We had another Halloweenie here on Blethen Street and although the weather was not ideal for little ghouls and goblins, I enjoyed a visit from six of them.  I handed out “Power Crunch” kids protein snack bars.  And Moxie.  It warmed my heart when one mother told me “we like coming to your house because we know you will have Moxie.”

All Hail Halloweenie!  If you’re lamenting the passage of my least favorite red letter day, here’s my favorite post about it.

Life has been intensely busy and surprisingly beautiful lately.  Martha Stewart (who is apparently a Halloweenie kind of person) might say “It’s all good.”  Yes, it’s all good, but I’m spread very thin.  And working diligently to hide how very thin I’m spread.  Blogging and writing has taken a back seat to things like…

An impromptu family birthday celebration for my Aunt Rita’s 88^th.  This blog post features a picture of youthful Aunt Rita.  Like my father, Rita too was “Tops Among Teens” when she was in high school.

My cousin Joanne planned everything.  I merely made sure my house was clean and supplied two coolers full of ice.  I love a party and I was ecstatic to have 21 people in the house.  We took a lot of pictures and this picture of my Baumer cousins was a favorite.

(Top to bottom, left to right are Rick Helfen, Julie-Ann Baumer, John Baumer, Beth Baumer Leblanc, Joan Nigro, Peter Rovnak, Kaye Bell, Joanne Baumer Huston, and Mary-Ann Morgan.)

All Saints Day was a repeat of this day in 2017.  Remember?  When that big pine tree blew down in my back yard?  It was mild and the wind blew ferociously all day.  No trees blew down here, thankfully.

And today is opening day of hunting season for Maine residents.  This year, I’m both a Maine resident and a licensed hunter.  I’ve got an “any deer” permit, a blaze orange vest, and a Weatherby rifle.  The hunting man and I will go this afternoon “just because.”  I’m not in a hurry; I’d actually like to get my deer on our family land at the end of November when things cool down.

“Do you have room in your freezer for a deer?” the hunting man asked me.

“Sure.”

I’ll just push aside the blueberries in my freezer.  I have them so I can make Marjorie Standish’s “Melt in Your Mouth Blueberry Cake” all winter.  I’ll be giving a talk about Standish at the Pejepscot Historical Society’s “History Happy Hour” on November 14 at The Brunswick Inn, 165 Park Row, Brunswick.  The event starts at 5:00 p.m.

In spite of the disorganized mess that is my life, I made it to church for All Saints Day.  I will need all of the saints on my side to get through the many things leading up to this most wonderful time of the year.

“The golden evening brightens in the west; soon, soon to faithful warriors cometh rest.  Sweet is the calm of Paradise the blest…”