Victor and I walk around our various neighborhoods, almost daily…this time of year is lots of fun spying the scary porches…here are some samples…

A couple of skeletons enjoying a beautiful day on their patio!

Someone put in a lot of work to spook up this porch, in our Virginia neighborhood…scary clowns YIKES!!

These scary guys won’t let anyone trespass…however the mums, pumpkins and gourds tumbling down the stairs are beautiful!!

Our local historic cemetery looks a little creepy💀

I imagine, this life-size witch will scare lots of kids on this porch, for Halloween🧙

And then, there are the usual suspects on our front porch again, ready to greet the kids for trick or treating…Happy Halloween🕷

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Mod Podge Pumpkins are easy to make and look so lovely!!

My sister-in-law Patty is always coming up with great ideas for crafts! This one she found online and showed it to me, while staying at The Train House, and then we were off, making these colorful pumpkins!

These are the materials needed: A plastic pumpkin, Mod Podge, paint brushes and napkins, bought at Joann’s, except the napkins, I had them!!

Separate the napkin layers before beginning. This means peel the (typically) white layer off the back of the front layer. You can gently rub the layers together to separate or use a piece of Scotch tape in one corner and pull. Then simply cut around the flowers or leaves, as the photo shows, it does not have to be perfect!!

Now it’s time to use the Mod Podge, which is the consistency of Elmers Glue. My model, Patty, first painted an area on the pumpkin with the Mod Podge and laid the portion of the napkin on top. Next, go over that section with more Mod Podge.

Continue filling in all the spaces with leaves and sunflowers!!

And then we were done!! Two gorgeous pumpkins!! As you can see the texture was not perfect, there are lumps and bumps, which adds character, just like nature!!

Patty’s pumpkin made it to her Austin Texas home, where it looks perfect, among leaves and sunflowers, just like the pumpkin!!

And mine, made it to the family room in, The Yellow House, in Massachusetts, among pumpkins, gourds, plants and candle!

Little did Patty know, that by finding this fun craft online, she has made a Mod Podge Monster out of me…wait to see what I have planned for Christmas😉

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Victor and I had a wonderful 50th anniversary celebration with our family and friends this summer, but our actual anniversary is in October!! We were given a gift certificate to this charming Inn on the beautiful coast of Maine!!

This is the historic home built in 1874 by Captain Albert V. Nickels for his wife Elizabeth, and eight children! It is located on Penobscot Bay in the quaint town of Searsport, between Camden and Bar Harbor.

As we walked through the front doors, we were met with this stunning architecture of the foyer and then we knew this was a special place to stay!

The next room we came into, after the foyer, was one of their many sitting rooms, this one has a beautiful fireplace and period furniture. I enjoy taking photos with the panorama setting, so you can see the whole room in one photo!!

This is the main dining room, with lots of windows that look out to the lush natural grounds of the Inn.

I love this dramatic setting of the green walls, gold gilded frames around the paintings with rich deep colors!!

We choose to have this delectable breakfast, in a more intimate setting, near the kitchen, as you can see through the window behind me…Breakfast was Maine blueberry pancakes with blueberry butter, bacon and real maple syrup…I savored every morsel of it!!

This was the view of the grounds and ocean, as we had our breakfast!! Also, I love a good coffee bar!!

This was our cozy bedroom…

And another bedroom…the door was open, waiting for guests to check-in, it looked so inviting, I just had to take a picture!!

The back of the Inn is just as impressive as the front, taken from one of our many walks back from the shore…the rounded area of the building with all the windows is the

bar area!! I got these photos from the Inn’s website.

I took this picture through a screen in the bar area, it shows the expansive lawn going down to the ocean…I think it looks like a painting!!

I would highly recommend this charming Inn, for a cozy New England get-a-way…and there is great shopping and wonderful restaurants, in the next town of Belfast!!!

We are so grateful for the gift to help us celebrate our special anniversary, we had a wonderful 50th💚

“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” Winston Churchill