Watercolor Sunday and Saturday's Color: October 2015

Before I do anything else, let me get October's Facebook "colors" posted.  Did they really come and go so quickly?!

First, here's what I did in October for Watercolor Sunday:

October 4 (photo manipulation):

"Every man is a damn fool for at least five minutes every day; wisdom consists in not exceeding the limit."
― Elbert Hubbard

 October 11 (photo manipulation):
"Not everyone is sufficiently intelligent to be able to see things from the right point of view.”
― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote

October 19 (photo manipulation):
"The Pumpkin is always oranger on the other side of the patch."
(author unknown)

October 25 (photo manipulation):
“What breaks in daybreak? Is it the night? Is it the sun, cracked in two by the horizon like an egg, spilling out light?”
― Margaret Atwood

 ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Then, these are my coloring posts for October:

 (finished on 15 February 2005, posted on FB 3 October 2015)

This is another design from my Native American Mandalas book, an Apache representation
of a tornado whose eye is untouched and calm. With Hurricane Joaquin in the headlines this week, 

this seemed appropriate for today.

(finished on 15 June 2003, posted on FB 10 October 2015)

Next week Astrid and I fly over the Big Pond to Atlanta, so I've chosen this Celt mandala for today,
reminding me of the Old Man of the Sea, or maybe even Neptune himself.

 (finished on 29 August 2003, posted on FB 17 October 2015)

 I had my Alma Mater (U of MICHIGAN) in mind when I finished this Celt mandala,
and therefore entitled it "Go Blue!" I hope it works a charm today because of the Michigan vs.
Michigan State football game this afternoon. GO BLUE!

 (finished on 17 August 2003, posted on FB 24 October 2015)

This Celt mandala reminds me that we are a larger family, all intertwined, 

no matter who or where we are.

(finished on 1 October 2015, posted on FB 31 October 2015)

This had HALLOWEEN written all over it when I first saw it in my Prismatic Design book:

spider webs and Batman, etc. (finished 1 October 2015).

 ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

And yes, now we're in the month of November, counting down to the end of another year!

How is that possible?

The Kid in Us

October is not only Major League Baseball month (playoffs and the World Series) but THE FAIR! Can you believe that this October was the 7th year in a row that we took 8-year-old Nicholas to our local fair! It's true.

A week ago this past Sunday was a spectacularly beautiful, fall day. Actually, it ended up being so sunny that it was downright too hot...more like a summer day!
But that didn't keep us from enjoying every minute of it.

I learned this year that the Seattle Wheel ferris wheel is one of a kind in the world because of it's wishbone spokes. It was part of the World's Fair in Seattle, WA, in 1962.



See the difference? This Gondola Wheel (ferris wheel) has the straight spokes. We rode both of them. The Seattle wheel is taller; the Gondola Wheel is faster.

Because Nicholas is older and taller, he gets to ride faster rides that Donica and I can't always ride with him. But this was one Donica could stomach, and did.

And of course, there's always the fairway that gobbles up Donica's money, always with a smile on her face, while I take the pictures and document it all...year after year.

Don't get me wrong, G'ma DOES sometimes let Donica take the pictures!

You really can't have a Fair without some animals and 4-H goodies. After Uncle Don's quail at the farm on Farm Day (August), Nicholas was a pro at putting this peeper to sleep.





This was the first year we visited the Cherokee Indian Village.



But NOT the first year Nicholas and G'ma shared a turkey leg! It's one of our favorite things about the Fair. Just ask Nicholas!



There are still some rides Nicholas knows he does NOT want to ride yet...and not only because he's not the prerequisite 52" tall. But I wonder what year he WILL want to!

His last ride of the day SHOULD have been one of those...which he didn't know till after he got off it. Last year he rode it with Uncle Mark and was lying down the entire time. Okay, so he was brave enough to try it this year of his own free volition.
Will he try it again next year, I wonder??

What is it about Fairs! It somehow reaches to the Kid in all of us and gives us a chance to let it all hang out, I guess.

Thank God for that.

OH! And here's the photo album! I almost forgot.