Recovering from Pumpkin Fest

Family Movie Night

 

By Karyn Bowman

 

So did your family have fun at Pumpkin Fest?

 

I know we did. We loved the parade – Frankenstein was funny – and getting out to play a few games was great. We had kids in the variety show and most of Sunday was spent at the truck pull.

 

Our 4H group runs the food stand, serving hamburgers, hots dogs and brats. It is a great fundraiser and you do see our kids in 4H doing a good bit of the work. And that is what I like about 4H. It gives the kids a chance to try out different things and find ways to be busy that does not involve getting onto trouble.

 

I bet many of you are thinking that 4H has the kids doing a lot of things that are farm related. But how many of us can have a cow in the back yard? I have had kids in 4H for a long time and we have never shown a cow. But we have shown rabbits and guinea pigs. Even Storm the wonder dog was a 4H project for a few years.

 

Plus, the kids show their art projects, worked on rockets, collected rocks and bugs, read books and baked cookies. There are so many projects to try out and kids get value out of the program. That is what I like about it.

 

So I was looking over the list of movies coming out and I have to say there are two I am looking forward to seeing because I never did see them in the theater.

 

Transformers: Dark of the Moon; Image from IMDb.com

The first could be a family movie if you do not mind a loud movie full of chase scenes and explosions.

Transformers:Dark of the Moon comes to the home market this week with thrilling scenes set in Chicago. Once more danger is coming to Planet Earth and it is so big even the Autobots may not be able to save us.

 

I know what to expect. Big action, grand statements from Optimus Prime and Sam making a run for his very life. It should be humongous.

 

 This next selection is not a family friendly movie. It is best suited for a girls night in although I guess the guys could watch it as well. Bridesmaids  is the

Movie Poster Image from IMDb.com

story of how an inept woman manages to pull off the wildest weekend of her best friend’s life just before her wedding. And then there is the complication of the sister-in-law who thinks she is in charge.

 

You call it a hangover movie for women, you can call it crazy. But Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Illinois native Melissa McCarthy really give this movie their all. With the “R” rating, there is no way that this movie is appropriate for the small children in the house. Maybe it is ok with your teens but that depends on your rules.

 

Until next week, see you in the rental aisle.

Of Gods and Scarecrows

Fancy Lady Scarecrow

 

 

 Family Movie Night

By Karyn Bowman                  

As some of you might know, I have a blog running on wordpress.com.It is called Notes From Rumbly Cottage in which I discuss life issues, books, movies, political opinions and gardening.

I usually have a post once a week featuring pictures. It is really a smorgasbord of stuff. I mention this because last year I did a post on the scarecrows we have decorating the downtown area during Pumpkin Fest.

Lately, it has become one of my most popular posts as people look at the different scarecrows. What surprised me is that people really love the “Lucy” scarecrow in her black polka dot dress. It made me wonder if people across the country were planning their own scarecrows and were searching for new ideas.

And then it made me think about how interesting that our little town on the edge of the prairie is showing others the way to making a cute or scary or fun scarecrow. I mentioned this to Carol O’Connell, creator of the event as I was walking Storm. He had to talk to her sheep dog, so the humans were able to talk for a few minutes about how well the scarecrows dress up the town for Pumpkin Fest.

We talked about how much the event is a lot of fun for various groups and which parts of creating the scarecrow is the hardest. For Carol, it is coming up with a head. For me, it is the hair. I fail at that aspect every year.

We talked about what we plan to make for this year’s group and Carol gave me a great idea on how to make a wide skirt. I am hoping we can get together this week and make a great scarecrow or two.And then I am going to put it up on my blog.

Poster image from IMDb.com

Enough talk about scarecrows, you say?

How about finding out what movie is coming out on DVD. This week, comic book fans are going to be happy because Thor makes its way to the home theater market.

In the run up to the Avengers series, Thor tells the story of a prince whose arrogance re-starts a bitter war on his home realm. His father gets so mad that he takes away the powers Thor has and exiles him to Earth.

A strange man in a strange land.

But then he meets a beautiful scientist (Natalie Portman) and through her love he learns to grow up. When an old foe threatens the Earth, Thor steps up to the challenge as the mature man he has become.

This movie has it all: Gods battling, huge action, great love, references galore throughout the movie, hints at movies to come. And did I mention that the actor playing Thor, Chris Hemsworth, is a total hottie. The rating is PG because of some violence and intense science fiction action.

Here is what I know. This Friday when it is pizza and movie night at my house, I am making sure that there is room on the couch for me. The kids and the dog might have to fight over who get room on the floor.

Until next week, see you in the rental aisle.

Scarecrows and Pumpkins

Last week, I had the pleasure of reading the delightful The Twelve Ways of Fall at Reinventing the We’ll.

Scarecrows at the campfire

So I was inspired to share the sightings of our town as we celebrated Pumpkin Fest. For the last few years we have been putting up scarecrows as a part of the festivities. The contest is judged on Friday and when the scarecrows come down on Sunday the fest is over for another year.

I got out and took a few pics of winning scarecrows, fun scarecrows and a few decorated pumpkins. And here they are:

Fancy Lady Scarecrow

Bank Scarecrows fishing for money

Florist Scarecrow

Leprechaun Scarecrow (because anyone can be Irish)

Scary Scarecrow

Painted Pumpkins (Look for the Green ribbon Winner)

Scarecrows Chatting

Scarecrows at Rest

Political Scarecrow

A Scarecrow Family (they had good seats for the parade)

Last but not least is the Scarecrow Family. So, how do you celebrate the Autumn Season?