All things 'boo...'

Every last pumpkin, witch, and black cat have been packed away now.... took less time than I thought, but I guess that's always the way. Arranging and re-arranging things around the house takes more time than putting little pumpkins inside big pumpkins and filling up the plastic storage bins. Three bins, two boxes.... and another Halloween comes to a close.

We're still talking about the elaborate and imaginative costumes..... our friend J with that head-to-toe witch's hat that she could barely walk in...... amazing costume. And J with his purple pimp-hat with the leopard trim, dripping in jingling-jangling coin-belts over green striped shirt and slacks. "A hot mess" would be what a fashion guru would call that outfit of his, but because it was Halloween, it just worked. My husband and his two-week's worth of beard made him a fine pirate... all the pirate jewelry that we've found over the years made him look like he took accessory lessons from Capt. Jack Sparrow.

When we see our friends here now, we will be picturing them in their Halloween costumes, and wondering how they can top this year's get-ups with next year's ideas. Halloween was actually Monday, which was just another day here. So far out in the hills, we don't get trick-or-treaters, so that just seemed to be the perfect day to pack up all the decorations. By the end of this week, I will start getting out the Christmas boxes..... from start to finish, it usually takes me a little over a week to get everything just so, and then right after Thanksgiving my husband will get the real tree for the dining room and then that takes a few days from start to finish. So hard to believe it's November already, but I say that every year.

We're already talking about a Christmas party.... also our first in this big old house of ours. How can you have such a house and not fill it with friends and neighbors for the holidays? My grandmother's house was always the go-to house when I was growing up. Sunday dinners were celebrations, with both the dining room table and kitchen table filled with family and any neighbors that happened to come by. And the holidays in that big old house of hers were a major production. When my husband and I settled into our old neighborhood, we began having parties for all the holidays... that house was filled with friends for holiday celebrations, and some made-up 'holidays' like the party we had to celebrate the last book of the Harry Potter series.

Anyone can live in a house, but it takes a lot of effort to make a house a home. My grandmother and my aunts accomplished that with ease, seemingly without any effort at all. Not until I was a teenager did I realize all the preparations that went into making the actual day go smoothly and effortlessly. "Love is in the details," as Aunt Dolly would say. And heaven knows there's an endless to-do list of details when you start planning a party. But when you see everyone smiling and laughing and just enjoying themselves in the moment, it's just the best.


We've been feeding an orange and white stray cat lately...... (We? Me. -- Although, my husband saw the cat from the window and said he was 'a cutie.' Both of us are nuts-- we keep saying no more pets.) This particular cat started out further up the hill at J's house.... but she thinks he may have wandered down here because there has been a huge coyote prowling around between her property and J&J's. I heard some gunshots tonight, and I was hoping that someone's bullets found their way into that coyote. I hate for anything to be killed, but a coyote is never a good thing to have around.

The orange cat was meowing on our back porch a few nights ago. I thought it was Gatsby and I went out there to call him in, and there was the stray, keeping his distance but clearly letting me know that it was long past his dinner time. I've been feeding him ever since. If you don't feed a stray, they'll find some place else to go, but I just can't ignore hungry meows. The orange cat hasn't let me pet him yet... he watches me put the food dish down, and he had been waiting till I went back into the house to approach it, but tonight he ate while I watched him, then meowed his thanks and sat down on the porch. Gatsby was on the porch with him, and only started to howl when he saw me talking to the stray. I just picked up Gatsby and brought him in the house, then went back outside to let the orange cat know that he was welcome to sleep on the porch furniture instead of the hard wood decking.

I'm guessing the orange cat is hanging around here because of Gatsby.... and he must know by now that all it takes is one or two pitiful meows and I will be out there with a dish of Meow Mix or Fancy Feast.