Easing Into The Season

Trader Joe's helped me finish the Halloween decorating.
They have wonderful brooms scented with cinnamon.
My front door area is completely covered.
When you walk to the front door you see pumpkins,
the brooms parked, and the scent of cinnamon.
It's really nice!

I like the succulents at Joe's.
This one is perfect for the Day of the Dead.

Around the neighborhood,
my favorite dragon is back!

I met this fisherman on a morning walk.
Very clever!

Finally!
Fall arrived.
We don't seem to ease into any season down here.
We went from 90 degrees one day to 55 the next.
That meant it is chili time!
My Halloween mug from Fiesta is the perfect size for chili.
You can find my recipe (easy) here.
YUM!

The baby afghan is finished.
I found this wonderful Patchwork Animal pattern book from Annie's Attic.
Great stash busters!
I decided to make the Teddy Bear first.
Every child should have a Teddy Bear.

Here he is all finished.

Now I'm trying to decide which animal to crochet next!
Maybe the puppy?!

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Mosaic Monday

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Deciding on Yarn is Easy or Hard

Halloween decorating continues.

I think I'm almost finished with the ghosts and goblins.

Including kitchen towels!

Halloween is fun around here.
There is the annual block party.
We all meet at one house with our candy in tow.
We have pizza, hot dogs and drinks of all kinds
while we give candy to the kids and tell them how great they look.

In family news,
my BGD (Beautiful God Daughter)
announced that they are expecting.
She and her Knight decided they didn't want to know if baby is a girl or boy.
That makes deciding on yarn for a baby afghan easy, 
or hard depending on how you feel!!

So I decided on all the colors of the rainbow in their brightest!

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

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Good For A Giggle

Time to decorate for Halloween!

Henry Higgins and Eliza Boolittle have come out of hiding.
They are always good for a giggle.

Ms. Ghost has taken her place on the balcony.

There's even a witch brewing up a spell or two in the atrium.
Maybe she has a spell for chasing the summer away!

Time for a break!
A piece of cake ...

and a cup of tea.

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Mosaic Monday

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Pumpkin Patch

I have my own Pumpkin Patch.
They were a lot of fun to crochet.
Now, I just have to keep the kitties from playing with the smallest!

Now that my Pumpkin Patch is finished,
I can start thinking about Halloween.

My favorite part about Halloween -- the cooler weather that usually arrives!

The origin of Halloween can be traced to Samhain (pronounced sow-in, which rhymes with cow-in), which was an ancient Celtic festival that was celebrated to mark the end of harvesttime and the beginning of the new year.

 The ancient Celts believed that the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was at its thinnest during Samhain, thereby making it a good time to communicate with the deceased and to divine the future. 

Samhain is Gaelic for “summer’s end,” a day to bid good-bye to warmth and light as day length shortens.*

A BRIEF HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN*

Following the Roman Empire’s rule over Celt-occupied lands in the 1st century A.D., the Romans incorporated many of the Celtic traditions, including Samhain, with their own.

 Eight hundred years later, the Roman Catholic Church further modified Samhain, designating November 1 as All Saints’ Day, in honor of all Catholic saints. This day was formerly known as Allhallowmas, hallow meaning to sanctify, or make holy. 

All Saints’ Day is known in England as All Hallows’ Day. The evening before, October 31, is known as All Hallows’ Eve, the origin of the American word Halloween!

In later years, the Irish used hollowed-out, candlelit turnips carved with a demon’s face to frighten away spirits. When Irish immigrants in the 1840s found few turnips in the United States, they used the more plentiful pumpkins instead.* 

*From The Farmers Almanac

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Mosaic Monday

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To Guide The Uninitiated

I love the Farmer's Almanac.
It is fun and informative.
I thought I'd share some Victorian era Etiquette
along with more Autumn fun.
Be prepared to laugh out loud!

To guide the uninitiated, Thomas E. Hill compiled a list of dos and don’ts in his Manual of Social and Business Forms, 
first published in 1875. 

• Bathing: “Upon arising, take a complete bath. A simple washing out of the eyes is not sufficient. The complete bathing of the body once each day is of the utmost importance. Not more than a quart of water is necessary, preferably rainwater.”

• Skin: “Beware of exterior applications of cosmetics. Instead, once every two or three months, take a teaspoonful of powdered charcoal mixed with sweetened water or milk. This will prove efficacious in making the complexion clear and transparent.”

• Kissing: “Upon the meeting of intimate friends, among ladies, at the private house, the kiss as a mode of salutation is yet common; but this is a custom which ought to be abolished for physiological and other reasons.”
  

  
  

• Bowing: “A gentleman should not bow from a window to a lady on the street, though he may bow slightly from the street upon being recognized by a lady in a window. Such recognition should, however, generally be avoided, as gossip is likely to attach undue importance to it when seen by others.”

• Small talk: “No topic of absorbing interest may be admitted to polite conversation. It might lead to discussion.”

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Mosaic Monday

Amaze Me Monday

Willy Nilly Friday

Pumpkins, Kitties, Witches and Books, Oh My!

Watercolors from 2015

*WHY IS IT CALLED “HALLOWEEN”?

The origin of Halloween and many of its customs can be traced to Samhain(pronounced sow-in, which rhymes with cow-in), an ancient pagan Celtic festival that was celebrated to mark the end of harvesttime and the beginning of the new year. The 2-day celebration began at sundown on October 31. The ancient Celts believed that the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was at its thinnest during Samhain, thereby making it a good time to communicate with the deceased and to divine the future. Samhain is Gaelic for “summer’s end,” a day to bid good-bye to warmth and light as the day length shortens.

Following the triumph of the Holy Roman Empire over Celt-occupied lands in the 1st century A.D., the Romans incorporated many of the Celtic traditions, including Samhain, with their own. This day was formerly known as Allhallowmas, hallow meaning to sanctify, or make holy. All Saints’ Day is known in England as All Hallows’ Day. 

Eight hundred years after the triumph of the Holy Roman Empire, the Roman Catholic Church designated November 1 as All Saints’ Day, in honor of all Catholic saints. It was celebrated with a mass, bonfires, and people costumed as angels and saints parading through the villages.

Just as November 1 was once called All Hallows’ Day, October 31 was called All Hallows’ Eve. Over time, All Hallows’ Eve was shortened to Halloween.

Jack-O-Lanterns

Turnip lanterns predate pumpkins as jack-o-lanterns.
In ancient Ireland, revelers would hollow out large turnips,
or potatoes or beets, and carve them a demon's face to frighten away spirits.
They would light the turnips from within with a candle 
or a piece of smoldering coal.
They then placed the lanterns in the windows and doorways of their homes,
in the belief that the carvings would scare off evil spirits
and welcome deceased loved ones inside.
Irish immigrants arriving in the New World during the early 1800s
found the plentiful, easier to carve pumpkins ready substitutes for turnips.

One more interesting fact about Halloween.
Did you know that it was once celebrated on Thanksgiving?
You can read all about that on Mental Floss here.

*


I've been so busy knitting that I haven't done a lot of reading, 
but I did finish THE DEVIL'S DREAM by Lee Smith.
It follows several generations of a Southern family living in the Appalachians.
From simple hymns, old-time medicine shows, radio barn dances, sleazy rockabilly joints,
primitive recording sessions, to the Grand Ole Opry 
and tales of growing up in the Appalachian south. 
Lee Smith is a wonderful story teller and the lure of music is something I think
anyone can identify with. I even remember some of the songs mentioned.
Memories! 


*

Sometimes I think I visit Starbucks too often.
The barista knows what I'm going to order before I do!


*




This little fella flew in from Louisiana from one of my sisters by choice.
She knows how much I love owls and enjoy Halloween.
He's called a zipper owl.
I think you can see why.
I've never seen one like him.
He's a great addition to the Parliament!


Wishing YOU well, much joy and a Haunting Halloween!


Willy Nilly Friday
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Remember:
"A grandmother pretends she doesn't know who you are on Halloween."
~Erma Bombeck

* Information from the Old Farmer's Almanac.
You can see the entire article here.

I'll Be One of Those In Line

Welcome to October!

I love October.
It means, with a little luck, the 90 degree days and high humidity
will be fewer and farther apart and maybe we will see 60 degree mornings.
Relief!

Here's a little information about my favorite month:

October's birth flowers are the cosmos and the calendula or marigold.
Cosmos is a symbol of joy in life and love and of peace.
The calendula (aka garden, English, or pot marigold) represents
winning grace, grief, or chagrin in the language of flowers.

The October birthstone is the opal, which symbolizes faithfulness and confidence.



October Holidays:

October 9 is Leif Eriksson Day.
October 10 is Columbus Day in the U.S., which is always observed on the second Monday in October. 
October 10 also brings Thanksgiving for my Canadian friends.
Wrapping up the month is Halloween (All Hallows Eve) on October 313st.

October's full Moon, the Fall Hunter's Moon, occurs on the 16th.



It also means that I decorate for Halloween.
I have a theory about living on the Gulf Coast.
We go nuts decorating during the fall.
We don't get to enjoy the beautiful colors of fall,
so we have to make our own!

I've had the ghost for many years .. too many to count!

I like the old-fashioned, 50s looking, plastic decorations.
This year I added Hazel the Witch.



 





I'm all ready to enjoy October, Halloween and Pumpkins! 








Speaking of Pumpkins:
It is Pumpkin time at Trader Joes.
Oh, my! 







And, last but not least:

I admit it.

I'm hooked on Fixer Upper on HGTV.

I just keep watching no matter how many times I might have seen the episode.

This is the latest news -- they have a magazine.

It will hit the newsstands on October 11.

I'll be one of those in line!

Wishing YOU well and much joy!


Willy Nilly Friday

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Mosaic Monday

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Starting Early

I've been fighting a bad back and haven't been able to get out and about.
Here are a few fun things I did find this week.

Autumn arrived and the cornucopia makes an appearance.

You can learn more about the cornucopia and celebration of the harvest here.


In Musashi's Garden, the plumeria are still blooming.






Of all the pretty Autumn table-scapes I've seen,
I think I like this one the best.
Vibeke is Norwegian and her blog is gorgeous. 

Do you enjoy armchair traveling?
Do you love Paris and all things French?
Enjoy watercolors?
Then you should visit Paris Breakfasts.


On the way home from the grocery,
I noticed this:

A neighbor got the jump on Halloween!

Everyone knows I love Halloween,
but even I don't start this early!



I'll leave you with a few words of wisdom from
the Fortune Cookie Journal:

"Nothing good comes from jealousy but
there is good to be found in jelly beans."



Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Willy Nilly Friday

Five on Friday

Mosaic Monday

This and That

1. Hard to believe.
I'm already getting emails featuring Halloween!
Maybe it will make me feel cooler.
We are well into the feels like temps over 100.
Heat Advisory Time.

Pier One Email

2. Every year on Flag Day (June 14) I look for my Uncle Sam flag for the balcony
and my Uncle Sam Welcome sign for the front door.








It's also not a bad time to start looking for the patriotic decor for July 4th!

3. I love carnations.
They are a cheap flower and last such a long time.
Getting ready for red, white and blue time!

4.. The Summer Solstice is just around the corner.
You might want to celebrate by making Honey Herby Cookies.
You can find the recipe here.

Source

5. Just about the same time each year,
I look out into the garden and see the little Inca Doves.
Magic!

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Willy Nilly Friday

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