::Little Tree::

A little tree for little people.

::Green Whirlwind::

hange of plans. As always. . . I posted HERE that the basement would be white and orange, but kept coming back to my curiosity about black walls. I couldn't help but wonder what that would look like. I figured it would make things more cozy down there, and be far less likely to need scrubbing. So, we made a complete switch to black. The ceiling is black, with plans for black and silver tin panels to cover the plumbing pipes. The floor is black--painted right onto the concrete. The walls are black for the first four feet, and will be given a wainscoting shortly. Lots of dark paint. That being said, I accented with a lemongrass green that breaks up the black and makes for an amazing contrast.

Before taking the plunge, I played with my photo program to come with the most sloppy attempt at a black and green "pub" look:

For more inspiration:

Then we went for it:

More of a lemongrass colour, than green. We are happy with it. I will post more pictures as the room progresses. What excites me most is that the TV, and all the toys, are now off the main floor. That means there is now a room available upstairs for all of my craft supplies. . . but that is a project for another day.

::Coyote problem::

e are having a bit of a coyote problem out here. What I find most disturbing is this one travels alone. They are pack animals, aren't they? This guy has been hanging around for a month or so, howling outside living room windows, terrorizing chickens and horses, and coming WAY too close to people. A few days ago he came out into the road in front of Aidan and the dogs. I guess he was smart enough to know he was outnumbered and slunk back into the field. But I wouldn't have had the advantage this morning if I had been much farther from home.

I had popped on the headphones and jogged down the road. Normally I am so preoccupied with the music and finding my pace that I don't really look around. I did today, and saw one big brown coyote barrelling across the neighbours field right at me. I know you are supposed to holler and be aggressive, but yeah right! I turned and sprinted as fast I could back down the road. He made it to the edge of the field before I lost track of him, and by then I was near enough to home that our dogs were barking and whimpering.

Aidan wasn't nearly as alarmed as I was, having grown up with coyotes on all sides, but I will never be comfortable with wild dogs running towards me. Time to pull out the treadmill. No more early morning jogs in the fresh air for me!

::All dressed up with somewhere to go::

ress-up time. . .

This year Elijah went as a highway. I have no idea where the idea came from, I just thought it up out of a necessity to keep things cheap. I dug up black clothing, painted and taped, then wired toy cars in the appropriate spots. His back actually read; "100 km." Everyone got such a kick out it.

Caelah was a daisy. Wire and tissue are favourite craft materials of mine, so I fell comfortably back into using them for costume construction. Caelah sacrificed yet another hairband for the costume and we came up with a very pretty lightweight headpiece. I attached a dragonfly for embellishment. And we made leaves for her wrists and shoes. She was unimpressed, the evening of the 31st, when she had to stuff a coat under her green top to keep warm. I tried to convince her to wear her coat over the costume and not worry about it. She insisted, however, that "flowers HAVE to have GREEN stems." Sigh.

Two homemade costumes was my limit. Gabriel was happy to slip into a clown costume donated by a friend. He looked adorable, and knew it. At one house I overheard the woman at the door tell him he was a really cute clown. "Yes, I am," Gabriel agreed, as he trotted away.

Another night of dress-up and candy--LOADS of candy.
KitKat anyone?

{::Dad's yearly pumpkin-carving masterpiece::}