October 15, 2014 by Born To Organize

Resurrecting Frank and Shelley

Shelley’s Makeover

Last August I wrote a series of posts that brought out the giggles in all of us. Pauline recently reminisced about the demise of poor Frank (I dropped him!) and his cohort, Shelley and what fun we had.

In case you missed the silliness last year, here you go:

Pauline, at The Contented Crafter suggested earlier this week that “Frank [the pumpkin] may feel a little left out” after seeing Shelley’s fashion makeover. She opined “Could you not knit him a scarf or maybe come up with a hat for your cooler nights?”

I knew Frank wasn’t long for this world, being a split pumpkin full of staples and all, so I did the next best thing: I put him on a pedestal (always good for improving ones sense of stature) and floated a festive Hydrangea for stylish panache.

Frank spews seeds

Then poor Frank ‘tossed his cookies’ while cousin Shelley looked on in horror.

∏ – ∏ – ∏

Today it was every critter for themselves: houseflies, pincer bugs, squash bugs, you name it. Opportunists came and went, including something with very sharp teeth. I’m glad I missed that transaction. Soon I will don some gloves and rescue a few seeds so that Frank’s legacy lives on.

Frank’s Tale

What do you suppose is beyond the dark abyss?

Frankenstein is a novel written by English author Mary Shelley about eccentric scientist Victor Frankenstein, who creates a grotesque creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty. The first edition was published anonymously in London in 1818. Shelley’s name appears on the second edition, published in France in 1823. Source: Wikipedia

We miss you Frank.

No-Candy Countdown:

Another day, another happy face stamp. Candy Cravings, gone.

Under-the-sea Costume Update:

We picked up a few baubles at the craft store this week and set about creating a crest for Mike’s costume. We’ve got the concept down, but the Crazy Glue refuses to stick to the rubbery chest plate. I’ve considered sewing it in place, but I’ll try my hot glue gun first. If you have any experience marrying rubber and glass, please let me know.

Working out the details of the crest

Pumpkins on Parade:

If I could visit a time in fashion, it would be the roaring twenties. I love the silhouettes, the bright red lips, and the dancing. My fair pumpkin below insisted on soft-focus photography for that fresh, dewy look. I was happy to oblige. Thanks for the ‘eyelashes’ Boomdee. ;-)

1920’s Glamor Pumpkin

October 14, 2014 by Born To Organize

Halloween Traditions: You’ve Been Boo-ed!

Have you been ‘Boo-ed?”

The act of ‘Booing’ also known as ‘Ghosting’ is popular in our neighborhood and it goes something like this: Someone rings your doorbell after dark. (This already sounds ominous, right?) You look out the window and no-one is there. (Scary, still). Your kids get a bit nervous, but when you finally check outside, a Halloween surprise awaits you. Over the years our boys received small toys, candy treats, light-up wands and even Halloween liquid soap.

Along with the kids loot are instructions to ‘Boo’ two more neighbors within two nights, and the tradition carries on. Our boys loved receiving the surprise at the door year after year, and they were equally delighted to ring and run when it was our turn.

As our neighborhood ages and small ones become teenagers we see fewer and fewer little ones on our street. Rather than abandon the tradition, someone in the hood added a new twist. A friend posted a photo on Facebook of a plate of home-made cupcakes and a bottle of wine along with the ‘You’ve been Boo-ed’ sign. I guess you can’t keep a fun tradition down.

I’ve created my own small tradition revolving around fairy gardens. A few times a year, at Halloween and at Christmas, I put together a small bag of fairy garden treasures for two little girls across the way. Only their mom knows its me. She graciously shares photos so I get a little window into their joy. This weekend I made a couple of pumpkin cards using tag board. I added ink and vintage pages from a small book about a Faerie Queen. I stamped a pumpkin on a couple of cotton treat bags, added beads, and filled them with origami paper, foam pumpkins, erasers and other small items to use in their garden. I hope it continues to bring them the joy that it brings me.

Fairy Garden Halloween Treasures

Traditions might be fun but they can also be taxing. I know that more than one mom on our street dreaded the idea of ‘one more thing to do’ this time of year. I read something similar in an article as well.

I think it’s fun making up your own traditions, removing all expectations with an established goal of having fun. Do you have family traditions that are uniquely your own?

No-Candy Countdown:

Yes, folks, the gardener remains candy-free.

Candy-free Countdown

Under-the-sea Costume Update:

Mike bought a helmet to go with his guardian of the sea costume. The crescent on the top is reminiscent of a wave. I regret not taking ‘before’ photos, but we’re having fun modifying it from its original state.

I save and re-purpose my wall calendars every year, but this is the first time I’ve used one on a costume. I took a page from last year’s sailing calendar, and tore the edges to suggest waves.

Guardian of the Sea Helmet

It’s a photograph of a sailboat in dark seas. I tore a few layers, glued them to the helmet crest, then sanded the paper for a textured look. I added a bit of dark green ink, and in a happy accident, realized the glue dots, once sanded, looked like bolts. We’ve more to add in the way of seashells and a bit of glitter shimmer. It is under the sea after all.

Pumpkins on Parade:

Aloha! Today’s pumpkin is ready for a tall, cool drink under a palm tree. Her grass skirt is nearby when the music begins. She’s kicked off her sandals for a walk in the cool grass.

Aloha Pumpkin

Please hold my calls

She’ll be back tomorrow, refreshed and contemplating the latest wardrobe change. We hope to see you then.

October 13, 2014 by Born To Organize

Sentimental Thrifting: Kicking Shame to the Curb

Thrift store shopping is all the rage. Clothing and household goods get a second life, proceeds from purchases usually benefit a non-profit, and for those who can’t afford new clothes for themselves or their family, they’re a boon.They’re also an excellent place to shop for Halloween.

In the year leading up to my father’s death, most of our purchases came from a thrift store. After Dad died and Mom had three young girls to raise, our clothes and shoes came from the local St. Vincent de Paul. We enjoyed going there and the kind treatment by the woman who volunteered for the store.

We didn’t own a car, and within a few weeks of our dad dying, mom loaded us girls with arms of his clothing, and we walked to the store to donate them. I’ll never forget the pain of that day. When we walked in the door, she asked us how our dad was. I couldn’t possibly say ‘he died’ so instead I said “he’s fine” and fled to the back of the store as the tears welled up yet again. I turned ten a few months later.

In my early teens, I was more aware of the scarcity around us. That’s when the shame set in. We lived in affluent Millbrae, but on the ‘wrong’ side of the tracks. Girls would ask if my dress was new and I never knew how to respond. It wasn’t new of course, just new to me. I felt trapped between telling the truth and my personal shame. The last time I shopped at that local thrift, I went in to find a pair of overalls. They were all the rage in the day, so I hoped to find a pair of my own.

When I walked out of the store, a school bus drove by and I imagined everyone on that bus looking at me with judgment. I jumped back into the shop, my heart pounding and waited for the bus to pass.

I was in college before I mustered the courage to enter a thrift store again. I found several treasures for a few dollars, and brought them home to decorate my room. The problem, though, was that smell. It’s a mix of stale fabrics, moth balls and the collective journey of donated items. It’s also the smell of loss and shame and grief.

It’s wonderful to have worked through so much of those feelings as I continue a path of healing. I’m able to embrace the thrift store experience once again. Not only is it trendy to recycle fashion, it’s practical, economical and green. Items get a second life.

So, with that in mind, I’ve been haunting local thrift stores in search of the perfect find. Once I get past the smell, those thrift stores no longer haunt me.

No-Candy Countdown:

Throughout October, I’m keeping track of the candy I **don’t** eat.I’m feeling great, losing weight and enjoying the sense of control I’ve gained over my extra-curricular eating.I’m rewarding myself with a happy face stamp. It’s fun and a way to stay self-aware.

Under-the-sea Costume Update:

I had all kinds of fun last Friday, and again over the weekend. I planned out the rest of the details for my costume, draping and pinning as I went along. I ran out of safety pins, so had a few ‘tender’ moments getting the dress on and off. I picked up a bag of pins on Sunday.

Thrift store finds: Purple dress, two sections of fabric and a pair of unique earrings

I cut the smaller of the two pieces of fabric in half, then draped it over the shoulder of the dress to create a short-sleeved top. I’m using the longer length of fabric for a cape. I found a unique pair of earrings for two dollars. I removed the earring and used the rest as faux fasteners for the cape.

Mike’s getting into the spirit of dressing up this year and he’s having fun. We went back to Savers and bought a pant suit, soon to be converted into his cape. The dark green and swirly pattern are perfect. The thrift store pricing fit the bill too. Don’t worry, it will be manly when I’m done with it, with zero trace of this suit.

Thrift store finds: Green and Gold chiffon pantsuit

Pumpkins on Parade:

Will of Marking Our Territory had the following to say about this year’s crop:

Halloween beats out all but two holiday for parties? I’m seriously impressed. (Side note: the 3/4 pumpkin in the lower left corner is my favorite – it’s got character)

Will has wonderful character so he should know.

3/4 Pumpkin

Please keep sharing your ideas for pumpkin dress up.

October 9, 2014 by Born To Organize

Mystery Plant Shows its True Colors

The ‘mystery plant that ate the vegetable box‘ continues to grow. Our temperatures remain warm, night and day, so the plant is spreading happily over the edges of the box, and pumping out fruit like nobodies business. I can’t get over it.

It’s a Pumpkin After All

I thought it was a late season pumpkin, but could not fathom why it was growing in a box without water. I’m still perplexed. Someone suggested that it might be a round zucchini instead. The fruit grew quickly to the size of a small cantaloupe or a very large apple, but remained dark green and hard. Whenever I looked under the prickly leaves I saw new growth. Whatever it is, I love the plant’s tenacity.

Dark, Green and Healthy

Today I took another look and saw orange. Squeeeee!!!

I think I’ll have a couple of small pumpkins out back after all. No signs of squash bugs either. This month keeps getting better and better.

Shades of Orange

No-Candy Countdown:

Throughout October, I’m keeping track of the candy I **don’t** eat. Who thought that not eating something could be this fun? Today I rewarded myself with smiling face stamps on my countdown calendar. It’s the little things, isn’t it?

Candy-Free Halloween Countdown

Under-the-sea Costume Update:

No time today. Hopefully this weekend.

Pumpkins on Parade:

The lovely Cathy, who blogs at Words and Herbs suggested the following:

Love the pumpkin outfit again today! Those sunglasses reminded me of Elvis… wonder if that might be a possible one? ;-)

This pumpkin’s for you, Cathy. I’ve added a video clip of one of my personal Elvis favorites, In The Ghetto to go with it.

Pumpkin Elvis

Please keep sharing your ideas for pumpkin dress up. I’ll be catching up on comments and your posts over the next few days, but I’ll be back here at Gardening Nirvana on Monday. Time permitting, I’ll be further along on my costume by next week. I hope to see you then.

October 8, 2014 by Born To Organize

Spiders and Lizards and Rats, Oh My!

My version of Halloween is pretend-scary. I trot out the plastic spiders and the rubber rats, then I fill in liberally with pumpkins.

Yesterday, life was having none of that.

Bungee Spiders

It finally cooled down by ten degrees spurring us into decorating action. My son set up his inflatables while I rearranged the deck furniture. I took my baskets of succulents from the hooks, gave them a quick tap, then set them in the kitchen sink for a cool drink. I put them out back this time of year to make room for decorating.

Giant cat inflatable and the great white hunter

I saw a quick movement emerging from the stems and a spider *jumped* out of the plant. Spiders climb and swing in my experience, but this one jumped. It went from the plant into the sink, then half way out of the sink it jumped again. Yikes. I quickly gathered my wits and grabbed my spider catcher, keeping an eye on the jumper at all times. With the spider safely ensconced, I walked quickly to the back of the garden and released it on the rock wall. The bungee spider jumped one more time, turned in my direction and looked right at me with… blue eyes!!! That really creeped me out.

Addendum: I’ve since learned that my bungee spider is none other than Phidippus audax. Based on the orange legs, my little visitor is a juvenile. His eyes aren’t blue, but his chelicerae are. Feel free to use that word in a sentence over the next few days. According to Wiki:

Phidippus audax is a common jumping spider of North America. It is commonly referred to as the daring jumping spider, or bold jumping spider. The average size of adults ranges from roughly 13–20 millimetres (0.51–0.79 in) in length. They are typically black with a pattern of spots and striped on their abdomen and legs. Often these spots are orange-tinted in juveniles, turning white as the spider matures. The spider belongs to the genus Phidippus, a group of jumping spiders easily identified both by their relatively large size and their iridescent chelicerae. In the case of P. audax, these chelicerae are a bright, metallic green or blue.

Lizards are us

Mighty Mouse, our friendly neighborhood cat, brings us lizards. It’s happened so often in the past few months, that my boys simply call out ‘lizard!’ and I’m spurred into action. Protocol is as follows:

Confine the cat in a bedroom while someone else keeps an eye on the lizard.
Assess the size of the lizard, and find an appropriate plastic container, preferably with a view.
Grab a piece of cardboard and tiptoe behind the frightened and temporarily paralyzed little critter.
Pounce! I can’t stress this step enough. Otherwise the lizard goes skittering all over the place and my only option is to gradually coax a terrified and sometimes hissing lizard towards an open door.
Relocate the lizard in the back of the garden and hope he finds his way to safety.

Tiny lizard catching sun on the rock wall

Rat a Shoe-y

7:30 each morning is a flurry. Boys grabbing backpacks and lunches, putting on shoes and heading out the door for the carpool. It was the same this morning, but for one exception. My son put on his first shoe without a problem. When he stepped into his second shoe he could feel something at the end. He picked it up, looked inside and found himself gazing at a live rat. Startled of course, he screamed and tossed the shoe into the air and off scurried the rat.

Unfortunately only part of the lizard protocol works when you’re trying to capture a rat: cats confined to the bedroom. The rest is by the seat of your pants.

Unable to stay for further investigation, I left the rat patrol to my husband and quickly fled with the boys.

There are two up-sides to this story. My son is fine. No bites or scratches to his tender toes. Further, I had a proud-mama moment when, once recovered, he worried that he hurt the rat. Mike rearranged the furniture in the most interesting fashion, and in the end, the tiny rat fled through the back door.

The last text from Mike:

The cats did a once over of the living room and declared it boring, which I take as rat-free. I left it in disarray. Sorry. Just push everything back.

Rat-free living room

Phew!

No-Candy Countdown:

Throughout October, I’m keeping track of the candy I **don’t** eat. They say it takes thirty days to make or break a habit, but I must say that eight days in I’m feeling great. Yesterday I discovered Fat-Bottom-Fifties Get Fierce, via Pauline. M and E are doing their own 30 day challenge and are encouraging others to join in. You can follow along at Getting Fierce Goal-fest! There’s nothing like putting your commitment up on the internet, is there?

Under-the-sea Costume Update:

Since I don’t have the luxury of a crafting room, our living room doubles as my sewing space. This morning I set up my sewing machine, the ironing board, my ‘selfie’ and all my supplies so I’m ready to drape and sew.

Pumpkins on Parade:

Special thanks to Pauline for The Contented Crafter for the fourth suggestion this month. Pauline says:

I very much like your Baker Pumpkin – good on Boomdee for making that pick! – and I would like to suggest a gardening pumpkin in honour of the hard work and the hours you put in to your actual garden and your blog garden :-)

Garden Pumpkin

Garden Pumpkin Key: Hydrangea hair nestled in my new Flower Arranger. An elaborate collar, also made from hydrangeas, with an Alyssum necklace. Eyebrows crafted from Acer leaves and the lips pouting away between Acer seed pods. The nose leaf comes from one of the Abutilon. Bluebell eyes, punctuated with black flower seeds. Fluttering lashes come from a fern. That cute little spade: a treasure from my recent trip to Victoria. It’s actually a key chain. I’m incorporating it into my costume as well. The gardener looks pensive, but she really does have fun playing in the dirt.
You can read more about pumpkin-dress up month at, NEWS FLASH! Halloween Takes Over Gardening Blog.

If you have any suggestions for ‘pumpkin costume of the day’ please let me know. I’ll see what I can do.

October 7, 2014 by Born To Organize

A Different Kind of Selfie

A selfie is a photo of oneself taken with a smart phone for posting to social media.

This is a different kind of selfie.

It’s soft and full-bodied like me and it closely approximates my size. This selfie, however, is headless.

[cue the horror movie soundtrack]

Introducing my body double:

Dress Form Selfie

While working on a degree in theatre arts, I learned a variety of pattern-making techniques. In the fashion industry, the person making patterns is a pattern maker, however in theatre we’re referred to as cutters. In addition to flat patterns, you can create costumes by draping fabric on a dress form. I fell in love with this technique working summer stock. I draped half a dozen, bias-cut, ball gowns for a scene in the Sound of Music. I’ve lusted after a dress-making form ever since.

The theatrical versions are heavy and I assumed quite pricey.They also come in pre-determined sizes so costume shops have several. Then I found this:

Singer Dress Form Selfie

I looked at several versions on different sites and finally decided upon the Singer. It was on sale for $107, no tax and free shipping. Score!!!

The form has several adjustable dials so you can get a more precise fit. You can adjust the height, the neck and the bust, waist and hips. Most importantly for me, the length. I have a long torso and find it challenging getting the right fit. I’m really having fun with her.

No-Candy Countdown:

Throughout October, I’m keeping track of the candy I **don’t** eat. Candy is not my friend. I’m trying to whittle my waistline and develop better eating habits. Please join me in the countdown.

Yesterday I tried downloading several calendars for my countdown. Everyone else makes it look so easy but in my ineptness, I finally gave up. I’ve just re-read yesterdays blog and saw the dangling sentence suggesting as much. Oops. Sorry about that.

I mentioned that I was looking for a candy alternative to give out Halloween night and Pauline had this to say:

Congrats for the ‘so-far-so-good’ score on no candy. And kudos for considering a swap for something else. Not having the foggiest notion of what else might work, I Googled and found this site: Family Education and thought maybe you could offer a bookmark with those pretzels?

Thanks, Pauline. I love that idea, and many of the others featured in the article. If you’re looking for a candy alternative for the door-to-door goblins, please give it a look.

Under-the-sea Costume Updates:

Now that I’ve assembled my form and it accurately reflects my size I’m ready to drape my costume. I’m starting with this peacock patterned dress from The Cancer Society store. I picked it up for $9.

Under the Sea Costume Components

I’ll be layering from here, using the chiffon from the bottom half of a second dress, and making trim from a third dress. I shopped at three different thrift stores and made purchases for a song: two yards of silky aqua fabric for $4, another panel of fabric for $3 and the dress. I spent much less than I would spend in a fabric store, and the money goes to a variety of non-profits.

Pumpkins on Parade:

Special thanks to LB of Life on the Bike for the third suggestion this month. LB says:

Well, you know I’m going to suggest a helmet … bicycle, motorcycle, whatever!
Looking forward to your Halloween blog take over!

Biker Pumpkin

You can read more about pumpkin-dress up month at, NEWS FLASH! Halloween Takes Over Gardening Blog.

If you have any suggestions for ‘pumpkin costume of the day’ please let me know. I’ll see what I can do.

October 6, 2014 by Born To Organize

Our ‘No Fall’ Fall

My Calendar says October but the thermometer says July. We’d normally be enjoying cooler temps by now and the house would be decorated for Halloween. It’s our no-fall, fall.

I thought about decorating every day last week. But when I stepped outside and felt a ‘wall’ of heat, I high-tailed it back inside. Is hot-and-dry the new norm?

Our seasonal average is 76 degrees F or 24C. Instead it’s been in the 90’s F or 34 C for days. What’s especially strange is that the angle of the sun and the behavior of the trees indicates early autumn. I find myself clinging to the ‘old’ normal: moderate temps and perhaps a bit of rain. What do you suppose the scientists will have to say about these changes one hundred years from now? Is the weather turned upside down where you live, too?

No-Candy Countdown:

Throughout October, I’m keeping track of the candy I **don’t** eat. I’m enjoying all the things I love about October while continuing to lose the extra pounds. It’s day six and all is well. I’m also reconsidering my Halloween night giveaway. Mini bags of pretzels are another option. I met someone who gives away books for Halloween, but with close to 200 children, ranging in age from 1 to 16, I don’t think I could pull that off. I love that she does, though. I’ll let you know what I come up with.

Under-the-sea Costume Updates:

Though it was blazing hot all weekend, we braved the heat in short spurts to paint. We huddled in the side year in the shade and added layers of blue to the rubberized chest for Mike’s Guardian of the Sea costume.

This is the package photo:

Starter Costume: Perseus

And our color additions:

Transitioning to Sea Guardian

I found a gorgeous button on clearance for $1.87 that I’ll incorporate into the costume:

Awesome button from a clearance rack

My sea gardener costume is still a pile of fabric. Hopefully I can get to it today.

Pumpkins on Parade

Special thanks to Boomdee for the second suggestion this month: a baker. Boomdee says:

I’d like to see a pumpkin dressed as a baker because when I see pumpkins, I see pie……mmmmmm pumpkin pie :D Yum

Catatouille

You can read more about pumpkin-dress up month at, NEWS FLASH! Halloween Takes Over Gardening Blog.

If you have any suggestions for ‘pumpkin costume of the day’ please let me know. I’ll see what I can do.

October 2, 2014 by Born To Organize

My Very Good, Candy-Free, Feeling-loved Day

The Case of the Shrinking Bloggers

What an amazing day. For starters, I woke up to this:

Wishing Dear Alys a Very Happy Birthday !

Here’s something you may not know if you’re new to blogging. You will get to know wonderful friends all over the world. If you’re really lucky, you’ll even meet up with a few of them. Then, if all the good karma you ever saved up is on your side, you’ll become the best of friends. True that, I’ve made a life long friend in Alys. She’s optimistic and generous in spirit, caring and adorable in every way and my biggest cheerleader.

Please help me to wish Alys a Very Happy Birthday and enjoy the high-lights of our get-together’s over the last two years.

You can view the rest of her post and watch the highlight reel at Boomdeeadda.

I wept tears of joy and gratitude as the lovely music and memories played on. Thank you, Boomdee from the bottom of my heart. What a treat!

Lovely birthday wishes in the form of blog comments, texts, greeting cards and Facebook posts have kept me beaming all day. Just five minutes ago the UPS driver arrived with a gorgeous arrangement of flowers from my dear friend Laura. They smell divine.

Stunning and fragrant roses and mums

In the spirit of Halloween, I received a mystery gift with an unsigned card: a lovely pot of lavender hand cream. I’m pretty sure I know the giver, but I’ll confirm with the sender: Lavender Abbey of Carterton, New Zealand. Thank you!

I used to keep quiet about my birthday, but once social media came along, the jig was up. Now I embrace it.

No-Candy Countdown:

Throughout October, I’m keeping track of the candy I **don’t** eat. I’m going to enjoy all the things I love about October while continuing to lose the extra pounds. It’s day two and I’m in the all clear. We’re celebrating my birthday this evening with a small ice cream cake from Baskin-Robbins. It’s a family tradition. The calendar says fall, but the thermometer says 94 degrees (35C) . Friday’s forecast: 100 degrees.

Under-the-sea Costume Updates:

In addition to carving pumpkins this year, my husband Mike is also dressing up for Halloween party season. I’ll be a sea gardener and he’ll be a guardian of the sea. We purchased the foundation for his costume at Natasha’s Attic. Now it’s my job to make it sea-worthy.

Pumpkins on Parade

Special thanks to my most recent blog follower, Maria Damitz. She tossed out the first suggestion for pumpkin-dress up month on yesterday’s blog, NEWS FLASH! Halloween Takes Over Gardening Blog

Maria said:

You are adorable! I love this blog and love Halloween. We’re doing a pirate theme this year; kind of common, but inspired by friend who is dressing up with family as pirates at Disney World now, so if you could do a pirate pumpkin that would be fun to see. Going to do one or so myself!

Maria, this one’s for you.

Pumpkin Pirate

October 1, 2014 by Born To Organize

NEWS FLASH! Halloween Takes Over Gardening Blog

One of Mike’s carvings: pumpkin campfire

We interrupt this regularly scheduled gardening blog to bring you…Halloween!

You may have noticed a few changes, right off the bat.

Everyone’s welcome, whether you’re dropping by in the present or visiting from your ghostly past… or back from the future. This pumpkin-loving gardener is setting the stage for a spooky month.

First up, what exactly is Halloween? In a recent international Skype session with several of my favorite bloggers we talked a bit about the tradition. The Wikipedia article linked here is both fascinating and extensive with nearly 200 citations. If you have the time, it’s a great read.

Who has time you say?

Point taken.

So, here are a few notes from the site Halloween at the Party Spot

Trick or treating comes from the Middle-Age practice of the poor dressing up in costumes and going around door to door during Hallowmas begging for food or money in exchange for prayers. The food given was often a Soul Cake, which was a small round cake which represented a soul being freed from Purgatory when the cake was eaten.

Halloween is also known by other names:
All Hallows Eve, Samhain, All Hallowtide, The Feast of the Dead, The Day of the Dead

Halloween is recognized as the 3rd biggest party day after New Year’s and Super Bowl Sunday.

Halloween is Oct. 31 – the last day of the Celtic calendar. It actually was a pagan holiday honoring the dead.

Trick-or-treating evolved from the ancient Celtic tradition of putting out treats and food to placate spirits who roamed the streets at Samhain, a sacred festival that marked the end of the Celtic calendar year.

Halloween is correctly spelt as Hallowe’en.

Halloween is one of the oldest celebrations in the world, dating back over 2000 years to the time of the Celts who lived in Britain.

More than 93 percent of children go trick-or-treating each year. (source: NCA)

Read more at Halloween at the Party Spot.

No-Candy Countdown:

Over the next 31 days, I’m keeping track of the candy I **don’t** eat. I’m going to enjoy all the things I love about October while continuing to lose the extra pounds. I’m feeling virtuous today, mostly because it’s day one. That said, I didn’t have a day-before-binge either so I think I’m on to something.

Under-the-sea Costume Updates:

This year I’m creating a costume from my imagination: an under-the-sea gardener. I’ll share my progress throughout the month. The first party is October 25th.

Thrift Store Finds

I love dressing-up. It was great fun as a child, and the passion continued to adulthood. In my youth I enjoyed sketching dresses and sewing clothes for my dolls. In college I studied costume design and fabrication. I worked as a costume cutter, assistant cutter and stitcher at various theatre companies in my early twenties. Those years are among my most treasured memories.

I drifted out of theatre a few years after graduating college. I lacked the stamina for the transient nature of the work, the mediocre pay, etc. Growing up in poverty lead me to realize that I crave stability. I never lost my love of the art though.

Getting Silly with Our Pumpkins:

If you’re a regular reader, you know all the fuss that went into my pumpkins this summer. If not, you can read about the squash bug debacle here and here. In the end, three survived, each about the size of a cantaloupe. Aren’t they sweet?

This Year’s Pumpkin Crop

I’ve been known to dress up my pumpkins too, so watch for future silliness. Here are some highlights from past years:

Pumpkins Ready for a Party

If you have any suggestions for ‘pumpkin costume of the day’ please let me know. I’ll see what I can do.

September 30, 2014 by Born To Organize

September Flew

Metaphorically speaking, the month of September flew. Between back-to-school night, college application night, our anniversary and a trip to the DMV for my son’s driving learners permit, I find myself at the end of the month.

Am I sad? Halloween no!!!

I mean…well, you know what I mean.

October is one of my favorite months. Cooler weather prevails and if we’re lucky, we might get a drop or two of rain. For the past nine years I hosted a Halloween party for our boys. All the children on the block joined. It was loads of fun, but exhausting too, however I always looked forward to the energy of the day. This would have been our tenth year, but alas, tiny children become teenagers and the party this year is a no-go.

Initially disappointed, I quickly rallied when I received a lovely party invitation from my friend, Kirra. The theme: under the sea. Three more party invitations followed and amazingly three of them land on different days.

Realizing all the time and energy I’ll save not planning the party gives me time to make a costume again, but without the mad-dash rush. Plans are already underway.

Of course, the month of October is also filled with land minds: Halloween candy. It’s one of my downfalls.

Chocolate Pumpkin

The other thing that flew this month: seven pounds. I’ve been following a healthy eating plan and slowly the pounds are coming off. The last thing I want to do is reverse that trend eating candy. When I say it’s everywhere, I’m only mildly exaggerating. The grocery stores started stocking bags of it weeks ago. The drugstores have it too. No need to go looking for it as its right there at the check-out aisle. The next land mind arrives closer to Halloween when I buy candy to give away. I’ve learned to stay away from my favorites and that helps. Close to 200 children grace our doorstep over the course of three hours on Halloween night. We give away a lot of candy.

So, starting tomorrow and for the next 31 days, I’m going to keep track of the candy that I **don’t** eat. My Halloween countdown will also include my candy-free countdown as well. If you struggle in a similar fashion, I hope you’ll join me in this challenge. I’m going to enjoy all the things I love about October while continuing to lose the extra pounds.

Special thanks to Elizabeth Cassidy, Pilates instructor extraordinaire, for her ongoing support.

Here’s what the garden looks like as we head into fall: