Happy Halloween!

This is what Halloween looks like at our house! We had a few trick or treaters last night, and I imagine we may have a few more tonight as well. Just inside the open door on the right, in the foyer, Husband set up a coffee table with a mosaic pumpkin candleholder, several gold mosaic hurricane candleholders, and big bowls of candy. The candlelight sparkling through the mosaic glass made our candy table look magical! We got lots of oohs and ahhhs. Since only a handful of houses were giving out candy we were very generous. We gave each child a good handful of treats! We had mixed miniature candy bars (Reece's cups, Kit Kats, Almond Joys, Whoppers, plain Hershey Bars), Nerds, Laffy Taffy, and Tootsie pops.

My favorite trio of trick or treaters? Scarlett O'Hara, a Ninja, and a toddler Bear. Sooo cute! We also had a Mummy show up that was pretty cool too. I do hope we see a few more kids tonight! We have plenty of candy left over and after all, today is Halloween!

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday, full of magic and mystery and fun!

The slaughter begins...mwahaha!

Today is the day.

The pumpkins on the porch are going to the join the great pumpkin gods in the sky.

Pictures to follow!

Houseguest for All Hallows

We have a tiny guest that has taken up residence in our main bathroom. It's a small brown spider that has built a tiny web in a corner by our shower. Some people would be horrified and would do her harm immediately, but not me. I have an odd sort of affection for spiders, and consider one showing up good luck to us as long as we show it hospitality!

 I have been a fairly serious gardener for the last ten years or so, and I learned early on to love the beautiful, intricate webs the garden spiders spun. Early dew on late summer/early autumn mornings made the webs sparkle like diamonds, and it's hard for me to imagine how anyone could not admire a creature capable of building such a thing! Some of the spiders themselves were beautiful, too. I've seen spiders with all manner of colored stripes, dots, and markings. And daddy longlegs are just downright cute, in my opinion!

Of course I know that some spiders can be dangerous, or even deadly. Actually, all spiders are dangerous and deadly! That is what makes them such a friend to gardeners, since they can really knock back some insect populations that would otherwise feast on our precious gardens. That's some earth friendly pest control for sure!

One of the things I love about my husband is his respect and care for animals, even the kinda scary ones like our little guest. Just this morning after his shower he came to inform me the little spider was actually in the shower today, probably getting a drink. He was careful to not let her get sprayed with water, since he didn't want to drown her. He did suggest that I help her to "move along"  today since it's warmer and rainy outside. He has respect for spiders, but isn't totally comfortable with one living in our shower! So I will help her to pack her bags and go. Maybe she can live on the outside of the front door, where there will be a bit of shelter for her to build a new web. And possibly send our home blessings in return for the care shown her.

It's almost here!

Halloween is almost here! How exciting! I can't wait to begin this weekend's festivities!

This was an apple head doll witch I made one year. She looks like she has a big grin on her face!

I had a truly inspired idea today for a jack o lantern stand. I have an old perch of Marco's that only needs to have the perch part taken off, and you have a big silver tray on a stand! It should hold one big pumpkin and a couple of small ones. It should work great, and best of all, it's free!

Tomorrow I have to do some shopping. First I plan to do some browsing in a craft store, as I should be able to get a few last minute decorations at a discounted price. Then I need to go replace the candy I ate! :)
I will post pictures of any goodies I may find in my browsings!

Ghosts of pumpkins past part 2

Since I can't seem to figure out why I can't post more than 1 picture at a time on Blogger, I am going to continue where I left off on my last post.

Here is a goofy fellow that lived out his brief life on our mantle last Halloween. The skeleton candleholders are out again this year.

The ghosts of pumpkins past

Since Halloween is almost here, it seems like a good time to revisit pumpkins that lived out their brief lives with us in the past. May they rest in peace!


Oh, no...I can't seem to post more than one picture at a time. So I guess I need to go see what the issue is with Blogger.(I'm still new to this.) The ghostly quartet will have to be the only photo for now. It was a hastily carved last-minute idea that I took from the back of one of those cheap pumpkin carving kits.
Although I've done much better carvings, these guys still make me smile. Boo!

The light at the end of the tunnel

I am one tired blogger today. Work has been bearing down on me. This week I will probably put in close to 70 hours, which doesn't leave much time for anything at all. I love my job. I love the people that work for me. But I need a break! Halloween will be a truly special day this year...because it is the beginning of my much needed week off!

Husband and I will probably go camping for a few days during that week. I am so looking forward to it! There is a campground beside a river that is only about 15 miles from our house. Although it is close to home and not as exciting as some camping trips we've taken further away, it will be super easy to pull off without planning overmuch. If we forget something (or need to come home and feed Mr. Marco!) we can be here in minutes. This will be Ginger's first camping trip so we actually prefer to be closer to home, in case it doesn't go well and we need to bring her back. It's a nice place, too, even if it is nearby.

The park rangers cut up fallen limbs into firewood and stack it neatly into woodpiles at each campsite. Free firewood is a good thing! It's never very crowded. There is a beautiful wooden walkway built over the river (and through the woods, haha!) that we love to explore. It will be nice to build a fire, roast weenies, and do some stargazing. It will do us both a world of good to get away for a few days. We love to camp!

We will of course put off leaving until mid week. Halloween is going to be fun in our new neighborhood, and I wouldn't miss it for anything! We will probably go mid week and stay two or three nights. Husband's birthday is the following week so it will be an early birthday celebration for him. And late October/early November is when we have our peak of fall color this far south. The nights are chilly (mid 50's) and the days are warm (low 70's)...perfect camping weather! I can't wait!

Wordless Wednesday~ The Huntress Moon

One lovely surprise!

I had a wonderful surprise waiting for me this morning! Rue from Rue and Hyssop (one of my favorite blogs!) gave me an award! I am touched. Thank you so much. This made my day!

Confession time

I knew that I was doing something wrong. I was even kind of sneaky about it.

I tried to deny what I knew in my heart would happen. I abandoned reason and common sense and vowed that this time, this time, I would have the fortitude and willpower to overcome temptation. Well, my friends, I'm here to come clean. To confess. To bare the ugly truth. I did it again.

I bought my Halloween candy two weeks ago and I've eaten it all.

Mid month update

Seasonal quote:

"I'd rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion."
-Henry David Thoreau

It's been a beautiful month so far. We're getting some real color in the trees, the neighborhood is filling up with fall/Halloween decorations, the air is crisp and cool, and the sky is that deep lovely blue that we only see in October. Last night the crescent moon looked golden and the stars were bright in the drier autumn air. It's so nice to be outdoors this time of year.

The birds seem happy that the busy summer season is over. There are house finches that live in our yard that raised 4 clutches of babies this summer. Now all the young adults flutter around the camilla bush and the Bradford pear tree by our kitchen window, singing and preening all day long. They were all born (hatched, rather) in the old birdhouse that sits on a post by the window. We watched mom and dad care for babies all summer long! They did a good job, and now they have created their own small flock.I am so glad they have decided to stay around!

I've been up to my ears in work lately.  (Hence the scarcity of posts!) I haven't had a complete day off in two weeks. We are setting Christmas displays at my job, and it's been a ton of work. My boss visited yesterday and told me my store was beautiful, so the hard work is paying off! I am worn out though, and finally I have two days off (in a row!) to relax. Well, not relax, exactly. Because while I may have a beautiful store, my house is a complete pigsty! Almost every room is in need of some serious cleaning. I'm going to try to put in a mighty effort today and get enough of it done so that tomorrow I can really relax and do something fun. All this extra work will lighten up at the end of the month, and I actually have a week off from Oct. 31-Nov. 6!  I can't wait!

It's pumpkin madness!

I keep buying pumpkins lately. I'm going to have quite the lineup of jack'o'lanterns on Halloween night! So far I have one biggish orange pumpkin, 3 medium sized orange pumpkins, 1 medium white pumpkin, and a pile of little tiny baby sized pumpkins and assorted gourds.

They're all lined up on our front steps right now. I need to go pick up some new rechargeable batteries for my camera so that I can post new pictures. The street I live on is finally getting some nice color, and pumpkins, halloween decor, and potted mums are adorning lots of houses already! There is a church selling pumpkins cheap right down the road...I wonder how many I'm going to end up with because of driving past on my way to work every day! :)

Welcome October!

It's October 1st, and where the heck did September go?! It seems like last month just flew by. We are finally getting some color in the trees around here, but due to the lack of rain in the latter half of August and the first 3 weeks of September, I'm not sure that the colors are going to be all that vivid this year. We did make up most of the rain in the last few days though, thanks to the tropical storm that cruised up the east coast over the last few days.

Ginger is restless and I've got to take her for a long walk this morning before work. She mopes when it rains, and being a real high-energy kind of dog she needs her daily trek around the neighborhood! Thanks to the rain and my getting called in to work early yesterday, it's been several days since we've gone and she keeps looking at me reproachfully. It looks like it may start raining again any minute, but I'll just have to take an umbrella with us. Otherwise I'm going to have a mad doggie on my hands!

So now I leave you with the first of my halloween themed links to celebrate the month! I found this over at another blog, buried in the archives. It's Halloween Hangman! Loads of fun, and the skeleton on the rope will taunt you if you guess a wrong letter. Too cute!
http://www.dedge.com/halloween/