Ghostly Horses, Halloween Costumes & a Wagon Full of Treats

Happy Halloween! Our day started with the usual coffee delivery to bed, although today's brain puzzle was one of those disappearing puzzles that creates more frustration than fun. I decided to skip ahead to the Express puzzle and enjoy the quicker feeling of accomplishment instead. With a second cup of coffee, I moved on to publishing yesterday's blog while S sorted through the recyclables in the garage and buzzed his hair.

After a refreshing shower, I tried on my new Walmart outfit. At just $20 for each piece, I was pretty pleased with that find!

B was out with a mission: getting Hank dressed up in a ghost costume. I held him while she cut and fashioned a sheet around him, and in the end we got some great pictures. Once the photo session was finished, we did his front feet. Using the leftover pieces of sheet, Roo got in on the Halloween fun with a few pictures of his own, and Harley had to join in as well. Pretty cute little ghosts!

This little man had the patience of Job

Harley - ET or a ghost?

Shaina and Matt arrived just as I was getting the lasagna assembled and into the oven. Matt and Sheldon jumped into the Ranger and took Matt's new rifle out to sight it in. Meanwhile, Shaina caught Mac with a little help from B. B trimmed Mac's back feet while Shaina held her, then Shaina spent some time working with her in the round pen.

Kaylin, Nathan and the two dogs arrived after dropping Renn off at Paetz's earlier, ahead of Lexi's vet appointment. Everyone enjoyed a cold drink and some hot lasagna before heading into town.

We all descended on the Paetz house, where the costumes soon came out and three little ones got ready to fill their treat bags, accompanied by a whopping seven adults! Luckily, along the west side of town there were a couple of places offering hot chocolate and Baileys, as well as another stop with Jell-O shooters. The grown-ups had a little Halloween fun of their own!

The right is my favourite of Archie and his lizard jump

We ran into Ada and her Seasame Street group

After a couple of hours and a wagon full of loot, we all headed back to join Craig and Sheldon. Craig bundled up and took his turn taking his two little ones out again. Renn decided she wasn't about to miss out if they were going, so Kaylin took her along, too. Ada even managed to find them later in the evening.

Shaina and Matt headed into the city to join another Halloween party at a brewery. Back at the house, B, AJ and I played cards for a while before B ventured home, knowing the kids would be out for quite some time. We visited and handed out candy, with the final count landing somewhere around 50 trick-or-treaters this year. Nathan and Sheldon kept an eye on the now-playing Flames game.

When the kids returned with even more candy, they got busy making their piles and sorting through their scores. The Boysis family headed back to the ranch before 9:30 to let the dogs out, give Renn a chance to eat some of her treats and get her settled into bed.

We made it home around 10:30, with S finishing up the Flames game. I crawled into bed with my book, while Kaylin, Nathan and S visited and scrolled through their phones after Kaylin had finished putting Renn to bed.

Between ghostly horses, little trick-or-treaters, a wagon full of candy and plenty of family visiting, Halloween turned into a full evening of fun. Hank certainly made a memorable little ghost, and the three kids had quite the haul to sort through when it was all over!

Jersey Lettering, a Sewing Machine Lesson & a Little Teamwork

Another morning of our usual routine, with nothing particularly new to report. B was out after 11 to feed and check the horses before heading off to work, and once again there was no hello. :(

I finished Grandma K's surprise birthday visit blog post, but realized I needed to convert Candace's video. So, if you missed it, you'll have to go back and check it out! The longest part of blogging isn't actually writing the stories; it's compressing, converting and watermarking all the pictures and videos. But those are what everyone looks at, so it's a must!

Princess Elsa heads to her school Halloween party

And Grama and Papa head to their party as ninjas

Friday is plant-care day, followed by a workout while S watched the news. I really don't understand how he manages to watch the noon, 5, 5:30 and 6 o'clock news, on top of filling his day with online news. So much of it seems to make him angry, yet he keeps going back for more!

I loaded up my sewing machine and headed into town around 2. First, I returned the jeans that had been delivered yesterday. They were definitely not my style, so I picked up a different pair instead. And they were only $25 at regular price! Check out Walmart clothes folks, even legit Levis are $34.98.

At Amanda's, we got started attaching the assistant and captain letters to the hockey jerseys. It didn't exactly get off to a smooth start. I had always assumed sewing machine bobbins were universal, but after several messy attempts, I tried the bobbin from my own machine. Success! The machine worked perfectly. Apparently, whatever colour I had on my bobbins was going to be the underside colour!

Aislyn showed me her caterpillar costume and Ada showed Archer's lizard

It took just under two hours to carefully sew around all the letters, but in the end we were very happy with how they looked. Whew! Not bad for a blind Nana who forgot her glasses. Thankfully, I had a spritely little sister on hand to thread the needle approximately 100 times! LOL.

Back home, I ordered more food for Harley and got supper underway while S BBQ'd some skewers. He headed off to the TV room to watch the Flames game while I settled in to write today's blog and publish yesterday's.

The Flames win had S out for a hot tub while I read then we watched the Martin Short documentary. 

Another day of blogging, sewing and a little family teamwork. Those jerseys are looking good, and I'm glad we got the lettering finished!

A Broken Branch, Ancestry Rabbit Holes & a Hockey Night in Calgary

It was a brisk -5°C when we woke, and the cats were quite happy to stay tucked inside the garage. J, however, was right on schedule and demanding his food at the usual 8:10 a.m. I worked on today's brain puzzle for a bit before making coffee and delivering a cup to bed to wake S.

Guess who has a life sized Halloween Peppa thanks to Marketplace

B came out for a quick feed and check on the horses before heading off to work, once again without popping in to say hello. S spent some time trying to find a new butcher for the bison, while I carried on with the day's odds and ends.

Little Hank chooses grass rather than hay every day

The afternoon seemed to slip by, and after publishing Tuesday's blog post, I took Harley for a walk out to the gate around 4 after I received a text saying a parcel had arrived.

While I was outside, I noticed a huge branch had broken on the lodgepole pine, from the weight of the recent heavy snow. I called S out to help hold it in place while I wrapped it with electrical tape (as it stretches). It was a thick branch that had split in two directions, so he added some zip ties to give it a little extra support. Hopefully, we managed to save it!

S grabbed something to eat, packed up the trash and headed out drop it off by 5 and fuel up. He swung thru town to pick up Leonard and then Matt downtown before they all headed to a Wranglers game.

I disappeared down another ancestry rabbit hole, following family connections and looking up details. Before I knew it, the light was fading and it was already 6:30. I grabbed a bite to eat while continuing to work on a big 400-piece wood puzzle, then eventually moved into bed to watch the 3 hour Matthew Perry documentary.

I was just finishing it when S arrived home from the hockey game at 11. He settled in to work on the brain puzzle while I wrapped up my show, and then it was lights out.

A chilly day, a bit of tree-saving work and another evening of family history kept me occupied while S enjoyed a night out at the hockey game.

A Birthday Surprise, a Road Trip & Family Time in Medicine Hat

Our pets have their routines, too! J was yowling at his usual 8 a.m. hour, requesting both soft and hard food because, apparently, one just isn't enough. He also likes to join Harley when she's eating her raw food. It was softly snowing outside, with the temperature sitting at zero and a high of only 1°C expected.

S made coffee and called Ma K to wish her a happy birthday, carefully keeping our surprise visit under wraps. I worked through both the daily and Express brain puzzles before hopping in the shower, after publishing Monday's finished blog post.

S was enjoying his second coffee while attending a Zoom meeting with an oil and gas company interested in using him as an advisor. The meeting was supposed to last an hour, so I figured I had plenty of time. Naturally, I got sidetracked down an ancestry rabbit hole after my shower, following up on some family information that had been sent to me.

When S's meeting wrapped up at 10:30, I suddenly had to put things into high gear. We were heading to Medicine Hat to surprise Mom Kuhn for her 84th birthday!

Harley was fed, watered and taken outside before we pulled out of the yard at 11. We arrived at 1:30, and she was certainly surprised to see us when we opened the door to their place. We managed to keep the visit under wraps until the very moment!

There was a cold beer and plenty of visiting while the new gifted fridge was installed. Sheldon also swapped the door hinges so it would swing in the opposite direction. Once that was taken care of, we headed down to the booked family room, where guests gradually began arriving. The rest of the afternoon was spent visiting and celebrating Mom's birthday with family.

Pizza was ordered for supper after most of the guests had left, and then we all tidied up the room. Sheldon and I hit the road at 8 p.m. for the drive home, making it back in two hours.

Harley was still tucked in her bed when we arrived, so I roused her and sent her outside for a quick pee before settling in ourselves.

S checked in on the Brewers' World Series win, and I got back to my puzzles before bedtime. It was a long day with a quick trip to Medicine Hat, but seeing Mom's surprised face and spending the afternoon with everyone made it well worth the drive. Happy 84th birthday, Ma K!