homecoming, small town- prairie style...

the whole town gets involved in our homecoming week...

and on Friday afternoon, the parade happens...

they go from the school to the town square and back...

with a huge pep talk, cheer leading and band playing on the square...

but this year, we watched from Main Street, just a little farther down...

the theme was "The Roaring Twenties"...

the dance squad, who are totally awesome and one of the girls is the daughter of the office lady where DH works...

people with cool cars carry the royalty...

and there she is...

our own Miss Arianna!  See that princess wave?

she has been practicing that in my yard all summer!

I thought this was hilarious!

the 'marching' band riding...

while the music teacher walked behind them...

now, the best part, besides the candy...

are the floats...

not sure which one took first place...

there are 4 total...

and mascots from our local grocery store...

yes, folks, there was a nude cow in our parade this year...

JFL football players...

home coming court...

another float...

I know that little girl's mama...

from when she was a little girl...

this is my favorite float this year...

so awesome!

and they did beat the Panthers...

pretty bad...

and the home coming dance went off...

and everyone looked so pretty all dressed up...

I about froze to death sitting in my wheel chair...

it was pretty cold and the wind kicked up a bit...

but I got a bag full of candy thrown at me...

a local newspaper...

shook some political candidates' hands...

waved at so many we knew...

talked to a few and came home...

we didn't go to the game...

just too cold and rainy...

we had a low of 42 last night which is better than what they warned us about...

we had a frost advisory last night, but it clouded up and stayed warm...

it should start warming up tomorrow again...

and kick up back into the 70s during the days...

came close to turning the furnace on, but sucked it up and baked instead...

going to do a fish fry tonight with the guys...

;0)

DH got the weekend off after the 3 inches of rain that fell Thursday and Friday...

he has spent it resting up and trying to kick this stubborn bug he has...

he is sounding better and sleeping sound again...

and they ended up cleaning up about 3 semis of corn off of the ground up there after the fire...

that's a lot of scooping...

but its done and they can go back to business as usual on Monday...

Hope your weekend was a good one and you stayed dry and warm!

The Great Pumpkin Patch...redneck style...

my oldest son, Doug and his friend, Paula went there yesterday and got some great photos...

so here you go...

you might want to grab a snickers...

this is one of many patches around here and is located in Arthur, Illinois...

in the heart of Amish country...

and they have tons of pumpkins...

gourds...

and of course...

turkeys...

ladders...

plenty of signage...

fields like this...

mums...

Noah even gets his pumpkins here...

towers of pumpkins...

mazes...

yes, I gave birth to him...

piles of fun...

more than pumpkins...

its just plain fun...

and they add new things every year...

Paula...

and so many different things to have your picture taken...

lovely garden ideas...

another great prop...

there's a barn with chairs...

all holding a prized pumpkin...

just an average family farm turned upside down for October...

this is one place that everyone gets their photos at and then plasters facebook with them...

just creepy...

I love it!

great displays...

and behind there are the wagons you use to gather your favorites to take home...

the pumpkin pickers double as barricades...

who would argue with them?

Doug took 238 photos...

it was so hard to pick just a couple dozen to show you...

if you are ever this way, you might want to stop...

and get your pumpkin on...

have a fun weekend...

its going to be a nutty one here...

;0)

welcome to October...

thought you might want to see what I brought home from the pumpkin patch yesterday...

I love these with all the knobby things on them...

and all the different colors...

can you believe that they all come from the same seed?

these are on the green bench in front of the shed...

and I got this wonderful mum...

she was almost out of them...

and a blue pumpkin who is living on the deck for now...

and a few small ones for inside...

doing so much better today...

probably a combination of whatever it is that's going around...

being on the antibiotics...

and eating fast food too many days in a row...

the crazy person who thought it would be a good idea to plant a walnut at the end of the drive way should be shot...

I spend my afternoons raking those things off of the sidewalk so no one turns an ankle...

what was I thinking?

and they are falling big time now...

hard hat area...

so far, I haven't been bonked in the head...

it was so bad yesterday, I couldn't fill the feeders at the island...

I hope the birds understood that...

got them filled though, last night...

no wind and nothing fell while I was out there...

I am not sure if I told you or not, but the lady changed her mind about adopting Bobo....

so he is still here...

had someone ask about him yesterday, so probably not for long...

he is older and may take a bit to find the right person...

took everything out of the curio cabinet in the living room and washed it all...

packed some of it away and added other stuff...

I have been putting it off...

for way too long...

feels good to have that done...

;0)

not much on the agenda for the rest of the week...

would like to have the whole house clean at the same time...

(almost impossible to do here)

and I would like to get my halloween decorations out and up...

and the outside cleaned up really good...

hope you day is sweet and productive and includes a nap and chocolate!

;0)

pumpkin patch time...

they have had a bumper crop this year...

and they are just beautiful...

this is Coffey's Pumpkin Patch located in Ashmore, Il...

I almost forgot to get any photos!

after spending an hour there talking with Judy and catching up...

we loaded up the van and I saw my camera...

so I hoped back out and grabbed some quick shots...

spent sunflowers...

dried gourds from last year...

such cute set ups with vintage things...

they own the antique mall I worked in years ago...

and they farm....

farmers first, though...

and Judy sells the pumpkins while all the guys are in the fields...

she is so funny...

and I do miss seeing her every day...

the grand kids are helping with the picking now, since they have all grown so much through the years...

we came home and unloaded my stash...

and around 4, I got so sick, it wasn't even funny...

took a 2 hour nap and I am holding my own now...

have no idea what it is, but it hit fast and hard...

kept me running for the bathroom for awhile...

so, taking it easy for a few days before I try being super chick again...

I think I might be too old for shopping...

please say it isn't so!

but it sure looks that way...

may just have to shop on line...

;0)

have a good week and I will get photos of the stuff I brought home...