Bee Afraid, Bee Very Afraid...

Spooktacular Greetings!

Halloween is here,

and I am busier than a dog with two tails...

poor Emma - I guess Mommy got a wee bit carried away with her new cauldron,

luckily it's only a twenty-four hour spell, and you'll be good as new tomorrow :)

Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

I just got back from the cleaners,

I'm thinking I probably should have dropped off my hat for a light pressing as well...

The poison treats are all set out in anticipation of our victims Trick-or-Treaters.

My little helper is impatiently waiting for you to arrive!

We hope to see you soon...

Spooktacular Greetings!

Just returned from a long walk; it's frightfully windy out there, but the mild air 

and gorgeous blue skies lend more of a springlike, than fallish, feel to the day. 

I managed to remember my camera today and here are a few pics, 

including ones of the home mentioned in Thursday's post.

Miaow, Miaow - what would Halloween be without a giant black cat?

Scaring up some fun!

These homeowners certainly have gotten into the spirit of the season...

This is quite gruesome if you could see it in the flesh...

This must look great under the cover of darkness...

Shelob from Lord of the Rings comes to mind...

Lol!!

At the halfway point, we refuelled at Tim Horton's;

this car came through the drive-thru :) 

'The Hobbit' As Tolkien Imagined It

Greetings!

It's been quite windy here the past few days, as a result...

this was what things were looking like on Sunday,

and here's today...lol!

Kind of depressing to say the least :( 
I just returned from a long walk and had to wear my hood the whole way;
the wind is quite nippy in spots.
On my walk I passed a number of homes that were very decked out for Halloween.
No pics to share as I forgot to take my camera with me today grrrr - 
I remembered when I was three blocks from home and decided against turning back. 
Hopefully tomorrow I'll have a few shots to share with you - one house had a whole
graveyard set up, complete with freshly dugs graves!

Aren't these amazing? I stumbled across them at StumbleUpon :)

The below images and descriptions are courtesy of The Guardian (guardian.co.uk)
I try to keep an ear to the ground for all things surrounding The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings
and these were published in Monday's edition. Peter Jackson's facebook page hasn't had an update in many weeks - I had high hopes for it when it was first announced, but it's turned out to be a big disappointment. If interested, The Hobbit Movie is an interesting site.

When The Hobbit was first published almost 75 years ago, JRR Tolkien provided a set of wonderful illustrations. But buried among the author's papers were 110 drawings, watercolours and sketches, some of which have never been published before. Here are some of the earliest images.

Smaug Flies Round the Mountain 

This watercolour is similar in composition to Smaug Flies Around the Lonely Mountain. Beyond the bridge are the ‘ancient steps’ by which Bilbo and the dwarves climb the ‘high bank’, and the road running around the spur to the path leading up to the look-out post. To the right are the ruins of Dale

Smaug Flies Around the Lonely Mountain 

This is probably the earliest of four pictures of Smaug flying around the mountain, and is an untitled ink drawing with an elaborate sky. It appears to be set in daylight, though in The Hobbit Smaug flies only at night. The dragon is black against the mountainside, as is the front gate and Ravenhill on the south-west spur. At the bend of the river are the remains of the old bridge that Bilbo and the dwarves cross in chapter 13 (‘most of its stones were now only boulders in the shallow noisy stream’)

The Lonely Mountain 

This drawing is demonstrably set at night, the dragon a stark white against a jet-black sky. Although this and The Lonely Mountain are more finished drawings, neither seems to have been offered to Allen & Unwin for publication – because they were made too late, perhaps, or because they contain varied greys or dense blacks not well suited to line-blocks

The White Dragon Pursues Roverandom and the Moondog. When producing his art for The Hobbit, Tolkien borrowed from his short story Roverandom, which was written for his son, Michael

Smaug in Flight and Dwarves Marching 

This earlier image was reused in Thror's Map, and on the dust jacket of The Hobbit.

Body Beautiful and Face to Match!

Spooky Greetings!

Monday's With Mireille will be returning soon, (now that my summer siesta is over :)

but in the meantime, there's always Grizelda the Ghastly Gourmet to inspire us. 

This Will Terrify You...

"Are you ready for your daily session with fear?"

You Know It's Fall When...

Sunday Greetings!

We had our first real fire of the season last night :) This pic is one I scooped off google images - I forgot to get out my camera and catch Emma who'd cozied up just about as close as this puppy. Our wood stove is in the basement and is very efficient to say this least; it wasn't long before we were too warm, lol! We've actually been using our gas fireplace upstairs in the mornings for the last month or more. A sure indicator of what we already knew; winter's on it's way!

Here's a very yummy tea to drink on colder evenings :) I discovered it when I was in Nelson, BC a few weeks ago and it's my current favorite. It's Delicious, but I freely admit packaging often plays a big part in my enjoyment of a product - I love the tin! Not sure who all carries it, but I bought some more in London Drugs the other day, if interested.

Another sure sign that our weather will be changing soon. This was snapped Friday afternoon, you've got to act fast - they cover a lot of sky in a very short time! We have a pond directly behind our home and the geese make a pit-stop there; I've been seeing (& hearing!) waves and waves of them over the past few days.

This is a smaller pond a few blocks from home. We often remark on this pointless sign as we pass by it on walks. You've been warned lol!

I'm presently getting ready for my mom, who arrives tomorrow evening from southern Ontario for ten days. I'm extremely pleased to say that for the first time ever, I have not taken any extreme measures: no major housecleaning from top to bottom, no marathon cooking sessions (we will be 'winging it') - she'll have to take us as we are: warts and all! Seeing as I've lived away from relatives for over twenty years, I'm not used to the 'drop in'. In most cases I've had many weeks notice that company would be arriving and would start preparing from that point forward - so that everything would be perfect. A whole lot of pressure I put on myself - nothing anyone expected, but age and hopefully maturity have finally caught up with me, I guess!

I was planning on doing a bit of housekeeping outside this afternoon. Our leaves are coming down in droves and I probably should get out there and rake them over towards the flower beds, but I've decided to leave them for today. All in due time. It's like a painting and I really just want to enjoy it for now.

Hoping the rest of your weekend is lovely :)

We Have A Winner!

"One dozen mice... add to cart... checkout."

Thanks WebDebris (Remembering the 70's)!

If you haven't already checked out this blog, I suggest moseying on over,

it features toys, music, movies, clothing & much more from the 70's!

Thanks to everyone for participating in Wednesday's caption contest,
all of your submissions were great!

Enjoy your weekend :)

What You Can't See Won't Hurt You...

It'll kill you!!

Greetings! If you are reading this, please be forewarned - according to Harold Camping, the world is going to end today, again! In the meantime, we all may as well enjoy what's left of our miserable existence...

I think most people love to be frightened - it seems to be in our nature. For me, there are fewer things more exhilarating than a scary movie; and except for the Exorcist, (which I never actually saw on the big screen) John Carpenter's 1980 classic The Fog, is my all-time scariest. 

My then boyfriend and I were already very jumpy by the time the movie was over, but it was the walk home that sent us both right over the edge. The winter night was cold and silent, except for the crunch, crunch, crunch of each step. Icy wind clawed our faces. Eyes watched from inside each parked car. When it came time to walk me those last two blocks before he could turn back and head home, Mike chickened out and I had to sprint them alone. It was sheer, unbridaled terror that propelled me down those streets, lol!! 

What's your movie?

The Fog starred Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh

A Monster of a Slipper!!

The story below was found at the Huffington Post site today - you can't make this stuff up!

Londoner Tom Boddingham received this a gigantic 1,450 monster claw slipper from a Chinese manufacture who missed a decimal point in his order.

The 27 year-old from Ilford, East London, tried to order a special size 14.5 shoe to fit his one oversized foot, but ended up with a seven-foot long novelty claw from Monster Slippers. They sent him a normal sized slipper for his other foot.

The British-based company blamed a translation error in Hong Kong.

A company spokesman said: ‘They messed up and didn’t notice the decimal point, so here we are with a blinking great slipper that’s equivalent to a size 1,450.”

Boddingham, who can fit snuggly inside his enormous footwear, said: “it measures the same length as a grizzly bear or a family car".

He plans to sell it on eBay.

Jane's Jewels Is One!

One year ago today Jane's Jewels was born!

I just want to say how much I appreciate everyone who stops by:

~ YOU make my day ~

The above picture is from that fateful first post (now no peeking!).
As part of today's celebrations, I am holding a caption contest.

What is Misses Meowmix thinking/writing/reading/muttering to herself?

I plan to post this picture and the winning caption along my sidebar :)

As well, please share what post or topic from the past year was your favorite.

I'd love to know!

This was mine!

Doesn't everyone garden in their housecoat?

Thanks for visiting and have a great day!

When Less Feels Like More

Monday Greetings!

I trust your weekend was a good one. We've had overnight frost three times in the past week and the ferns, like everything else in my yard, have just about had the biscuit. With winter right around the corner, I finally made it my mission this weekend to get ruthless with the clutter that has so stealthily snuck up on us. I usually do this at least once a year, but have been lax in the past few and it was beginning to take it's toll. Every closet in this house was FULL!

Streamlined :) 

The first spot I tackled on Saturday was my main closet. The week before last, I transferred my summer clothes to another closet, and the fall/winter ones over, but I really hadn't gone through everything with a critical eye. Everything that didn't fit properly, was getting dated, worn or I never liked in the first place (why do I buy belts? - I so seldom wear them!) was bagged up. Isn't it incredible how much stuff we end up with that we're always kind of meh about. I even went so far as to separate my out my summer jewelry, scarves and shoes. Now my closet currently houses 1/4 the amount it previously did and it feels GREAT! I know from past experience, that getting dressed will be much easier for the next while - I find I make better and quicker decisions when faced with less choices. I think it's human nature - for example, have you ever given your children too many options for what they could have for lunch? Or what movie to watch? A lot of humming and hawing and no one can seem to agree on the same thing.

On Sunday, I continued the de-hoarding throughout the rest of the house. We had more suitcases than Joan Rivers on an overnight stay at the Hilton! My dear husband (like a lot of men I suspect) doesn't like parting with anything, but he eventually gave in - or up hehe! Today I feel organized and got in a decent workout to boot :)

A few rules I find useful when organizing are:
~Tackle messes one room at a time.
~Ask yourself if you really need something. If you hesitate, you don't.
~If you haven't worn it in a year, (unless it's a special occasion outfit) you probably won't again.
~If you've replaced it, (ie: keyboard, coffee maker, suitcase, coat) get rid of it.
~Get everything you are parting with of out of the house - it's all in my car until my Goodwill run tomorrow - but allow yourself a cooling off period (a day or two) in case you are having second thoughts about a particular item.

Here are the two things I could never have too much of ...

In fact, I did take a quick look at my books, but couldn't do it!

The less is more principle can follow through in so many areas of our lives. We've been dieting; really just eating smaller, simpler meals.  As a result we weigh less, yet have way more energy and more of our clothes fit properly! I'm also spending less time in the kitchen - so now I have more time...

This Monster, weighing in at 1,486.6 pounds, is not an example of less is more!

The squash, grown in St. Thomas, Ontario, has easily flattened all previous world records.
You might think something this size would be inedible, but Mr. Jarvis states
he and his wife made delicious soup out of another giant last year.
 The full story here.

That's all for today, if you have any organizing tips you'd like to share, I'm love to hear them.
I think it's a constant battle for all of us :)

Cheers!

Lost and Co(r)nfused

Spooky Greetings!

I know that Halloween is still two weeks away, but seeing as it's my favorite holiday, I plan to celebrate until it arrives :) All coincidences, strange bumps in the night and premonitions will be duly noted and shared! The above display is around the corner from my home. There's a grade school directly across the street - I like that this family goes all out every year (in fact their house is decked from top to bottom) - I'm sure the little goblins love it.

To begin our Halloween theme of the strange, odd and downright weird, I'll share with you the odd effect I appear to have on red lights: I attract them! I've noticed (and if you have ever driven anywhere with me, as either the driver or passenger, you will have also noted) that I seem to end up as the first car at a red light, more often than not. Intersection after intersection; day upon day! I'm not sure how long this has been happening, I only started noticing it a couple of years ago on my way to and from work and then began pointing it out to fellow passengers. Weird or what.

Then there are the moments I have perfect timing. Here is another piece of Frankoma I fortuitously stumbled across. As I had mentioned in this post last week, I seldom to never come across Prairie Green, in fact I rarely see Frankoma pottery of any kind. However, this past Wednesday I was just about to head out empty-handed after scouring Goodwill for close to an hour and a little voice (no, I kid you not) said to me "Don't forget about Frankoma, Jane" - I took two more steps, turned my head to the right and this piece jumped out at me. It was in amongst a jumble of mish-mash; in perfect condition. I literally had chills...

Here's a new field for you: Unicornomics. 

I had good look through this amusing book on Friday; very detailed and totally hilarious! 

And lastly, speaking of corn and fields, did you hear about the family who got so lost inside this 7-acre cornfield maze in Massachusetts that they had to call police to rescue them?  It was getting dark, the mosquitoes were attacking and they had a three-week old baby with them. I wonder if they're blonde?

Is There Anybody Out There?

Greetings!

If you have followed this blog for any amount of time, you will know that I have struggled with the amount of time I devote to my new found addiction: Blogging! On October 19th, Jane's Jewels will celebrate it's very first birthday :) This past year has seen me go from posting numerous times each and every day, to posting once a day, to taking weekends off, to posting only on Tuesdays, to taking the entire month of August off (actually, I thought I was 'done'), to blogging every second day, but with the comments section turned off ... Whew!

Part of the reason for the no comments option of late, was that I felt I was falling into the trap of judging each post's worth by the amount of comments it generated. Not good. That being said, I know that my experience is not unique; other bloggers I've followed have expressed these same concerns, many struggle with dry spells and some have even chosen to stop blogging altogether.

Therefore, after much consideration, I've decided it is time to reopen Jane's Jewels to comments - ultimately because I believe a blog should be a shared experience; a conversation (hopefully) - that's partly why I started blogging in the first place - it's certainly not an online diary - which is what I think a blog turns into once it shuts out it's audience and all exchange. For my part, I promise to try to keep things in perspective!

Jane's Five Commandments:

-I will not obsessively check my stats.

-I will not judge my blog by the amount of traffic or comments it may or may not generate.

-I will not spend inordinate amounts of time online.

-I may not reply to comments everyday, but this doesn't mean I don't appreciate them.

-I will not eat, live and breathe my blog!

Do you also struggle with the amount of time you spend online?
There's so much out there; I just discovered Pinterest today :)

Look Up, Look Way Up...

Greetings! If you are a skygazer, you will be looking at a full moon tonight :) This full moon is often referred to as the Full Hunter's Moon, Blood Moon, or Sanguine Moon. I like the following description, courtesy of the Farmer's Almanac:

"Many moons ago, Native Americans named this bright moon for obvious reasons. The leaves are falling from trees, the deer are fattened, and it’s time to begin storing up meat for the long winter ahead. Because the fields were traditionally reaped in late September or early October, hunters could easily see fox and other animals that come out to glean from the fallen grains. Probably because of the threat of winter looming close, the Hunter’s Moon is generally accorded with special honor, historically serving as an important feast day in both Western Europe and among many Native American tribes."

Princess of Darkness lol!

Perhaps a cup would go nicely with our full moon tonight?

As promised, here are a few pics from our trip to Nelson last week. With fall colors on full display and leaves literally raining down like confetti in spots it was, needless to say, a very lovely drive.

These two were snapped at 120 km/h :)

The following were taken in Nelson:

A faithful reader forwarded me this pic today of a very pretty lane she travelled down yesterday near Erin, Ontario - looks like it should be on a postcard.

I'm pleased to say that while in Nelson, I did some shopping towards a certain holiday which is rapidly approaching... I actually started my shopping two weeks ago, with three gifts purchased for our daughter.  It feels good to get ahead of the rush and I hope to have everything 'wrapped up' literally and figuratively by the end of October. If you haven't started your shopping yet, what are you waiting for? Get out there while the weather is still beautiful! Like the chocolate bar in my bedside table: it won't be here much longer!


A few weeks ago, I stocked up on enough toilet paper and paper towels to take us through the winter. I did the same thing last fall and it was sooo nice not to have to run out in the bitter cold for these larger items. As well, last fall I also stocked up on laundry detergent, fabric softener, dishwasher tabs etc. - this is something I still need to do, hopefully over the next week or so. 

I leave you with this pic which was taken on our return trip home. 

Looks cold up in them thar mountains, doesn't it? 


Cheers!