Tis the Season to be Jolly

preparing for winter . . . and hell

I expect it to get quite cold in these parts in the coming weeks. But not cold enough to resort to this. Truly frightening.

Source

Happy Thanksgiving 2010

Happy Thanksgiving 2010

A rare Thanksgiving postcard with a Jack-o-lantern.  Please feel free to save and use.

Here's wishing everyone a blessed Thanksgiving Day!

trees and cats

It was with mixed emotions that I approached the dis-assembly of my two outdoor Halloween tress. I was pleased with their appearance on Halloween night. But after repeatedly running out into the wind and rain of late October to rapidly take them down and drag them to the safety of the front porch, my patience with them began to wear a little thin.

So as I prepared to take them down for the last time, after Halloween night, and put them into storage, I reflected on how I might use them in future years. They would never again grace the front yard as free-standing trees. That much was certain. The styrofoam I used had proven too thin, despite a wire and cement-block core, to withstand the incessant wind and rain of a Maritime October. But perhaps they could find new purpose. As indoor trees or as two-dimensional trees, resting securely against the side of the house or the porch railings. Out of the rain and wind. Yes, that could work.

While these possibilities revolved through my mind, I dis-assembled the trees, laid them on the floor of the porch and then turned my attention to the disassembly of the fence. At which point, my faithful cat, Lucky, climbed onto the porch, walked across the surface of the prostrate trees, paused, and began to . . . relieve himself on them.

All of which made my decision about the future of said trees much, much easier.

sinking fast

Halloween was followed by nearly a solid week and rain and wind. My intrepid little pumpkins survived, thanks to the shelter of the front porch and the shrubs. And a few blown leaves. Nevertheless, it's clear to me that they are reaching the end of their lives. But I can't bear to say good-bye to them just yet.

unloved

Can't help but feel a twinge of sadness for candy corn. When all the other Halloween candy jars have long since been emptied, the candy corn remains. Neglected and unappreciated.

I Pity the Fool Who Don't Value Amazing Halloween Costumes

You may remember awhile back that I crocheted a Mr. T head for a friend (a 'friend' who found a new job an abandoned me, but a friend all the same) in honor of the new A-Team movie.

Well, said friend also made me proud at Halloween this year. You must wear your amazement openly upon seeing this awesomeness:



This is my favorite Halloween costume of 2010. There is no question; he did an epic job.

Finally! I can show you pictures

Okay, I can now finally prove that I met the Captain. Though, if you're following his blog as you should be, then you already have seen his version of the evidence.

Just LOOK at how FREAKISHLY tall the man is! I was there, folks. Don't let his crazy talk about my shortness fool you -- I am obviously a very tall woman. He's just 8 or 9 feet or something. In no way am I short. Nope. Not at all.

Also, visiting him at work was a mistake. Not nearly enough time! Next opportunity we make dinner plans. The Captain is even more likable in person than over the series of tubes we call the internet; his coworkers were plenty nice too. :) Which was good, because I was nervous about meeting.

Making his acquaintance was one of the top moments of my vacation, and I have every expectation that we will have the chance again in the (near) future.

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More Halloversary trip Photos for your amusement:

Waluigi and Wario terrorized kiddies at Disney

Most commonly overheard conversation of the night:

PARENT: "Oh look! There's Mario and Luigi!"

KID: *rolls eyes* "Mooooooom..." (or 'Daaaaaad') "... that's Wario and Waluigi!"

My husband made a point to "Waaaaah!" and shake his fist at every miniature Mario and Luigi he came across. Most of the kids really seemed to like it. :)

Those villainous Wario Brothers also got TONS of candy (why no, I am not ashamed to Trick-or-Treat as an adult)

We're still on the lookout for the guy who robbed the Blood Bank at Disney

My husband made me ride the scariest ride at the park... Captain Eo.

I found a possible new boyfriend; my husband thought he was a pretty cool guy, so he jumped in the picture too.

Of course we visited the shops at Hogsmeade; I was surrounded by muggles ("Whose wand is it you got again? And which one was he?")

I had butterbeer (frozen and unfrozen), real beer, and Pumpkin Juice - along with lunch at the Three Broomsticks!!! *Harry Potter nerdliness is satisfied until the movie comes out*

It was a great trip and a nice 1 year anniversary. Next year, though, we're planning a Halloween party of some kind. The new countdown begins!

Hal-Con

Last weekend marked the arrival of not just Halloween, but also of Hal-Con. The first comic and sci-fi convention held in my city in many years. The timing was unfortunate. Any time of year other than Halloween would have been preferable. Two great passions were colliding. There was no question of choosing one over the other. They would both have to be squeezed into one weekend. I anticipated a tight fit. And complete exhaustion at the end. I was correct.

Hal-Con was a huge success.

Hundreds crowded the Lord Nelson Hotel.

There were heroes . . .

. . . and villains . . .

. . . . and celebrities and icons.

And in the midst of it all, there was a small but intrepid group of sandpeople who arrived from the desert planet of Tatooine.

They had come for the festivities . . .

. . . and for the opportunity to put aside petty differences and reunite with old acquaintances . . .

. . . because Tusken Raiders are sociable creatures . . .

. . . who enjoy meeting new people . . .

. . . and make friends easily. . .

. . . which made the journey across the galaxy worthwhile . . .

. . . and left them eagerly anticipating next year's convention.

If this year's success is any indication, there will certainly be a Hal-Con in 2011. Likely on the same weekend. Most people seemed to think the timing was a great idea. I'd better start preparing now.

it's a sickness

In past Halloween seasons, I have always created humanoid props for my yard. Graveyard mourners. Halloween witches. Random cloaked creatures. Depending upon the theme, I would populate my yard and front steps with one or more of these creatures.

But this year, I decided against it. I planned for a haunted garden theme and focused on trees and flowers and spiders and grasshoppers. I simply couldn't find time to fit in anything that walked on two legs. I hadn't even gotten around to many of the garden inhabitants I had intended to create. Like bats and butterflies. Creepy butterflies.

I ignored my family's protests. Brushed aside their dismay that this would be the first year without what they refer to as "dummies". There would be other years, I explained. Change is good. You'll get over it. I was somewhat more surprised, however, at the reactions of neighbours. They approached me as I set up trees and flowers and garden fencing festooned with withered pumpkin vines. Inquiring as to when the "people" would appear, and appearing genuinely disappointed when told that this year, it was all about the plants and the bugs.

I remained committed to my original plan.

But as I dug through my box of Halloween supplies, pushing aside styrofoam heads, I questioned my decision. And as I stood in the shed organizing the spray paint cans, I couldn't help noticing some prop parts from past years. Now lying neglected in the corner. Perhaps the garden could use a gardener. Or maybe someone to relax on a garden bench and enjoy the surroundings. It wasn't too late to put together a quick prop. Of course it wasn't. There was still one more day until Halloween. And what was I thinking? I couldn't possibly let Halloween arrive without frantically creating at least one last minute prop. It's a sickness.

So there she sat. She showed up just in time for Halloween night. She's not pretty. But she was popular. And she was the perfect companion for my poor weather-beaten spider.

fluff

There is just one irritating drawback to the use of cattails in outdoor props. *cough*

Time to Sign Off for Another Year...

Halloween is over for another year.  I would like to thank all my faithful followers and I hope you've enjoyed your stay.  I will post occasionally but it's now time to put this blog to bed until Spring, 2011.  I hope you will continue to follow my art journey at my year-round blog, Nostalgic Collage:

http://nostalgiccollage.blogspot.com/

Great Day

Today I got a replica of Sirius Black's wand, sloshed about happily in the rain, and best of all--I got to say hello to the wonderful Captain ,in the flesh!! I have pictures to prove this statement, but it will be a few days before I can post them.

Not to ruin his creepy reputation, but he is super-dee-duper nice and ridiculously likable.

What a great day!

And Mr. Macabre: we are coming for you. Plan on it--we need a group meet-up. :)

halloween night

It was an enjoyable Halloween night in spite of the rain. And in spite of a grasshopper that turned out more "cute" than sinister. And in spite of the chaos that resulted from having a sci-fi convention coincide with Halloween. At least next year, with Halloween on a Monday, I'll have a day to catch my breath.

Lights out for another year.

The Hangover

I don't know about you, but I get Halloween hangover on November 1st.

Everything is still decorated to be completely spooky and lovely, but there is a spark gone. It's the same as after a night out drinking: things are still the same as yesterday, but somehow it's all gotten a little bit painful.

It's the post-Halloween crash, when you know the pumpkins are going to start rotting and people will begin to remove their 'trick-or-treat' signs and you have to wait a whole 'nother danged year until you get to do it all again.

Well, fear not my favorite fiends! The Creepy Cupcakes blog and others like it will not abandon you. I'll be taking a few days off from blogging to regather myself but then we'll be back to the year-round spook show!

Much like that adorable little leftover plastic spider I found in the trunk the day after our wedding (gosh darn it, he didn't make it to the reception with his brethren), there is still creepiness to be found in the world--even post-Halloween.

Happy Haunting!

aftermath

A night that, according to a solid week of weather forecasts, was supposed to be dry but cold, turned out instead to be rainy but mild. There were still over 100 intrepid trick-or-treaters, but the night began to wind down earlier than usual as the rain intensified. No matter. I remained dry on my porch. And everyone seemed to enjoy the haunted garden. Even the unintentionally-cute grasshopper. Interestingly enough, some of the most enthusiastic and heartfelt comments came from 13 year-old boys.




And best of all, a smaller than usual crowd means more leftovers. They will factor prominently in my recovery from a weekend which saw Halloween collide with Hal-Con. I'm exhausted.