(Sunday) Stealing Into November

Whew! I can't believe we're already into November, but at the same time I'm relieved October is behind us. Halloween is the very biggest of deals at my workplace and my department makes the "magic" happen so this past week was hectic, crazy, exhausting, and FUN! 

I have a few photos from the party to share, but not too many as I have to be careful of showing faces.

First up...this is my finished wall. I went with a zombie swamp theme. There was supposed to be a contest with voting, but there was just too much going on. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, anyway, and everyone loved it. It's hard to see all the detail but there are fairy lights in those (real) tree branches and a little lantern. I used green mesh for the moss. All those little light things in the picture are zombies and other assorted swamp creatures.

These are my coworkers' walls. They are really cute, but we obviously had different visions. Ha!

There were some really great costumes (wish I could share them, but if you are friends with me on Facebook you can see the official post from work that I shared).

And finally, there was me, the crazy cat lady.

Now on to Sunday Stealing...

1. Local events, parades, or festivals - either in your hometown or state.  There are so many holiday markets coming up this month I don't know where to start with those, several towns have Christmas parades and Indiana, PA (Jimmy Stewart's hometown) has the It's a Wonderful Life parade. Of course, every community has its light up night.

2. Life update - what's happened recently, moving house, family wedding, vacation, new pet, visited with a friend, and so on.  I already covered what's been happening at work. At home, I kept our daughter's dog for the past week while they were on vacation in Gatlinburg, TN. They just got home tonight. 

3. Do you have any family traditions this month?  We got married in November so celebrating that is a tradition, I suppose. We will be marking 40 years on the 17th. There is always the big family dinner on Thanksgiving and playing games and watching movies or the dog show afterward. (We are not big football fans.) Thanksgiving weekend is always for decorating for Christmas.

4. The holidays are about two months away, do you begin shopping or creating now, or wait for December?  There's no hard or fast rule on that for me, but I started in September this year. With the economy the way it is, then the whole thing with the dock workers' strike looming, it felt a little more pressing to get started. I've been picking things up here and there when I come across something I know will be loved.

5. What is your favorite November memory?  Our wedding, of course! It was big and fun...and it was the last time my whole extended family was together. Other than that, I'd have to say one of my fondest memories is of the Thanksgiving when my son was a year old. We were living with my grandmother and my parents had arrived the day before. We spent the evening in the kitchen, even Tim and my dad, making the stuffing and doing all the prep work for the next day. My dad NEVER did stuff like that and Tim rarely does so it was a very special time of talking and laughing.

6. Now that the weather is getting cooler do you prefer staying indoors or going outdoors? What do you do?  It hasn't really gotten all that much cooler yet. The nights do cool down but the days are still pretty warm for this time of year. I like the indoors and outdoors equally, but with all the trouble my legs give me these days I'm prone to be indoors more. I enjoy watching the fire, cooking heartier meals, watching movies, playing games, doing puzzles, and reading.

7. Describe your favorite local restaurant.  Keystone Kitchen is a little place in a nearby town (less than 10 miles) that serves great homemade foods. It's casual and very friendly. Megan's family likes to go there, too.

8. Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving?  Thanksgiving. Friends are always welcome at that.

9. If you could take any class, what would you select?  I've always thought it would be fun to take a couple's cooking class. I'm not sure Tim shares that thought so probably some kind of art or craft class.

10. To celebrate November would you rather enjoy pumpkin pie or sweet potato? Pumpkin! I am that girl who started eating and drinking everything pumpkin spice flavored back in September.

11. How do you handle setbacks or failures?  Admittedly, there may be some frustration and/or tears, but that is usually short-lived. I tend to pick myself up, dust myself off and see what I can do to fix the situation. If I can't fix it, I try to learn something from it. Then I move on.

12. If everything in your house had to be one color, which color would you choose?  I have no idea. I tend to hate monotone color schemes when I see them. I love color and like to use it (my living room walls are pumpkin spice orange). There is a lot of brown in the mix, though...so maybe all shades of brown. If you're forcing me.

13. Who or what would you haunt if you were a ghost?  I don't want to haunt anyone or anything.

14. Have you ever worn clothing with the labels still attached?  Not on purpose.

15. What's something weird you recommend everyone try at least once?  Taking a walk in a cemetery, looking at the artistry of the headstones, reading the stones, thinking about the people's lives.