Halloween

Trick or Treat on my street:

We had a dramatic sunset sky. There were little ghosts in the trees.

Lights on houses and little bonfires in fire pits.

Here come the kids.

A crescent moon above.

October 31st

Out and About

I don't always take my camera with me everywhere I go. But I do always have my iphone with me. So here are some photos I have taken along the way recently.

Last week I had a fun outing with my sister and my youngest niece, Molly. We were shopping for her tenth birthday gift from my mom. For each of her grandchildren's tenth birthday she gives them a special gift. Molly wanted a piece of jewelry with her birthstone, a ruby. We had gone to several jewelry stores and found out that it's hard to find a natural ruby these days; many of them are "created" rubies. My sister wanted to find a natural ruby.

We finally found the perfect necklace that Molly loved, with a natural ruby. Here is Molly wearing her new necklace:

A closer look:

Afterward, we had lunch at a local tea shop:

They encourage guests to wear hats:

Molly didn't wear one, though:

Last weekend, my husband and I went to dinner then to the Cincinnati Playhouse. We tried a restaurant for the first time that some of our friends had recommended:

It was excellent! I had scallops with a delicious risotto. We shared a bottle of Chardonnay (he let me choose the wine).

Then on to the Playhouse in the Park, on a hill in Cincinnati:

We saw "Red", and intriguing play about Mark Rothko. The actors were great. They discussed art and philosophy as they stretched canvases, mixed and applied paint. I thoroughly enjoyed it, as did the whole audience. We were there on opening night and it was well received.

I took these photos before the seats were all filled. They don't allow photos after the play starts.

Yesterday, I just ran some errands. But I took some photos along the way. I saw some gorgeous fall color near the Target store, so I got out of my car and took these:

Then, my final stop of the day:

Around These Parts...

Down country roads...

Old places...

Friendly locals...

Wheels...

I live in a suburb full of new homes and shiny cars. But just down the road is an old-fashioned town with the feeling of a different era.

What I've Been Doing While Not Blogging

Wow! I haven't posted for a week, have I? Well, it has been uneventful here. We are getting ready to go back to my favorite place in the world... Hawaii. I have been doing what I call my "pre-packing". I search my closet for things I think I should take and hang them all around the room. I try on tops and bottoms together to see if they go. Then I launder, iron, fix hems, or anything else that needs to be done. If something needs to be added, I go shopping. Then I start weeding out the choices. I always try to pack only what fits in my moderate-sized carry-on. Despite my efforts, I always find that I wish I had brought something that didn't make the cut.

I also take some time to worry about my cats. I worry about who will care for them. I worry about having enough food on hand. I buy bigger dishes because I don't want them to run out of food during the day. I have four indoor cats, plus we feed at least eight feral cats every day. Making sure the feral cats have food every day is important because the raccoons come every night and eat any food that remains. The weather could turn wintry while we away, so I prepare the shelters for the feral cats on my deck. Yesterday, we took down the tomato plants and pots to make room for the kitty shelters.

So, not much to blog about, but there it is!

Sunday Drive to Rabbit Hash