I told you before about how my mom got a bunch of pumpkins for free. Here is a small gallery of the decorative ones she found and I fell in love with. I know they won't last forever, so if I share them here, we can enjoy them forever.
I got lots of odd looks from the guys working on the neighbor's house while doing this. I'm okay with that. I got an odd look from one of them before when I wanted to leave my house and asked them to move the toilet tanks they had sitting in the path of my driveway. I could live without the guy smoking on their front porch as much.
I didn't want there to be a ton of pictures, like when I did the Luray Caverns thing, so I played with gif maker to condense things a little. I set them to change every seven seconds so you would have enough time to look at each one.
They look like every picture of pumpkins you see, but they are easy to lift and you can put them everywhere in the house. They are also nice to give a display or centerpiece a few different sizes and textures.
From the state of a few of these I feel like today is going to be filled with a lot of pumpkin roasting. Luckily I got a good tip on how to get it done:
First, I cut the big pumpkin in half, then baked them 1 at a time in a 375
degree oven for 25 to 35 minutes.
When the pumpkin cooled down a bit, it was easy to cut into big chunks and
placed into a baking sheet for 15 to 20 minutes in the oven preheated at 500
degrees. The skin almost just peeled off.
This also means I bunch of pumpkin seeds for me to snack on! I love those little guys.
Here is the end result. It took only about one and a half cups of broth to fill it. I baked it for about an hour and a half. It was soooooo good. The Parmesan at the end made it perfect.
I will be honest and will admit that I ate it before it was cool enough to not burn my mouth and I was really tempted to bake the other one on the spot.
I woke-up this morning thinking that Bill was watching some of his shows off of the DVR. I would hear a deep man's voice and every once in a while, some power tools. Turns out he was just on a conference call combined with the sounds of the neighbor's small remodel. It also turns out that I have not adequately explained daylight savings to my cat. He is my furry alarm, but he keeps going off an hour early lately. He switches the other way like a champ, but this one he seems to have problems with. I keep trying to tell him to come back in an hour and then I will get-up and give him breakfast, but he doesn't seem to care. He just hears the word 'breakfast' and knows that means food should be coming his way.
Things you should throw away but can't:
There are a lot of these. This is another reason why it is hard for me to get my house organized. Most of them make sense. Lots of scraps of fabric. It is especially hard for me to get rid of them if they are pieces that other people have given me. I feel like it would be mean to throw them out, even if the other person would never find out about it.
I also have a bunch of leftover beads laying around. There aren't enough to make anything just on their own, but I feel like I might find a use for them someday.
Those can make sense to other crafters, but there are a few things that don't make as much sense. At least with the craft items they are usable items. These other things are a bit less usable.
Fashion magazines are a weakness of mine. I used to get Seventeen magazine back before I was seventeen...and then a little after. There was something the way all the little perfume samples mingled together that I liked. I also liked looking at the various ads and other fashion spreads. Doesn't really make much sense since I tend to be in jeans and a t-shirt all the time. They aren't even always in sizes that fit me right. Fashion magazines are usually only good for so long before the style changes and everything on the glossy pages are old news.
Another thing I tend to keep after they have been used for their purpose are bottles. Most are wine bottles, but some are beer or other beverages. I know that there is a easy way to make this habit a bit more manageable, but that would only apply if the labels were what I was after. This is sometimes the case but not all the time. There are some super interesting bottle shapes out there.
I'm regretting the one time I let a bottle go that I really liked. I figured that since I got it at the store, I could easily go get more. It was a bottle of Pink Diamond gin. I was so excited to find it because I had heard about gin made with wine grapes and the TV show said that it had more depth. This one said that it was distilled with grapes. It was perfect since I had not been able to find another one made with grapes at all. The fact that it was girly and pink didn't hurt either.
Once I tried it I knew it made my favorite gin and tonics. I didn't get back to the store to buy more for a bit after we had run out, but it seems I had missed my chance. I could not find it where I had bought it before and I have not been able to find it anywhere since. From what I can tell, the company has gone out of business. It even took me a while to find that it even existed online.
You wake up by the side of the road lying next to a bicycle, with no memory and no wallet. What happens in the next hour?
She groaned and tried to roll over. The sun always woke her up before she was ready, though it didn't help that her bed seemed to be really hard for no good reason. Opening one eye she was greeted by the sight of a handlebar and ribbons hanging down. She opened the other eye just to make sure the first one wasn't lying. Sure enough, the handle was still there. Sitting up she saw that she was laying next to a bike on the side of the road. That explained why she had been so uncomfortable.
"Wow, I can't believe this is happening..." She blinked her bright blue eyes. "Nothing like this has ever happened to be before. Right?"
Racking her brain she couldn't think of something like this had ever happened before or not. First thing is first, time to check to see if she is okay or not. Her head didn't hurt, and no limbs were missing, so it couldn't be too bad. The only injury she could find was a scrap on her knee under a hole in her dark jeans. A curl of dark hair was in her face, but that was easily pushed out of the way.
Standing on her black canvas shoes she checked to see if there was anything wrong with the bike. It was a bit small and there were a few scratches, but nothing seemed to be wrong with it.
"Oh no... no, no, no no nononono!" She felt all of her pockets but couldn't find a wallet. There was also no purse to be seen. There were also no cars or buildings.
"At least I have my cloths? Was I drugged?" She rolled her eyes at herself. It's not like asking these things out loud would help get answers. Looking around she picked what looked like a good direction.
She managed to get balanced on the bike and started down the road. She wasn't sure if she was hoping for a car to come along or not. What if they asked where she was heading? What could she say if she didn't even have any idea where she was, who she was, or even where she could be going? It would be best if she could find a town or city and get to a police station. They should be able to figure this out.
"Am I in a movie? I didn't even think there were roads like this anymore. I wonder if I am going to be riding this stupid bike forever." She was amazed by the flat landscape and how she couldn't see anything for miles.
It felt like it took years, but she was finally able to see some buildings on the horizon. One thing she learned about herself on the way was that she had to take-up exersizing. Riding a bike looked so easy when other people did it. Spinning class might be a good idea once she figured out where home was. Seeing signs of civilization did gave her extra energy.
There were pick-up trucks everywhere but not much sign of life. It wouldn't have surprised her if a tumbleweed rolled past her as she made her way through the town.
"Hello? Is anyone here? I need some assistance." It wasn't hard to find the police station, but she was still wondering if it was going to be hard to find any people.
"It's you?! You're back?" A deep voice boomed from someplace behind her.
"You know who I am?" She wasn't sure from the tone of this voice if she should be excited or not.
"Know who you are? I know exactly who you are!" A man with a name tag that say 'Officer Jones' walked into her view. "You need to come with me right now."
"Am I in some sort of trouble?" She couldn't help but to be lead along by the arm by this man.
"In trouble?" Officer Jones then burst into laughter. She wasn't sure if that meant that she was or wasn't in some sort of trouble with the law.
She was lead through a back hallway. Every time she tried to explain her predicament Officer Jones would just tell her that she had to come with him. The farther into the building they went the more worried she got. At one point she looked managed to catch a glimpse into one of the rooms they were passing and there was a man tied to a chair and gagged. What kind of town is this?
"Here she is, boys." Officer Jones roughly shoved her into one of the rooms. The 'boys' he was referring to were sitting around a table playing cards and smoking.
"Oh, hi. I'm really sorry to have walked into the filming of your movie. I was just a bit lost." How much more could even happen. Would they sound like gangsters too? It was just all a bit much.
"Movie? Did you hit your head too hard?" The one in the stereotypical leather vest said to her. He had a bit of a southern drawl.
"Yeah, I think I'm a bit lost. Though since everyone here seems to know me, can I ask a few questions?" She didn't want to look like she was scared of these guys. It isn't nice to assume things.
"You're right where you need to be right now, hon." The one in the knit cap took a step towards her.
"Can you tell me who I am? I can't seem to remember. It's all very silly." She tried to turn the knob without the 'boys' noticing, but it was locked and wouldn't budge. Her blue eyes didn't show it, but she was freaking out on the inside.
"Don't worry, you won't be wondering for too much longer." The guy in the plaid shirt ran at her.
"Please don't-" she blinked in confusion. The guy had gone to punch her but somehow her arm jumped up to block it. It was almost as if her arm had moved on its own free will.
The next few minutes went by in a confusing blur. It was something right out of an action movie. She wondered again if she was on the set of a movie, or if maybe she was actually asleep in her bed and this was all a dream. Her body seemed to move on its own and before she could ask what was happening all of the 'boys' were down on the ground. All of this was starting to really annoy her. Using that she kicked at the door knob and was rewarded by the door popping open.
Calling on every action movie she had ever watched, or at least was pretty sure she watched, she crept back down the hall. She ducked into the nearest room when she thought she heard a noise. It was the room she had peaked in before with the man tied to the chair. It looked like he had been pushed around some. Another thing she noticed was the fact that this man was in a police uniform, his name tag read Officer Tag.
Taking a big chance, she pulled the gag off of this man. The interaction with Officer Jones gave her hope that Officer Tag could help her.
"Thank God you are back. It turns out we didn't get all of them. I would have never suspected Jones. It just goes to show you." Officer Tag whispered.
"You know who I am too?" She asked.
"Of course I do. Everyone in the town knows who you are. You helped to blow the cover of a whole gang of corrupt cops." Officer Tag looked actually revealed to see her.
"I did that? I will admit to you, I'm having some trouble remembering things. I woke-up on the side of the road next to a bicycle and can't remember anything." She knew in her gut that she could trust Officer Tag, so she explained everything to him as she untied him.
"I will keep you safe. We need to get you out of here." Officer Tag took charge.
"It's alright. I don't know who I am, but I seem to have some wicked awesome muscle memory." She did a quick scan of the hallway. There was no one in sight. Getting out of the building seemed like a good idea to her. Officer Tag might also need to take a trip to the hospital, it was hard to tell how beaten up he was.
They hadn't gotten very far before Officer Jones managed to find them again.
"And where do you two think you are heading?" Officer Jones had a gun pointed at them.
"I just want to go home. I don't know who you are, but I don't want to be a part of this." She wished she could call cut and everything would make sense again.
"I'm not going to fall for that innocent act, now walk!" Officer Tag gestured with the barrel of his gun. If she hadn't been so scared then she would have rolled her eyes at how clichéd this all was.
Without knowing what she was doing, as they entered the room she spun in place. She managed to catch Officer Jones off guard and knocked the gun out of his hand. Impressing herself she spun again and kicked him in the head. She was relieved when Officer Tag managed to grab the gun since she had only stunned Officer Jones. It took some doing, but they got Jones into one of the holding cells and Officer Tag called in some of the good police officers that had been on patrol to help keep an eye on him.
"Thank you again, Carrie." The mayor of the town had shown up during all the commotion. They had also found her wallet and purse under one of the bushes near where she had woken-up.
Now with a name and information Carrie Wilton hoped that the rest would soon come back to her. It had been a crazy hour, but one she hoped to be able to tell someone else about.
Today's count: 3,074
Monthly count: 12,401
Prompts used: 10
Pictures posted: 2 (counting only finished objects)
No comments:
Post a Comment