A HALLOWEEN STORY FROM THE PAST

And just like that it is Halloween and the last day of October.  We are waiting for the little kids to show up for their treat.  And I still have cleaning to do and dinner to make.  So this will be a quick post.

My sister and I were talking about Halloween when we were kids and how different it was from what happens today.  Then we remembered one special Halloween and I have her permission to tell the story.

I was around 9 years old and she was about 8.  And poor Elaine got sick.  Very sick.  Too sick to go out which made her unhappy.  But I said I would go around trick-or-treating for her.  I dressed up as a fancy lady with a long skirt, my grandmother's fur stole, my grandmother's empty purse (which was big enough to put the candy into) and even gloves.  Masked, of course, I went next door first.  At that time you went into the person's house, they would try to guess who you were, and then you would get the candy.  Because we were always together, no one guessed that the lone little girl was me!  At each house I asked for an extra piece of candy for Elaine because "my sister is sick."  And I remembered exactly which piece was mine and which was hers.

I was allowed to only go to houses of people I knew -- my girlfriend across the street, my mom's best friend's parents, the girl in my class...

When I came home I sat on the sofa next to Elaine and divided all the candy.  "This is mine and this is yours."  Since we liked different things, I made sure I got all the ones she would like for her and all the ones I would like for me.  But the one thing I got for her was a big green lollipop.  BIG.  And very GREEN.  That was the first thing she took I think because she had a sore throat and it made her throat feel better.

But it was so big that she couldn't eat it all at once.  So she took it from her mouth to put it back into the wrapper to save it for later.  But she got upset when I started laughing.  "Your mouth is green!" I said.  I gave her a mirror and when she saw herself she started to cry.  Her tongue, her teeth and even her lips were bright green!  Of course it wore off after a little bit of time.  But we both still remember Halloween and Elaine's green mouth!  And we laugh about it now.

Hope you have a good evening and no green mouths.

Kathy

ANOTHER TARGET RUN... THIS IS BECOMING A HABIT!

I thought I would show you the trees in the street in front of church.  It looks as if we are finally getting our fall colors.

Yesterday Joe had to pick up some medication at the pharmacy.  Since it is inside of Target I got a chance to check out their Dollar Spot again.  I was so surprised because just a few days ago it was all Halloween, Thanksgiving and fall and yesterday it was changed to almost all Christmas!  There was just a small space for a few fall items.  I had kept thinking about that one sign I saw and really wanted to get it.  Fortunately I found three of them in a bin and grabbed it while I still could.  You know how it is in the Dollar Spot.  When it's gone, it's gone.  And you never see it again.  So here it is.

I looked around the kitchen trying to figure out where to hang it.  I wanted to keep it in the kitchen because I have decorated my kitchen with apples and this just seemed to fit right in.  I finally decided to hang it on the side of my pantry.  Perfect!

We also stopped in the food section and got a few things that we needed  (or wanted).

I wanted yogurt for breakfast.  Haven't had that in ages.  They were $1 each.  The pork chops looked good.  I got a pack that I'm having for dinner tonight.  Last night I had hamburgers and needed the buns for that.  The cheese is for a dish we are making for the lunch at Homecoming Sunday this week at church.

Here's the rest of what we needed -- rigatoni and pasta sauce.  Joe offered to make baked rigatoni.  He also bought me a new baking mat.  Christmas cookies are coming.

Joe got a couple of bottles of Ice for himself.  And we were almost out of milk.

The salad dressing was on sale too so we got two of them.

I am so happy to have my sign.  I know I would have regretted it if I hadn't bought it and could never find it again.

And here it is almost the end of October.  Time is flying by for me.  By the end of the week it will be November.  How about you?  Does it seem as if the days just fly by?

See you all later.  I'm off to read some blogs.

Kathy

PHILADELPHIA'S HISTORICAL SITES -- EASTERN STATE PENITENTIARY

The exterior of Eastern State Penitentiary

Hello, friends!  You might be wondering why I am telling you about Eastern State Penitentiary today.  But this is Halloween week and this place is a big part of Halloween in Philadelphia.  Let me tell you a little bit about the history of ESP.

The Penitentiary opened on October 25, 1829 and is thought to be the world's first true penitentiary.  It had a revolutionary system of incarceration called the "Pennsylvania System."  It encouraged solitary confinement as a means of rehabilitation. Notorious criminals such as Al Capone were housed here. The warden was legally required to visit every prisoner at least once a day and the overseers had to legally see them at least three times a day.

The doors were metal and covered with a wooden door to filter out sound.  The hallways were built to look like a church.  Some people believe that the doors were small to make it harder for the prisoner to get out and attack the guards.  Others think the doors were small to force the prisoners to bow when entering or leaving.  At any rate, the design was linked to penance and was tied to the religious inspiration of the prison.  The cells were made of concrete with a single glass skylight known as the "Eye of God" suggesting to the prisoners that God was always watching them.



The original design of the building was for seven one story cell blocks but by the time three were completed they were already overcrowded.  So the remaining four were two story cell blocks as seen above.  Cell blocks 14 and 15 were quickly built by prisoners because of the severe overcrowding.  Cell block 15 was for the worst behaved prisoners.

A typical cell

On April 3, 1945 there was a major escape by 12 inmates who over the course of a year had managed to dig an undiscovered 97 foot tunnel under the prison wall.  During a renovation in the 1930s another 30 incomplete tunnels were discovered.

It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965.

The prison closed in 1971.  The city purchased the property with the intention of redeveloping it.  There were several ideas of what to do with the property including a mall and a luxury apartment building.  While the debate was going on the abandoned property became a "forest" with lots of trees growing in it and a lot of abandoned cats made their home there.

In 1988 the Eastern State Penitentiary Task Force was able to petition the mayor to allow them to halt the redevelopment plans and in 1994 the site was opened to the public for tours.

Why am I telling you about this place?  Because every October Eastern State Penitentiary opens to the public for their famous "Terror Behind the Walls."  This is an annual Haunted House Halloween event.  The first one took place in 1991 and included short theatrical performances and true stories of prison murder and violence.  In 1995 the title "Terror Behind the Walls" was given to it and became a startling and low gore walk through event.

In 2001 it was broken up into three smaller events including the first 3-D Haunted House in Southeastern Pennsylvania.  In 2014 six new exhibits were opened and in 2017 the Haunted Blood Yard was added.

Lots of good stuff in Philly.  Thought you would like hearing about this one.

Hope you have a good night.  No nightmares now.

Kathy

FALL COLOR IS STARTING

Hello, friends!  Hope you all had a good day today. I had a doctor's appointment this afternoon and I took a few pictures for you.  Although most of our trees are still green, there is a little bit of color coming through here and there.  There were many beautiful pictures I could have gotten for you if I weren't driving.  But you know how it is.  Here are the few I did get.

This first one I took in the parking lot of the hospital before I pulled out.  It was a lot more yellow than it looks in this shot.

Then just before I got home I was stopped at a red light and got these two shots.

Another couple of weeks and I will have gorgeous shots to show you.  How are the trees where you live?

Have a good night.

Kathy

A VISIT TO TARGET AND OTHER THINGS

What a day this has been!  My friend, Donna, had a doctor's appointment this morning and I offered to give her a ride from her house to the office.  It was cold this morning and I didn't want her to have to walk 6 blocks.

Well, it was warm in my car.  I even put the heated seats on.  But when we got into the office it was COLD!  We were shivering and I never took my jacket off even though I was wearing a heavy sweater under it.  We were very happy to get back in the car after her appointment and put the heat on.

We ended up stopping at McDonald's to get breakfast and coming over to my house to eat with Joe.  After we ate we watched a couple of YouTube videos and laughed our heads off at them.  Then Donna said she wanted to go to Target and could I drop her off there.  I said I would go with her.  I don't turn down a chance to go through the Dollar Spot.

I saw so many nice things even though I didn't buy them.  It's a good thing it's the end of the month and money is tight.  I could have done damage there.  Thought I would share some of them with you.  

These little wooden tags had a pumpkin pie recipe on them.  So cute.  I can see these hanging in someone's kitchen.  But I don't have a place for them.

I love this sign.  I've been looking at it over and over and think I may go back and get it.  Hmm...

These little totes were adorable!  Another thing I loved but didn't need.

This is one of the few things I did get.  It's a knitting loom and yarn to make a child's hat.  It even comes with a pompom for the top.  I'm going to make it for Miss Hadley for Christmas.

Isn't this a pretty picture frame?  I can see putting a picture of the family gathered around the Thanksgiving table in it.

These black velvet pumpkins were nice too.

I can see putting these in the kitchen or dining room too.  I really like them.

There were a lot of these wooden shapes with metallic paint around the edges.  They were pretty but I don't know what you would use them for.

I was looking for a planner, but they didn't have any.  They did have a lot of journals though.  I like the sayings on the covers of these.

Some more pretty journals.

I passed by this aisle and had to get a shot of these wreaths.  The yellow one is so autumn to me.  But the last thing I need is another wreath.

I took Donna home when we were done and came home myself.  I have been dozing off and on all afternoon because I got up at 3:00 a.m. and couldn't go back to sleep.  I think it's going to be an early to bed night for me.

Hope you enjoyed seeing Target.  Have a nice night everyone.

Kathy

WHAT'S FOR DINNER?

Hello, friends!  Yes, I decided to do a morning post today.  I have a lot going on and don't know if I will have time later.  I thought I would just give you a quick post of what we've been eating this week.

One night I was just so tired after cleaning all day that I ordered a pizza from Dominos.  Pizza isn't always my friend, so the pizza was for Joe and I got a pasta bowl for myself.  It was penne, tomato sauce, sausage and onions with mozzarella on top.  If you have been reading my blog for any length of time, you know I am not a pasta person.  But I was either very hungry or it was very good because I ate the entire thing.  Joe was impressed and said he would have to order it next time.

The next night I made the Pioneer Woman's macaroni and cheese which I think is the best recipe for it around.  There is never leftovers when I make this.  It is one of Joe's favorites.  I had it with turkey meatballs cooked in the air fryer.  Have I mentioned I love my air fryer?

Wednesday the 16th I made Mississippi Pot Roast in my crockpot.  The house smelled so good!  I served it over mashed potatoes and had some lima beans.  We haven't had limas in a long time.  It was a nice change.

Thursday I made a meatloaf. I had been wanting one for awhile.  I put some frozen steak fries in the air fryer and made some green beans.  It was good.

The meatloaf was so good that Friday we had meatloaf sandwiches for dinner.

On Saturday I made a pork loin and served it with some leftover mashed sweet potatoes and green beans.  A nice fall meal.

Sunday was a treat.  We very seldom have steak.  Ever since my stomach surgery I have had problems digesting beef if it isn't ground up.  But I ate this and did OK.  I served the steak with a sliced tomato with fresh basil from the yard and broccoli.

Last night we had fried chicken thighs, mashed potatoes and another sliced tomato.

And that brings you up to date.  Hope you can get some meal ideas from this.  I know many people have helped me with putting dinner together and I hope I can pass this help along.

Have a wonderful day!  I'm off to continue cleaning, doing laundry and running errands.  And then there is church tonight.  Joe is teaching from 1 Kings chapter 6.

See you all later.

Kathy

GROCERY HAUL

And the month of October is on its way out.  How can it be the 22nd already?  Hello, friends.  I hope you had a good day today.  I didn't get nearly everything done that I had wanted to, but that's just how some days go.

After Bible Study this morning Debbie and I went to Shoprite.  As we were shopping I saw this huge teddy bear.  I asked Debbie to stand next to it just to show how big it was.

I guess it needed to be big because it cost $100!

I didn't need many groceries this week.  Here's what I got.

Pepper ham lunchmeat, cream cheese, onion bagels and eggs.  They were on sale this week 18 eggs for $1.33.

We were all out of instant potatoes, water and cat food so I stocked up on all three.

And this was an impulse buy.  We all have them, don't we?  For 99 cents each I got 3 packages of napkins and a package of paper plates.  We are planning to stay home for Thanksgiving this year so I think we can put them to use.

And now I have to get dinner on the table.  We are having chicken thighs tonight and they are cooking in the air fryer.  They are so good that way.

Hope you all have a good evening!

Kathy

MONDAY MAGAZINE

Hello, friends!  Hope you had a good day.  I was going to show you my garden yesterday, but it was pouring rain all day.  No complaints, though, because we really need the rain.

I also started a post that was a rant.  But then I decided not to rant and erased it.  I was angry about how some people are body shaming some friends of mine.  Not everyone can be a "skinny mini".  Some people have health problems.  Some are doing their best and are losing weight.  These two people have closed down their blogs because of people taking pictures from their blogs and vlogs and posting them and their families making comments about them that I won't repeat here.  It's so sad that people can't build each other up instead of putting them down.  And that is all I will say about that!

My cleaning has slowed down for a bit.  I have reached a point where it is mostly done and now am slowing down to a maintenance level.  So hopefully I will have more posts for you.  Especially as the holiday season approaches.  Can you believe that Halloween is almost here?  And then it is quickly followed by Thanksgiving here in the U.S. and Christmas.

But let me show you the magazine I have finished reading this week.  It is the September 2018 issue of HGTV Magazine.

Of course they have a front door to show you.

Do you like red front doors?  Lots of people do.  Do you have one?  I really like the doormat.  I would have one like that.  The planter is nice too.  But I don't think the chair looks very comfortable.  Maybe the pillow would help.  And although the light is unusual, I think I like it.  How about the door numbers?  They are glass mosaic.  But for $115 I think I will pass.

I like the High/Low section they have each month too.  Why do people pay such large amounts of money for things when they can have something similar for such a difference in price.  Would you spend $1,128 for a mirror when you can get something so similar for $458?

I was intrigued by the makeover section.  On the table of contents page they had the before and after pictures of the room on the cover.  Quite a difference.

Hope you all have a good evening.  I'll be back soon.

Kathy