Halloween '08

This Halloween I didn't want to get my hopes up after our low turnout last year. But in the back of my mind, I was hoping that with the new neighbours moved into the house on the other side of us, that this would draw more trick-or-treaters to come and visit us.

For decoration this year, we proudly displayed our largest pumpkin ever:

As luck would have it, this year we were visited by more than four times as many trick-or-treaters as last year!! Record numbers of children out on the street asking for a handout - a sign of our poor economic times?

Baltimore, MD

As a fan of Maryland blue crabs Christopher was sweet enough to plan a weekend getaway for us to Baltimore.

I ate crabs for 2 nights in a row - even though the process kindof grosses Christopher out:

We went to the aquarium and saw

a dolphin show:

frogs and lizards:

& a 3-d movie:

It rained for most of Saturday, but since we we spent most of the afternoon at the aquarium we didn't mind. And that meant that Sunday was a beautiful, warm & sunny blue-skied day. That afternoon the Baltimore Ravens were playing the Raiders at home, so we made a last-minute decision to walk over to the stadium and pickup a pair of tickets. This was the first NFL game for the both of us and we had a blast!

Giant Pumpkin

This Halloween we carved our biggest pumpkin ever - 118.8 lbs!

When we first moved to the Connecticut, one thing I found was that I needed to allocate a much larger budget for pumpkins compared to back in Toronto.

Around Halloween Loblaws always had some doorcrasher where they would sell pumpkins of all sizes for $2 each and I would often buy at least three - and sometimes as many as 6 or 7.

But around where we live now, you pay for your pumpkin by weight - 50 cents/lb. So a large pumpkin can run you over $12-$15.

While visiting a corn maze last weekend, they had pumpkins of all sizes for sale - and giant ones for only $15! After seeing this I had to have one - it was bargain I could not refuse.

The pumpkin itself weighed 118.8 lbs and after I cleaned it out it was 79.8 lbs - 39 lbs of pumpkin innards alone!

Lucky for me, my friend A's super-strong husband M was able to muscle the pumpkin into our trunk, while the rest of us just watched in amazement.














Stay tuned for pics of the carved pumpkin...

Corn Maze

This weekend our friends A & M came down for a visit. Up for an adventure we decided to put our orienteering skills to the test in a corn maze.

After a little online research, we decided to drive up to Sunderland, MA to visit Mike's Maze. It seemed like the most elaborate one around. None of us had ever been to a corn maze before, so we didn't really know what to expect.

To navigate through the maze, they set up this map with a game you can play. It's neat how they do this so you get to explore all the different areas of the maze.

It's pretty cool how they are able to make a maze like this. I have no clue how they plant the corn to make this pattern so perfectly.

Waterfire

This weekend Christopher's parents came down to visit us and to see the fall colours.

It was also the last weekend for the Waterfire exhibit in Providence, RI where they light 100 bonfires along the river that runs right through the center of the city. I had been meaning to check it out all summer long after first reading about it in the paper, but never had the time.

Fortunately for me, our visitors were up for the drive to Providence so off we went. The weather was perfect - a clear night that was just warm enough. The fires were a sight to see and the reflection off the water was beautiful. I've always had a thing for fires - I can sit and stare at a campfire all night. In our house I (more than Christopher) am the one to suggest a fire in our fireplace and am the one to build it.

The pictures don't really do it justice, but here are a few so you get the idea:

Kitchen Project

Having gained some confidence in our DIY prowess after seeing how well our railing turned out, we decided to take on our most involved project yet.

Before: ugly exhaust fan

During: hole

After: patched siding & microwave with outside venting exhaust fan

Accident

While in Atlanta on business this past week we were in a freak car accident. A driver ran a red light and took out the front end of our rental car. Thankfully nobody was injured.

I was sitting in the rear passenger side with my seat belt on and the car hit us from that side. If we had accelerated slightly faster through the intersection the car would have hit the passenger cabin...