Soon the leaves will turn beautiful colors and fall from the trees. That means Halloween will be here soon. Halloween is always a big deal at our house.
We always have plenty of food and snacks for anyone who stops by, and sometimes we do get a crowd. Every year, Fran makes this Pumpkin cheese ball, and it's always a hit with everyone.
This Cheese Ball is easy to make and perfect with crackers, cheese, and pepperoni. Don't worry, the spiders are plastic, just a little added Halloween decoration.
Ingredients:
16 ounces of cream cheese, softened.
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese.
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped.
1 teaspoon of ground cumin.
1/2 cup chunky salsa
2 cups of Doritos, crushed into crumbs.
1 green bell pepper stem, for the top.
Instructions:
In a mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese. cheddar cheese, onion, salsa, and cumin. Mix well until it's creamy.
Scoop the mixture into plastic wrap and shape it into a pumpkin-like ball. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
When you are ready to serve, roll the ball in the crushed Doritos until it's coated. Now, place the bell pepper stem on top.
You don't have to wait for Halloween to make this cheese ball. It's a perfect appetizer or snack any time of the year.
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
This fun and simple design, says, I walk, with the a in the word walk, represented by two feet walking. It is for those who choose to walk more and or are trying to. It's for those who choose to increase their number of steps in a day, for those who perhaps choose to join in with others who also choose to walk more, for an event or not, in addition to their normal steps of going shopping, doing chores, etc.
When I first decided to start walking more, I started keeping track on a blank calendar form. After several months of doing that, I decided I wanted to be able to see all my steps readily on one chart, without having to flip through months. I came up with my Steps Log, that I wrote about here: https://www.reviewthisreviews.com/2025/09/reviewing-my-steps-log-poster-from.html
When I switched to the whole year Steps Log, I added up the columns and averaged them over the number of the days that were in that month. I easily saw that I averaged in the 3,000's steps per day. Then I started getting closer to the 4,000 range, and this month, I moved up in to the 5,000 step range, on average, over the course of the month.
Cool! I could see that keeping track, and figuring out the averages, was paying off.
Another thing I noticed was that on the days that I went substantially over my goal amount, in the next day or two it seemed that I would end up having more of a rest day where I was under my goal; but not by as much. So overall my step numbers were climbing.
An I walk tshirt can be used as a reward and or as an incentive.
The tshirts can be ordered on styles for kids to adults, in a variety of styles and colors. The tshirts that I have ordered from Zazzle, have all turned out great.
Some other things that I found out from the many different YouTube videos that I watched, is that 10,000 or 20,000 are not necessarily the goal. At least not for me. One of the studies a video talked about was that walkers saw more benefits if they walked an average of 4,400 - 4,500 steps daily. And that the benefits dropped off and leveled out at around 7,500 steps per day. So I'm glad to be in the 4,500 step range for my daily average.
For those who are arranging a walking event, the I walk water bottles can be a great way to help get the word out for future walking events. They can be easily customized with the Event Name, under the I walk design.
This design can easily be transferred to other products on Zazzle. You can also leave a request if you want me to design something for you.
Recently, I started walking while wearing a backpack with some weight in the back This does take some adjustment! I'll write more on that that in a future post and will add a link to it here when I do.
Until then, happy walking. Let me know in a comment below if you are taking steps to increase your steps!
Cheryl Paton
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
Neagley is an action-packed crime series on Amazon Prime Video. a spin-off from the Reacher television series.
I absolutely love Amazon Prime Video; we first got it to watch the Jack Ryan television series and since then I have watched several great shows. One of my husband & I's favourite is Reacher - based on the books by Lee Childs. Reacher is a great series which has been reviewed on this site already - Lee Child's Reacher reviewed.
One of the characters we meet in Reacher is Frances Neagley and when we heard that she was getting a spin-off series we were very excited. The first season was dropped in its entirety on Amazon Prime this month, and we binge-watched it over a weekend. Wow, it did not disappoint.
When we were first introduced to Neagley in the Reacher series we knew she was a former US Army Master Sergeant and a former member of the elite 110th Special Investigations Unit under Jack Reacher. We also know she's a private investigator who is incredibly loyal to her old army boss.
In Neagley, season one, we learn a little more about Frances Neagley (Maria Sten). We see her relationship with her dad, and it shows where her sense of loyalty comes from. We also see that she's someone who has your back, no matter what, and that is amazing.
The season begins with the death of her childhood friend, whom she hasn't seen in years. When things don't add up, and police are content to close the case, Neagley decides to investigate things herself. She finds herself teaming up with a Chicago detective (who is on the outs in his department); an admin assistant who works at the same investigation agency that Neagley works at and who wants to learn to be an investigator; and a low-level criminal and recovering drug addict.
This unlikely foursome start to investigate a peaceful cult-like community called Echo Canyon Farm where her friend was staying before he died. As the series progresses, we discover that Echo Canyon Farm is, in fact, an illegal human drug experiment run by a pharmaceutical company.
There's a lot of action, like you'd expect from a Reacher spin-off, but there's also a lot more character development with not just Neagley, but the other three that you know are going to be season regulars in the future.
At the end of the season finale, Frances Neagley buys the investigation agency that she had been working at, which sets things up nicely for season 2.
While season 2 has not yet been renewed, Neagley is rated higher than Reacher on both Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB and Reacher ranks pretty high! I would predict that Neagley will be renewed and will be shown back-to-back with Reacher giving the fandom more Lee Child ass-kicking to look forward to throughout the year.
I say Lee Child - I should clarify that he has not written any Neagley books or had anything to do with the series, but he did introduce the character in his Jack Reacher books.
If you don't have Amazon Prime Video then I really recommend it. Not only for the three shows listed here, but for other ones like Cross, Mobland, Ride or Die and so many others.
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
We all have those moments where life feels heavier than it should, and carrying the weight of it all pushes you right to the edge.
On the evening of September 18, 2026, I was having one of those days. My thoughts weren't constructive, and my frustration reached a point where I needed an outlet.
Instead of letting that heavy energy sit there, I channeled it into something useful. That's how the song Failing With Valor was born.
Writing it wasn't straightforward. I went through various iterations before finally landing on the right version for my lyrics.
From there, I took it into my DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) for further production modifications, shaping and tweaking the sound until it captured the exact mood and energy I wanted to convey.
The Split Between Inner Calm and Outer Fatigue
As I've grown older, I've noticed a shift in myself. When I was younger, my inside self and my outside self felt completely aligned.
But as life brought more challenges, my physical, outer self started to detach from my inner peace.
That widening split became the emotional core behind the pre-chorus. Even when the outside world feels chaotic, I am deeply grateful that my inner self still finds a way to hold onto calm.
Finding that inner calm doesn't mean I'm immune to stress.
It certainly doesn't mean my physical self isn't feeling the heavy exhaustion of carrying it all. As the lyrics go:
“Steadying these steps as I stumble through haze, not asking for miracles just a little less weight.”
If you've ever felt like your spirit is unshakable yet your outer self is just plain tired from fighting daily battles, please know you're not alone.
To be completely honest, I almost didn't release this track. It is deeply personal, and I usually prefer to keep my writing hopeful.
But I realized I could still be hopeful by being completely honest about how I truly feel. The truth being, I'm totally at peace on the inside - my soul is at peace; it's my outer human world that's chaotic.
I'm just looking forward to both being equal. That was my message to myself. Actually, I've been saying this to my best friend for a little too long now; inside I'm at peace, it's my outside world that feels chaotic.
I Feel This Song, and These Words Came Together As I Planned
I ultimately feel confident that I've achieved my goal with both the lyrics and the production.
How did I know? A member of my family loved it so much that they put it on continuous replay. For me, that was the ultimate tell that the raw emotion I wanted to share actually came through in this piece.
Like all of the nearly 100 songs I've recently published, this one is raw and honest (in a different way), always with a touch of hope.
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
A Walk-Off Win is called such when the home team is trailing or
tied with the visiting team and scores a run in the bottom half of the 9th
(or later) inning. Thus, the game ends immediately since the winning
team can simply walk off the field as soon as the winning
run is scored.
Walk-Offs on Wednesday
Winning a tied baseball game with a 'walk-off' is always exciting and there
are many ways to accomplish it. On August 6, 2015,Wednesday became an unusual walk-off day when MLB had three 'walk-off'
wins, making it quite the “Walk-Off Wednesday”.
Angels 4, Indians 3
In the Angels-Indians game, the score was tied at 3 in the 9th
inning. The LA Angels loaded the bases and the next pitch was a wild
one, allowing the runner on 3rd base to race home and win the game with a
'walk-off wild pitch'.
White Sox 6, Rays 5 (10 innings)
The White Sox 'Walk' occurred in extra innings, after their game was tied
5-5 at the end of the regulation 9 innings of play. In the 10th
inning, Chicago put the 'walk' in walk-off when their batter was walked by
the Rays pitcher with the bases loaded, scoring the winning run!
Rockies 7, Mariners 5 (11 innings)
The usual (or most common) way of winning a tied baseball game is with a
'Walk-Off Home Run'. On that August Wednesday back in 2015, the
Colorado Rockies were the only team of these three walk-off wins to do
so. The Rockies rallied from two runs down in the ninth to tie the
game and send it to extra innings. After getting one runner on base
with a single, Michael McKenry, a rookie, hit his first career Walk-Off Home
Run, winning the game.
A wonderful walk-off Wednesday was had by all three winning
teams!
*I DO love Wednesdays (LOL). And Baseball Records in general. (Wednesday-Elf)
Now, some ten+ years later as we enter the final week of the 2026 MLB
baseball season, we find that the season had quite a large number of
walk-off wins as well. There are too many to list individually, but in a
five-day span in September there were four Walk-Off games.
September 16: Victor Caratini hit a walk-off single to center
field in the bottom of the 13th inning for the Minnesota Twins.
*Coincidentally, September 16 ALSO happened to be a Wednesday! :)
September 19 saw TWO such wins:
The Rays Richie Palacios hit a clutch walk-off single in the 8th inning
to win 2-1 over the Boston Red Sox.
The Arizona Diamondbacks' Pavin Smith hit a two-run,walk-off home run in
the bottom of the ninth in a tied game against the Yankees; and did it as
a pinch-hitter!
September 20: A first career walk-off single was hit by Ethan Salas,
a rookie catcher for the San Diego Padres coming off the bench to bat just
18 days after being called up from the Minor Leagues. Quite a thrill for
this ‘newbie’ baseball player.
Walk-Off Statistics
Wins by ‘walk-off walks’ have happened 632 times since 1912 ~ the year
individual play recording began.
There have been 250 walk-off grand slams in regular season play since
1916, 13 post-season home run walk-offs and 19 such walk-offs during
World Series games.
The rarest feat of all is a walk-off balk, having occurred only about
25 times in the history of Major League Baseball.
**This season (2026), the team which holds the record for most
walk-off wins is the Chicago Cubs with 13.
**The team holding the overall MLB record for most walk-off wins in a single
season is the 1959 Pittsburgh Pirates with 18.
(c) Wednesday-Elf, the Baseball Contributor here on ReviewThis.
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
I have always had an affinity for ghosts at Halloween. Not the scary
kind of ghost, but the friendly kind with smiling faces. Perhaps, that
is because I watched the cartoon, Casper, when I was a child. I don't
have a problem with adding vampires, monsters, pumpkins, and bats to our
Halloween decor, but the friendly ghosts are my favorite.
Everyone in my family knows I love the happy ghosts. A few years ago,
my husband saw a BOO ghost pillow in Home Depot and was excited to bring it
home to me. I do love that pillow! It sits in my craft room
chair during the off season.
A few days ago, my son came home with a white
stoneware ghost platter from Target. I enjoy making special treats for my family and I like having
seasonal plates for displaying those treats. The ceramic ghost plate
is perfect! It is absolutely adorable on the table with or without
snacks on it, which makes it the best type of seasonal kitchen decor for
Halloween.
Several years ago, we were in our dentist office and they had a
tinsel ghost hanging
on their wall. I loved that ghost, so I came home and searched for one
on Amazon. Now, we have a friendly tinsel ghost that hangs on our
front door for Halloween. It is really a cute welcoming character for trick
or treaters.
All of my friendly ghost have their special places for Halloween.
Each one makes me happy when I see it. Halloween is fun, it doesn't
have to be scary to be awesome decor!
Friendly Ghost Pillows
Now that I have one ghost pillow, I want more! I love having soft
cushiony pillows on a couch or in chairs. These pillows are even "pet"
worthy.
Halloween Ghost Char-Boo-Tier Serving Platter - Hyde and EEK! BoutiqueCheck PriceUntil my son gave me the ghost platter, I have never had a shaped tray or dish for Halloween. Of course, I have black trays for Halloween parties, but I love the idea of having a large plate or tray that is shaped like a ghost. They certainly will add a touch of fun to the party table. When the tray is not being used as a server, it sits on my dining room table as Halloween decor.
The platter looks like it is ceramic, but it is actually stoneware. This platter is microwave safe and dishwasher safe. It is a really nice serving platter size at 10" x 12.5".
I am not a Target affiliate, therefore I will not earn a commission if you purchase the ghost platter, but I think it is feature worthy regardless.
Friendly Tinsel Ghost
It is so much fun to have a tinsel ghost on my front door. Since it is white, I don't have to worry about color fading. The tinsel shines in the sunlight and is fabulously adorable during the daytime. We leave our porch light on so our friendly ghost is still visable at night.
The tinsel ghost is part of a set. Our son loves the bat and my husband likes pumpkins, so they all get used somewhere in the house, but the ghost gets the predominate spot on our front door.
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
In this post I will be reviewing my September visit to the Missouri Extension Center gardens. I am fortunate to live within a short distance of the University of Missouri Extension Center in St. Charles County. The center has a lot of various education and services which it provides for the community, but what interests me most is the beautiful flower gardens which are maintained by their Master Gardener program volunteers. It is a wonderful place to go and practice my photography skills among the gorgeous native flowers and pollinators.
Pollinators at the Center
On the day that I visited the butterflies were particularly active. Butterflies are particularly attracted to flat, brightly colored flowers and the abundance of Zinnias was a big attraction. Here are a few of the photographs I took of the butterflies on Zinnias.
Although, butterflies are not heavy-lifter pollinators like bees they do move pollen. When the butterfly lands on a flower to drink nectar from their proboscis some of the pollen sticks to their legs, proboscis and body. When the butterfly flutters to the next flower some of that pollen will rub off. Butterflies also travel further between flowers and that can help in cross-pollination.
Bees of course, are very special and the primary means of pollination for much of our food and flowers.
Flowers at Missouri Extension Center
Here are just a few of the flowers in bloom at my September visit.
Zazzle Designs from my Photographs
I love to use my photographs to create products on Zazzle. Here is one of my butterfly photographs on a greeting card.
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
Have you ever wondered what a "holographic will" is? Well in The Testament by John Grisham, you will find out what it means and what problems it can create.
When Troy Phelan decides to have a new will drawn up, his children, ex-wives and their current paramours are all curious and skeptical. Troy is in his 80's and he is sure that this will be his last will.
His six children (all of them spoiled rotten), and the ex-wives are really curious about what the old guy is up to. After all he is worth 11 or more BILLION dollars, give or take a few million. How is he going to divide up his assets and how much are each of them going to get? They are already counting on being filthy rich beyond their wildest dreams.
But Troy Phelan hates his children who have never done anything to gain his respect and have made it plain that they don't care much for him either.
Calling a family meeting with his long time lawyer in attendance, he wants to sign the new will with all his children witnessing this signature. The children (I should say adult children) want to make sure this will cannot be contested in any way. They agree to have 3 psychiatrists ensure that he is still of sound mind and body before they witness this latest will signing.
After enduring a barrage of questions from the group of doctors, even having his interrogation videotaped, Troy has them (the doctors) sign an affidavit stating that he is competent to complete his will in their presence.
All is going well and the kids are convinced that their future is secure. The will before him is long and took his lawyer months to put together. It sits like an elephant on the table before him. His greedy kids are eyeing the document and having heart palpitations at what their future will be like. They should all be millionaires at least and billionaires at best.
Troy Phelan, has one more "Ace Up His Sleeve"! Once all the doctors and kids are satisfied that everything is up to snuff, that he has passed any mental illness questions, he signs the will. Kids, doctors and kids' lawyers exit and wait now for the day when good old dad passes away. And they hope it's soon, because he made them believe that he was dying before calling them all together.
When they are leaving the building, Troy pulls out a hand-written will, only 3 pages long, and signs it with his personal lawyer and his manservant present.
Needless to say, the lawyer is stunned, his manservant is speechless and yet it is a perfectly legal will. Neither one of them thought that he would do this because they were always involved with anything he did. Surprise! Once it is signed by his witnesses (and they don't dare to cross him), Troy Phelan takes a flying leap off the 14 floor of his downtown offices, landing on the road below. He planned it perfectly.
Now the "fun" really begins.
I read The Testament in three days. I could not put it down and it really is a great page turner. John Grisham does an amazing job of telling the story to the point where you can almost feel like you are the one on final mission, to find his daughter (who knows little about him or his wealth) who is now one of the richest women in the world.
Grab The Testament and get ready for a ride up the Amazon River where fighting off alligators and snakes is an everyday occurrence. Just don't get too comfortable because there are many perils along the way.
It's free on Audible with your subscription or as low as 6.99 for Kindle. Or if you are a real penny pincher like myself you can get it from the Library through the Libby app.
Whichever way you choose to read or listen to the book, you will be entertained for sure.
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
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