'Tis not the season to plan ahead, apparently. But, no worries, we at Perky Potholder headquarters are all about procrastination, so rock on people. Better almost late than never! Above is Lenore's ghost, while below we have Rachel & Josie's spooky trees, Joules' headless horseman, Rhonda's cat (she carved it last year, but it's so cute, I had to post it anyway), and a few pics from our annual pumpkin contest at the Farmer's Market. They're not official entries in our exclusive contest, but, again, I enjoyed the creativity and thought you would too. The last one, with all the hardware, won first prize in the best decorated category. Our largest pumpkin entered weighed 117 pounds. That's a lotta pie! Happy Halloween!
Let the carving begin...or...continue. Entries so far from a grade school friend, Rhonda Wendler. I remember having to sit out in the hallway w/Rhonda in 4th grade because we were talking too much in class.
This one's from my friend Todd Underwood. Happy Feet!
Austin came for an extended weekend visit that involved us dragging him to all of our usual haunts (the farmer's market, ReMarks, Pie Shop, Starbucks, etc.), and him dragging Lenore to just about every fabric store and antique shop in the Fox Valley. Seems like a fair trade to me, especially since I ended up with this ultra cool coffee pot, which I will use for tea.
We stopped by one of our favorite joints for lunch and to wish Renee a happy birthday. Nothing says it better than a Perky Potholder...well, aside from pie and maybe money. Here's Renee with her PP, working hard the day before her birthday.
Austin also took us out for Japanese food for my birthday (oh, yeah, it's my birthday month, too!), so I got my favorite Sushi-type dish, a DRAGON. Only this dragon had a face and everything, and I was so enthralled, I almost forgot to eat it. Regular readers know I'm all about documenting food, but this...how cute is a dragon head made of wasabi and caviar? I ask you.
I have no explanation for this photo.
In other completely unrelated news, I won a gold medal for being obsessive about working out in the fitness center at work. See, there's my name.
I work out with all the retirees in the morning, and, since I had knee surgery, I am totally in with them and the swapping of ailments. The other day the elliptical was making an awful creaking noise when I was trying to use it, and one of the guys made a comment about wearing out the machine, and I was all, "That's not the machine, that's my hip!" Imagine how hysterical I'll be when I'm 60.
Not really. That would be impossible. But your chances are good for winning a fabulous Halloween Perky Potholder in our annual pumpkin carving competition! The rules are simple:
You have to carve the pumpkin yourself. You have to email me a photo of it by Halloween. No Whining.
Need some inspiration? Here are over 400 ideas. Some good, some...not so much. I myself had to mute the music, because it was too obnoxious. I recommend viewing this with some nice Bach stylings in the background. But that's just me.
Winners will receive their own Halloween Perky Potholder...but what am I saying?! Everybody wins, because all entries will be displayed HERE in eternal cyber immortality!
Send them to plauer at mchenry dot edu by Saturday, October 31st.
If you don't like Halloween colors, we also have these...
The only good squirrel is one that's not in my yard. They are digging up bulbs almost as fast as I can plant them. I'm adding to the grape hyacinth crop, and I really wanted to grow some allium flowers, because I think they're just so neat. Plus, as an added bonus, squirrels are not supposed to like them. So MY squirrels dig them up out of spite, tossing them carelessly over their shoulders while smirking in that smirky squirrel way. I tried (expensive!) smelly granules made of blood, garlic, rotten eggs and I dunno what else, and the little bastards thought I was seasoning the bulbs for them. Then I tried cayenne pepper powder. It helped a little, but not enough to prevent destruction. My last effort involved fortified chicken wire over the soil topped with pavers and rocks, hot pepper flakes, mulch, and a fierce turtle statue for good measure. So far, so good.
Actually, I'm a day late on commemorating Pooh's birthday -- it was yesterday in 1926 that the first Winnie the Pooh book was published. It's also a sad day, because I just learned that my favorite Poohologist, Peter Dennis, passed away this past April. Roland and I saw Peter perform "Bother" in Chicago many years ago, and it was truly one of the most enchanting live performances I have ever attended. I suppose my love of Pooh had something to do with it, but we really had a grand time. Roland had created a Pooh Page for me (back when having a web page was really cutting edge), and we added a special link after seeing that show. I was able to see Peter again in Woodstock, IL a few years later at the Woodstock Opera House. Prior to that show, we had corresponded via email as fellow Pooh fans, so after the show, we had a nice chat. He was a very warm person, and his interpretation of the Pooh stories and poems were the best ever.
In fact, it was news of the "sequel" to Pooh that prompted me to see why Jim Dale (the Harry Potter audio book reader and also narrator of one of my favorite shows, Pushing Daisies) was chosen over Peter to voice the audio version. That's how I came to find out Peter Dennis was gone. R.I.P. Mr. Dennis, I hope you're having a nice picnic with Alexander and Christopher after that expotition to the other side.
Wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top of the forest, a little boy and his Bear will always be playing. -- closing lines in The House At Pooh Corner
"Pooh, promise me you won't forget about me, ever. Not even when I am a hundred." Pooh thought for a little. "How old shall I be then?" "Ninety-nine." Pooh nodded. "I promise," he said. --The House at Pooh Corner
This is a little after the fact, but... After President Obama called Kanye West a jackass, it struck me how such a great descriptor has been unfortunately supplanted by naughtier, more offensive vernacular. It seems to have gone the way of "twit" and "ninny," which is sad. So we're working behind the scenes to bring it back. Join the cause and make it your goal to use "jackass" at least once a day. You'll be glad you did. Huffington posted the audio, and since it's on YouTube, I feel it's enough in the public domain that you can enjoy it too (from Germany since YouTube pulled it!).
Just added the following commercial to the Face Blog -- and still waiting for my royalty check, BTW.
Lenore has also submitted a number of new faces, so check 'em out!
It's been a slow news week at PP Headquarters. I was at a conference in Madison last week, then I got sick, so mostly I can report that watching Netflix movies on one's laptop while in bed with the cat is almost as good as penicillin. That and chicken dumpling soup from the pie shop that Lenore delivered. Who needs Tamiflu.
But speaking of conferences, I enjoyed this one, especially being in Madison and despite the cold weather. The opening keynote speaker was Michael Feldman (from Whadya Know), so I wanted to sit near the front. I spotted an open table with only two guys at it, so I dragged my co worker up there, only to discover it was Michael Felman's table. Oops. Well, we sat there anyway and chit chatted (he was very nice) about what was in the goody bags. I ended up giving him my cow pie and convincing my co worker that we should blow our Oscar Mayer wiener whistles (it was an odd goody bag) when Michael was introduced. We were the only two blowing our whistles, but I think he appreciated it.
I will say, as a result of attending said conference, that I am totally DONE applauding someone simply for showing up. Hey, I had to show up too, so let's hear the presentation first, THEN I'll decide if a round of applause is warranted. Also, don't expect accolades for winning a damn door prize -- I'm already bitter that I didn't win the stupid cheese basket, now you want me to clap for the guy who did? Ain't gonna happen. Sorry if that makes me a jackass, I'm still a little cranky from the germs.
I'm also cranky because the survey results show that my house (specifically my garage) is indeed below the new base flood elevation, which means, barring some flash of logic from FEMA, my property is going to require flood insurance. About 8 of us fell short, so our next step is to petition our congressman and state rep to look into the issue. I guess my biggest beef is that the huge premiums are not even close to being proportionate to the risk. Letters have been sent, we'll see what happens.
