Rocktober!

I’m back! Took me a while to recover from 80’s week, but the pink dye is out of my hair and back in its usual bun-containment system. I wish I could say that I’m less tethered to my phone than I was before – but that would be a lie. I’m back to having it as a constant companion – but now I don’t take it for granted so much. I have a fresh appreciation for how much it can improve my life – when used in a thoughtful way. So all in all, I’m glad I did it – but have no desire to repeat the experiment! (so the task that’s lurking inside Rod that says “go back in time to the 70’s” may *ahem* suffer a mysterious disappearance….)

Anyhoo, I’ve actually been pretty busy these last couple of weeks – last week, ManpanionTM had a big trade show at McCormick place, so we were preoccupied with that. And then directly after the exhibition, it was time for Halloween Basement Rockfest! So we’d decided to host a big Halloween party at our place as basically an excuse for Woodland Creatures and Friends (our band) to show off the various tunes we’d been working on since our Scotland wedding. We also invited Tours (ManpanionTMs other band) to also play a set so it was like the world’s smallest music festival! It was a lot of work to get the house ready and decorated (I also organized the catering – with Mumsie on finger sandwich duty!) and with rehearsals and getting the performance space ready – but it was an absolute blast!! We Rocked It Out and everyone really enjoyed our set. I was, of course, dressed as a giant bunny for the show and there were some fantastic costumes that showed up! I didn’t get the chance to take too many pics during the evening, unfortunately, but here are a few pics of the table and the spread we laid out. Thank you (again) internet for all the great spooky ideas!! My personal favorite – the prosciutto covered skull and arms! So simple to do – but so effective and gross-looking. I’d spent a bit of time watching a YouTube video for tips on how to make the ultimate charcuterie board – and I think it came out great. Thanks to Simply Home Cooked for the tips!! Here’s the video in case you are inspired: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1mUz8mm6As

So, that was that. BUT I hear you cry – “what The Heck has happened to Rod?” Fear not, for Rod has indeed bestowed upon me his latest task which I will share with you all now…. You ready? Here goes….

Yippee!!! I’ve been looking forward to this one – I LOVE flowers so am very much looking forward to learning how to arrange them better and to keep them looking fresh longer. I’m going to try a couple of different approaches to this task:

• Take an online, structured course
• Watch some YouTube videos and teach myself
• Find an in-person flower arranging class
• Go to the library and find some books on Flower arranging (the 80’s method!)

Although I haven’t researched much yet, there are different schools of floral design, so I will try and pick various types of arrangements and designs so to learn a variety of techniques. This is going to be fun!! Stay tuned!!!!