Common ground

 So, after being "terrorized" by baby diaper poop for a week, we went to visit my sister Doris, who has 2 incredible children, Mocha and Zima (there's a picture below with my Willow).  We had a most wonderful time, she had planned a great itinerary for us and everything was as close to perfect as possible!  This was my first visit in over 6 years (it's a llooonnnggggg drive) and it was a joy to see her all comfy and content in her home.

  That's me on our first day grinning like a psychopath in the Hallowe'en room at The Merry Christmas Shoppe in Merrickville.  Yesssirrr!  My sister brought me to Hallowe'en in July, awesome!  Go check out their website. 

  (The pictures in this post were taken either by myself or my sister, Doris.)

The next day we went to Bonnechere Caves.  Scott, our cheerful and very funny guide, brought us deep underground in cool, damp caverns that alternated between narrow and more open chambers.  The water-sculpted walls were lovely, and I was really pleased to hear that every year they let the caves fill with water and bats use it as a hibernation site.  They figure they get about 500 bats! Scott also informed the tour group of how beneficial bats are to everyone:  You're doing an awesome job, Scott!  Thank you!

Here are some pictures: 

 

And here is their resident bat!  This cutie was gifted to the owner and now hangs out in the visitor's booth. 

Shopping at Ikea was a treat!  Right from the "go", I found rats!!!  Various ratta (Swedish for rat) jumped into my shopping bag, and we happily shared our lunch with them in Ikea's cafeteria.                                                                            Just adorable, aren't they?  I don't know if Ikea would be pleased to know they had rats eating with their patrons!  

 Here's the rest of my loot (along with a bracelet with many little skulls creating a spinal column look from the Anarchy Gallery, also in Merrickville).  The mask is from Pier 1 Imports while the cookie cutter/stamper is from a shop called @Home.  These cookies are going to be such fun, I just need to find a good recipe where the dough will keep its shape. 

One of the best things we did was go to Morris Island.  We went three times with our pups.  The woods are not exactly dark and deep but they are lovely and the pups enjoyed floating (yup, Zima floats, on purpose!) and swimming in the clear waters.  The trails are very clearly marked and kept clean, obviously the friends of this park care about what happens to it.  Deer flies were nasty in places, ick!  

Demon dogs!  They sure do look a bit scary, don't they?  The flash on my camera went off for some reason... at least that's what I tell myself.

And here we are, sporting our new wide-brimmed hats in preparation for our desert vacation!  Plans are in the works to visit Utah, with a side trip to Vegas.  We need a hatty group name, any ideas? 

Thank you Dodo for such a fun time together!  So many memories!

(There's more about our trip on the Hallowe'en studio tour blog.)