It’s Halloween. One of my favorite times of the year. Our neighborhood draws a crowd (500 children at our door last year), a slow-and-steady parade of little ones starting around 5:30. This little guy gets a different kind of treat.
Mike spent the day carving three magnificent pumpkins. It takes him hours, but he enjoys the creative process.
We attended a Halloween party on Saturday, renting costumes from Natasha’s Attic. I didn’t have the time or energy to create one this year, and that’s ok.
The Las Vegas party theme lends itself to many things. We dressed as 1920s mobsters, light on the mob part.
I stopped by my sister’s today and took pics of her wearing a witch’s hat, a gifted orange scarf, and a hand prop on her shoulder. We’re peas in a pod.
I bring out my collection of hand-crafted pumpkins each year. They have an international flavor, one sent as a gift from Cathy in Germany, another made by Randi, who hails from Norway, and the third, a gift from my friend Stephanie. I bought the velvet ones at a craft fair many years ago.
It’s the creative fun of Halloween that I like the best. Making costumes over the years has always been a joy. It’s fun decorating, too. Making cards for Halloween is a more recent endeavor, and we once grew pumpkins till a nasty infestation of squash bugs put an end to that after two or three years.
A friend sold these cardboard haunted house kits earlier this year. It was a lot of fun putting it together, and a bit of kismet when I realized I had the perfect tray for it. The three figurines were a birthday gift this year. Can you believe how well they fit in?
I turned 66 earlier this month. On Monday, I’m having my left hip replaced, nine months after replacing the right one. I’m feeling my age. That said, my love of Halloween keeps me young at heart. If you celebrate, I hope that’s true for you, too.
Events at Filoli sell out quickly, so I was thrilled to get tickets for five of us to attend the second-annual Filoli Fright Night. We knew it would be fun, as all their events are, but it was full of surprises that exceeded our expectations.
The evening included a first-floor tour of the house, done up to the nines with Halloween-themed rooms.
The library featured flying book pages and an owl made from paper feathers, along with the usual, beautiful decor.
The dining room, set for fictional guests, was more warm and cozy than spooky, with gorgeous table settings and an over-the-top dried floral arrangement at the table’s center.
As you entered the kitchen, a counter displayed three cakes: a black-iced tower with a replica of a beating heart, a wedding-style white cake that would make your hair stand on end, and a third confection, lost to memory, but equally impressive.
I shared space with a skeleton in the foliage drying room, then wandered over to the great hall.
The lights in each room set the mood in shades of purple or green. The house is extraordinary, even when it’s not Halloween.
We finished the house tour, then exited toward the gardens, strolling by the reflecting pool and then onto the grounds.
A bluegrass band played in the center of the crowd, with several guests sitting around small fires. Fields of carved pumpkins lead us to the gate, and we set off to look for the wooden trolls.
We managed to find five of the six trolls, not because they’re small, but because it was dark with curving trails, eerie sound effects, and darkness. No sane person would step off the lighted trail.
While searching for the trolls created by Danish artist Thomas Dambo, we came across a “crowd” of pumpkin-headed scarecrows. At first, and from a distance, we thought they were parking attendants in the far-off lot. Boy, were we wrong.
After an hour or so, we stopped along the trail for hot cocoa and hot cider. We spotted another troll, then proceeded along the trail to discover a glow-in-the-dark, banana slug art installation, yet another surprise of the night.
We posed for and took lots of pics before eventually heading back toward the house. I can’t wait to see what they create next year.
The Trolls:
The artist behind the Filoli trolls is Thomas Dambo, a Danish artist known for creating giant troll sculptures from recycled materials. The current exhibition at Filoli, “Trolls: Save the Humans,” features six larger-than-life trolls. Source: Filoli
Here’s a bit about Filoli:
Filoli is a 654-acre historic estate in Woodside, California, featuring a large Georgian-style mansion, 16 acres of formal gardens, and hundreds of acres of natural lands. It was originally a private residence built by the Bourn family, who named it after their motto: Fight for a just cause, Love your fellow man, Live a good life. Today, it is a non-profit public attraction managed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, offering tours, seasonal events, and educational programs. Source: Filoli
October left town on Friday, foisting the reality of November and the most significant election of my lifetime, November 5. I’ve kept busy all month with organizing clients and social engagements, spending time with friends and family, and trying to avoid the news.
Unseasonably hot temperatures kept me out of the garden the first week of October. It’s hard to fathom triple-digit days at a time when the angle of the sun says fall, not July.
I celebrated my birthday on October 2, and we had fun handing out candy on Halloween. Mike carved three beautiful pumpkins for the front deck. Soon, they’ll join the compost bin. The seeds are outside for the squirrels to enjoy or to plant a pumpkin for next year.
This year, I polished off the last of my Halloween paper and ephemera, making cards for friends, seasonal bookmarks, and craft-making kits next to the children’s Little Free Library. I offered seeds from my garden as well.
My friend Marcia gave me a treasure trove of vintage postage, so I had fun making a few pumpkins.
There are plenty of tasks in an autumn garden, and we’re finally enjoying the cool weather needed to get things done. I’ve been pruning where appropriate and removing spent annuals. The anemones grew tall this year, with the extra weight of blooms, bending them in a gentle arch to show off a snowy white skirt. I removed the flower stalks from the lower garden but left a pair of tall plants to go to seed. The hummingbirds will be along in a few months to harvest the seed fluff for their nests.
A second round of nasturtiums arrived on the scene, flaunting lovely saucer-sized leaves and a limited number of orange and red flowers. Nasturtiums self-seed in the spring and summer, dying off by the middle of July. The fall variety has proliferated in a section planted with freesia. They’re lovely.
This morning, I planted forty spring bulbs, a mixture of double yellow narcissus and grape hyacinth. I replaced the leggy coleus growing in a pot along our deck with cold-weather cyclamen. We enjoyed a light rain overnight, refreshing the garden and the stale air.
In the wee hours of Sunday, the US ends Daylight Saving Time (DST) or Falls Back. Here’s hoping this isn’t a metaphor for what could happen if this country doesn’t vote for Democracy. I’m cautiously optimistic for a better way forward.
“There’s no such thing as a vote that doesn’t matter.” – Barack Obama
I’ve loved this festive day since I was a child. My sister and I enjoyed dressing up, making costumes from this and that, and anticipating the night. Of course, there were strict rules about where we could go, how long we could be out, and with whom, but we made the most of it.
With Sharon at our home in Canada
We arrived home long before 8:00 with cold cheeks and a bag of candy. The candy haul would fuel a trading game in the weeks to come. We would spread the goods on the living room floor, count each item, then trade back and forth. We each had our favorites. It was also a way to extend the thrill of the night.
As adults, we found the excuse to dress up for parties or work events. We fixed each other’s hair or wig and donned false eyelashes. Sharon usually helped with my makeup since I’m an amateur and she’s the pro.
Sharon dressed as a witch. I made a costume this year called my year in trash
My sister and I no longer dress up, and the thrill of the day has passed. Sharon’s MS has advanced to such a degree that she can no longer walk or drive. She struggles to dress, and she needs help putting on her shoes. At the end of this month, the water therapy that helps sustain her is no longer covered by her health plan. The powers that be, determined that since she can’t get well, she can’t have physical therapy. Health “care” in this country often boils down to health insurance. It’s beyond depressing.
Today, I shampooed my sister’s hair in an inflatable sink, then wrapped it in a towel to dry. She’s lost the chance to shower two days a week after water therapy, robbing her of the dignity of basic hygiene. We are both bereft.
It’s hard to know where we go from here, so we’re improvising. Costumes and wigs no longer apply.
Tomorrow I’ll toss candy into the bags of costumed children after they knock at our door and yell, “trick-or-treat!” The night will be bitter and sweet.
It’s October 15th. Do you know where your scraps are?
Our ScrapHappy host, Kate, invites bloggers to join in the fun of making something entirely out of scraps. We create something useful or beautiful (or spooky!) each month and share details on our blog.
I love Halloween, and I love paper crafts. October is my birthday month, so in addition to the paper I buy, friends treat me to Halloween treasure. I may never run out of scraps, but not for lack of trying.
Once again, I assembled small craft kits that I offer next to our Little Free Library. Some of my Halloween paper goes back 15 years. If I haven’t used it by now, it’s time to send it out into the universe for someone else to enjoy. The scraps are leftover from paper kits or freebies from craft weekends past. I used black ink and a couple of my acrylic stamps so I could include a couple of small embellishments.
Last night, just before dozing off, I thought it would be fun to decorate a themed box for the craft kits. So I pulled out the box I used last summer for kits and covered it with scraps of Halloween paper, leftover Washi tape, and the remnants of my son’s haunted house phase. He’s a senior at university, so those scraps have also been around.
The box is too deep to display the kits, so I used a cardboard lid to divide it, covering it with gauzy Creepy Cloth.
The cloth drapes along the back and intersects with the paper. I raided my fairy garden stash for the “broken fence,” and it was finally ready to go. I recycled a cellophane bag on the bottom of the box in case it gets damp. We’re unlikely to see rain in the next two weeks (BOO!), but I’ll bring the box in at night anyway since it will get damp.
There are twenty kits in total, but if they go quickly, scraps remain.
That, dear readers, brings me to the other fun part of these posts. Here are links to several other ScrapHappy bloggers.
I’m enjoying a scaled-down version of Halloween this year. It’s been a positive transition away from the usual hustle and bustle. We’ve also had an extremely rare and powerful storm blow through, which makes it feel more like autumn instead of summer-light.
Further, nothing screams “autumn” like foraging squirrels. One of the California Grey’s sent my miniature tea-house akimbo outside our kitchen window, which I interpreted as an invitation to make seasonal changes.
The birdhouse gourd, aka teahouse, came indoors for a dust-off. Here is a picture of the teahouse in its former glory.
Summer Tea House
I’ll put the gourd into the fairy garden rotation for next summer. I reused the tray, the moss, and the miniature seashells, along with the tiny “tree stump” to bring a bit of autumn magic to the fairy garden.
Autumn vibe
Building the fairy house was a breeze. I used a regifted candle holder for the base, then added an inverted coconut shell, once a floating candle holder, for the roof. The chimney is a tiny watering can with a bit of wool roving for the smoking chimney.
I used my crafting dye to spritz a bright green wood slab into a darker, earthier color. A seashell makes the perfect door nob. I used the same dye to darken a pair of take-out wooden chopsticks, then adhered seashells to create a fence.
Seashells from New ZealandAutumn Scene
Rounding out the miniature setting, I used blue glass vase filler, white sand, and a pair of arched shells to create a tiny brook along the front of the garden.
Nestled Near the Little Free Library
Those clay pumpkins were also a gift several years ago (my friends know me well), with the tiniest pumpkin made from a bead and a twist of jute.
The autumn miniature spent most of the month next to the children’s Little Free Library where it stayed till a heavy storm arrived over the weekend. It’s now having a bit of a dry-out under the eaves.
Card-making also found its place in October.
Earlier this summer, I played around with my gel press and brayer, creating patterns and textures on white paper. I used several of those gel press images to make moons and pumpkins for Halloween cards.
The pumpkins are die-cut from some of my brayer images, while the stems use leaf impressions made from garden greens.
A couple of months ago I treated myself to a new die. I used it for the majority of my cards. I like to invest in dies that I’ll get a lot of use from, and this one fits the bill. Here is a quick video of how the die-cutting gadget works.
Here are a few of my cards.
Black-embossed cat, gel press moon, and green patterned paper cut with my new dieSilver embossed cat, gel press moon, and green textured paperTwo for one: I used the off-cut of this blue background to make a bookmark.Card series showing dies used in two different orientations. I like the first image the best.
The card in the lower-left corner is for my sister. I used her favorite color for the moon, cut the leaf pattern from sheet music paper, and made a shiny black cat, complete with notched ear like her sweet kitty, Queen B.
It wouldn’t be Halloween if I didn’t use a few pumpkins in my designs. My friend Jasmin gave me that bottle of gorgeous bath soak for my birthday earlier this month. It’s the perfect compliment to my cards. I used holographic paper for the border, then die-cut the pumpkin, lettering, and stem from various gel press images.
The second pumpkin card is framed on two sides by spiderwebbed Washi tape but it doesn’t show well in this photo.
This final card is made from a sheet of acrylic embossed with spider webs. It’s been part of my stash for years. I liked it when I bought it, but I could never quite figure out how to use it. I think I used it on a card many moons ago, but I couldn’t say for sure. I like the effect.
A few assorted bookmarks rounded out the month before I cleaned off my desk and put the Halloween leftovers away. It’s been a great stress-buster and a chance to connect with friends by mail.
With my youngest son away at university our household Halloween mojo has been split in two, severed if you will, covered in cobwebs and devoid of life.
Fall garden, pumpkins and obligatory ghost
Okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but I knew Halloween would feel different this year. My youngest has enormous Halloween spirit, and that spirit has momentarily left the building.
I shook off my wistfulness and set about decorating in my abbreviated style. We didn’t set up the inflatables this year, and there are no teenagers at home to “build” a haunted house.
The light-catcher is up in the window, and my pumpkin collection adorns the table, now set with two places, not four. There are a few night lights lighting the way to the bathroom in the dark hours of the night. Both lights were gifts from friends.
Succulents hold court in a cat-shaped plant stand with a few miniature tombstones
A yearly tradition on my front door, a gift from fellow blogger Marlene
My small pumpkin collection
The crocheted pumpkin is a gift from fellow blogger Cathy
Halloween light catcher, a gift from fellow blogger Pauline
We have pumpkins, of course. The squirrels planted a few seeds last fall, and most of the vines grew in the planting box.
Our self-seeded crop this year
Pumpkins up close
As seen from the garden
A late-season pumpkin vine grows over the edge of the box. A friendly bee rests on my hand.
My Halloween cards are also simple this year. I pulled out my Big Shot and a few watercolor postcards and made pumpkin leaf impressions. The transfers turned out really well with the extra moisture from the leaf absorbed into the paper. They have a nice, organic scent to them too, though I’m not sure it will last. Who doesn’t love the smell of chlorophyl?
Pumpkin leaf impression on a watercolor postcard
A little photo-bombing from Mouse
Pumpkin leaf impression on watercolor postcard, stamped with archival black ink
Dragons postage stamps
The back of the water-color postcards. I like the way the green seeps through
Variations on the card theme
The process is simple. While the leaves are freshly harvested, you sandwich the leaf against the water-color paper, then insert between folded scrap paper before running it through the Big Shot. The leaves have a lot of moisture, so the extra paper helps absorb it.
After drying, and pressing the cards between a hefty volume of Shakespeare, I hand-stamped a few images on the front and back of the card.
Freshly harvested pumpkin vine leaf
One leaf made several postcards
You can see the color transfer from leaf to paper
Hand-crank Big Shot
The Bard lends some heft and weight
Pumpkin leaf impression on watercolor postcard, stamped with archival black ink
I found beautiful dragon postage stamps at our local post office in orange, purple, and gold. They’re the perfect finishing touch.
We attended one Halloween party this year, and as usual had a wonderful time. The theme this year: horror kitsch. We struggled with a concept, till one of the women at our favorite costume shop, Natasha’s Attic suggested the ghosts from the Haunted Mansion Disneyland ride. I love Natasha’s and the folks who work there. It’s a family owned business here in San Jose. They’ve been around since 1977. It takes me back to my theatre roots whenever I’m there.
Ghostly hitchhiker costume
Ghostly hitchhiker costume
Ghoulish selfie
At the Halloween party doing our hitchhiker shtick
Natasha’s pulled together vintage pieces for us from their costume shop. We bought shoes from a charity thrift store, donned wigs and painted our faces a ghostly tint. My friend Isaac suggested seed lights to add to the ghostly effect. I sewed one strand under my skirt and another strand under Mike’s cravat.
Mike’s makeup is superior to mine *and* he did it all himself. He applied latex, then makeup, and even bought a pair of “rotten teeth” for full effect.
With the horrific news of this past week, Halloween gave us a welcome respite from the madness. If I haven’t said it lately, thank you for being here. My heart sings a little song with each comment and like.
October is my favorite month. I’m not alone. October ranks in the top three in a number of surveys, vying with May for the top spot.
Here is my personal, unscientific top ten reasons to love October.
10. October starts with my birthday and ends with Halloween
Okay, so not everyone is born in October, but if you love cooler weather, falling leaves and crisp air, this is the birthday month for you. If you’re mad for Halloween, also like me, you have 31 days of fun in store.
Mike finds beautiful Halloween cards for my birthday
9. It’s a lovely month in both hemispheres
I’ve learned a lot about the southern hemisphere in my years of blogging. Most of us complain about the bitter winter months, but October is the start of spring for my friends in New Zealand and Australia, and the beginning of autumn here in San Jose. Everybody wins!
8. The return of gardening weather
Finally! The earth tilts on its axis as we head toward winter and cooler weather prevails. I can water the plants, pull weeds and put the garden in order without risking heat stroke.
Hydrangea’s fall colors
7. Pumpkins
If you’ve been following along for a while, you’ll know that I dedicate a lot of blog “real estate” to growing, care-taking, harvesting and decorating with pumpkins. My husband takes over on Halloween, carving the pumpkins we grow into lovely works of art. We save some of the seeds to plant the following year. We offer the pulp and a generous helping of seeds to the squirrels to who are busy foraging for the winter. The neighborhood squirrels planted their extra seeds this year, turning out all the lovely pumpkins in this photo. I’ve even dedicated a page to our love of pumpkins. Can you see it at the top of the blog?
Growing and harvesting pumpkins
6. Planning a Halloween costume
My love of theater and sewing merge in October. I get to plan and create a costume for a couple of parties and if I’m not too tired, I’ll wear it on Halloween night. My sister Sharon and I have always had fun dressing up. I gave it up for many years, turning my attention to the boy’s costumes instead. In recent years, I’m back in the swing of things and I always have fun. This year I’m actually renting my costume, but sewing one for my husband. Stay tuned for the silly details.
5. National Chocolate Day
It should come as no surprise that the National Confectioners Associate designated October 28th as National Chocolate Day. As a lifetime chocolate lover working hard to keep sugar at bay, I’m thinking this might be just the day for me. I can choose to indulge in this delectable treat once a year, banishing it from my daily diet and making it a special treat. As always, I’m a work in progress.
This chocolate pumpkin was a gift from a friend one year
4. National Cat Day
Every day is cat day in this household. That said, I appreciate the intentions of this charitable organization. They seek to:
” help the public recognize the number of cats that need to be rescued. The day also encourages cat lovers to celebrate the cats in their lives for the unconditional love and companionship that they bestow upon them.
This day is sponsored by the Animal Miracle Foundation and was created by Pet Lifestyle Expert and Animal Welfare Advocate, Colleen Paige, in 2005. Since its inception, it has helped save the lives of more than one million cats.” Source: National Day Calendar
My son’s larger-than-life, inflatable cat. Mouse the cat is the real deal.
3. Rain in the Forecast
After months of dry weather, October kicks off our rainy season. I love the rain as much as I love pumpkins. You know that is saying a lot.
Once upon a time it rained in San Jose
2. Snuggle weather
After months of hot, dry days, it’s a delight to curl up under a warm blanket with a hot mug of tea at hand. Longer evenings give themselves over to more indoor leisure like assembling a puzzle, reading a thick book (or more blogs!) and making crafts.
1. Halloween
Halloween is the second most popular holiday in America, behind Christmas. It evolved over the years “from Medieval rituals to the 1950’s kid-centered activity it is today.” You can follow this link to history.com to watch a two-minute video on the origins of the day. My youngest son, now 16, still enjoys the festivities. He and a friend create a “haunted deck” each year, using black plastic sheeting and an assortment of props. We live in a neighborhood populated with young children and words gets around. Last year we handed out candy to nearly 400 trick-or-treating children. There are knocks at the door for nearly three hours. It’s festive and fun. Everyone’s exhausted by November 1st, ready to settle in to cooler days, but until then, Halloween is great fun.
The wall is silence, the grass is sleep,
Tall trees of peace their vigil keep,
And the Fairy of Dreams with moth-wings furled
Plays soft on her flute to the drowsy world.
~Ida Rentoul Outhwaite
Welcome
Please have a seat
We call them faerie. We don’t believe in them. Our loss.
~Charles de Lint
We’re over here. Please come join us.
And as the seasons come and go, here’s something you might like to know.
There are fairies everywhere: under bushes, in the air,
playing games just like you play, singing through their busy day.
So listen, touch, and look around – in the air and on the ground. And if you watch
all nature’s things, you might just see a fairy’s wing
Halloween is only two months away! October 31st heralds the arrival of wee trick-or-treaters and the heady, intoxicating fall air.
I’m ready.
If you’ve been hanging out with me for a while you’ll know that autumn is my favorite time of year. I love growing and decorating with pumpkins, planning or attending costume parties, helping my son “spookify” the front yard and tossing treats into wee little bags on Halloween night. The changing of the seasons is more of a slow burn in California. The days shorten and the stale summer air finally gives way to the smog-free version I long for. By the calendar, autumn arrives in late September, but it’s not till mid-October that we start to notice the difference.
In the garden, the signs are everywhere.
Lone Pumpkin Turns Orange
The pantyhose trick is keeping teeth-gnashers at bay while nature takes care of the rest.
Pumpkin protected by pantyhose
Did you know that pumpkins turn orange for the same reason leaves do? As the days grow shorter, “the green pigment, necessary for photosynthesis, degrades and the carotenoids are revealed, causing the pumpkin to change color to shades of orange, red and yellow.”¹
Pretty cool, eh?
Pumpkin Shell Survives Composting
It’s true! A few small, late season pumpkins avoided last season’s squash bug onslaught. They were too hard to carve, so I lined them up on the paved wall instead. They remained a point of interest for many months, subject to occasional rearranging by the neighborhood day care kids. It was months before the snails showed up. Then one by one they started to rot. I tossed this one in the compost bin assuming it would also turn to mush.
Small pumpkin shell survives the compost pile
When I upended the compost for my sheet mulching project, out rolled the shell. I’ve dusted it off, checked for invading bugs, and brought it indoors. The decorating possibilities are endless and simply looking at it makes me smile.
A (Not so Itsy) Spider Weaves a Wondrous Web
Nothing says Halloween better than a scary-looking spider web.
I’m glad I found this web with my camera and not my face
Spider web in profile
Am I right?
You can buy fake ones at the local Halloween store, or you might get lucky and have one custom-built in the garden.
My hat is off to the photographers of the world that capture beautiful shots of spiders in webs. I could focus on the spider or the web but never both. There is a good chance I’ve offended her, since she took down her web by early afternoon when I wasn’t looking.
Gardening Nirvana 