We were up and ready to go early because we had an appointment with the kids at Roger’s Gardens at 11:00 am. The Farmhouse opens at 11:30 am, so we had thirty minutes to walk through this year’s Halloween displays!
We go every year. See last year’s visit right here.
We entered with great fear, for the displays are spooky and the other customers are even spookier! Everywhere we looked, scary things were waiting to be brought to a new home. We will return and spend much more time when Robin is with us!
We spent a good thirty minutes taking it all in. In one corner, they had a display of what happens when you mix dog breeds. For example:
Airedale + Spaniel = Airiel, a dog that brings in good TV reception
Basenji + Schipperke = Baserke, a dog that’s mad about its owner
Bloodhound + Labrador = Blabador, a dog that barks incessantly
Bloodhound + Borzoi = Bloody Bore, a dog that’s not much fun
Bull Terrier + Shitzu = Bullshitz, a gregarious but unreliable breed
Chihuahua + Whippet = Chiapet, order from TV ads; 3 for $19.95
Cocker Spaniel + Rottweiller = Cockrot, the perfect puppy for that philandering ex-husband
Collie + Lhasa Apso = Collapso, a dog that folds up for easy transport
Collie + Malamute = Commute, a dog that travels to work
Deerhound + Terrier = Derriere, a dog that’s true to the end
Great Pyrenees + Dachshund = Pyradachs, a puzzling breed
Irish Water Spaniel + English Springer Spaniel = Irish Springer, a dog fresh and clean as a whistle
Keeshond + Setter = Keester, you can’t get this dog off its duff
Kerry Blue Terrier + Skye Terrier = Blue Skye, a dog for visionaries
Labrador Retriever + Curly Coated Retriever = Lab Coat Retriever, the choice of research scientists
Malamute + Pointer = Moot Point, owned by….oh, well, it doesn’t matter anyway
Maltese + any other breed = Maltese Cross
Newfoundland + Basset Hound = Newfound Asset Hound, a dog for financial advisors
Pekingnese + Lhasa Apso = Peekasso, an abstract dog
Pointer + Setter = Poinsetter, a traditional Christmas pet
Smooth Fox Terrier + Chow Chow = Smooch, a dog who loves to kiss
Spitz + Chow Chow = Spitz-Chow, a dog that throws up a lot
Terrier + Bulldog = Terribull, a dog prone to awful mistakes
Cocker Spaniel + Maltese = Cocktese
We went deeper into the maze and found other things we desperately needed to buy! For example, having an octopus in the office would help with the paperwork! Paperless, they said, when computers came around, phooey! We use more paper now than ever!
But then we found a book that may hold many Halloween secrets! We ended up buying a book for Robin titled SCARE-CUTERIE: Horror-Flavored Spreads and Ghoulish Garnishes for Creepy Creative Entertaining by Lori Hutchinson (also known online as Ghoul at Heart).
This book perfectly bridges the gap between food and decor by showing you how to build spooky cheese plates, design show-stopping centerpieces, and mix up funny, eerie “booze” (cocktails).
What is inside the book you ask about? Mary and I thumbed through it and found:
Funny & Creepy Booze: Includes highly creative cocktail recipes (your “funny booze”) complete with dramatic garnishes, such as the Lethal Injection Colada and the Evil Eye Chiller.
Halloween Cheese Plates & Spreads: Features over 45 spooky food boards—like the “All-Seeing Antipasto” monster face, the “Grim Reaper Butter & Bones,” and the “All Hallows Cheese Board.”
Edible Centerpieces: It teaches you how to craft theatrical food displays that serve as the centerpiece of your table, including tutorials on prosciutto-wrapped skull structures and buttery skulls.
The time was 11:28 am, and it was time to get in line to enter the Farmhouse. We could tell it was getting to be fall by the color of the trees. Leaves turn yellow or gold in fall because trees stop producing chlorophyll, the green pigment used for photosynthesis.
During spring and summer, chlorophyll is constantly being made, so leaves look green. As days get shorter and temperatures drop, the tree begins preparing for winter. It slows down food production and starts pulling nutrients back from the leaves into the branches, trunk, and roots.
When chlorophyll breaks down and isn’t replaced, the green color fades. That reveals pigments that were already in the leaf all along:
- Carotenoids create yellow and gold colors.
- Xanthophylls, a type of carotenoid, are especially responsible for bright yellows.
- In some trees, anthocyanins are produced in fall and create red or purple colors.
So yellow and gold leaves aren’t really “new” colors appearing—they’re hidden colors being uncovered once the green chlorophyll disappears.
Into the restaurant we marched, brave and hungry, and claimed a table guarded by two enormous umbrellas—basically our own private anti-sun force field. Safely shaded from the blazing sky monster, we spent the next hour jabbering away, swapping stories, family updates, and enough gossip to require a small filing cabinet.
We heard more about James’s engineering job, and it sounds quite interesting.
Hannah kept an eye on her two boys to make sure they were behaving. Owen stole the show!
Who? Me?
James and Owen were about to make an early escape so Owen could stay on track for his afternoon nap—very responsible, very suspicious. Sadly, that means our cameraman, James, missed the group photo, but we still managed to capture most of the guilty party! After reviewing the official departure schedule, we have unanimously concluded that Owen was not the only one headed for a nap… James was absolutely in on it too.
We enjoy family, and seeing the girls again was special. Spending time with James and Owen was entertaining, to say the least! We are looking forward to a visit with Diane and Pat, hopefully before the end of the year!
After lunch, we took Hannah and Lisa to their next destinations. We dropped Lisa off at John Wayne Airport for her flight back to San Jose, and we took Hannah to the Bed and Breakfast in Santa Ana. From there, we headed home to await the arrival of Robin.
Dear Hannah and Lisa,
Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy lives to come and see us. I can’t tell you how happy we were to see you both (all) again — it truly meant a lot to us.
I felt very special that you made the effort to spend time with ol’ Uncle Paul. It was also wonderful to see Owen and James. Being together again was such a joy, and I’ll remember it fondly.
With love and appreciation,
Unkle Paul and Dr. Mary
When Robin showed up, we went to our favorite Lebanese restaurant and had an amazing meal! We got so busy talking to the owner about our upcoming party that I forgot to take any pictures! We also tried a different version of the tabbouleh. The girls wanted fewer onions, so the owner created a special onion-less batch! Tabbouleh, also transcribed as tabouleh, tabbouli, tabouli, or taboulah, is a Levantine salad of finely chopped parsley, soaked bulgur, tomatoes, mint, and onion, seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and sweet pepper.
Returning home, we watched “9 to 5” with Dolly Parton, and it was amazing how much of the movie we had forgotten! Here’s some fun trivia about 9 to 5:
- Released in 1980, it starred Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Dolly Parton.
- It was Dolly Parton’s film debut.
- Dolly wrote the famous theme song “9 to 5”, which became a huge hit and earned her Academy Award and Grammy nominations.
- Dolly reportedly wrote the song by clicking her acrylic fingernails together to imitate the sound of a typewriter.
- Lily Tomlin originally turned down the role of Violet Newstead, but later changed her mind after reading the script again.
- The movie was partly inspired by real workplace concerns of the era, especially sexism and unfair treatment of office workers.
- The title comes from the common office workday phrase “nine to five.”
- Dabney Coleman played the awful boss, Franklin M. Hart Jr., and the role became one of his most famous.
- The film was a major box-office success and became one of the biggest comedies of the early 1980s.
- It later inspired a TV series, a stage musical, and ongoing talk over the years of sequels or reunions.
- Jane Fonda helped develop the project after being inspired by stories from women office workers.
- The movie’s fantasy revenge sequences were considered especially bold and memorable at the time.
After the movie, we went to the pool, listened to Disneyland’s fireworks, and watched the moon rise in the east! We solved the world’s problem again, as we do most evenings.
By 10:30 pm, we were all prunes and got out to hit the sack! By 11: 30, the house was so quiet you could hear a mouse (if we had any!).
