A FEW FAVORITE THINGS...

Picture submitted by Tami McConnell

Have you ever been flocked?...

Neither have I, but...

Tami, our daughter, has...

Picture submitted by Tami McConnell

Jake came home around midnight the other night...

and woke up Tami and Tim,

 telling them to come look outside.

Picture submitted by Tami McConnell

When she opened the door

 she thought the whole pink flamingo population had exploded 

all over their front yard.

Tami is the physical education coordinator

 for Main Street Elementary School in Soquel.

  One of her young students and her girl scout troop,

 honored Tami with this surprise.

For a small fee,

 a person can call the company and they will send the birds to brighten up a special recipient's day. 

 They leave them on the property for 48 hours. 

 After that time period, Tami called me to say,

 "Mom, I've been deflocked!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Picture submitted by Jake McConnell

This is Jacenda.

  She is our grandson's girlfriend.

  She is such a sweetheart

 and is attending her first year at Santa Clara University.

  She has hopes of becoming a doctor.

  She donated 13 inches of her beautiful hair

 to a breast cancer patient.

Picture submitted by Jake McConnell

Jake and Jacenda

Picture submitted by Jake McConnell

We are so proud of these young people.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I looked out the front door the other morning and saw,

 what to me,

 looked like a perfect picture.

  A beautiful piece of nature:

 a fallen autumn leaf, which the wind had purposely set down on my front porch

 and to top it off,

Mother Nature sprinkled it with perfect shining gems of raindrops. 

 The sun was in the perfect spot

 and the little gems were glowing like polished diamonds. 

 What looked so beautiful to my naked eye,

 looked totally different to a full dressed camera lens...

How does that song go?...

"Raindrops on fall leaves

Cat hairs on carpets... ."

That doesn't sound right, does it?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THERE IS SOMETHING YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME...

I am a huge fan of horror movies

 and scary stories

 and I love anything written by

  Stephen King.

American Horror Story - Freak Show

Channel FX

Wednesdays at 10:00 PM

Courtesy of Entertainment Weekly

For some time now, we have been watching American Horror Story.

The show has an interesting premise.

  Each season has a different story line

 in which most of the same actors return as new characters. 

 In the current season,

 which is it's fourth,

 "Freak Show",a group of misfits are part of a circus side-show act

 set in a time when these types of shows were on their way to becoming extinct. 

 The members of the show are being ridiculed and looked down upon 

by the citizens of the town 

just because of who they are and what they look like. 

 They are all members of a troupe

 led by a has-been performer,

 who sees herself as she was in her hey-day.

  She is brilliantly portrayed by Jessica Lange.

Elsa Mars

As portrayed by Jessica Lange

Courtesy of Entertainment Weekly

She believes that she

 and her show

 will all shine 

once again.

Bess and Dot, conjoined twins

As portrayed by Sarah Paulson

Courtesy of Entertainment Weekly

There is Bess and Dot, 

the 'head-liners'

 of the show. 

 One is demure and soft spoken and doesn't want any trouble 

and is happy with the way things are

 and the other is intent on being the only one 

and is argumentative

 and outspoken.

Jimmie Darling, the Lobster Boy

As portrayed by Evan Peters

Courtesy of Entertainment Weekly

A young man billed as Lobster Boy,

 because of his deformed hands. 

 He is full of hope that all of them can be viewed as normal people

 with the same hopes and dreams 

as anyone else.

There are numerous characters with interesting stories,

 played very convincingly by actors

 with excellent abilities.

Ethel Darling, the Bearded Lady

As portrayed by Kathy Bates

Courtesy of Entertainment Weekly

In my opinion,

 the outstanding member of the cast is

 the Bearded Lady,

 played with humility and believability,

 by Kathy Bates.

Now, to my point of telling you this story...

Twisty the Clown

Courtesy of Entertainment Weekly

While the Freak Show is going on,

 there is a presence in the community that is taking place,

 one that has the police going after the freaks

 in a "Sgt. Joe Friday"

sort of way.

Children are missing

 and being held against their will

 and citizens are being killed.

  Only known to us, the viewers,

 a very large and scary clown is responsible

 for all the mayhem that is going on

 and for the reasons the authorities

 are constantly showing up to question and harrass the freaks.

I don't know who plays Twisty the Clown but he is very convincing.

  He is larger that life 

with a mask of giant teeth,

 which we get a sneak peek of him removing,

 to reveal a gaping hole in his face

 where his mouth should be.

  He carries a sack full of juggling pins

 and other out of the ordinary items.

~~~~~

Of course, this show only takes up one night of my life each week.

  The other six nights are spent doing mundane things. 

 While in the process of doing some of these mundane things last week,

 what do you think we spotted walking down the street?...

We turned around and came face to face with...

...perhaps,

 a Grass Valley version 

of our own Freak Show!

The only thing left to fear is our own imagination!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tami, a not-so-scary-but-sleepy clown

 and the Captain

 back in the day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Have a safe and Happy Halloween

 and as we bid farewell,

 for another year,

 to the Cottage Witch 

and the month of October...

...Judy...

**All photos are my own unless otherwise stated.

***All opinions are my own. 

 I am not being compensated for anything in this writing...

well, the Captain did say he would take me out for ice cream 

if I would hurry up and finish this!

??? Watch for it.

Sharing today at:

What's It Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage