This Just In...

'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!

Under the Wire

Austin and William's entries were, as usual, worth waiting for.

Pumpkin Competition

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!

Whirlwind Austin Tour

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.

You May Already Be A Winner

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...

Squirrel Wars, Continued...

As I was saying...

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.

Squirrel Wars