no matter what the dictionary says to us they stand for a small head wet with perspiration, cheeks flushed with color, a smile as wide as his young face will allow and his grandparent's hearts full of gratitude and pride.

Our ten year old grandson, Preston, started Sinjin Karate and is like the proverbial duck into water.   Like many children his age, Preston is shy and needs his self-esteem given a little boost.  He isn't interested in team sports but this is a group activity and you compete against yourself.  They work on concentration and self-control which I suppose we all could use from time to time.  I have always felt that children need outside activities and I literally mean outside.  It should be away from school and home and it should be working their bodies which in turn works their minds.

Respect, concentration, control in mind and body and pride in one's self are all key components in Marital Arts.  Not bad goals no matter what the age...not bad goals at all.

140. Who Knew?

 Who Knew?  There is a web site called "Who Knew News" on Yahoo.  If you are looking for a way to constructively waste a little time on the internet, might I suggest this site.  It is bits and pieces of information on the origins of things that you probably don't know.  Nuggets of knowledge, if you will.  Things that my husband, Bob, has a treasure trove of.  They bring interest to a dinner party, but not a dime to the wallet.  The subject matter is as diverse as this world of ours.  Will you remember it like Bob?  I doubt it, but, wow, what a fun way to while away the afternoon.

http://whoknew.news.yahoo.com

139. The Nethercutt

We are blessed to have friends who like to jump right in and take little adventures, some local and some not so local.  Proctoring the Bar exam took up most of last week, but we managed to get reservations for a tour of the Nethercutt Museum on Friday at 10:00.  If you have never heard of the facility, you are not alone.  Our local adventure buddies, Polly and Phil, told us a few months ago that it was not to be missed.  Wow, were they ever right.  Which brings me to one more reason why we love California...doggone it...everything is close at hand.  We love the fact that just around the corner is something you haven't seen yet.  I guess that's true with everywhere, though.  One trip to the East coast, I told Bob, "If we don't quit stopping at the visitor information centers, we are never going to get out of Arizona, let alone get to the East coast!" 

The Nethercutt Museum 

I had no idea there was a "Dort" auto!

What an amazing and wonderful experience the day was.  They are located in Sylmar, California which is off the I-5 above Burbank.  That is about an hour from Alta Loma where we stay with Bruce and Dort for work. There are two facilities, actually, one that houses over 120 Antique, Vintage, and Classic automobiles displayed in a Grand Salon showroom circa turn of the last century together with the world's finest assemblage of mechanical musical instruments.

Imagine a showroom ceiling like this!

  The automobile museum is open Tuesday - Saturday and the tours through the musical collection is by tour reservation only Thursday - Saturday.  The admission to both is completely free. That also includes the 1912 Pullman Private Car once owned by Clara Baldwin Stocker daughter of "Lucky" Baldwin which was nothing to sneeze at.  What a way to travel!

All of the cars are restored per original factory specifications.  The original color combinations  were astounding.  Thanks to Ford and black and white movies one would assume that all early cars were black.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  What an amazing array of colors...from butternut to shades of lavender...a rainbow of colors and pen striping, some that looked like caning from chair seats.  We have been to many, many car shows and museums including Harrah's in Sparks, Nevada but this one wins the prize.

 

Doing her best to keep her skirt down!

 I almost forgot the fabulous and sometimes saucy hood ornaments.
This was one of my favorites.

All of this comes from the sale of Merle Norman Cosmetics.  That's right Mr. Norman's little Misses, Merle, started creating cosmetics in her kitchen and it took off like a rocket.  So, I would like to say a big "Thank you" to Mrs. Norman and her husband who didn't pooh pooh her and was smart enough to know a good thing when he saw it.