Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! I'll post more details about my decorations and projects this year but wanted to at least get some pics up today.

Nerstrand Woods and facing the inevitable

We went for a nice fall walk in Nerstrand Woods State Park (down by Northfield, in, well, Nerstrand). We haven't much in the way of fall foliage since the weather was very warm in September and suddenly cold in October. It was a nice little hike, only to wake up on Monday to.............

.............our first major snow in the Twin Cities! Ugh. Way too early. It reminded me that I need to get out and enjoy any decent weather we get.

When Pigs Fly

These pigs may have wings, but I doubt they could fly. They weigh a bunch - mainly because they are made of cast iron.

Melanie and I decorated these pig banks for a fundraiser for Articulture (www.articulture.org). They auction these banks in November to raise money for their programs. They also have art classes that you can sign up for; Melanie and I are taking a drawing and painting class on Monday nights. They also have a cute retail space where we're selling some of our art cards.
It's a great organization and the two women who run it are really cool people.

The black one is mine and Melanie's RoboPig is shown in the pic at the bottom.

Apples and a Giveaway Winner!

First things first, thanks to everyone who entered a comment in my Halloween Giveaway contest! The winner, chosen by the random number generator, is.......Ashley! I'll be sending you an e-mail to get your mailing address.

Here are some pics from our recent apple-picking outing at Fireside Orchard (in my family, we call it Apples Cider Cheese Fudge - for obvious reasons) I've never picked apples before and was surprised at how easy it is. I mean, if you are picking bushels of apples I'm sure you would work up a sweat but we only picked a peck and it was a cakewalk. These are Haralson apples which are ripe when fully red. They look fake, don't they?

At the bottom is a picture of the baked apple I made for dessert that night. Low carb means no apple pie, alas, but I did cheat by toasting the marshmallow on top. Delicious!