Thank you for finding That Old House amidst the chaos of the Internet. We are delighted that you are here.

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Another Carving Throw Down, Halloween Postponed, And a New Dog Gets Named


Whew!  Lots of ground to cover today.
Grab a cup of a comforting beverage -
mine is coffee - and settle in.


New Jersey and New York are beginning the 
long, hard, sad, and expensive cleanup from Sandy.
***Note to Martha at Linderhof -- (Greenport, NY) We walked down this street and the
pier to get to Crabby Jerry's (at the end of the pier) for lunch back in September
when you and Jim visited.  Sandy tore up and destroyed the docks at Crabby Jerry's,
and flooded much of the business district where we walked and browsed.
A little different now from that beautiful Sunday we were there enjoying oysters and clams!
(Photo by Sebastian, from the Suffolk Times website.)
************************************
We grownups are heartsick over the
terrible damage and loss from this massive storm.
But kids have had something else on their minds.
Will this mean there's no Halloween?
Thank you, Graphics Fairy!

Not quite.
But it means that, at least in our town,
Halloween has been moved to Saturday.
No Trick or Treaters today.
************************************
Which might be just as well.  
Another couple of days can give me a chance to redeem myself
in a pumpkin-carving contest in which I am the only competitor.
The other participant is not competing.
Which is odd, 'cause she'd totally win.

Our efforts from a few days ago:

Mine.

Anne's.

You see the problem?

So yesterday, because we were again home due to the storm, we
carved two more innocent pumpkins who had never done us any harm.

Okay.  Our efforts from yesterday:

Daughter Anne's.
A haunted house.  Second Empire, no less.
And to the left of the haunted house, a spooky tree . . .
 To the right of the house, a ghost perches in another tree,
above a cemetery with a weeping angel monument. 

Detail:  Mansard roofs.
This is the second pumpkin Anne has ever carved.

And now (drum roll, please!)
my own carving masterpiece:

I hope you didn't have a mouthful of coffee when you saw that.
It's supposed to be a shoe.  And I really did have a plan.
It just got lost along the way.

My detail:
A pumpkin covered in red Magic Marker lines.
Who knew that wouldn't wipe right off a damp gourd?
I am going to probably ink the whole cutout area in red MM
so you don't see my primitive scribbles.

As I said, I am the only one thinking this is a contest.
It's really not. It's me doing clumsy carving, and Anne
doing her own, patient, art-kid thing.
Ha!  My pumpkin is way bigger than Anne's.
I win.

I hope our Jack O Lanterns last until Saturday!
And don't you think it would be cool to have a
carved turkey pumpkin for Thanksgiving Day?
********************************
Now, about our new family member,
the Cavalier King Charles tricolor boy we
adopted from Cavalier Rescue on Sunday . . . 
Some of you chimed in with name preferences,
from yesterday's post, and most were for Dickens.

"Dickens?  You think I am a little Dickens?"


"I am a mighty hunter!  Go away, leave me with my fresh kill,
a fox that smells oddly of acrylic fake fur and PetCo,
and sadly has no squooshy stuff inside."

Anne and I test-drove "Dickens" as the name for our
new little guy, but he didn't seem to like it.
I liked the name "Pip."  But our dog?
He prefers Dylan.
He already answers to it.  Dylan it is.

BTW when we got into the car to drive home from Dylan's
foster home on Sunday, with the clouds and wind from
Sandy blowing in from the Atlantic, I turned on the radio, and the
first song I heard was Bob Dylan, singing "Shelter From The Storm."
"Let me in!  It's wet out here!"

 s'Truth.

I keep thinking this is Thursday, but it is not.
It's Wednesday.  And there's a chance Howard will be able
to get a bus, or maybe a car service, home from NYC tonight.
Hope so; I miss him!  -- Cass

P.S.  If you spotted a lead hooked to Dylan's collar in his bare-it-all picture, it's because he is not used to walking on lead, and thinks this snake-y thing around his neck is either a toy, or an instrument of torture that must be destroyed.  So we are letting him drag the lead around, to get used to it, and we randomly pick it up, hold it casually, then give him a little treat for not going bonkers.  Hey, I like getting treats for not going bonkers; don't you?

20 comments:

  1. I am so sorry for all the terrible loss and destruction from the storm. It's difficult to take it all in from up here where we only got rain and wind - typical fall weather. Well, Dylan seems to be a fitting name for your new pup. I love his brown eyebrows. And, I think it's a good thing to postpone the trick or treating for a few days. Hopefully the kids will not be disappointed. Blessings, Pamela

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dylan is great name! We continue to be in awe of the power of that storm.......and of your carving talent!

    ReplyDelete
  3. GREAT Pumpkins! You girls did an awesome job!!! I like Dylan- I do think you have to try out a name on the animal itself to see if it fits. I thought at the end there you were going to tell me you changed his name to Stormy! lol xo Diana

    ReplyDelete
  4. I just had to laugh at the pumpkin carving....looks like what would happen to me! Dylan is ADORABLE! I love the tri colors....I am still in shock when I see those photo and the devastation and work that will have to be done to make it right again.....so incredible sad....hope your Saturday Trick or Treat is great!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Cass,
    How sweet is your Dylan...he has such a darling face. Your pumpkins are fun and very festive, the kids will enjoy tricker treating on Sat. better I think and so will the parents. Its very hard on a school night plus the storm damage, best to stay in and watch Charlie Brown.
    Sending hugs and prayers your way, Elizabeth

    ReplyDelete
  6. The dog is so cute, but your pumpkin totally wins the entertainment award of this post... Oh ya, so glad I did not have a mouthful of coffee cuz man on man did I laugh at this! :-)))

    ReplyDelete
  7. Good for you to adopt another pup! And amazing the song on the radio ... So I also think your pumpkin is pretty cool. after all, a pumpkin and a glass slipper go together. My little one would sure love that!

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a great story about Bob Dylan's "Shelter from the storm" on the radio when you left Dylan's foster home. Of course Dylan is the perfect name for him!

    Loved your pumpkin. Did you try a little rubbing alcohol on a cloth to get the magic marker off? Or you could try magic markering over the lines and quickly rubbing it off with a paper towel before the new magic marker has time to dry. Very cool pumpkin!

    Lois in SWPA

    ReplyDelete
  9. Yay! He's so cute...AND I also heart your shoe pumpkin!

    ReplyDelete
  10. You ladies did a great job on the pumpkins! I knew that was a shoe with a heart as soon as I saw the picture!.:D Dylan will learn to walk on a leash soon - he looks like a very smart furbaby.
    I stop to look at the pictures of the devastation on TV and realize my mouth is left open and often teary eyed. :( My heart goes out to those that have lost so much.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Cass, so good to know you are safe. The new family member is absolutely adorable. What a lucky guy to move in with you! All the best to you. Will keep you in our thoughts and prayers.........Happy Halloween! ~ Sarah

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks for pooping in...I don't know anyone in NJ and very few bloggers, but you were on my mind. You obviously kept your wits about you! The pumpkins are fantastic! I'm a shoe loving gal so I really thought yours was cool. Anne of course, has major talent! Be proud!

    Love the name Dylan and boy, he is a cutie! Good idea letting him wear the lead line. We did that with a German Shepherd we had that liked to knock people over. A few days of pulling on that lead ended it.

    Enjoy your Halloween on Saturday!

    XO,
    Jane

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wow! Those pumpkins are great! Yes, even the shoe! *winks* I used rubbing alcohol on my pumpkin to get the black sharpie marks off of it. It's worth a try.
    Cute pictures of that precious 4 legged friend! I just want to hug him!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Love Dylan and his new moniker!
    The pumpkins are great...is your love for shoes scary? ...I thought that was too cute. Hope Howard is home and you are reunited... with no problems.

    Pat

    ReplyDelete
  15. I think Dylan is a perfect name for him, hey Bob Dylan was even singing to Dylan!! :) And love the pumpkins!!! Your daughter is quite talented!! * and so are you! I can totally understand the shoe fettish! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Your daughter is one talented little girl! Wow! Did she follow a pattern or do it freehand? And yours? Well, I think that the red M&Ms is exactly the bling that it needs. Ha! Sometimes size really does matter, doesn't it? LOL
    Funny how he responded to the option of names. is his name pronounced Die-lan or Dillon? I love the pictures of him. Especially the one where he's got the fox in his mouth. Looks like he has one eyebrow arched and is saying "you lookin' at me?" Love it!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Cass,

    I love these pumpkins! Your daughter is incredibly talented! And I love your new pup, so cute.

    I am sorry to hear about the damage to your house and of course the uncertainty of your beach house but as you said, you are so very fortunate. I hope that all will be well and if not, you will fix it!

    Prayers for all of those who are stranded, it is so heartbreaking to see.

    Have a great week, Elizabeth

    ReplyDelete
  18. Was hoping you and your family were not devastated by Sandy, so I checked your blog hoping it was active. What a joyful surprise to see Dylan! He's absolutely adorable! Congratulations to a Lucky dog and a lucky family!
    Liz Langford (Sterling's Mom)

    ReplyDelete
  19. I've TRIED to carve a pumpkin, and mine was unrecognizable as a pumpkin when I was finished.

    Dylan is down right handsome - - - I like him!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Cass,
    My pumpkin carving is limited to triangles for nose and eyes and a mouth. You win. Anne's way out of our league, so technically she doesn't "count".
    Dylan is beautiful, and I am so happy for him and for you all! I think you are all rescuing each other, in fact. Congratulations.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting That Old House; it's always exciting to find new comments -- they are treasured! Because of increasing spam, I have reluctantly eliminated "Anonymous" commenting. Legitimate anonymous commenters, please forgive me! You might try using "Open ID" instead. Blogger's spam software worked for a good long time, but, sadly, no longer.