Happy Halloween!

Last nights carving project. Mr. Halloween carved an amazing skull on the front of his pumpkin. My pumpkin right end is afraid of the skull and the little guy in the middle isn't sure but might be warming to the skull. This batch was grown, from the same seeds, in the garden and each was so different on the inside.

An apple pie caramel apple helped give us strength to work. Caramel apples for tonight include one dipped in dark chocolate and almonds. The other is triple drizzled in white, milk, and dark chocolate! More photos later. Have a magical Halloween!

The Great Pumpkin Project

My contribution to The Great Pumpkin Project! There is a path along the river near the hospital and medical buildings. The employees take this path back to parking. If anyone needs some Jack-O-Lantern cheer it has to be these wonderful medical professionals. This is just before a foot bridge that leads up to street level. You can see the entire journey in this album.

The carving begins

Normally we carve the night before Halloween. Got a head start. This little guy will hopefully find a home for the great pumpkin project tomorrow.

Around the House

Carving tonight and tomorrow night. My spouse has a bum shoulder so I know who will be doing all the scooping of the pumpkin guts!

Paint the Perfect 'Star Wars' BB-8 Droid Pumpkin

The nerd girl in me loves this Star Wars pumpkin idea! Instructions here.

Boooooo!

Local weather alert/warning for the area:

"A storm system will likely bring the first significant rain of the 2015 fall to the Pacific northwest this weekend. Confidence in details remains low... but those planning outdoor activities should be prepared for a wet weekend... and possibly some abrupt rises on area rivers. Also... consider clearing leaves from nearby street drains this week to reduce ponding of water over the weekend."

It doesn't look good for the more delicate Halloween decor. If we get any trick or treaters it will be early. Friday night we had planned to do the downtown haunted walking tour. Less appealing in a constant downpour.

Lanterns from 2010 that won't be in the yard this year.

Of Mice and Marionettes

Gorgeous marionettes with great seasonal appeal. Found here.

Dracula Double Feature

A reminder that your last chance to see the original 1931 Dracula on the big screen is tomorrow! Ticket information and participating theater information can be found here. John Carpenter's Halloween is playing on the 29th.

Quiz: How well do you know the Haunted Mansion at Magic Kingdom Park

Take the quiz here. Disneyworld Haunted Mansion not Disneyland.

Haunted House Parties

A low resolution image of this advertisement has been up on my Flickr account for some time. Someone contacted me to see if I could upload a higher resolution scan. If you click through you can see the entire back cover of the booklet with the advertisement. I would love to order this great kit for only 50 cents.

Auction featuring rare Disney theme park items

Looks like some Haunted Mansion items will be featured at the auction. Story here.

Halloween in Sweden

Lovely image found here.

New addition

Found this cute ceramic bowl today on sale for $13. The cheery little Jack-O-Lanterns surrounding the rim of the bowl make me smile. Now I need to find the skulls to fill it. The week before Halloween and I am still looking through boxes trying to find decorations!

Eyeball House

Love this artists work. Nice depth to her eye paintings too.

Lanterns

Ceramic lanterns from an artist at the Saturday Market. They sit on a half wall in the entryway.

Wicked Lit in a cemetery

A big thank you to The Lady of the Manners for introducing me to Wicked Lit. Three short plays performed at Mountain View Mausoleum and Cemetery in Altadena, CA. Adding this experience to my wish list if we can make it to CA in October 2016. Performances continue this year through November 14th.

Witch Theme House Decor

House in our old neighborhood with a great witch theme.

Love the witch on the roof.

With lights and fog the yard is amazing. The owners dress like witches around the cauldron as music plays in the background. No one else decorates on the street so its a real treat for the eyes.

Pumpkin Carving Templates from Martha Stewart

28 free templates to print for carving here. Each template comes with photos and instructions on how to achieve the look.

We are on such a busy street the only kids we get are with parents driving. There is a low boulder wall on the edge of our driveway that is easy to back in to in the dark. Putting 3 glowing pumpkins on the corner of the wall this year. That should help keep drivers from backing in to a wall on Halloween.

Interview with the Hatbox Ghost

The interview is short and sweet here. Looking forward to finally getting to see that ghost. We switched our Disneyland trip to December so we can still see the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay. Fingers crossed for Halloween 2016.

The Cider Stand

We drove out to the farm that used to have a cider stand. The farm can no longer sell cider. UV equipment is required to legally sell the cider. This is an old mom and pop farm that has been going down hill. Its probably not long before the old couple will have to stop working the land. It wasn't worth it to invest in equipment.

The vulture might be a sign of the way things will go. Barely any decorations this year and no cornstalks. It will be really sad when they finally close.

Our haul for the day. The little guys are for the Great Pumpkin Project. Jack-O-Lanterns with battery tea lights placed in places that need some Halloween cheer.

Scarecrow Lighting

Tried a test run tonight using the Pier One Glimmer lights to light the scarecrow head. The write up from last year is here on the lights. The remote for these lights gives auto shut off options in 2 hour increments. Standing under the scarecrow I used the remote to turn the lights on and and off tonight. Tomorrow night I will try the auto shut off option.

Halloween Tree Tutorial

Instructions on how to make a Halloween tree and decorations found here.

Harry and David Spooky Treats Giveaway

Click here to enter. My grandmother loves the pears from Harry & David. I send her a box every Christmas. The Halloween theme contest they are running is kind of cute. You enter and play a little game each day to see if you have won the $1000 gift card. The caramel apple kit in a coffin is my favorite treat this year.

Martha Stewart 40% off Halloween

Good sale on the Martha Stewart line here. My Halloween budget for the season was used up at the beginning of October. I do like like the 4 part skeleton banner.

Halloween in Ireland

Found on A Glimpse on How the World Celebrates Halloween.

Sad news and some good

The husband came down with one of the worst chest cough colds I can remember. He is a generous type so he shared it with me. We were supposed to be leaving for Disneyland and Mickey's Halloween Party. We are not going to make it. That is the sad part and why I have been absent for a few days.

Good news if you need a Haunted Mansion Maid ensemble. I have one for sale! The amazing seller on etsy who makes these aprons is sold out now. The stripe fabric is cast member accurate.

To go with it I have the maid headpiece as well from this seller on etsy.

If you are interested in the set please comment. Free shipping. Thanks!

Airbnb offers the chance to spend Halloween night in the world’s largest cemetery

More info here.

Good luck to all who enter.

Halloween on a Disney Cruise Ship

Its an amazing Halloween transformation that takes place in a few hours. As guests depart and new guests board the ship its been transformed. Great video of how they do it here.

Mantel

Silver and black theme this year. The orange and black flocked fabric swags and mantel scarf are old Dept. 56 tablecloths. The gorgeous floating silver skull decal and frame are from Halloween City. Only $5.99. The silver Jack-O-Lantern buckets are from the Target bins for $3. The big silver skulls down below were 99 cents at Goodwill.

Mixing old favorites with a few inexpensive new goodies is a great way to decorate with something different every Halloween.

Scarecrow

A little break in the rain when the sun came out. Our new guy had nice lighting on his damp head. A new park being built across the street yielded all the branches for the body and post. The new park is drawing folks who notice our yard. We already had fans show up and take photos. We sit pretty far off a busy road so that was a surprise. Chances are high we might get more than 2 kids this year.

The solar lighting for the head interior is having problems so no photos with interior lights yet. Three solar flood lights keep him well lit at night.

Porch Corner

Porch decor in progress. Pumpkins from the garden. Squash and cornstalks from the pumpkin patch. Wind took down part of the porch garland within minutes of it going up. Waiting for the high winds to calm down before adding more decorations and lights.

Disney Halloween Desktop Wallpapers

Great Halloween Wallpapers from the folks at Disney Parks Blog.

Vince Wood Farm

Lovely day for a trip to the pumpkin patch. My favorite mom and pop farm. A bride with purple hair was buying 60 small pumpkins to go next to each place setting at the reception. We were all helping her pick the best ones.

Proof you can get 5 big bundles of corn stalks in a little Honda. They were so dusty I was sneezing on the drive home. Spent the rest of afternoon decorating the front porch. Trying to get that project done tomorrow. There will be photos.

Then There Were Three

Paid for my third flaming pumpkin over the phone. We went on a road trip through the fall countryside to bring him home. Its very cheery with all three ablaze!

Somber October 1 in Oregon

My preparation to post about the beginning of my favorite month was interrupted by a mass shooting in my state. I looked up to see the banner on CNN-College shooting in Oregon. As the wife of a college instructor, I live with the fear every day. Thankfully, it wasn't my husbands campus. Tears were flowing for most of the morning. My heart goes to the students, staff, and their families at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon. Update: If you would like to help the shooting victims recover you can find a list here of Gofundme campaigns.