Happy Halloween!

Barbara made the pumpkin for her office

Happy Halloween!

Today is a fun day at work.  We've got a costume contest, a "decorate your cubicle" contest, and a Halloween themed pot luck going on.

So far it's been a scream...

Joel asked me if I wanted a raise... I wasn't sure how to take that

Especially when death came knocking at my office door!

That was a little creepy.

My office window

I've got lots of photos to share with you next week of all the festivities.  We've got some wonderful costumes here.  I can't wait to let you see them.

The company does traffic and transportation engineering and planning,
so these road signs have popped up in several places

 Hope you're also having a fun day, too, wherever you are!

TBT: The Wonder Years

My Nephew and Niece: Daniel and Linnea

I remember these two little munchkins long before they had three pesky, younger brothers.  (In fact, to be honest, I remember way back - long before their daddy was born.)

It seems like yesterday these two were playing with toys.

Then, I blinked twice and they was all growed-ed up.

It hardly seems possible they've since turned into these outstanding young adults:

Here is Daniel and his wife Holly with their two small children, Livia and Fredrik.

Holly, Livia, Daniel and Fred

Oops!  Even THEY have gotten older since that photo was taken!

Time does slip away, and so quickly.  Here is a more recently photo.  Livia is truly NOT a baby anymore.

Fred, Daniel, Livia and Holly

Time has also changed Linnea.  She's become a beautiful young woman, with a handsome husband.

Linnea and Jeff at a Washington, D.C. party

You certainly can't stop time.  But you can trace its progress with photos.

Thank heavens!

That's it for Throwback Thursday.  Over and out.

Happy Halloween!

The dragon cometh... or something
Mark insisted he was dressed as the Green Lantern, and would flash his Green Lantern ring

Saturday night was our big birthday bash - slash - Halloween costume party.

To my surprise and amazement, everyone came in some kind of costume this year!  It was fabulous, I tell you!

Lisa and Robin cracking up over someone's joke

We always have a good time and there is always tons of good food and conversation and laughter.

I put on my listening ears for the occasion!
Okay, I was dressed as an LOTR Elven woman

I had not expected Abbie to dress for the occasion, and she totally cracked me up with this delightful costume:

I loved this costume!
Abbie dressed as "the Ocean"

Yes, in case you missed Orca diving off her hat and the sea creatures on her shirt, she was dressed as the OCEAN.  You don't see that a lot in Halloween costumes.  It just made me laugh.

There was also a Greek Goddess there!
She was also one of the Birthday Girls

Our Greek Goddess had made her own costume.  Well done!

We even had a lady Darth Vader show up!

Darth Peggy also attended

Julie showed up as Queen of the Nerds.  That's a Comic-Con badge around her neck, and all kinds of fannish buttons on the tee-shirt.  Need I say more?

Julie was the self-proclaimed "Queen of the Nerds"

Laura works at the Natural History Museum.  She was fabulously dressed as a witch. This photo does not do her justice.  In person, she quite honestly looked like she'd stepped right out of the teacher's lounge at Hogwart's.

Good job, Laura!

Laura was a lovely Harry Potter world-worthy Witch

I was amazed that Lisa, who generally eschews costumes, took the time to make a great costume! Her very talented mom painted the snail.  Good going Lisa's mom!

Lisa's Snail costume was originally done for her Tryking group
and featured a water bottle and glitter contraption on the back leaving slime trails

Of course, once the cats discovered that Lisa's antennae moved, Lisa became a cat toy.

The cat loved her antennae!

This was pretty funny, actually.

The cat kept attacking those antennae balls!  It was funny.

Maybe not so much fun for Lisa!  But the cat enjoyed it immensely.

Hostess Maura's shirt reads, "I'm the Evil Twin"
Her twin Maurice must be relieved

Thanks go out to our Hostesses who graciously opened their home to all us crazies.  All the cats and dogs helped make us feel at home.  I got doggy kisses and kitty cuddles.  It was great.

Jackie was another hostess of the party
We love her deviled eggs

There is always more food than you can possibly imagine at these gatherings.  It is always good. What a fun day spent in the company of good friends!  I really enjoyed my birthday party.  

The Birthday Boy
Okay, now I see the Green Lantern Ring!

Hope you enjoy your Halloween, too. 

(There are only a few more days left to party!)

My Friend Ellen

My beautiful friend Ellen

I'm lucky enough to have a few people in my life that I admire greatly.  One of these is my friend Ellen, who is a widow, the mother of three, and a former Ward Relief Society President, who has a demanding, full-time job, and currently serves as the Whittier Stake Relief Society President.

Are you impressed yet?  Well, if not, you should be.  The women who serve in these church callings are not only outstanding people, they have an unbelievable amount of responsibilities in the everyday workings of the church.  They truly succor the needy and bless the lives of countless people on a regular basis.

I know.  I've served as a counselor in a Ward Relief Society presidency and seen up close and personal what the President does. My accomplished sister-in-law is currently serving as her Ward Relief Society President. She is always busy bringing meals to shut-ins and doing other charitable acts.  She's never home any more.  There's an amazing amount of need within any given Ward boundary.

Ellen is in charge of the women throughout the Whittier Stake of the church, which means she's over about ten Ward and Branch Relief Society Presidents.

It's a lot of work.

A quiet afternoon at Cafe Opa in Downey

I got to spend a quiet afternoon with Ellen recently.  She is a great lady and a lot of fun to spend time with.  Ellen has blessed my life in many ways throughout the past few years, and I enjoy her company very much.  She has a quiet strength that I wish I had.  She's also an accomplished seamstress, a talent I also wish I possessed.

We went out for Greek food!  We had Greek food by accident, actually, as the place we had intended to go for lunch was busy.  I mean REALLY busy!  I don't know about you, but when I see a line of 400 people, I tend to shy away.

Especially when I'm hungry.

So, we ended up at this little hole-in-the-wall I hadn't been to in years, called Cafe Opa.  They serve all kinds of Greek food, and I ordered a sandwich with chunks of pork in it.  Boy!  Was it good!

While I enjoy my own company, it only goes so far! I think that the older I get, the more I appreciate people taking the time out of their busy lives to simply spend time with me.  It's those little things that really do count in life.  

Recently, I've been lucky to have quite a few people in my life that will do that, and it's a great blessing.

Yours Truly enjoying her lunch

Thanks, Ellen!

OPA!

Road Trip!

Fred, Livia and Holly on the banks of the St. Lawrence seaway

My nephew Daniel and his family are now living in Ottawa, Canada.  They took advantage of the beautiful fall weather to take a little roadtrip to Quebec a few weeks ago.

The car was packed and all ready for adventure!

Daniel relates that their outdated GPS went crazy when he decided to find a different route to follow via Google maps.

All packed and ready for anything!

The new route gave their old GPS a fit.  It claimed they were driving in the in the middle of a field for about an hour...

On the road and ignoring the GPS...

The City of Quebec sits on the St. Lawrence river.  Here is a view across the river from the City.

The St. Lawrence River, or Fleuve Saint Laurent

The City of Quebec takes its name from an Algonquin Indian word, Kebec, meaning, "Where the river narrows".

The City of Quebec has served as a capital city of some sort for over 400 years.  Today it stands as the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec.

The city and metropolitan area surrounding it are home to three-quarters of a million people.
 

I love the fall foliage!

The above photo was take from the Ile d'Orleans, an island which was the first area settled by the French back in the 17th century.

Cruise ships on the St. Lawrence

The British scored a massive victory over the French at the Plains of Abraham in 1759.  This decisive victory changed the course of American history, too.

The Plains of Abraham

This former battlefield is now a beautiful, serene  wooded area.

The paths through the area attest to hikers in the area.

I love these shops along the narrow streets! (below)

Les Bouquinistes

They say visiting Quebec is like seeing Europe without crossing the Atlantic!

The Colisee Pepsi

One of the places Daniel wanted to see was the Colisée Pepsi, formerly known as the Colisée de Québec, where the Québec Nordiques used to play.  He tells me a minor league team plays there now.
 

Along the St. Lawrence river

The above shot is looking out from the Terrasse Dufferin out to Levis, a community across the river from the city.

The quaint and the modern juxtaposed in the Old City

Quebec still has a fortress that remains intact and part of the ramparts which surround the old city.

Statue of Samuel de Champlain,
the founder of Quebec City

The Champlain Monument is on Dufferin Terrace.  It commemorates the man who founded the city in the year 1608.

Le Chateau Frontenac

The massive Chateau Frontenac hotel is a famous landmark.  Daniel says it's quite expensive! And, No, they did not stay there!

It looks very beautiful at night, however!

What a beautiful time of year to visit this historic place

The Île d'Orléans (above), was one of the first places that French settlers colonized starting in the 17th century. 

This stone church (below) dates back to the mid-1600s:

Notre-Dame-des-Victoires Church
on the Ile d'Orleans

I've always wanted to visit Quebec.  I'm so glad Daniel and his family gave us this little tour!

It's Good to Have a Friend

Jack watching LDS General Conference with me

It's good to have a friend, even a pint-sized, furry one.  Or maybe I should say especially a pint-sized furry one.

Jack is my cat, and we are buds.  We chill, hang out together and just enjoy each other's company.

I like being snuggled up.
"Me, too, Jack!"

Recently Jack watched General Conference with me.  I like to spend the weekend with my boy.

Mom, don't let anybody see me in the shawl, okay?
"Not promising anything, Jack."

 It was chilly in the morning and we snuggled up under a couple of afghans.

We're just two snuggle-bunnies.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!