It's the Great Pumpkin!

Happy October!

Great pumpkin, huh? We met family for lunch in Nelson at the Nelson Cheese Factory and then went on to Wabasha to look at all the decorations. The carve immense pumpkins and have stuffed life-sized scarecrows all over town. If you go, check out the large green caterpillar made out of pumpkins. It's so creative.

Ryan and I are finally settling into a fall routine. The  weather is still GOJUS so we've been outside and running constantly. There's enough time to blog when the weather is crappy. Know this ... if the weather here is good, I'm probably not blogging.

I have my press shot tomorrow and naturally I have a spot on my face! ERG! The gnats are dining on my face, neck and arms. My legs are usually moving so that's not an issue ;-) I'm hoping that my pictures turn out. I take pretty crappy ones most of the time. Many have tried ... and failed ... to take my photo.

My column this time is on executive function. I'm always looking for future topics so if you've got ideas just let me know. I've written the column for over twelve years and have never rerun any of them so I appreciate the input.

Ryan did his mascot gig at the game reserve and insisted on an autumn photo. The same little girl who stuck to him at the French Toast Breakfast fundraiser glommed onto him at Booya too. She hugs him for ten minutes at a time. I once tried to help him out by gently reminding her that other children would like a chance to say hi to Paddy but she wasn't deterred. She walked about five yards away, tapped her little foot a grand total of six times, smirked at me and said, "No one else is there." She wrapped her arms back around Paddy and didn't let go. It's hard for Ryan to see so that he can move under the best of circumstances but with a child directly underfoot it's nearly impossible. Fortunately, she didn't arrive until the last half hour of the festival so many other kids got their photo taken and shook hands with the Beav.

It was about 80 degrees so the suit got warm. It's made out of rug material. About every half hour I grabbed an icy pop and Paddy went into the woods to remove his head and slam it. Ry worries a lot about freaking little guys out by suddenly removing his head.

We need to start fundraising for a more suitable costume, perhaps with a fan in the head and vented bottom. The drawback is that most mascot Beavers are comical or angry looking. If you go for your own design you pay for it big time. If anyone knows of a great mascot company let me know. I've been looking at one in Milwaukee but haven't decided on anything yet.

Well, I've droned on long enough. I'll try to blog more frequently although lately I've been remiss. Hoping that you are enjoying this balmy weather as much as I am!
Much love and joy,

Karen