This is Halloween...This is Halloween...Pumpkins scream in the Dead of Night...

So, time has been flying since I last shared my Meandering Musings with you!  I have been working on two separate posts that I have yet to finish, so I'll just go ahead with a third, because apparently that's how I roll!  I can't believe October has already come and gone!   I must say I'm finally getting into the spirit of Fall.  I love to see the trees here in Midtown change colors, to feel the cooler breezes, to watch the leaves float gently down to Earth.   I love, love, love, trying pumpkin spice everything, as we discussed in my last post.  This year felt like our first Midtown Halloween, since last year we had only been in our home for 10 days. Last Halloween we were right in the middle of having our Midtown Mecca rewired, which was advertised as a one day job, and in fact ended up taking 9 working days!  Due to the continuous daily barrage of noise, mess, and confusion, we weren't really able to decorate much for Halloween.  By the time I began to get into the "Spirit" of things, there were no pumpkins to be found, so I had to resort to my electric ones. This photo shows the entire extent of my Halloween decorations last year.  Can we say "lamest excuse for decorations ever"?

                  

                                                             

The Daughter, however, has been obsessed with all things Halloween since about the age of three, and looks for the earliest excuse to put up her decorations. I think these were hanging up at her house before the end of September! The Hubs and I  like to wait a bit longer, partly due to having to drag all the boxes down the stairs from the attic, unpacking them, and setting up everything. 
(I know, I know, #middleagedproblems) The Daughter and her GF were over one Saturday evening, and The Daughter decided it was time to get the Halloween stuff down and help me decorate.  After dragging boxes downstairs, opening all of them, unpacking some, and generally making my living room into a Huge Halloween Mess, she decided she was no longer in the mood for this adventure, and wanted instead to raid my not so secret stash of Pumpkin Spice Oreos.   So, the next day The Hubs and I went through all of the stuff that we've accumulated over the years, threw away a bunch of stuff, filled a box for Goodwill, made a pile to give to the Daughter, and started setting up what we had left.   In Midtown, it's all about the  front porch, so we had to make sure ours was ready!

Our Dining room became the home for all things pumpkiny and ghostly.

I love our big mantle!  It's the perfect place for all the really spooky stuff.

Halloween decorations were almost everywhere in our house!!

The Daughter and I made these
spooky glowing jars of spiders the                                                                                                             weekend before Halloween. 

A few days before Halloween, we were at our favorite Vegan Restaurant, Imagine Vegan Cafe,  and they had such beautiful Halloweeny desserts!!  Unfortunately, we were too full after our fabulous lunch to try any of them!  

 So, by the time we finally got the house all ready, Halloween was nearly here!  After dropping off a bag of goodies for the girls at their place, and getting to see this cute jack-o-lantern they had carved, The Hubs and I tore into the pumpkin flesh.  We were quite pleased with the results.  

 We turned on all the Halloween lights, lit all the candles, filled the bowl with candy for the trick-or-treaters, and we were ready!!  Everything looks spookier in the dark!!

 We were visited by quite a few ghouls and goblins that night, as well as some princesses, ladybugs, and super heroes.  It was a frightfully good Halloween!! We even finished out the night with a bit of candy leftover for us to nibble. 

Hope you had a Spooktacular Time!!! 

 Stay tuned, and peace out...

A little bit of this, a little bit of that, a little bit of Art...

So, while I've been transcribing Gisella's story, (you can find Part One here in my last blogpost) stuff has been happenin' here in Midtown! Gisella and I are still working on the next chapter of her memoirs, which will be appearing right here in another blogpost soon. (Don't touch that dial!)   BTW, I met her in an antique store in Jackson, TN, where she has been hanging out for awhile. I hope you didn't find her story too melancholy; sometimes that's just how life is...

When I haven't been arranging the story of Gisella, I've  been doing a good bit of Memphis Midtown Meandering. I recently ran across this, (not literally) and I didn't  have to meander any farther than my own pantry, to a bag of my favorite chips! (See my blogpost of Sept 11th if you're not sure which flavor that is!) It just goes to show you, that you can find love anywhere! Another spectacle that I didn't even have to leave my own Midtown Mecca's backyard to see, was this gorgeous Swamp Hibiscus.  These  have made me smile so many times since they started blooming in July!  The Hubs and I were afraid that the harsh Memphis Winter had surely done them in, since they were the last of all the plants to bloom, but they have had beautiful flowers all Summer, and are still going strong!!

 Branching out into our neighborhood for

 Sunday evening walks with The Hubs is one

 of my favorite Midtown activities.  The 

sunsets have been spectacular lately!

These two pics show what a difference 

about 20 minutes can make!

The Daughter and I have had lots of Adventures in Shopping recently, and I have been slowly getting into the spirit of Halloween!! The Daughter is in the mood all year round, but I resist until at least October 1st! Target is our favorite place to check out all the Halloween stuff so far, and Party City comes in 2nd place.

So which of the masks do you think goes best with The Daughter's Miss Voorhees Halloween Costume?   

 Another thing I  meandered upon at Target were these amazing cookies!!  I have talked about the Caramel Apple Oreos before, (again-see 9/11's post) and now--OMG--Pumpkin Spice Oreos!!  I stumbled across these on the day they came out, so I grabbed a few extra packages, since you never know how long the limited edition will last. I love the fact that October and November are the Season of Pumpkin Spice everything!!  Some people may get tired of Pumpkin spice, but I never do!!  The only thing that  makes me give it up is the changing of seasons to 

gingerbread and peppermint everything, on the

 day after Thanksgiving !! 

Something else that I saw  recently was this card display...Kudos to  Target and Hallmark,  for actually getting in sync with the times. 

 

While we are on the topic, The Hubs, The Daughter, and The Daughter's GF (yes I said it) spent a recent Friday night at Crosstown Arts' "Big Gay Art Show".  The curator of the show, Thomas Green, says, "the show's concept is designed to inspire the younger generation, welcome them into the community and let them know that there are people who have been where they are."  The show highlighted works of regional artists, and even included balloons, bubbles, free drinks, and lots of interesting people.  

  

These were some of my favorite Art pieces. The first one was projected on a huge sheet of shimmery fabric, and changed scenes every now and then.  It was fascinating.  The painting series was entitled "Journey of a Trans Man", and was done by Jaqueline O'Neal. I found it interesting to study the expressions on the subject's face in each frame, changing from tears, to confusion, to sadness, and eventually to a great big smile.

We all had a great time at the show.  When we stepped outside, we were awed by this beautiful artistic display in the sky.  

In another of Crosstown Arts' spaces, we were treated to the Gonerfest Art Show, entitled "Anyway, Anyhow".   It was billed as  "A raw wild visual gumbo to accompany the sick sonic stew of Gonerfest!" Gonerfest is an international music festival, sponsored by Goner Records, which celebrated its eleventh year. 

We all enjoyed the art there as well. There were so many intriguing pieces!  The featured artists included Tim Kerr, Bruce Webb, Butch Anthony, John Henry Toney, and Timmy Lampinen.  Each of the pieces was so thought-provoking.  I love living so close to Crosstown Arts, and being able to meander over there on a Friday nite and check out some art, grab a drink, and meet some interesting people.  

(#perksofbeingamidtowner)

When we had taken in all the art our brains could handle, we headed over to the Cleveland St. Flea Market on the way home. 


I always see something interesting whenever  I'm                                                                there.






 I think Gisella might have met this woman on the train to France after she left Modra...    I'll have to check on that...                                                                                               

So anyway, we headed back home, to sample the amazing dessert The Daughter created--Chocolate pumpkin pie.  She has been perfecting her recipe,  and it has reached its apex--it was amazing!  I keep telling her she has been levelling up in her kitchen abilities.  The awesome thing about the pie (besides its yumminess) is that it's vegan.  She is planning on making it for Thanksgiving.  

Another recent Midtown Evening Event was a Going Away Party for our neighbors who are moving to Jordan. (Well, actually they are there now, but of course weren't when we had the party-you get my point)  We hosted  the gathering in our backyard, and it was lots of fun.  There was great food, beverages, sidewalk chalk, whistles, conversations, tears, hugs, and a great time was had by all!! They were the first neighbors we met when we moved into the neighborhood last year. She even brought over warm, fresh baked brownies on our first night in our new home! Who else even does that anymore?  They will definitely be missed in our little world.   See there Ms. A-- I told you at the party that you might end up in my blog!!

Stay tuned for more Midtown Meanderings and Musings, more from Gisella, and more Memphis fun! 

Peace out...

A Little bit of this, a little bit potato chip...

So, I've been trying to figure out what to muse about for the last few days...Should it be the Rock For Love Crosstown Block Party last Friday, which was really cool btw, or the delicious nachos I had at Huey's on Saturday, or my favorite flavors of Lay's special edition potato chips and limited edition Oreos, or should I spend forever writing about my Amazing Daddy, who flew away from this Earth on the wings of the morning 15 years ago this week? So, I've  come to the conclusion that I will combine all of the above! How's that for decisiveness!!
First topic is Potato Chips!!! As you probably know, Frito-Lay is having a special contest, whereby customers were able to suggest new flavors of potato chips, and then all of us (John and Jane Q. Public) get to vote on which is the best, and that one will then become a regular flavor in their line of products.  Apparently, I wasn't paying attention for awhile, because it took me some time to notice that there was something going on. When Ms. J. told me how much she loved the Wasabi Ginger flavor, suddenly I was all up in this phenomena of new chip flavors!!  I love Cappuccino, but sadly, I do not want it on my potato chips, thank you very much.  Also,  (I know, I know, I have to go against the grain) since I have not eaten bacon since the 1970's (I gave myself away there--#middleagedproblems), I ruled out the Cheddar Bacon Mac'n'cheese flavor. Besides, there are just too many things going on there anyway.  So, the first one I found was this one.  It's wavy, and it's mango-ey, and it's salsa-ey.  I fell in love with mangoes when I visited Brasil a few years ago, so now I love everything mango. The added bonus is that it gives me all the special nostalgia of my time in Brasil.  I love these chips!  The next ones I managed to find were these!!  
Oh Em Gee!! It's like sushi on a chip!! I couldn't decide which one I liked best for awhile, (I insisted it was whichever one I was eating at the time) but I have come to the conclusion that it is the Sushi one!!  To make it even cooler, even My Vegan Daughter can eat them!!  So, I need to go to the  Do us a Flavor Contest, and vote for  Meneko Spigner McBeth of Sewell, NJ 's chip flavor, and hope that Frito-Lay deems to make it a permanent flavor, because--wasabi!!! Another one of my recent obsessions has been these beautiful things!! 
I had noticed some limited edition flavors of Oreos lately, on my weekly excursions of Adventures in Taking the Daughter Grocery Shopping.  Might I introduce to you, if you have not had the pleasure of becoming acquainted...Caramel Apple Oreo's!! I have fallen in love again!!  The Hubs was skeptical until he tried one, then He quickly became a convert.  I'm saving a few packages of these for closer to Halloween, that is if I can manage to stay away from them for that long!! While we are still talking about food (one of my fave topics) The Hubs and I hit up Huey's on Saturday nite for dinner. As they tell us, "Huey's has been serving up Blues, Brews, and Burgers since 1970".  It has also been voted "Best Burger" in Memphis Magazine's poll, every year since 1984!!  I love the burgers, and I love the fact that you can have a veggie burger or a black bean burger in place of any meat patty on their specialty burgers, since I also haven't eaten cows since the 70's either.  Well, being the fun and fancy free Midtowners that we are, we decided to forego burgers, and each have the Nachos. (Chips piled high with grated cheddar cheese, beef, beans, lettuce, tomatoes, jalapenos and sour cream)  I left off the beef, (and the jalapenos--I'm a wuss) and replaced it with guacamole--so much tastiness, and no cows were harmed in the process! Anyhow, we were not disappointed!!  These nachos were amazing!!!    

                                               

 But, enough of my food reviews for now-- I'm going to have to go make a snack in a few  minutes! 

 

Rock for Love (a benefit for Church Health Center) was a 3 day event.  Fortunately for us, nite one was right around the corner from us, at Crosstown.  The hubs and I decided to meander over and check things out.  There was live music in 5 different locations, with a revolving door of local musicians performing, new art at Crosstown Arts, food trucks, a Hula Hoop Luau at Co-motion, free snacks, and even some free, locally brewed beer!! We even saw some of our favorite neighbors there!!  The Cleveland St. Flea Market got into the spirit as well, with a special origami craft demonstration, while a DJ spun old 45 records.  Everyone was groovin' .   

In other areas, there were singers, musicians, and even some  violinists.

Crosstown Arts, always on the cutting edge of modern artwork, did not fail to provide thought provoking new pieces.    

                                                        

 I finally got to see the inside of  Amurica Photo Studio, and even sneaked a peek at one of their photo booths they weren't using that nite. (I admit it, I snuck a selfie in there too--but you have no proof of it here!)

It was a great nite to be a Midtowner, and we had a great time.  Look closely, and see if you can spot the moon...

So lastly, as advertised, I present to you My Daddy, Paul Vrsek. 

                

I know lots of people think their Dad is the best, but trust me, I know better.  My Dad was amazing.  His parents immigrated from Slovakia just a few years before He was born, and he grew up in a Slovak community in Blue Island IL. He didn't even speak English until He started school.   He's the cute little one there with his Dad and Uncle.  He was married to My Mom for 50 years when he died, after years of struggling with Cancer, and eventually Leukemia.  He was too young, and far too important to us to have gone so soon.

 In 1981,  for Christmas I bought him tickets to see His favorite Artist, Willie Nelson.  We were Country Cool that night!! 

When I married My True Love,  (Yes, that's You Mr. Hubs) My Daddy was there to share in my joy.  And when I became a Mom, He was My Baby's BFF--the best Grandpa ever!!  In our hearts for always...

I could talk about Him forever, but for now we'll leave that for another time...

         Until next time, stayed tuned to see where I meander to next, and peace out...

                 P.S.  Call your Dad and tell Him that you love Him.