Loving the Fall!

For most of my life, summer was my favorite time of year! As a kid, it was easy: summers meant no school, which translated to lots of fun time with my mom, siblings, and (until I was twelve or so) my cousin. Lots of time at the pool, and constant trips to the library for more books. Add in Girl Scout day camp and occasional summer camp, and it's a clear choice. Plus, I have a summer birthday. :D

Even when summer meant more time at my part-time job, I was still a die-hard fan of summer. Even summer classes during my very extended college years didn't change that.

But over the last few years, I've come to really love the fall. There are awesome fall festivals everywhere, and the weather is so wonderful: still warm, but breezy and not nearly as humid. The North Georgia mountains are so beautiful, too, come fall, with all the leaves changing. (I'm also a big fan of Halloween, as well as all the winter squashes like sweet dumpling squash.)

Of course, it helps that I am absolutely addicted to hats of all sorts and interesting socks. Summer is so very hot in Georgia that I don't wear socks unless I am hiking, and only straw hats or cotton canvas bucket hats are bearable.

This year, I've already been to the Atlanta Arts Festival (where I browsed but didn't buy) and the Duluth Fall Festival, which is small but one of my favorites! It rained on us, but we still had a blast. I bought my usual supply of handmade soaps from Thistle Ridge Soap out of Walhala, South Carolina and my favorite huckleberry honey from Allen White of Dalton, Georgia. I also bought my first Christmas gift of the year, for my mom.

Tonight I'm headed to the Atlanta Greek Festival, for souvlaki, pastries (yum), music, and street dancing, my favorite part! (I hope I remember the dances; I usually forget half of it!) Next weekend we head to Andy's Trout Farm in Clayton, Georgia with my husband's family, including three of my four nephews. I think we are planning a side trip to Helen for Oktoberfest (which is actually over in Germany!), but I'm not sure.

Hope you're enjoying your fall as much as I am!

Halloween Aftermath

This year was my first opportunity to decorate for Halloween to my heart's content...and in my own style! I really had fun, though a couple of planned projects never happened.

For most of my shopping, I headed to Jo-Ann's and hit the autumn and Halloween decorations. Most of them were at least 60% off; I was late decorating because of my mom's illness. The hall table featured a clearance-table skull candle (which looked like it cost a lot more), a cheap black plastic tray that will be re-purposed later, and a pretty goblet-type candle holder. (I tinted the water with food coloring and floated candles in it.) The feathers came from the autumn clearance section.

Add a wild-looking twig wreath, a basic evergreen wreath, and a can of spray paint. The result was two fun yet spooky wreaths. (See the black bird? That was a Christmas dove, painted black with India ink. 40% off from the new Christmas decorations.) Sadly, the flash reveals all the green underlayer of the wreath on my door. In person, it just looks black.


But the coolest part was in the craft room. I hung one of my black veils from the ceiling and suspended a ghost in front of my window (white gauze and styrofoam balls). It really looked awesome from the street, even if it's rather distant.

Okay, okay. The shrunken heads were pretty cool, too. AND when I told my husband what I was making, it left him speechless for the first time ever.



Edited to add: When I went to post my blog today, I realized I never hit "Publish Post." So here it is, a few days late.

The Spirit of...Halloween?

I love Halloween! Mostly it's because of the costumes–I freely admit it–but that's not the whole story. Trick-or-treating is great, too, and not just for the candy. As a kid, I loved the candy, but I never finished it all. And I loved the sheer number of people who got to see–and compliment–my costume every year. (In my family we always had really great costumes, or at least distinctive, and practically always handmade. And we didn't stop visiting houses until every house was dark!)

More than any of that, though, there's just such a great spirit to Halloween. There's a sense of community you rarely see; it's even rarer today than when I was a kid. On Halloween, you actually see your neighbors, and they see you. You might even talk to them. (Imagine that!)

And everyone is so generous! It's practically the only time you see people willing to give little gifts to strange people without a major disaster involved. Yes, we give at Christmas, but that's different. It's mainly just to friends and family, or at least people we have some connection to. And yes, most people make an effort to give something to the less fortunate during the holidays. That's admirable.

But Halloween is different. Our world is a scary place; after dark, we usually regard strangers on our doorstep with apprehension, if not outright suspicion or fear. But at Halloween, a complete stranger can come up to your house, knock on your door, and receive...candy. It's a small thing, true, but's its willingly–enthusiastically–given, even if that stranger really does look strange... (Especially if they look strange!) That has to be worth something.

Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving are far more important holidays, I would say. But maybe Halloween has something to teach us, too. Maybe we need trick-or-treating. Too bad it's dying out.

Happy Halloween!

Xandria