Where did Fall go?

  I can't believe that it has been over a month since I have been on my blog site! I had great intentions of lots of pictures of the beautiful fall colors in the Smokies and of course musings and memories about my favorite holiday Halloween. But sometime between the kaleidoscope of colors and the mini candy bars I missed the whole month. I must say that my work has kept me busy and stressed the past couple of months. In August I finally had a full crew of dispatchers completely trained and all was sweet...experience has taught me that this situation is usually short lived. I know when the winds of change are coming. Somewhere faintly I hear it, I tell myself no that was your imagination and then the chords get a little louder :

I have tried to outrun them as I see them approaching with that look on their face. Sometimes it's the look on the others face's as I see the sealed official envelope with the inevitable resignation letter in my inbox. Being a 911 Operator is a tough job folks. Many people choose to move on after a few years due to the stress and the nationwide low pay scale for a very under appreciated job. They move on to positions that are kinder to their soul, sleep schedule and family life. I certainly understand, but I sure hate to see the good ones go. I have filled and trained three positions since mid August. So needless to say my staff has seen a lot of overtime and we have had to scramble to cover shifts during the high call volume month of October. So I suppose that I really haven't had any spoons left to do much but crash and burn every night when I get home. I have started a new supplement combination that  I read about on a site I follow on Facebook, ProHealth.  It is a site dedicated to Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue (ME).  I find it has some excellent information and advice/opinions. I have been taking a combination of CoQ10 and D-Ribose. Both suppose to increase energy production at the cellular level. The information was for Chronic Fatigue treatment you must combine them to get the full impact.  I have been on it about 2-3 weeks and I'm not sure I feel any different. I plan to keep it up for an extended period due to the fact I cant imagine anything that can turn this condition around quickly. Obviously if you have suffered for decades with a problem, it is going to take some time to repair and heal your exhausted body. So if nothing else I am patient.
I have once again been on a eat-a-thon of epic proportions (kinda like my ass).  Stress at work and food increase= oh my gosh I cant zip my pants...
Who can resist all that darn Halloween candy? On that note, I heard someone say that it should be against the law to sell candy corn and candy canes at the same time. Can you believe Christmas marketing started before Halloween. Have they no shame?!!   With a little help from my friend(Lisa) and family(Courtney and Beau) I did have some killer outdoor Halloween decorations. I actually had around 8-10 Trick Or Treaters this year.  Here are some photos that I meant to post earlier....

One of the feral kitties visiting the Haunted Cemetery

The Mourner

Haunted Cemetery with Mourning Bench and ghosts

Skidder Kitty decided to pose on the crypt..my cats scare me sometime.

close up of ghost faces...scary! made from milk jug,dollar store mask  with lights inside

 

  and my favorite photograph of all, my dancing witches around a "fire". The witches are white trash (LOL) bags shredded with heads made of Styrofoam balls and the fire is orange lights wrapped in a grey cheese cloth material.

Full Hunters Moon rising over the ridge behind my house.