Scaring the Neighborhood Kids

Okay, I have to admit--we really have fun freaking out the neighborhood kids.

We had a TON of trick or treaters tonight (I think the word spread) and we went through over 10 bags of candy.

Our "display" this year included a 6 foot tall, moving and talking creepy butler, music, lights, 2 fog machines, a talking skull, strobe lights and more. We even got a few screams of terror when the butler moved and talked (which really only makes it worse...now we just want to make it more extreme next year). People even posed for photos with our creepy butler. What a blast!

Here is a sampling of photos of our "haunted house" this year:

Who knows...next year, we might add some live actors to add to the "scare factor". Anyone want to sign up for zombie duty?

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from the Scary Clown and Strawberry Shortcake!

Here are a few more photos of some of our friends in costume for your enjoyment...

Happy Halloween to all!

Happy 9th Birthday, Smoke!

Today is the 9th birthday our greyhound, Smoke.

He spends most of his days looking out the front window of our house and watching the world go by. He spends his free time barking at other dogs, rabbits and cats. When he isn't doing that, he is one of the most laid-back dogs I have ever seen in my life. Sometimes we have to beg him to get off the couch just to eat his dinner.

Some days I feel bad that he had to spend four years on a racetrack before we were able to rescue him.

However, I think he is really getting a lot of enjoyment out of his 5 years (so far) of retirement.

Tonight we celebrated by sitting out on our deck and treating both of our dogs to some Frosty Paws (doggie ice cream).

Tonight, I raise my glass to you, Smoke. May you have many more years of enjoying your retirement, lounging on the couch, gnawing on bones and barking at other dogs walking by our house.

And may the life we've given you make up for the time you spent on the racetrack.

Spatini!

One of the things that my husband and I had in common growing up, was how both of our families made their spaghetti sauce. Both of our Moms made spaghetti sauce by mixing tomato sauce or paste (along with any meat or onions or tomatoes, etc.) with a spice mix called Spatini.

Spatini is a dry packet of herbs and spices. I'm not really sure what is in it. The ingredients are kind of vague. They mention a few items specifically (carrot powder and beet powder being two of the more unusual ones listed), but they also list "spices" and "natural flavor". In my mind, it sort of tastes like onion powder, garlic powder with just a dash of sugar and maybe some celery salt among other things. In any case, we used it in sauces. We sprinkled it on pizza. We added it to sauce from a jar. It just simply made everything better.

When I moved to Tennessee for the first time in 1996, we discovered that it was something we couldn't get at any of the grocery stores. I used to have my parents ship it to me and/or we would bring it home with us whenever we would go back to visit PA.

On our last visit home over Labor Day, we discovered we couldn't find it in any stores. It struck immediate fear in my heart.

Sure enough, upon an internet search, I discovered that the parent company (Lawry's) no longer made it. It was discontinued in stores at the beginning of 2007. However, due to our stash, we didn't discover it until it was too late. I began to wonder exactly how I was going to ration our final packet in our cupboard. How would I ever be able to enjoy homemade sauce in the same way again?! It was a sad discovery. I think my husband's reaction when he heard the news about the discontinuation of Spatini was something like..."What?!?!?!"

I emailed my family in Pennsylvania to sweep the stores looking for it one more time. People were selling packets on Ebay ($130.00 for a case). I discovered an online petition to bring it back (and signed it). I contemplated purchasing a recipe online that claimed it was a copycat recipe. I searched Big Lots and every other store in town. No luck.

I complained to one of my friends at work about my dilemma. (He is Italian, originally from the Northeast and he loves food, so I knew he would have sympathy for my situation.) He nodded and listened to my heartfelt venting about discontinued seasoning although I am sure that even he thought I was a little emotionally attached to this packet of spices.

About a month passed.

Today, I went to get my nails done over my lunch hour and my work friend called my cell phone. He was at a bulk-type food store in Nashville that he had run to over lunch. He thought he saw "some of this Spatini that I spoke so highly of". He described it. He spelled it. Eureka! They had five packets left at just under $5.00 each. "BUY THEM ALL!", I exclaimed while nice Vietnamese woman who was doing my nails looked at me strangely. I can't imagine what she thought I was buying.

He brought the beautiful red and green packets back to work with him. They were bigger than the ones I used to buy at the grocery store. In fact, they were much bigger. 15 ounces each to be exact. I had 75 ounces of Spatini. Each of these packets contained enough Spatini to make 70 servings of sauce. I have 5 packets. Do you realize what this means?

I HAVE ENOUGH SPATINI IN MY POSSESSION TO MAKE 350 SERVINGS OF SAUCE.

Today is one of the best days ever.

Do You Like a Good Thrill?

Well, we're doing it again. We're off to do something that is not typical for two adult, working professionals. (I sometimes think we will never grow up - - we just grow older.)

Thursday night, we are cashing in some free flights and hotel points and we are traveling to Universal Studios in Orlando for the weekend to ride roller coasters by day (at Islands of Adventure) and experience their Halloween haunted houses at night (Halloween Horror Nights).


We're not talking about just any haunted houses, but scary looking haunted houses. Professionally scary looking haunted houses. Haunted attractions that look so scary, the online information about them made my palms sweat a little bit.

So why do we ride roller coasters and go to haunted houses and watch scary movies and ski down steep mountains? Shouldn't we be sensible? Why do we want to raise our heart rates, feel that rush of adrenaline and make our palms sweat?

We all spend so much time trying to get that close parking spot, sleeping on the most comfortable mattress, sitting on the softest couch and using the best fabric softener. I sometimes think that we sort of become "comfort addicted" and maybe a little bit numb.

Do we become so used to our routines of driving in our comfortable, air conditioned cars to our comfortable air conditioned jobs so that every now and then we have to remind ourselves what it feels like to need to scream about something? Do we just need to be reminded every now and then what it feels like to be - - alive?



This weekend I want to experience some extreme roller coasters I've never been on. I want to feel the wind to blow through my hair at high speeds. I want to stand in line for attractions that will probably make my skin crawl, make me uncomfortable, cause me to jump a mile and probably make me scream out loud.

When I am sitting at my comfortable desk next week, sipping coffee and sending emails, I can think back with satisfaction and remember, "That's what it feels like to be alive."

And then I'll come home and read Consumer Reports to research which fabric softener is the softest while I lounge on my squishy mattress in my air conditioned bedroom.