Makeup, Purple Hair and Bell Peppers

We had a busy day yesterday, like most Saturdays. We got a pumpkin and a beautiful yellow mum, very fluffy and pretty, to put out in front of the house as our fall decoration. I think the mum looks lovely, between the fake vampire and the huge spider.

Michael informed me at kroger yesterday that Halloween costumes were for little kids and he didn't need one. He did, however, plan to go Trick or Treating and wanted his hair temporaily dyed purple. Oh, and some crazy makeup on his face, which he started to describe in garish detail. I grabbed a little makeup kit and some spray on hair color and we were good to go, for less than $5. Yay! I may answer the door in his skull face mask from last year. That thing wasn't cheap...

A lot of time was spent on Michael's social studies project, a research paper about Leonardo DaVinci's drawings for war machines like tanks and helicopters. Bet you didn't know that about Leonardo, huh?! It took forever because I was trying to teach Michael HOW to write a research paper. He had already seen a DVD and read a book and an article, but coaxing the words out of him for the paper was tough.

I made the best dinner last night. I took some beautiful pork chops, thick and meaty, that we got at DeKalb Farmer's Market last week, and stuffed them. They were butterflied. The stuffing was a mixture of minced portobello mushrooms, onion, and parmesan and fresh black pepper, sataueed in butter. I put the stuffed chops in a 9x13 pan and put some sherry in the bottom of the pan and baked them for over an hour at 300, then another hour kept warm at 200, wrapped tightly in foil to prevent drying out. They were fork tender.

Below is a funny story from Mother's friend Caroline (pictured below with her hubby and Mom). I just wanted to share it, and she gave permission:

"My mother couldn't eat salt because of her high blood pressure, so everything she served, my father and I automatically salted.  But she did adore bell peppers, in any color!  As a child I hated ALL vegetables, except corn-on-the-cob.  Corn off the cob was as bad as all the others.  Spent the night at a friend's once, though, and, being a polite little girl, I forced myself to try the vegetables her mother served for dinner.  They were delicious!  I had seconds! Naturally, I asked my mother to please find out how she cooked them.  The answer was simple - my firend's mother was not enamored of bell peppers.  (I noticed they weren't as colorful as my mother's.)  My mother, on the other hand, put chopped bell peppers in everything and assured me they had no taste, they only added color!  My mother lied!  Corn on the cob?  She'd never figured out how to attach bell pepper to them!  To this day, I hate bell peppers in any color!!!  Fortunately, Keith shared my aversion, but, to the day she died, mother kept chopped peppers in her freezer and offered them to me regularly - to give my food a bit more color.  And, to the day she died, I declined the offer. And then we'd both giggle."