So we are getting closer to Halloween! I spent most of my Saturday afternoon out shopping for party items. We have agreed to host the neighborhood Halloween party this year. About 20 people. I told them to come in costume and I plan on sending them out on a neighborhood scavenger hunt. We will see how it goes. Meanwhile I had to start picking up food and am still trying to get the decorations down from the attic and put up. I am missing my assistance from Scott.

He has been very busy with school and scouts and work. His semester is ending next Friday, right before Halloween this year. So the teachers have all been scheduling lots of projects and tests. He is also extra busy with Boy Scouts since signing up for the Asst. Sr. Patrol Leader position. Extra meetings to attend during the week and lots of extra planning since they put him in charge of scheduling activities. This coming week the boys decided to have a pumpkin carving contest and talk about woodcarving. They are also having a costume contest, so I had to pick up some gift items for the winners. And on Saturday he had to attend an all day Leadership training event. He has gone to many of these programs, but they insist the boys keep repeating the class each time they sign up for a leadership position. He is also scheduled to work every Sunday afternoon so he needs a ride. I then need to make sure Tom and I are home to take him and pick him up. But we are working on that too! Tom started taking Scott out on the road to practice driving since he now has his driving permit. Scott has been very excited to start learning. Looks like we need to work on Stop signs!

Besides getting ready for the holidays, I have been busy helping my mom with her finances as well as making funeral plans for my dad. I have set up a church service down in Florida in Venice in Dec.-we used to attend Easter and Christmas mass at this parish. Tom's parents also are members of this church. The staff there are incredibly kind and accommodating. I have already worked out the mass, complete with readings and music over the phone with their volunteer coordinator. They think of everything.( Guess they have done this before). They even had a memorial mass for Dad already and put his name in their church bulletin. And if I wanted, I could have the whole service in Polish! Not that any of us would understand a word, but I think that is amazing. I did request an accordion, but I don't think they actually have anyone that can play. However, they do supply a choir and organist. Wow. I also had to settle on a cemetery which will be in Venice where most of my mom's family is buried. And then a place to have lunch and a memorial of our own after the ceremony-I plan on bringing lots of digital photos. Plus I printed up memorial photo cards so those need to be mailed out. And then there's the finances. I kept my mom busy all day Friday running to the bank, the broker's office and making phone calls. I still need to meet with their lawyer next week for their trust.  Lots of papers to sign and forms to fill out. And don't get me started about the bank. That is the most complicated, messed up service of all. Amazing how your life comes down to lots of forms.

I am also trying to keep my mom busy. She attends a program each week at our local Senior center, but I think I am going to bump her up to 2x/wk. We use a volunteer car ride program to get her around. There is a small fee for each ride, but the drivers are all volunteers using their own cars. What a great service. They also have outings each week to local restaurants with her facility. She has started attending regularly. Last week they went out west to Friendly Farms for a family style meal complete with fried chicken(mom's favorite). They also enjoyed the fall color on the long ride there and back. It has been rather chilly out here, we even had our first frost. A lot earlier than usual.

At least I managed to get my fall flowers planted and I was happy to get back to my swim aerobics class on Friday morning. Tom was  home on Friday which gave him time to cut the grass and put down the winter fertilizer. He also spent some time doing maintenance on the cars. And he drove over to Delaware on Saturday with our neighbor for an alcohol run at the Costco. They have great prices and don't sell alcohol in our Costcos in Maryland. We needed some beer for our upcoming Halloween party and our neighbor wanted to stock up for the upcoming holidays. We both enjoyed an evening out with our neighbors having dinner at the Ellicott Mills Brewery and watching the movie Zombieland on a big screen outside at the Wine Bin in their parking lot. The Wine Bin serves free popcorn to go along with their wine. Besides a few sprinkles, the night was very pleasant. I was surprised to see mostly adults there watching the movie. They have weekly movies all summer long and we have brought the kids and the dog. It is a kid and pet friendly wine store. And we especially like it because the owner is an MSU grad. He runs a lot of neighborhood activities and has fundraisers for local charities in olde town Ellicott City. We want him to have tailgate parties for MSU. Speaking of, MSU won again this weekend against Indiana U in the pouring rain. At least we have one team to cheer for since our Ravens have been very disappointing this year. We heard the poor UofM quarterback was getting death threats over last weeks unbelievable game ending. Shame on you Michigan. He can come play for the Ravens.

Tom and I were also out on the town on Tuesday night as we attended Tom's Northrop Grumman Leadership Award dinner at the Lord Baltimore hotel downtown. We attended an award dinner a few weeks ago at the Westin, but that was for local groups. This was for National groups. We sat at a table with several couples all from San Francisco. We also ran into Tom's previous boss who now lives out in San Jose, Karen Campbell. Tom often spends time working with Karen when he heads to the west coast. We would love for Allison to get a summer internship with Northrop and maybe even stay with Karen out in California. Tom got a big, glass trophy(he would have preferred tickets to Disney or even a day off work). And I took home the table flower arrangement(that was in a cinderblock base). I think Tom threw his back out carrying it out to the car.

Allison is still very busy with school and Field Hockey. She had two games last Sunday in Philly and will play today at Salisbury. Her season ends next Saturday at UofMaryland, so we are hoping she can come home for Halloween. As you can see, we all get into the spirit!

I have been busy doctoring the cat for the past few weeks. We found out she has pancreatitis. Apparently it is treatable in cats, but she was losing quite a bit of weight. She was fur and bones. Her appetite is back, but even pickier. She mainly will eat canned chicken now. But she also enjoyed pumpkin pie and muffins along with donuts. Chews right through the packaging if it is sitting on the kitchen counter. Appetite stimulants will do that!

Tom says the cat will outlive me!

So the football season has become very interesting. So far our Ravens are the worst team in the league. And MSU is pulling off some crazy plays to keep them winning. Tom and I couldn't watch either game-too stressful. At least the MSU game was a pleasant surprise-Sorry UofM. That game will go down in the history books. If you missed it, MSU scored against UofM in the last 10 secs of the game due to a UofM fumble to win the game for State. And the guy that did it played on a fractured hip. Had to get surgery at the Uof M Ann Arbor hospital Monday morning(very brave man).

Besides keeping up with the fall traditions-like watching football games, we have been getting into the Halloween spirit. I am slowly getting the decorations out. Mostly we have to be home to do that. Instead we traveled to Busch Gardens on Friday night to enjoy the Haunted mazes. We swung by Salisbury U to pick up Allison first. Scott was off on Friday from school so we had the extra time to get Allison. Sadly we missed Scott's Homecoming weekend. Last year his robotics team had a robot in the neighborhood parade that Scott helped design and build that threw candy at the spectators. This year the kids just put together a sling shot to toss out the candy. So we did not feel like we missed out out on too much. And Scott was not terribly interested in their high school football game or dance. Instead we had a wonderful time running through all the spooky mazes at Busch Gardens on Friday night. The park was busy, but apparently not as crowded as Saturday night. We met up with our neighbors that were spending their weekend in Williamsburg. They stayed over until Saturday but said it was even more crowded at Busch Gardens-traffic backed up on the freeway.  We spent Friday night at the hotel, but had decided to leave early and head back to Salisbury to drop Allison off Saturday afternoon. We had to take her car in to Mr Tire to check out the sensor that went off during the week. Fortunately it was only a loose sensor and not a flat. While they were checking out her car, we ran some errands and took Allison out to lunch. I insisted that the girls decorate their front door of the condo for Halloween.  Allison agreed to put out some flowers, a small scarecrow and spider webs. I also dropped off a few more apples and a bag of bread. Can't let the college girls starve. We had to get back to pick up Cookie from the kennel so we left early in the afternoon. .

Allison had homework to catch up on as she traveled to Philly Sunday afternoon to play a few Field Hockey games. They tied their first game and won the second against Drexel University. Great job Allison! And congrats on making it through midterms. (Midterms already?)

Big Halloween decorations!

 Allison and roommate Helena

 Outing to HollowScream Busch Gardens

On Sunday I was busy running errands after dropping Scott off to work. I picked up my mom so she could come along. We also stopped off for lunch. I  had some more paperwork for her to help me fill out for her finances. And we are still busy planning the funeral service for my father in December in Florida.  We stopped into the funeral home to pick up some prayer cards for my Dad that I had printed. There is still more planning to do and more paperwork to take care of-Tom helped me set up a new online payment system for my mom. It seems like it never ends!

Scott was very happy to take a break this weekend. Besides being busy with school, he had his video club and then had to help run the Boy Scout meeting as his new Assistant Sr Patrol Leadership position. And he attended a presentation with Tom on the Eagle Scout process Monday night. The Scout Leader was not too happy that he missed camping with the Troop this weekend for Weebelos Oree. Scott was not sad he missed it. Our temperatures dropped into the chilly 40s with our first frost of the year. There were actually a few snow flakes coming down when I picked up my mom Sunday afternoon! And we broke down and turned on the fireplace. Now that is cold! I did manage to get a few bushes trimmed, leaves raked, summer plants brought inside and Tom cut the grass in between Sunday football games. Time to get ready for another busy week!

We were busy again this past weekend. Scott had a full week of school and was busy with his video game club and his new role as Assistant Sr Patrol Leader for scouts. As his first official job he had Tom come to the scout meeting as a guest speaker. Tom introduced the Engineering badge with an engineering challenge. He asked the boys to build spaghetti towers. Whoever built the highest tower without it collapsing was the winner. I stayed home from the meeting last week so I could finish up my online scout Youth Protection exam. We have to get recertified every 2 years or the troop is not able to register. So much fun. I also had Boy Scout popcorn to deliver to our neighbors as it was sitting in the back of my van. And Scott started his Robotics club meetings last week too. Last year he helped design and build a robot for the Homecoming parade that shot candy out into the crowd along the route. This year we will be missing the High School Homecoming weekend as we are traveling down to Busch Gardens for the HallowScream event.

We also missed Allison's Homecoming this past weekend at Salisbury. We really enjoyed the Family event for the past two years, but Allison was not even going to be at school this year on Saturday. She had a Field Hockey tournament scheduled at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. So instead of not seeing her at school, we decided to see her at the games. I really missed attending the Salisbury Homecoming-the football game, free food, free entertainment, prizes, parade. But it looks like the event was not as extravagant this year(I think they are spending all their funds on the new library and football stadium). However, we did love driving down to Fairfax to watch Allison play two games back to back(both tied games). Their team only played George Mason U as Virginia Tech dropped out. Fortunately it was a sunny but cool day-nice to sit outside and watch Field Hockey. Afterwards we coerced Allison into coming home with us for an overnight. Tom promised to drive her back to school on Sunday. After the games, we grabbed some lunch at a Peruvian BBQ restaurant and then did some supply shopping at Costco before heading home. The kids offered to cook dinner on Saturday night while we watched a net flix movie, Interstellar. Long and preachy.

On Sunday morning, Allison dropped into the hairdresser to get a hair cut before Tom drove her back to school. But not until after I loaded her up with lots of Halloween goodies. As she and Tom headed out of the house, Scott and I were on our way to sell Boy Scout popcorn at Lowes. We had the whole morning to ourselves and managed to make a few bucks before I had to take Scott to work. After dropping him off I headed over to see my mom. I was trying to get her into the hairdresser as well for a wash and set. While she got her hair done I was able to run to the grocery store and pick up some items for dinner. We picked Scott up after work and mom came home with us for dinner. Tom was home in time to grill us some hamburgers and I dropped mom off at her doorstep after dinner before it got too late. I had plenty of time to get back home to catch the season premier of The Walking Dead.

Mom and I spent the  whole day together on Friday too. I still had more paperwork for her to sign that also needed a notary signature. I dropped into our broker's office in the morning to start the paperwork, and he then followed me over to mom's apt. to finish up. Almost there. I then spent a few hours helping mom reorganize her closets and dressers. I still had some of Dad's clothing to pack up.I even started packing up some summer clothes for our upcoming Florida trip in Dec. After running some errands, we stopped into the local diner for lunch. We got home in time to catch Scotty returning from school. We then headed over to the Pick Your Own farm for some apples.  Mom mostly spent her time taste testing the different types of apples while Scott and I ran through the orchard. Apple picking has become a lot easier now since the trees are grown dwarf sized and vine like. They also grow in clumps, so very easy to quickly pick a basket full. I love to pick enough for pies and snacking. Allison got a bag full and so did Mom. We also stopped into the main barn so Scott could pick up a strange looking pumpkin. He picked one out that looks like it is wrapped in peanut shells-very bumpy. And I had to pick up a corn stalk to start my fall and Halloween decorating. Although we do have a few homes in the neighborhood that already finished decorating for Halloween! I just run out of time!

Happy 31st Wedding Anniversary Mark and Linda Seitz! Wow do I remember that wedding! Or actually, do I remember the day after that wedding! What is really amazing is how young Tom looked in the wedding photo and the fact that Mark Seitz had hair!

Congratulations to Scott! On Friday he successfully passed his Drivers Training exam and now he is a licensed driver! In training. So now we have to get out on the road for some actual driving practice. He can't wait. I took him out to the DMV in Frederick on Friday afternoon(in the hurricane)since he was off school so he could take the written exam.

That was after I took the cat in for a yearly check up. And afterwards I had errands to run. But I did not have too much time since I had to get Scott to work that night. He has finally picked up some work hours as the roller rink reopens for the new season. He also went in on Sunday afternoon. He is really enjoying his new job(and making some money). He had a busy weekend and topped it off on Saturday with a trip to Hershey Park with his friends. They had the whole park to themselves as his friend's mom works for NSA and got tickets so it was closed to the public. We thought the park would be closed due to poor weather, but the storm had mostly ended. It was overcast and breezy, but the rain held off. So the kids were able to ride all the coasters and spent time in the video arcade. Tom even traveled up to Hershey in the evening with his friend John to catch a pre season Hershey Bears hockey game. It was open seating, so they enjoyed seats down near the ice. I opted to stay home and get some work done planning my Dad's funeral service and making travel plans. I was also feeling a bit worn out from my flu shot. As well as spending the day with mom Bozyk filling out more paperwork at the bank, sorting out her fall clothes and having lunch at the mall.  Mom and I also enjoyed some ethnic dancers at a local church during their European festival while waiting for Scott to finish up his work session Sunday afternoon.

We weren't sure what we were going to do this past weekend as a hurricane was headed our way. On top of the hurricane, we were hit with a Nor Easter. We had plenty of rain last week(be careful what you wish for). Fortunately, the hurricane missed the east coast, but the rain and wind kept us busy. They cancelled classes at Salisbury on Friday afternoon. Allison was well prepared with candles, food, water and of course, toilet paper.  There is more of a threat for flooding on the eastern shore. I hope our family friends the Dugans made out alright as they were attending an Elder Hostel trip in the same area. Allison was scheduled to travel to PA for a few Field Hockey games on Sunday morning, but the playing fields were flooded out and they cancelled their event.

I also had a scheduled play date on Friday night when I met with the neighborhood ladies for an evening of Bunco(dice game). I did not win, but enjoyed visiting and snacking with new neighbors. So it made for a very busy Friday. And on Weds we attended Scott's Boy Scout Court of Honor. Every quarter they have a small gathering of family and scouts to acknowledge the boy's recent accomplishments, like merit badges or rank advancement. Scott was the only one there from his patrol along with the patrol leader(glad we went!). They always have the fall court of honor outside with a bonfire and it was a bit chilly and very windy this year. Scott will be taking on a bigger leadership role this time as Assistant Senior Patrol Leader(good kudos as he works towards his Eagle rank).


I don't know who enjoyed Comic Con more last week-me or the boys. I was amazed by these two homemade costumes! (And I am proudly wearing my Walking Dead tshirt)

You can't go anywhere in America without running into a sewer cover made in East Jordan Michigan(this one is in downtown Baltimore). The factory is down the lake from my parent's previous house up north. I spotted this one while waiting to cross the street.