Halloween is over and Thanksgiving is around the corner!

November 2026

Hello Hollister and Ellalie!

It’s been nearly 7 months since I’ve had any contact by phone or person with you two! I think about you everyday without fail. I have photos from past years and look at those often. We’ve had lots of fun moments and outings together. I hope you had a wonderful Halloween. Maybe someday I’ll get to ask you about your costumes. Last year Hollister went as Harry Potter and Ellalie as owl Hedwig.

Hollister’s costume was made up from his mother’s graduation gown, a striped long scarf I had in my closet, forehead scar drawn by me with lip and eyeliner pencils, pair of my old glasses with the lenses taken out and the frames painted black, and a wand make from a stick and piece of foam painted dark brown. Ellalie’s mask was designed using a base mask from the toy box and then small white feather-shaped pieces of paper glued all over. Ellalie wore her mother’s sweater shawl which was white with dark colors which looked like feathers when wrapped around her little body and a pair of white cotton gloves of mine. I’ll include photos of only the parts of the costumes I kept here in my special cabinet plus some close ups.

I always cooked spaghetti which has been my standard Halloween meal for these past many years. Hollister loves the meat sauce on noodles. Ellalie likes noodles with butter only. Both of you enjoyed lots of parmesan cheese on top. To keep up the tradition, I made spaghetti this Halloween, too. Enjoyed a plate in your absence. Maybe only 20 trick-or-treaters in my neighborhood this year, but still fun to hand out candy.

This fall has been great weather so far. With daylight savings time over, it’s dark really early but okay because the days have been sunny and very pleasant. I haven’t turned my house heat on yet and keep windows open during the day. I put my electric blanket on the bed so it’s cozy and warm all night. It’s perfect for reading before bed. You two know I love to read before bed. I miss sharing books with the two of you. Ellalie – I know you would enjoy reading a book to Hollister and me now!!! So proud of both of you.

I’ve taken some nice bicycle rides on greenways during this nice fall weather. I had to get a new bicycle helmet because my old one fell apart!! My new helmet is all black, but I have plans to paint it and put stickers on it to brighten it up. My favorite colors are orange and purple, but I’ll be adding some pink and blue to represent both your favorite colors, too.

I’ve enjoyed some art classes lately through the library. I’m posting my finished art pieces. There have been ~20 others attending the classes and it’s a fun time. I’m still line dancing and enjoying very much. I found some great hiking trails close to my house and enjoy time in the woods without having to drive very far. I still have tomatoes and peppers from my garden!! Also, my front yard is still full of flower blooms. First frost may be here next week. I’ll cover the main plants up, but it will soon be time to take up some plants and get the containers and gardens ready for next spring. Halloween decorations have been taken down and stored in the barn. Thanksgiving decorations are up now. I’m including a couple of really cool photos of the moon I took ~ 3 a.m. one morning. I woke up and noticed how bright the moon was, so I went out on the deck and took these photos straight above my head. Beautiful!

That’s all for now. I’m trying to do at least one blog update per month. You can find me at my e-mail address listed on the blog profile site. I’m hoping to open my gmail account one day and find e-mails from one or both of you.

I miss you both. I love you both to the moon and back.

Love,

Nonaw Marie

💙💜🩷💏💏💏

XOXOXO