Another one come and gone

So, Halloween '09 is over. Wow. It always seems strange to me how fast the month of October seems to go by. I wait all year for this one night, dreaming about the plans I will (hopefully) make, the decorations I will put up, and what costume I will choose. All that preparation for only one, short night and before I know it, it's over. Done with. My plans for this year's Halloween did not go through. Instead of having wonderful memories to reminisce about my favorite night, I have only disappointment. It's been a pretty tough time lately. A recent death in the family, and other personal things going on, really put a huge damper on my mood this year. It didn't even really feel like Halloween to me, which makes it even worse. If only we had gotten even a few TOTs that would have at least been something. I still enjoyed the orange lights and the purple spider web, and two pumpkins that I put along the deck. I wasn't about to do nothing. I didn't get to wear the super cute pirate costume that I bought, thinking I would wear it to a vampire ball. Oh, well. I know I have next year to look forward to. Who knows, maybe, by some miracle, I'll be able to celebrate All Hallow's Eve in my favorite city again--New Orleans! One can always hope, right?

It's Halloween!!

Our holiday is here at last! Happy Halloween, everyone!!!

Two more weeks!!

I can't believe our favorite holiday is only two weeks away!! It's strange how we've been waiting so long for it to get here, and it seems like it takes forever. Then, suddenly, it's upon us, and we're scurrying around buying costumes and candy and decorations and planning parties, getting ready for the big night! There are so many wonderful costumes and decorations to choose from, too. I sometimes find that I have a tough time making the decision about what kind of ghoulish creature I want to be, or how I want to decorate the house and deck. My usual costume is something gothic, like a vampire, and I normally just put something together using anything black that's hanging in my closet. But when I went to The Costume Mansion a few weeks ago, I found a very cool pirate costume that was so cute I almost couldn't resist it. I thought it might be fun to be something totally different for once. I might even be a vampire pirate and wear my custom-made fangs! I am planning to go to a vampire ball on Halloween night, and that would be just perfect.

We got the first couple of pumpkins today. A part of me wants to carve one early because I can't wait to enjoy my first jack-o-lantern! I wish we had a porch where I could place a dozen beautiful, glowing pumpkins that everyone who passed by could see. I am loving all the Halloween shows on tv. Every night, I search the tv channels for anything Halloween-related. I love almost nothing more than laying in bed on a chilly October night watching shows like 'America's Haunts' or 'Halloweentown'!

We have only two more weeks left to prepare for, and look forward to, our favorite night of the year! I love the anxiousness and excitement I always feel right before All Hallow's Eve. Thank God for Halloween, I say. It is one of the few things that really makes me feel like a kid again, filled with spooky excitement for one short night of the year.

A lovely Fall morning

Today truly feels like Fall has arrived. It is around 70 degrees outside, and I was so chilly when I woke up this morning that I put on a long-sleeve shirt and closed the window behind me a little. It looks as if a storm might hit any minute, but no rain is supposedly in the forecast. It seems that autumn is simply announcing, "I am here now. This is MY season." I welcome it with open arms as I do every year. I am more than happy to bring out my sweaters and jackets. I want to go and buy pumpkins and begin carving away, even though I know they won't last until the magical night of Halloween. Maybe I'll just buy one and carve it just so I can enjoy that wonderful smell of burning pumpkin flesh! I'll place it in my room, on the bedstand, so that the flickering shadows will bounce on my walls at night. That feeling of magic that always comes with the arrival of Halloween is already in the air.

A poem to welcome the autumn season

Fall does not technically start until the 22nd, but I couldn't help but offer it an early greeting with this lovely poem that I found.

'With the Flaming Shades of Fall'

Colors burst in wild explosions
Fiery, flaming shades of fall
All in accord with my pounding heart
Behold the autumn-weaver
In bronze and yellow dying
Colors unfold into dreams
In hordes of a thousand and one
The bleeding
Unwearing their masks to the last notes of summer
Their flutes and horns in nightly swarming
Colors burst within
Spare me those unending fires
Bestowed upon the flaming shades of fall.

- Dark Tranquility, With the Flaming Shades of Fall

Martha's 'Halloween'

At the grocery store yesterday, I noticed Martha Stewart's annual 'Halloween' magazine and had to have it. Not only did it show her in an awesome ghostly equestrian costume, but it also included one of her gorgeous black Friesian horses, which I thought was just super cool! (I ride horses, and the Friesian is my favorite.) The magazine is full of wonderful recipes and craft projects, including how to make the costume she is shown wearing. I have never bought a Martha magazine before, but I must say, I was impressed with her Halloween one. It includes a link to a website where you can purchase all of the props and decorations online. I really liked several of the huge, inflatable decorations. I'd love to have the horse and carriage on my front lawn, lit up with black or red lights. I'll be trying some of the recipes this year, for sure. The magazine has a lot of stuff to give you some wicked Halloween fun! I would definitely recommend it.

Halloween treats

I was at Walmart today and as I was going through the check-out stand, I noticed a small booklet of Halloween recipes. It was kind of expensive for such a little book ($4.00), but I figured I had to have it since it was, after all, for Halloween. It just wouldn't be right for me to pass it up. It's called 'Halloween Food, Fun & Crafts', and it has some very cool looking treats on the cover. It has everything from dinner recipes ('Spaghetti and Eyeballs, with meatballs for the eyes; 'Slimy Sliders'), to appetizers ('Freaky Fondue'; 'Tasty Tombstones'; 'Buzzard Claws with Swamp Dip'), desserts and treats ('Poison Apple Cupcakes'; 'Great Pumpkin Cake'), an awesome 'Witch Hat' centerpiece made out of cocoa-flavored crispy rice cereal, and drinks, otherwise called 'Potions & Punches', such as 'Sinister Slushies', 'Swamp Punch', and of course, 'Witches Brew'. There is even a section on making crafts. You can make a 'Monster Fur Scarf' that has clawed feet on the ends, 'Spooky Supperware', and 'Glass Bead Spiders'. I might just have to try making these little spiders to place around the house. It also shows you how to make a 'Beaded Pumpkin Gift Box' if you're looking for something to store treats or jewelry in. I will definitely be giving some of the recipes a try this year, and I don't have too long to wait, either. We are almost in September, and All Hallow's Eve is practically creeping around the corner!

How I love this time of year. The days are starting to grow shorter, and the nights are growing cooler. Halloween will soon be appearing all around us. Cool days, orange and red-colored leaves, fall festivals, the smell of burning fireplaces, and pumpkins on porches....you can't get any better than that!

The signs of Halloween!

I know of at least two locations where the 'Spirit' Halloween store is coming in. One is right next to my gym, so I will be over that way a lot! I drove by it today, and there were people inside starting to set up. Oh, joy! I love to see that huge, orange and black Halloween banner hanging on the building for all to see, announcing Halloween's arrival! It shouldn't be too long now until they start bringing in the goods. Walmart, and other stores like it, probably won't be far behind. I already found Fall/Halloween, (and even Christmas!) fabrics in Walmart when I was there a few weeks ago. Another place I've been keeping my eye on is TJ Max. They had some great stuff last year, and when I went back a few days ago, sure enough, they had started putting out Halloween! I bought a few things I just couldn't resist buying. One was a large October calendar made entirely of fabric. It has a haunted house design on it with little pockets that are the windows on the house, and mark each day of the month. Attached to the top by a string is a little candy corn-shaped piece of wood that you slide inside the pockets as you count down the days until Halloween. It is just too cute. I also purchased a new pumpking carving pattern book at Micheal's last week. It's one of those "Shadow" ones. I thought I'd give it a try. I plan to go back and buy a few of the fake pumpkins to do some of the carvings. I carved one last year and was very happy with how it turned out.

'Spirit' Halloween is on its way!

You know the Halloween season is really on its way when you see the first Halloween superstore sign. As I was driving to my dance class today, I noticed the huge 'Spirit Halloween' banner on one of the buildings that I drove by. It didn't look like the store was actually there just yet, but the fact that the banner was already up told me that the grand opening would be happening very soon! I failed to make it to a 'Spirit' store last year (*hides her face in shame*), but I have every intention of going this year. I always loved that store. They truly have some cool stuff. I put up my first decoration yesterday, but I have so much more to do! I can't wait. I decided that I want to make a cemetery scene. I think we have a nice location for one. I just need to get some headstones, lights, and a few other little goodies, and I think it will look pretty good. I really want to not only take pics of it, but I'd also love to even have some videotape. I've never downloaded a video onto the Internet, so not quite sure how that works. Hopefully, it isn't all too challenging, and I'll be able to do it without any real trouble. Maybe someone can offer me some good tips, and I can have my first video of a Halloween haunt!

Halloween is beginning to show its face, my fellow fiends. We don't have too long to wait now. I am looking forward to this night of nights as I always am.

A Fall teaser

I couldn't believe it when I got up at 6 a.m. this morning. I went outside to let the dogs out, and it was as if time had jumped ahead to the beginning of October or November. It was actually chilly. The air felt like it had a slight dampness to it, and I noticed the faint smell of rain. We have been turning on the whole house fan in these wee hours of the day, but this morning, instead of having the fan on in my room, I seriously considered putting on a sweater. It felt so much like a brisk autumn morning that I felt excited! It gave me an early taste of those wonderful fall mornings that I love so much, and that I look forward to during the dry, scorching days of summer. Before long, every morning will be like this. Fall is not so far away now. Signs of it are already showing up in stores and mail catalogs. We even received a Christmas catalog the other day! Michael's and Hallmark already have Halloween inventory on the shelves, and Christmas won't be far behind. I am already thinking about my Halloween costume. I want to start ordering some new decorations and start putting up the ones I already have. Not everyone is ready for summer to come to an end, but I am. I guess autumn is in my blood. I am one of the Autumn People.

Welcome, Halloween!

I went into a Hallmark store today to look for a sympathy card, and I was excited to see Halloween stuff on the shelf! Not only was there Halloween stuff, but Halloween 'Peanuts' style! They had several of the 'Peanuts' characters dressed in adorable little costumes. One was Sally wearing a princess costume and carrying a treat bag, and the other was Lucy in her traditional witch costume. When you press a button on their foot, they say one of their lines from 'The Great Pumpkin'. They also had a really cool Snoopy in costume that plays a spooky little tune. He's holding a bag, and inside the bag is Woodstock, also in a costume, who pops up and down as the music plays. I couldn't resist purchasing the Lucy and Sally dolls, and I have every intention of going back and getting Snoopy, too. Hopefully, they will get some of the other characters. It wouldn't be right to not have good 'ol Chuck in his ghost sheet covered in holes! They also had some wonderful Fall-scented candles, a cute little candy dish, a black, bendable tree that you hang various 'Peanuts' characters from, and some Halloween books. One was 'It's the Great Pumpkin', and I noticed a newly revised 'Great Pumpkin' dvd that also had a couple of newer 'Peanuts' features. They had little ornaments, such as one that resembled Morticia from 'The Addams Family', holding a glass of blood, and a sign above her head that reads, "Partying is in my blood". I bought that as well to hang from my rear-view mirror.

After Hallmark, I ventured on over to Michael's, since I was told they now have some Halloween inventory on the shelves. Sure enough, I immediately saw some decorations as I walked through the front doors. I was so excited that I literally had a hop in my step as I walked over to the aisle where they were hanging! Some of the stuff was new, as I hadn't seen it before, but I recognized a pretty good-sized skeleton bust that I had kind of wanted last year. Thinking this was all they had out so far, I walked towards the aisle where the brunt of their Halloween stuff is usually stored, but I found that it was moved down an aisle or two. One whole side of the aisle was already filled up. Some stuff I remembered from before, but I did see a bunch of new stuff by the Spookytown collection. I will definitely be buying a few more of those this year to add to what I already own. I bought three little ceramic skeletons. They're the kind with the dangly legs, and the funny flat butt that enables them to sit upright. I've already placed them on the windowsill that overlooks my bed. There's much more to come, and I look forward to going back as often as I can to see what new things I can't live without! This is such an exciting time for me! I love it when Fall and Halloween first start to appear!

Halloween arrivals

You know the Halloween season is indeed on its way when you start receiving Halloween catalogs in the mail. Just the other day, I got the Fall '09 catalog for The Winfield Collection, and even I was surprised to see it so early! In case you aren't familiar with TWC, it's a company that makes all kinds of wood patterns. There are patterns for every holiday, and every season. I have never done woodworking, but those of you who are into serious prop-making should find it quite easy, I should think. There are even patterns for things that light up. I subscribe to the catalog because at some point I plan to give this woodworking thing a try. I would love to be able to put up lit-up displays for Halloween and Christmas. This new catalog has some new patterns this year, one of which is a large haunted pirate ship. There is also a very cool looking glowing graveyard that I would love to have in my front yard. You can make things for indoors, too, such as a 3' tall witch, vampire, or Frankenstein candy holder. These would all be perfect additions to any Halloween decor.

http://www.thewinfieldcollection.com/category/Lighted_Halloween

Evangeline's...UPDATE!

Just yesterday, I had the privilege of learning that the Costume Mansion will be opening its doors, not on August 1st as it usually does, but this Thursday, July 16th! Apparently, the owner has decided to try opening the Halloween store a few weeks earlier this year to "see how it goes". I am hoping it goes very well, so that the owner decides to do it this early every year. It just gives me more time to save up and buy more Halloween goodies to decorate my house with! I hope to post pics of the Mansion soon, as I will certainly be paying it an early visit! Oh, joy!!! ;)





On August 1st, Evangeline's Costume Mansion will once again open its doors to the public to prepare for the Halloween season. Evangeline's is the best Halloween/costume shop in Sacramento (and possibly in all of northern CA). Located in an huge old, three-story building, the lower half of the store is open year-round, and you can find all sorts of crazy gags, gothic jewelry, games, incense, posters, and tons of other weird and wacky stuff. But it is the upstairs part, the Costume Mansion, that it is best known for. The upstairs section houses the wonderfully spooky Costume Mansion, which sells not only any costume you can practically think of, and is also decorated in all things Halloween and ghoulish. Naturally, it is my favorite part of the store, and it always bums me out that it's only open for this part of the year. They will allow you to take a special trip up there with an escort if you're in need of a certain costume or accessory, but is otherwise open only August through October. August 1st, to be exact, which means that I now have less than a month to go until my favorite store opens its doors! I always look forward to going there just to see the decorations, if nothing else. As you ascend the stairs, you gradually notice that the lighting is becoming dimmer, and then you realize the rooms are lit mostly by candelabras and wall sconces with flickering LED candles. There is a faint musty smell, and you truly feel like you are walking into an old, delipidated Victorian mansion. The walls, and even parts of the ceiling, are strewn with gigantic bats, spiders, spider webs, mummies, zombies and so on, while skeletons and other creatures of the night are propped up in corners, or glaring down at you as you pass underneath archways. There are different rooms, or different parts of rooms, with certain themes or types of costumes. One room has different styles of Egyptian, Greek, and Renaissance costumes; and then there is the Old West room ranging from saloon girl costumes, Can-Can dresses, and Wyatt Earp. They have a huge selection of wigs, too, and I love to go and try on all the different colors. Between all the make-up, costumes, lighting and other decorations, I could easily spend a fortune here. Oh, and did I mention that there is also a large elevator that you can choose to ride up in, if you'd rather not make the long climb up the stairs? Even the elevator is spooky! The inside has mirrors, and is dimly lit. The outside is black, and the walls leading up to the Mansion are also macabre looking. It is the Halloween lover's dream come true. You can find almost anything you need for a great Halloween party, or a night of trick-or-treating. I am so glad it opens in early August. It's wonderful for the Halloween enthusiast to have such an awesome place to begin his or her Halloween shopping early!

http://www.evangelines.com/

As Autumn nears, so the days grow shorter

Yesterday was the longest day of the year. From here on, each day will begin to grow shorter and shorter as Fall slowly creeps closer. I couldn't help but feel a little bit excited when someone reminded me of this yesterday. I love it when I can really start to notice it, when the leaves start turning red and orange, there's a chill in the air, and darkness descends before the clock strikes five. It's around this time that the autumn mood really takes hold of me. Signs of Halloween start popping up everywhere. Store fronts are lined with an assortment of pumpkins, and Halloween decorations and candy have their own aisle. I always buy a few pumpkins early just to have them around. I think I will carve a few extra this year. Maybe I'll do something totally different like paint one black on the outside so it looks extra creepy. I also plan to put up orange and purple lights all around the deck just like we do for Christmas. There are 130 days left until Halloween. I wish I could speed up time.

Halloween ideas at Michael's

Before you get too excited and think I'm saying that Michael's already has Halloween out, no, unfortunately, they do not. They did, however, have quite a few Fall-colored plants and flower bouquets out, which immediately brought a big smile to my face! I decided to check out their website just to see if there was a date that said exactly when Halloween would be put out on the shelves. I didn't see a date, but there was a link to 'Seasons', and from there I clicked on 'Halloween'. This led me to a page with a bunch of cute Halloween project ideas (over 20 pages worth!). One of my favorites was this ghost TOT table centerpiece. I also thought this cupcake holder would be fun to have out on display for a Halloween party. I don't normally do a lot of craft projects, but in looking at some of these, it might be pretty fun. I always loved gingerbread houses at Christmas, and I thought the haunted gingerbread house was a pretty clever idea. It would also make a great centerpiece, and who doesn't love the sweet smell of freshly baked gingerbread?? Maybe working on a few Halloween projects will get me even more in the Halloween spirit (as if I needed any help already)!

Source: http://www.michaels.com/art/online/projectlist?categoryid=54

Autumn is coming early at Michael's

Ok, I just had to share this because I couldn't believe it! I walked into a Michael's yesterday, and to my complete surprise, I saw Fall-colored flowers and bouquets already stacked on the shelves. It was the last thing I was expecting to see considering that it is only early June, but nonetheless, they were there! I recalled that last year in July I was shocked to discover that not only were Fall flowers already out, but Halloween decorations were out as well. The same aisle that houses the Halloween stuff every year had at least half the decorations out, such as the 'Spooky Town' collection of musical haunted houses. Funny that I find Fall already showing up in one of my favorite stores when the weather is so Fall-like. In about a month from now, I will expect to probably find Halloween already showing up on my favorite aisle there. I wonder what cool, new things I will find there this year. I hope I find a bunch of new stuff to bring home and decorate with! I am *so* looking forward to it!

Fall-like weather

Is it really June?! We had major thunder and lightning last night as we were driving home, as well as some rain. It is still completely over cast and pretty chilly today. While many people are probably upset that the weather is like this in early summer, I am actually quite enjoying it. It feels, looks and smells like Fall. Unbelievable. The sky looked so awesome last night! I wish I had pictures. Most of the sky was dark and stormy looking, but there was an area of it I could see far off in the distance that was lit up. It was so strange. Every ten seconds or so, lightning would flash across the whole sky, and heavy raindrops would come pounding down on the windshield, followed by an occasional boom of thunder. It was truly a sight to see and hear. It would have made for a wicked Halloween night. I could see myself, on a night like this on All Hallow's Eve, perhaps sitting in front of a warm fireplace surrounded by friends, telling tales of horror to each other. The soft glow of jack-0-lanterns all around the room would cast spooky shadows on the walls, and creepy music would play in a corner of the room. We'd be enjoying all sorts of Halloween candies and treats, as is tradition on Halloween night. Our faces, hidden behind masks and make-up, would look ghoulish as we stare wide-eyed at each other in the glow of the firelight. My kind of Halloween, indeed!

Summer

I am already sick of it. It's barely even begun, but I am already dreading the 100-plus heat that will be upon us in a matter of weeks. Already, I long for the cool, crisp breeze of autumn, with the sweet scent of dying leaves and smoking chimneys that always accompanies it. I am happy summer is beginning. I am just anxious for it to be over so that my favorite time of year can finally be here again.

'Season of the Crone'

Crone of Winter's spellbound cold,

in Her cauldron of black are told

secrets ancient, truths and tales:

mystery Her light unveils.



She is wisdom, She is changes:

time and space She rearranges.

In Her hands, the card of Death,

for transformation is Her breath.



Crone of Winter, Grandmother wise,

look into Her gargoyle eyes.

Let Her lessons teach you well:

life is but a magick spell.



-'Priestess and Pentacle', by Gerina Dunwish

A new treat

I was at Borders yesterday, and was browsing through the Wiccan/ghosts book aisle when I saw 'A Witch's Halloween: A Complete Guide to the Magick, Incantations, Recipes, Spells, and Lore'. I had actually seen it on amazon earlier in the week while I was searching for new books on Halloween, and I was surprised to find it at Borders. It was actually the only book they had on Halloween, which was kind of a disappointment. I am not actually a practicing Wiccan, but the book isn't aimed only towards those who are. It looked like my kind of book, so I had to have it. I'm looking forward to curling up with it late at night.

http://www.amazon.com/Witchs-Halloween-Complete-Incantations-Recipes/dp/1598693409/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241829943&sr=1-1#

Halloween melancholy

(Image: www.hauntedbay.com)

It isn't fair. The weather is gloomy and damp and over cast, and it feels so much like Fall right now it's unreal. I feel like I should get out all of my Halloween decorations (oh, wait...some of those still aren't put away from last Halloween!). They said we made the record for the most rainfall on the first of May, and it still hasn't stopped. It's been chilly in the house, and we are using our heaters again after putting them away to make way for house fans. Summer has been temporarily pushed aside by a deceitful entity posing as Autumn, but I know better. It isn't so much that I mind it feeling/looking like Fall is here early this year. I rather like it, except for the nonstop rain. It just makes me wish that I would see ghosts and spiderwebs hanging in store windows, and porches with scarecrows and grinning pumpkins, and everything else that symbolizes the harvest season and All Hallow's Eve. It's funny how there are days like this that make me feel closer to it--as if I can feel it closeby when it really isn't. I swear, if I had a pumpkin here right now I would carve it. There are times when I long to smell the burning lid when it's licked by the candle's flame, and the sweet scent of the gooey innards when I disembowl the pumpkin. Yup. It's my favorite time of year, alright, and right now it feels like it's only weeks away. Nature, the trickster that she is...making me feel like this when I have such a long time to wait until it is really here. Evil temptress.

Halloween history on tv

To my surprise, as I was looking to see what was on tv last night, the words 'The True History of Halloween' caught my eye. Even though it is admittedly a kids' show, (I'm a kid-at-heart', so maybe that counts!), 'Truth or Scare', on Discovery Kids has actually had some pretty good episodes, including last night's Halloween history one. The set was done up in wonderfully spooky decor, with glowing pumpkins and a bubbling cauldron, etc. It told the history of Halloween starting with the ancient rituals of the Druids, and how our traditions today, such as TOTing, first got started. I didn't know, for example, that the tradition of bobbing for apples at Halloween parties was originally done by unmarried people, and that the first person to get the apple was said to be the one to get married! The show also talked about the ancient belief in vampires and witches, and a real life witch was interviewed throughout the show. All in all, I thought it was a really fun show, and I really enjoyed it. I will be keeping my eye on 'Truth or Scare' from now on. This is the second or third time I've watched the show and found it very interesting.

Here is a little synopsis of the entire show:

Synopsis

Michelle describes the history of Halloween and traces modern-day traditions such as trick-or-treating and bobbing for apples back to their Celtic roots.

Full Recap

Michelle tells how Halloween comes from an ancient Celtic holiday celebrating the end of summer harvest and celebrated to please the gods and ward off evil spirits. She speaks to a modern-day witch to learn about the ancient traditions our modern-day festivities derive from. Bobbing for apples was originally something young unmarried people did. Rumor was the first person to get an apple would be the first to get married.Trick-or-treating was something peasents did. Each family would bake a small treat to share with their neighbors. If people felt you weren't being generous enough, you got a "trick". But tricks weren't all fun and games - sometimes people got killed as part of one.There are two theories on how jack-o-lanterns came to be. One is the story of a boy named Jack who liked to play tricks on people. One time he tricked the devil into climbing up a tree that he couldn't get down from. As punishment, Jack's soul was forced to wander the earth forever with only a candle in a pumpkin to guide him. Another says that the ancient Celts actually used human heads in their Halloween rituals.Cristians were afraid that the Celts' celebration worshipped the devil, so they declared the day after the Celtic holiday All Saints Day and renamed October 31st All Hallows Eve, which was later shortened to just "Halloween".

Halloween in April!

Much to my (very happy) surprise last night, I discovered that the Disney Channel is doing 'Halloween in April' all this week:

(http://tv.disney.go.com/disneychannel/schedule/halloweeninapril/index.html)

I know several channels do a 'Christmas in July' every year, but I've never heard of any having a special Halloween week six months before Halloween. How wonderful is that?! I don't know about anyone else, but I personally think it's pretty cool. Aside from Disney, it seems that I also keep coming across various shows on ghosts and hauntings on different channels as well. Funny how when you're least expecting something to happen, it often does. This is one instance where I certainly don't mind. Bring on the Halloween shows, I say! I want to feel like it's Halloween all year long!

An old-fashioned Halloween...

...is simply my idea of Heaven! Not much could make me happier than combining my love of vintage collectibles along with my love of Halloween. I just discovered that allposters.com has some really wonderful vintage Halloween posters. You can even order them framed! I couldn't resist capturing a few of the images and posting them here to share with my fellow Halloween enthusiasts. I am definitely going to be ordering some and putting them on my walls (and I don't mean just for the Halloween season! ;) (FYI: to see the huge collection that I came across, I went to Google and typed in 'vintage Halloween posters'.)

I loved being spooked as a kid on Halloween.

Sweet

Halloween Parade (Artist: Ken Brown)

I wish this graveyard was in my backyard. (Artist: Dynamic Graphics)

While technically not a vintage print, it brought back memories of my own TOTing days. Love it from this angle.

Wish I was with 'em!

A witch, a cauldron, a broom, and a full moon over a pumpkin patch....the perfect makings for a Halloween night.

I want to live here. (Artist: Blonde Blythe)

Love these rich colors! ( Blonde Blythe)

Halloween nostalgia

A Halloween greeting from yesteryear. I want to walk along that path with only the jack-o-lanterns to light my way. Heaven.

I want to jump into this picture and live in that house. If only...

Vintage Halloween collage...I actually smiled when I saw this.

I gotta' learn how to make this. Beautiful.

Another must-have for Halloween....spooky candles and cookies!

You can't have Halloween without Linus and the Great Pumpkin!!!

Love that moon!!

I want this red dress for a costume. And...is that an "owl hat"??

In addition to my usual interests, I also have a love of antiques. Naturally, this includes antiques of the Halloween variety. I did a search for "vintage Halloween" and found some really cool stuff. Somehow, a lot of vintage Halloween decorations seem to capture the feel of the holiday for me more so than many modern-day ones do. I'm not quite sure why that is. There is just something about the thought of Halloweens of yesteryear that really appeals to me. I don't actually have any vintage Halloween decorations or anything, but I wouldn't mind starting to collect some.

The halfway point

Considering that we are now in March, it occurred to me that we are now *almost* at the halfway point. Not to seem anxious or anything, but Halloween is only a little over six months away! I know I'm not the only one counting down the months. C'mon, admit it. ;) Those of us who adore Halloween can't wait for it to roll around again, even if it's only a month after we've celebrated it. Even during these seemingly long, wet, boring months of winter, visions of my next Halloween never cease to occupy my mind. I know that especially by the end of summer-- when I am sick to death of those near 100-degree days, and I am anxious for that first hint of the Harvest season--I will have already been anticipating Fall's arrival for several months before it gets here. Now is the time to be preparing for it. As always, I will be ready.

A White Halloween

Yesterday morning, I woke up to this beautiful sight. We rarely get snow around here, so it was quite a treat. I realize that snow and Halloween don't usually go hand-in-hand, but it got me to thinking about how cool it would actually be to see brightly lit jack-o-lanterns glowing against a blanket of freshly fallen snow. It always seems so surreal to see our home and our streets covered in the stark whiteness of winter. I love it. I always wish it would snow for Christmas, but it never has. I thought of how unusual it would be to combine the two--snow and Halloween--because of the contrast between them. What an interesting sight that would be! We are supposed to have another storm heading our way tonight, and there is a possibility of getting more snow. I am hoping for it. I think that I will put out one of my jack-0-lanterns just to enjoy the sight of the two of them together-- if only for this one, rare time.

Is it October yet?

I was doing some gardening this afternoon and was raking up leaves, and there were so many of them everywhere that it made me think of Fall. You could barely see the ground because of all the leaves. As I sit here typing this, my ceramic ghost, with its little light-up jack-o-lantern, sits on the cabinet to my right, staring, wide-eyed at me. I *still* haven't finished him yet, and he looks at me as though he is reminding me of this. All I need to do to finish him is put the glaze on him and his pumpkin, put them in the kiln one more time, and they are ready to light up the night next Halloween. I have another Halloween ceramic that also needs to be cleaned, painted and put in the kiln. I hope to be able to put a light in it as well. I am already looking forward to next October when I can bring out all of my Halloween decorations again and fill the house with them. That is such a happy time for me. Funny how that part of me who got so excited as a little kid when Halloween was approaching has never died. I firmly believe now that it never will, either. I'm glad for this. I love knowing that there will always be at least one time of the year when I become like that little kid again, and feel the excitement that always comes with looking forward to Halloween. I already can't wait to see what new things the stores will bring in this year! I will try to wait patiently until July or August comes around, and many of the stores begin putting out their first Halloween stuff. I'm always thrilled that they start getting it in that early. I hope the time passes quickly.

Happy Halloween..a poem

It's late and we are sleepy,

The air is cold and still.

Our jack-o-lantern grins at us

Upon the windowsill.

We're stuffed with cake and candy

And we've had a lot of fun,

But now it's time to go to bed

And dream of all we've done.

We'll dream of ghosts and goblins

And of witches that we've seen,

And we'll dream of trick-or-treating

On this happy Halloween.

-Unknown

If you're in the mood for pumpkin...

..then you should give this Pumpkin Pudding recipe a try! I made it last night, and it was delicious. It may not be Fall, but as far as I'm concerned, any time is a good time for pumpkin!

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1740,130181-255199,00.html

October Dreams

I went jogging tonight around our neighborhood, and the whole time I kept thinking how it seemed so much like October. It was so refreshing and invigorating. The air was moist and crisp, and the streets were damp with leaves strewn all over them. It was as if the first of October was here again, and it was wonderful. There was even that odd scent in the air that always accompanies October; that sort of clammy, mossy smell like the inside of an old cellar. I always love that smell because it makes me think of Halloween. The only thing missing were pumpkins and Halloween decorations on doorsteps and porches. The weather is taunting me.

'The Dark'

I just finished watching this movie on the SciFi channel. It came out in 2005, but I had never heard of it before. I thought it was very good, and quite spooky at times. The ending left me a little confused and wondering what to make of it. I don't normally like movies like that, but I still thought it was very entertaining, and quite suspenseful. The story was also different than any other movie I've seen from this genre. I think it would be a good one to watch on a cold, dark Halloween night.

Missing Halloween

I think I'm having withdrawals. Perhaps because I didn't celebrate it the way I normally do each year, I wish it was the beginning of October again. I miss that wonderful feeling of excitement and anticipation that comes with Halloween being just around the corner. I miss the Halloween decorations. I miss my pumpkins. I miss the Halloween shows on tv every night. The 'Headless Horseman' was on earlier this evening, but I wasn't home to see it. That would have been very cool. I love it when Halloween-themed shows play when it isn't even Halloween time. I am hoping they will re-play it soon.

A New Year's Resolution

Well, it's 2009. Is that crazy, or what?! I can't believe it's already been almost three months since Halloween. As I sat here pondering the new year and the things it might bring, a thought popped into my head. I thought of how one of my New Year's resolutions should be planning an exciting Halloween, and making sure that I go through with it. My plans for this past Halloween ended in huge disappointment, and I definitely don't want that to happen again. Every serious Halloween fan needs to feel a sense of gratification after the Big Night. For hardcore home haunters, this means creating the most frightening, awe-inspiring display possible. For others, it means going out in search of anything that will give them the kind of fear and excitement that they experienced as innocent little children trick-or-treating on Halloween night. I tend to fall in the second category. I think my favorite thing to do on Halloween is get dressed up in some outrageous costume, and then meet up with friends and visit haunted homes and cemetaries, and walk down moonlit streets filled with little ghouls screaming and laughing as they run from house to house. I miss that kind of excitement that I felt as a kid, and every year I hope for its return. It's always my goal, as I prepare to go out on Halloween, to turn into that kid again who had some of the best times of her life on this one special night of the year. I think most of us who love Halloween continue to celebrate it as adults because of the wonderful, warm memories it gave us as children. We want to keep making new memories, even if it means we can't trick-or-treat anymore, or go to school in our costumes and have Halloween parties with our friends in class.

So, Halloween is definitely on my New Year's list this year. I have about nine months to think of something fun and different to do, and a costume to wear. As with every year, I will look forward to that time of year when summer's end is near, and the days start to grow shorter, and Fall is once again coming 'round. Oh, and most of all, I love it when the first signs of Halloween begin to appear in store windows, and I can begin my Halloween shopping. Pure joy! :)