Halloween 2019

Oooh... this is my 1201 post!! I hadn't even seen that milestone of 1200 go by... cool! But... back to our post...

Hello... I have been thinking for a beary long time about what sort of Halloween costume to try this year. Jerry & Ben changed the rules a bit so there are two categories... funny and scary...

Thinking....

And thinking... sigh... this is sooooo hard!!!

And then I thought... what the heck...

I'll go as a bee! It's kind of funny... a bear going as a bee you see... I could be an undercover Sherlock Sandy Bee trying to discover the honey...

There we go... I'm all set... now let's see if I can find some good treats!

Doot dee doo... just out trick-or-treating...

 Oh, hello Mr. Turtle... I mean... Trick or Treat!!!!

Mr. Turtle had a nice stick of Double Bubble gum for me... mmm... just the thing for a stuffie with plush fur!

Thanks Mr. Turtle!

Oh hello spiders!! Are you out trick-or-treating too??
Spider: "Well, not exactly... but we do know a great place with wonderful treats, Mr. Bee!"
Heh-heh... they think I'm a bee... my costume must be super good!

Sure, I'll come along to this great treat place!

Oh wow... this is quite the overgrown front yard to this place.
Spider: That's cause they spend all their time and money on treats!

 Oh hello little bird, are you coming on this adventure too?

Hmm... the little bird just whispered in my ear that I shouldn't trust these spiders... but... I know spiders are good for the garden and they help with keeping pests under control!

Ah... almost there... hmmm... that house looks pretty spooky and haunted.

Spider: Oh that was just the last windstorm... the owner is working to attach the roof again...

Is this when we shout trick or treat?
Spider: Yep, Mr. Bee, now's the time!
OK... Trick or Treat!!

 I wonder what sorts of yummy treats they have here?

 Spider: Oh, all sorts of things... it depends on what shows up...

 Hey? Who's tickling me??

ACK!!! Help!!! I'm being attacked by a cloud or something!

Oh goodness.... it's a BIG spider....

Spider: Not just any old spider... this is Daughter of Aragog!!!! And you, my lovely, juicy, succulent bee, are going to be our treat!!

***Mrrph... mffflee....***
Spider: Heh-heh... we've never seen such a big bee before... This will feed many of my daughters for many moons!

But then... out of the blue... came the little sparrow who knew the off-switch for these spiders... peck... peck... that's one of them!

And that's another one!

 Oh, and there comes Iron Crow...

Peck peck!

There we go... all the spiders are shut off and sleeping... Honestly... who could mistake that little bear for a bee!!!

And then... a bit of pecking and...

Oh my goodness!!! Thank you soooo much little sparrow!!!! I thought I was Spider Fodder for sure!

Whew.... I'm going to rethink my costumes beary carefully from now on!!! I should have paid more attention when Mama showed me this picture from the summer!

 Poor little bee....

Beans, beans and more beans...

Uh... so we planted a lot of bush beans this summer and... we are harvesting a LOT of yellow beans now!

So many that we can't eat them all...

So we've taken to blanching them... and then freezing them.

First you have to cut off the ends and then into pieces and then in the double boiler....

Once they are blanched...

You dump them in cold water and...

Drain them and freeze them... we have an assembly line going here... must run and supervise!!

More Mail! And a Puzzle

Wow... Umm... so I got a bonanza of mail in the last few days!! I know I just did a mail post but... some of this mail is of a time-sensitive nature involving a case for Sherlock Sandy! So let's get started...

First up, a post card from Iceland!! I want to go to Iceland some day - it looks beary pretty.

This card is from Droopy!

What a lucky dog!

And then... there was ANOTHER post card from Iceland!!

This one is from Ajdin - they have dried fish jerky in Iceland... sigh...

I like their stamps too...

I must talk to my sekrebeary about the travel agent we are using - clearly some stuffies have agents with much more exotic destinations! Thanks Droopy and Ajdin for the post cards!

Next up is an envelope from Little Fox! I wonder if he went somewhere exotic too... like Yellowstone...

Awww!!! It's a bearthday card!!!

Thanks LF! You obviously have your sekrebeary well in hand!!

LF wishes me lots of fresh fish, fun adventures and travel to exotic locations.

OK... so clearly I am not the only one picking up on the exotic locations theme!  My bearthday is in a few weeks soooo... you never know... maybe I will get another holiday (in this year of seemingly continuous holidays).

Now... we have a beary mysterious envelope....

It's from the Ministry of Puzzles...

This sounds a bit Harry Potter-ish to me...

The bank of the envelope also looks a bit mysterious... hmmm what's that in the bottom left?

Oooohhh... I know who this comes from!

You've heard of "The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants"?... well this must be from the Bearhood of the Missing Pants! I'm an honorary (and undercover member) of this organisation...

Let's see... Ah... "Sherlock Sandy... connect all the dots to reveal a famous artwork... then use your detective skills to find where (what country) you can see this art". Oh excellent!

The PS says the next clue will be sent when I've solved the puzzle and posted the answer on my blog.

Hah!! Let's get cracking.

Mmm... This page has a big "x" through it... but I already recognize the style of what I can see.

It's very distinctive and I bet my pal Beanie Mouse recognizes it too!

See... those squares and concentric circles and swirls... typical of Gustav Klimt!

But the bit x through it makes me think I should look at the other side!

Ah yes... here we go... Clue #1!

Hmmm... let me see...

Ah yes... I think I have an idea of what this might be... but let's get going..

First... we'll connect some dots... I must say... the numbers are beary, beary small... Mama is asking if I need glasses but I think I can manage!

I connected some lines at the top - they are more or less horizontal....

I'm pretty sure I know what it is though!

How about that? Eh? Yep... definitely a Halloween themed painting...

See!!! It's "The Scream" by Edvard Munch!

Want a better look?

OK... well... oops... Hi Minnie!!!

Here we go... And... let me find a piece online.

Yup... definitely The Scream!! It's housed in the... well... hmmm... this is a bit complicated because Munch made several different versions!! But the most famous is housed in the National Gallery in Oslo, Norway. And then... just cause I'm Sherlock Sandy, I completed the Klimt one on the back...

Oh, this looks familiar... it's the Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I.

There was a movie made about this painting!! It's called Woman in Gold (2015) and is about how the painting was stolen by the Nazis and then a family member (in the States) tried to get it back.  It was a really good movie! Anyhow... this painting is now in the Neue Galerie in NY...

Sherlock Sandy signing off... awaiting my next clue!