Questions Answered......

Someone mentioned wanting to know about the natural disasters I have experienced, so here goes...

1. Blizzard - while growing up/living in Colorado High Country, experienced several severe storms that would knock out power & left us using the wood stove to heat & cook with & kerosene lanterns to use for light
   
2. Earthquake - while never having experienced a severe one, I did feel quite a few while living in both Washington & Alaska; seeing the plants sway from the ceiling hooks, hearing the dishes rattle in the cupboard, & feeling the ground move under your feet is something else
3. Flood - when living in Louisiana, Tropical Storm Allison flooded the bayou behind our home, bringing the water up onto the nearby road & almost covering the bridge which was located at the corner of our property
4. Forest Fire - while living in Colorado, one major forest fire brought dark skies, smoke, & soot our way. The other smaller fire was much closer and a Forest Service fire fighting helicopter dipped water out of the local pond with its bucket to drop on the fire.
5. Hurricane - While living in Louisiana Hurricane Lili came ashore almost directly south of us (we lived approx. 20 miles from the coast). Lili was a Category 4 (with wind speeds of 145 mph) one day prior to making landfall but rapidly decreased in strength to a Category 1 when it hit the coast of Louisiana.
6. Tornado - The first tornado was a small one which was spawned from Hurricane Lili and went through our property; defoliating several trees and demolishing a storage shed. The second one was just this April when a EF3 tornado left a 14 mile path of destruction through the town of Mena, Arkansas (where we live).
7. Volcanic Eruption - I lived in Washington near Mount St. Helens before and during its eruption. Experienced ash fall-out and earthquakes.

I'm throwing these in for good measure -

1. Freezing Arctic Temperatures - Lived in Fairbanks, Alaska for several years and experienced (minus) -70 deg. temperatures
2. Blistering Desert Temperatures - Lived in Phoenix, Arizona from June through December & I was pregnant!

I had someone mention to me that I must have a dark cloud hanging over me, that is why I have experienced all of these things. I don't think so! Having had experiences like these comes from moving around a lot! And boy, does it give you stories to tell!

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Here is the ONLY picture I could find of the PUMPKIN HOUSE that we lived in. (And all the locals knew the house by THAT name!) It is located in what was a small ex-mining community in the Colorado Rockies. It was originally just a one room cabin. The window you see is the one Hubby would paint up at Halloween. {the color may be a bit off as I had to scan the photo}

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As for yesterday's PUMPKINS, check out this site STOLLOWEEN. I used his method of making JOL to make mine. This is the front of the two Pumpkins you saw yesterday.