This Perfectly Imperfect Life

Hubby's asleep & snoring, my makeup is off, my costume put away and the table is set once again. There are only 33 minutes left in this Halloween. As usual, I'm sad that it's come & gone so quickly! I'm glad I dressed up! Very unlike me and I wasn't the least self conscious! Oddly enough, I felt very comfortable in my 'costume,' even powerful and commanding! I hope you've all had a wonderful & safe Halloween!

Or couple as the case may be! I still say Hubby's mask, though odd as it is (and creepy when he smiled) was cheating since he could take it off and was dressed as he usually is!

You read right! LOVE Halloween, HATE dressing up! Until this year! This is the only pic I could take of myself that didn't make me look like a purple people eater! (I'm actually going for sexy scary witch!)

Last year 1 of our nephew's spent Halloween night here with us because we were leaving for Punkin Chunkin in Deleware in the morning. He was a little freaked out in the morning not because the table was set for those who've passed away but because 1 of the mugs appeared to have been drunk nearly down to the bottom! Unfortunately Hubby was in "let's get out of here mode" and began clearing the table by dumping out the mugs in the sink so I never got to see which one it was! (Our nephew was just up so he didn't notice the which mug!) Hubby has been on notice since to not dump out the mugs in the morning & to let me do it!

Only 2 hours and 47 minutes until Halloween begins! This year I've decided to set the table for this evening and next since I am unsure as to when "the veil between the world's" actually lifts and is thinnest - is it through this evening, All Hallows Eve, into Halloween or is it from Halloween through All Soul's Day on Nov 1st? In past year's I've only set the table Halloween night. I know to some of you this may sound odd, but since my daughter passed , it gives me great comfort to do this. I set out a mug of hot cocoa for her along with Halloween candy and sometimes a Halloween toy or book and something to eat along w/her drink. I also set a place for my Nana with a mug of black coffee (how she liked it), and cups of tea for my Grandma and Mother-in-Law and plates of some desert food to eat. (This year I've put out Little Debbie Pumpkin cookies). This year I've also set out apples and pommegrante in case another way ward soul passes thru w

"All Souls" by Edith Wharton appears in a collection called "The Ultimate Halloween" which I purchased in 2001 and is my favorite in the book! I read it ever year at the time - a bit of an annual tradition I suppose! Ms. Wharton wrote a lot of "ghost stories," a lot I've read but I love this one! Description of place and experience is vivid - you feel the cold as you go through the story with Sara Clayburn! (It's not Stephen King so it won't scare the ever living pants off you but it is suspenseful and a little creepy!)

I've added more music to my playlist here, in keeping with the season of course and I hope you enjoy!

Halloween is literally 25 & a half hours away! How is it that each year this month takes forever to get here and then flies by so fast?! I'm already a little sad! The leaves are finally pretty much at peak colors here - such vibrant reds, yellow & orange - what leaves are left on the trees & bushes that is! This past Saturday was high winds & heavy rain as was yesterday! (Some lucky ducks in Central and North West NJ got snow accumulations!!! We just had a snow shower for about 10 minutes that didn't stick to anything). Well, I'm off to either do my annual reading of Edith Wharton's short story called "All Souls" (from a collection called "The Ultimate Halloween" which has some other great shorts too) or fall asleep for the night, whichever happens first!

I still can't believe all this! Now that I've worked out the kinks to my editing system, the next days should go more smoothly! But, I did accomplish my new daily goal of doing a minimum of 10 days worth of posts from the manuscript, so I'm feeling good about that! I think I've even got a title for my book! But, that's top secret for now! When I've submitted my manuscript to be printed, I'll let ya'll know the title! This is all so very exciting!!!

I've just "edited" 10 days worth of blog posts from my '07 NaNoWriMo manuscript, then I've got to continue writing about our trip up to New England and finally I've got to get my thoughts together for this year's NaNoWriMo, which starts in 4 days! Huh - Guess I'm a writer!!!

Amazing! I'm going to have a book published! -----Original Message----- From: "Chris Baty" < noreply@nanowrimo.org > Sent: Fri, 24 Oct 2008 11:02:40 Pacific Daylight Time Subject: [NaNoWriMo] Free printing for 2007 winners Dear NaNoWriMo 2007 Winner, Last November, you and those typing fingers of yours did something amazing. And while you were busy bashing out your novel, we were frantically trying to line up a prize worthy of your feat. Our goal was to find a self publishing company who would give every NaNo winner a free copy of his or her winning manuscript in paperback book form. It's taken us until now, but we've finally found them. CreateSpace, an Amazon.com Inc. owned company, is generously offering every NaNoWriMo 2007 winner a "free proof copy" of their 2007 manuscript. What this means: A free proof copy of your manuscript in paperback book form---just by following the instructions below. They'll even cover the costs of basic shipping

Click on any of the pics to enlarge them to see details ~ I'll be posting all of the pics I took to an online Picasa album asap! I just tried to do a 'best of' with these posts. I'm also going to be writing about my time in MA, to start though I think I'm going to break it up into 3 parts!

2nd to last break before finally making it back to our truck! (26 miles via bike later!) This is also the break before the last one which I ended up dumping my bike so I wouldn't go into the murky duck & landed on the black top because some a-hole rode too close to me & caused me to swerve!

This would be me, on the way back to our truck in Ayer, resting along the Nashua River Rail Trail. Notice how not happy I look here?!

Finally! Now let's go back!

After lunch in Pepperel & before the last 3 miles to New Hampshire.

Along the Nashua River Rail Trail - Vic's asking how far to food, bathrooms & New Hampshire!

Taken right before the start of our bike ride in Ayer on the Nashua River Rail Trail. Notice how happy I am here?!

My gorgeous husband! (Taken during dinner @ the campground Fri 10/17).

Another pic from behind the Bait & Tackle shop in Littleton.

This beautiful spot is behind the Bait & Tackle shop down the road from our campground in Littleton.

Isn't this a gorgeous statue?! While Vic ran over to Bunghole Liquors to see if they had some Woodchuck Cider (now there's a sentence you don't say or hear everday!) I saw this one the window of (yet another) New Age/Wiccan shop and just had to take a pic! I wish they had it in a small sized version, I just liked it so! This big version would be beautiful in a garden!

Another one ya just can't make up! (Yes, it says Bunghole Liquors!) You should see the t-shirts for this place!!! LOL!

The Friendship of Salem, docked @ Pickering Warf.

The old Common/Town House where the play Cry Innocent current takes place.

Just a great sign!

The Witch Dungeon Museum. (Thatls Hubby on the right in red!)

This was taken at the Witch Dungeon Museum - a worthy stop! This is the beginning of a short play, the words & names taken from the Witch Trial transcripts and was what I've seen on tv documentaries about the Trials and Salem and the older actress on the left is the same so I was very pleased with the performance! The dungeon jail cells recreation is a tad cheesy in that the scenes are very old (probably made in the 60's or 70's, perhaps 50's!) and it's very very dark, which I know they do to show you how dim the actual cells were but it's difficult to really see inside each cell. The most disturbing (and effective) scene is the hanging scene with 2 women and 1 man hanging from a tree, the executioner with the hood on behind them and another woman watching & waiting to be hanged. More disturbing was the fact that people were posing in front of the scene & having their pics taken!

These are 2 of the fireplaces in the Corwin home. The one with the red glow in it gave me a peculiar feeling. As I walked around the room it was in (the dining room I believe) I began feeling light headed & queasy, my heart racing a bit and started feeling warm. This has happened to me before & I so I just wanted to leave. Vic on the other hand was reading all of the info & taking forever! A voice which wasn't mine said, in my mind, in a very odd & exaggerated manner, "This house is haunted!" I replied in my mind, "Oh give me a flipping break!" The voice repeated itself, "This house is haunted!" I replied (silently!), "Ok, what do you want me to do about it?! I know what was done to the innocent was wrong!" The voice just repeated "This house is haunted!" over & over until we got to the room that was the Corwin's children's room. In there it was cool & pleasant and I felt immediately be

This is the home of Witch Trial Judge John Corwin and is now known as "The Witch House." (Eye roll!) I was disappointed here since it was an unguided tour and seeing that they've let the place deteriorate. There was a leak in the roof that damaged a section upstairs and 1 of the few pieces in the home which actually belonged to the Corwin Family! Vic said he found it hard to believe at $8 a person that they "needed to find someone to donate the roof installation and supplies." Just the money they take in during this month alone could buy a new roof! This is the last structure in all of present day Salem that dates back to 1692, the time of the Hysteria and the Trials and it's going to pot! That doesn't say much for the people running it or for the town itself.

Words from trial transcripts at the foot of the Memorial's entry.

The Witch Trial Memorial - Rebecca Nurse.

We didn't end up going inside here since the lines were a tad long and so was the wait! 2 people told me it was cool - my bff Kat told me it was cheesy! I'm inclined to go with her review! If we ever go back (and not in October) I'll give this one a try!

Next to the 7 Gables, the home of Nathaniel Hawthorne.

The House of the Seven Gables. Fascinating and beautiful! The history of the house is very interesting what with all the many changes to the structure of the house as time passed and the location on the water is amazing! (I cannot imaginw how cold it must be in the Winter!)

Louisa May Alcott. I'm not sure how peaceful it is for the author's in Author's Ridge, what with all the people coming to see their graves & get pencil/charcol rubbings of their headstones but it was nice to see the flowers, pine cones & what nots left to them as a thank you and respect.

A beautiful, beautiful place.

Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Nathaniel Hawthorne and family.

Author's Ridge section

The wind died down, it's dim with the cloud cover and all I could hear is the cricket outside our bedroom window! It was just a moment but it was wonderful! Now the cars are passing by again, work trucks are banging around in the distance & the wind is starting to shake the drying colorful leaves. The air is a little warmer & more balmy than earlier. We're supposed to get gusty wind & rain later today and tomorrow and another storm late weekend into next week. There go the leaves!

I've got to catch up on Thurs & Fri, but here's where we were at one point along the Nashua River Rail Trail that goes from Ayers MA into Nashua, New Hampshire. A beautiful & LONG ride via bike - 13 miles there and 13 miles back equals 26 miles! Yup you heard me right! We biked 26 scenic autumn foliage galored miles! I nearly ended up in the swamp because some jerk swerved at me on purpose.  I was headed down hill a bit so to avoid ending up in the water, I dumped the bike and fell.  I was fine, but I may never walk again. 26 miles. And I literally cleaned my plate of appetizer, entree and dessert for dinner which took us all of 15 minutes to drive to in NH! Hubby told me all Marines have a second birthday, the Marine Corps birthday and because I did this, he told me I could have this day as my second birthday.

I immediately fell into awe when I caught sight of Louisa May Alcott's home as we pulled up to it! I think I started holding my breath as I took these pics! I was walking the very foot paths Louisa and her family did each day so long ago! So I wouldn't have to wait a 1/2 hour until another tour started, the ladies were nice enough to bring me to one that had already started. (The lovely woman who was the tour guide brought me to the 3 rooms I missed at the beginning once the tour was done & right before another started!) My heart was pounding in my chest and tears kept threatening to well up in my eyes as I listened to the history of the home and the Alcott's. I wish I could've been alone in Louisa's room for a few moments so I could try to picture her there, writing away at her desk's, day and night. What a wonderful, warm & creative home with Louisa & her writing and May & her art! (Though I don't get as much of a warm feelin

The Concord School of Philosophy @ Orchard House, Concord MA.

Concord, MA.

Concord MA.

The Tagament heartburn med mascot!!! (Ok, it was our just our fire last night but I'm tellin' ya, watch the commercial & you'll see!)

Yanni's some where along the Hudson River in NY! The BEST salad EVER! (Pecan crusted chicken w/dried cranberries, some kind of crumbled cheese, tomato's, lettuce mix and balsamic vinnegrette dressing!)

Coxsackie is a beautiful town in NY. Imagine the fun one could have with address labels!!!

Look at this beauty in NY! On the Thru Way I think! And it was CLEAN!

We're still in NJ but got an early start last night & stayed overnight in Newton so we wouldn't have to worry about all the commuter traffic getting out of our area even at 3 o'clock in the morning! I still feel it's odd being a tourist in my own state! I think we're in Augusta.

Taken while on Route 206 in NJ. The Autumn colors are GORGEOUS up here! (Hard to see in this pic I know but it's difficult to get them all to come in when we're moving so fast!)

Another picture perfect Autumn day has given way to a crystal clear night with a nearly 3/4 full moon overhead. Unlike yesterday's balmy day turned balmy evening, as today's sun set, the slight humidity and stuffiness in the air faded with the light and a crisp chill replaced it! I could see my breath by the time we arrived home just before 9pm! I'm surprised I hear a cricket still chirping outside the bedroom window! The moon could light up the livingroom and our bedroom if I opened the curtains! (Sometimes I like to lie in bed with the curtains open to gaze up at the moon - it's very comforting). I feel so alive and in tune with things at this time of year! Strange, I keep getting an icy tingly sensation along my right arm!