A bunch of Hocus Pocus and a little bit of chills and thrills

Welcome back!

Did you have a spooky week?

We did! 

Especially on Saturday.

So get ready for this week's installment of....

I used to have this book.

It has the most amazing stories, recipes and folklore ever!!

It was ruined when someone left a swamp cooler float 

in the wrong position and we had a flood in our house:(

Anyhow, I was gifted it recently and it's just as fun as I remembered.

You can probably find it on Amazon.

This is one of the Haunted  houses on our mantle..

It's from 'Tuesday Morning'

I love that it lights up..the outside is black and covered in glitter.

See  those multi colored Jack-'o-Lanterns?

I found them at the thrift store for $2, not even opened!

The pumpkin guy and the cat are from the 99cents store,

aren't they adorable? They are heavy too.

The other critters are also from Tuesday Morning

Look at my little baby boy, Peeves!!

He's the best kitty!

He gets on the sink when I do the dishes, (while meowing loudly)

 eats scrambled eggs with toast and he loves to play fetch with a foil ball.

He especially likes when I play with my tarot or goddess cards..

He comes into the room, sits quietly, doesn't knock things down & wont 

leave until the reading is over.

 Look what we found at our neighborhood grocery store!!!

They are huge and on sale 2 for 8 dollars.

I love going to the local pumpkin patch near us,

 but the prices are usually a little bit ridiculous.

This was a great bargain.

On Sunday we had a little celebration party..

just because:)

The design was drawn.... 

Just kidding, this was a joke played on me.. everyone knows I'd never approve

such a itty bitty face on  our pumpkin..lol...so even though it was cute..we changed it!

Do you do anything special to your Jack-o'-lantern?

As soon as ours is carved

(I can't touch raw pumpkin innards, I'm terribly allergic)

I cover the inside with cinnamon powder, pumpkin pie spice or cloves.

When the candle starts burning, the scent that wafts out is incredible!!!!

I created a little wooden Halloween plaque

for this week's Haunted Humpday..

 I'm actually working on my website and this little guy is

going to be on it, along with a many of my creations.

 This is 3 inches by 5 inches.

& there's a little hanger on it.

If you're interested, send me an email :)

Look at this! The Halloween Oreos are at Target!!

The season has officially started for me when these are finally available.

 We watched Hocus Pocus,

Then I made these adorable brownies!!

I baked brownies,

 when they cooled,

I used a scalloped edged cookie cutter to shape them.

When that was done, I used black gel icing

to add the details.

For the eye, you can use candy eyeballs

(which are for sale right now)

or white icing.

Here's how they looked set up on a plate

before they were all decorated.

Aren't they cute?!

We also made some home made caramel corn, I don't have a picture unfortunately..it goes fast.

But there is a recipe I follow...

                          Cooking spray
                          4 quarts popped popcorn
                          1 cup brown sugar
                          1/2 cup light or dark syrup
                          1/2 cup butter
                          1/2 teaspoon salt
                          1/2 teaspoon baking soda
                          1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  

1. Spray large shallow roasting pan with cooking spray. Add popcorn and place in preheated 250 degrees F oven while preparing caramel.
2. Mix brown sugar, corn syrup, butter and salt in a heavy 2-quart saucepan. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil over medium heat.
3. Boil 5 minutes without stirring. Remove from heat. Stir in baking soda and vanilla; mix well.
4. Pour syrup over warm popcorn, stirring to coat evenly.
5. Bake for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven and spread on foil that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
6. Cool; break apart. Store in tightly covered container.

 Are you ready for a little story?

Well, grab a brownie and a cup of caramel corn & get cozy...

Have you ever heard of the Slithery Dee?

There's a poem written about it, which I found on Wikipedia: 

Oh... The Slithery Dee
He lives in the sea
He saw all the others
But he didn't see me
The Slithery Dee
He came out of the sea
He chased all the others
But he didn't chase me
The Slithery Dee
I hid in a tree
He caught all the others
But he couldn't catch me
The Slithery Dee
He went back to the sea
He ate all the others
But he didn't eat me
The Slithery Dee
Oh where can he be?
He ate all the others
But he'll never eat ---

 (Sluuuuuuurp!!!!)

......................................................................

 It's a little creepy right?..it's about a sea monster (according to Wikipedia)

Well, years ago

my brother's friend told us a story about when he was a child...

He was visiting his grandparents farm.

After dinner,on the first night,

 they went for a walk to the small lake that was on the property..

When they returned home it was about time to get ready for bed.  

Not being used to their schedule, he lay awake for a while..

to pass the time, he decided to get up and

walk back to the lake.

He was not afraid, as the moon was full and the path was bright.

He arrived and sat down on the little pier, enjoying the view and the fresh breeze.

After a short while he heard a loud splash...

he couldn't make out exactly where it came from, nor could he see what it was.

He then decided that it was time to get going.

It seemed to him, to take a very long time to get back to the house,

 much longer than it took to get to the lake.

Along the way, he said he heard shuffling in the bushes behind him.

As he climbed into bed, he glanced out of the window

 and thought he saw a dark shape slink behind the garage. 

Throughout his visit, he was nervous and uncomfortable, always

sure that there was something watching, just out of the corner of his eye. 

This feeling persisted even after he arrived home.

He claimed this creature had tentacles, a large squishy body and glowing eyes.  

It would hide in the dark corners of his room, in the bathroom hamper and under the sofa.

Eventually he grew out of this phase or the fear itself and he forgot about it.

Many years later, he said he read this poem in a book of scary stories his niece had brought home.

It reminded him instantly of his old childhood fear.

He told my brother that he was pretty sure he was going to start hearing and seeing things again....

Do you have a story or poem from your childhood that still freaks you out?

I'm still afraid of the little orphan Annie poem about how the gobble-uns'll git you if you don't watch out!!

I read that when I was 7..I remember I was in my parent's room, waiting for dinner to be ready..

the sun was starting to go down and it was in that weird twilight time, when it's just about to 

be too dark indoors and a light needs to be turned on.

eeeeeeeek!!!

.......................................................................................................

Little Orphant Annie

James Whitcomb Riley, 1849 - 1916

Little Orphant Annie’s come to our house to stay,
An’ wash the cups an’ saucers up, an’ brush the crumbs away,
An’ shoo the chickens off the porch, an’ dust the hearth, an’ sweep,
An’ make the fire, an’ bake the bread, an’ earn her board-an’-keep;
An’ all us other childern, when the supper things is done,
We set around the kitchen fire an’ has the mostest fun
A-list’nin’ to the witch-tales ‘at Annie tells about,
An’ the Gobble-uns ‘at gits you
             Ef you
                Don’t
                   Watch
                      Out!
        
Onc’t they was a little boy wouldn’t say his prayers,--
So when he went to bed at night, away up stairs,
His Mammy heerd him holler, an’ his Daddy heerd him bawl,
An’ when they turn’t the kivvers down, he wasn’t there at all!
An’ they seeked him in the rafter-room, an’ cubby-hole, an’ press,
An’ seeked him up the chimbly-flue, an’ ever’wheres, I guess;
But all they ever found was thist his pants an’ roundabout--
An’ the Gobble-uns’ll git you
             Ef you
                Don’t
                   Watch
                      Out!
        
An’ one time a little girl ‘ud allus laugh an’ grin,
An’ make fun of ever’one, an’ all her blood an’ kin;
An’ onc’t, when they was “company," an’ ole folks was there,
She mocked ‘em an’ shocked ‘em, an’ said she didn’t care!
An’ thist as she kicked her heels, an’ turn’t to run an’ hide,
They was two great big Black Things a-standin’ by her side,
An’ they snatched her through the ceilin’ ‘fore she knowed what she’s about!
An’ the Gobble-uns’ll git you
             Ef you
                Don’t
                   Watch
                      Out!
        
An’ little Orphant Annie says when the blaze is blue,
An’ the lamp-wick sputters, an’ the wind goes woo-oo!
An’ you hear the crickets quit, an’ the moon is gray,
An’ the lightnin’-bugs in dew is all squenched away,--
You better mind yer parents, an’ yer teachers fond an’ dear,
An’ churish them ‘at loves you, an’ dry the orphant’s tear,
An’ he’p the pore an’ needy ones ‘at clusters all about,
Er the Gobble-uns’ll git you
             Ef you
                Don’t
                   Watch
                      Out!

......................................................................................

 


Ok, it's very late and I'm getting a little sleepy..

I think I'll leave a light on for sure..

I don't want that slithery dee coming out from under the bed:O

(Thank you for your responses to my Stephen King Party..

it's going to be so much fun!!!)

Goodnight, I'll see you soon!!!

Covered in books and stars

Three Muses challenge this week is Books..

"Books are a uniquely portable magic"

-Stephen King

 

Not very long ago, I had a dream about walking through a forest.

As I was walking, I kicked something, when I looked down

I saw there were stars on the ground..

then I noticed that the tree in front of me

was covered in books and stars.

When the wind blew through you could hear the book pages rustling,

it almost sounded like someone was whispering.

The stars were swaying back and forth like heavy fruit.

In order to remove a book from the branches, 

you had to ask the tree's permission.

I was extremely excited and thought perhaps I had died,

since I'd never seen a book tree before.

 (but have always wanted one)

Trying to decide what book to read first was my only worry.

It was amazing!

 

Merry Monday..Before December

Hi!

How was your Thanksgiving?

We had a great time..

Lot's of cooking, lot's of eating..

We ate fairly early, I usually have the Turkey ready to eat by 2 or 3 pm 

Afterwards we went to Michael's craft store, 

it's open on Thanksgiving!

We don't go for the early bird sales or anything like that..

I like to go and walk around, get out of the warm kitchen

maybe get inspired..

There usually aren't too many people there either, which is nice.

On Friday afternoon

we went to a thrift store nearby.

They had a black Friday special 25% off your total purchase!

After that we stopped at a book store which sells new and used books.

I found this book, which I used to have. 

It was only 2 dollars!

That night we went to the movies and watched 

All in all we managed to avoid large crowds of people.

 

 

 

On Saturday I made enchiladas with the leftover turkey.

I don't roll them up, I layer them.

Corn tortillas, sauce covered turkey, cheese

over and over, like a lasagna.

Bake for 25 minutes at 350 and it's ready.

Notice I don't have many photos of the food, haha! 

Sunday was a lazy day..

We baked chocolate chip cookies, made hot cocoa and went for a drive..

the evening was cool and I try and take advantage of that as much as possible.

I did not get much crafting done this week.

There are a few things that I started...

And there were two commissioned  paintings I had to finish up and send off..

other than that, cooking and spending time with these amazing girls was the focus of the week.

What did you do this week?

Are you ready for the Christmas frenzy?:

........................................................................

Here's my list of three

Merry Monday, Turkeys,Toast and Books

It's time for our third

Are you ready for Thanksgiving?

We are..we got most of the shopping done for it last week, all we needed 

was the bread, the green onion and the celery, which, we bought today.

Do you have a special dish you make to go along with your dinner?

My mom always made the usual side dishes,

mashed potatoes, gravy, peas, cranberries,stuffing and rolls.

When she passed away, it was up to me to keep the tradition going

for my dad and my girls.

The first year was pretty difficult, I was dreading actually cooking it all, but I got the hang of it.

Now, it's a night we look forward to.

I start the night before, preparing the vegetables for the stuffing..

First we put on Christmas music..

Helena makes the toast..(as she always does)

 (2 years old)

(3years old)

'

I'd add more but I'll refrain:)

she has moved from toasting the bread to cutting up the vegtables though.

I usually put the turkey in the oven  at 5 am

then I go to sleep. I wake up and the whole house smells amazing!

It's ready by 1 or 2.

Something I really enjoy making is the green bean casserole.

I slice one small onion and fry it with some pieces of bacon

then I make the casserole according to the directions..

I add the onion and bacon pieces to the cream of mushroom soup before I bake.

It's fantastic!

On Thursday we went to our library's annual book sale.

 It's so cool, you can fill a grocery bag with books from their store for only 10 dollars!

We found so many really good ones,

I arrange them in the best possible way and we end up with at least 35.

This was one of the one's I was really excited to find..

Here's a few of the other ones...

I didn't even photograph the ones Helena chose!

We had a great time and even had a chance to go to the cafe and have some breakfast.

We made this garland out of felt for our dining room.

We also made some big felt turkeys but Peeves, our lovely craft assistant

decided to sneak into the room and

 lie on the freshly painted turkey faces.

I had to wash them off his belly.

Here he is drying off on the rest of the felt.

I looked everywhere for a turkey cookie cutter and just did not find one!

We ended up making some with a duck & flower cookie cutters..

This is regular sugar cookie dough.

Here are some made with the flower shape and hand rolled turkey bodies, lol

I wasn't impressed but it did induce many giggles from Helena.

I made some more ornaments.

These are made from

burnt out night light bulbs, Lisa Kettell Designs pixie doll heads,

pipe cleaners, glitter, ribbon, fishing line and tinsel.

you need hot glue to add ribbon the the top (metal) part of the bulb

add the pixie, hot glue fishing line (to display) then attach pipe cleaners to the back (for arms) 

wrap with a small amount of tinsel (skirt)

once this is done paint the hat with white glue and sprinkle with glitter.

This is what we created for our abandoned art project this week..

It's a felt leaf 'pocket'

it's securely glued all the way around and in the 'pocket' 

we put a couple of dollars.

There have been times when a dollar would've helped me so much..

I'm hoping someone can get themselves a water or a candy bar..whatever.

maybe it'll just make someone smile.

If you make this, you could add an inspirational quote instead of money.

or maybe a 5 dollar gift card to the 99cents store..

Helena asked me

what if someone that doesn't need it, finds it?

I told her maybe they will give it to someone who does.

I was able to get a picture of it..

We left it at a walking trail.

How chilly is it for everyone now?

We are getting some nice lows in the evening,low enough to make me crave a hot drink.

I've stopped drinking coffee for some reason.

I do that sometimes, 

But I never really get tired of tea.

I know of an incredibly awesome tea shop on etsy that has

a huge selection and guess what?

it's not ridiculously priced either!

KipersLilTeaShop 

Here's a few:

 'tame the tension'

it's a relaxing herbal tea

'Pixie Dust'

a tea to help you sleep.

'Not my mama's Merlot"

 It's wine flavored!!

She also sells essential oils, prepackaged tea bags or a monthly subscription box.

She is very sweet and will do all she can to get your 

order to you quickly and packaged beautifully.

There's a black Friday sale 50 % off, with just a $10 minimum purchase required.

Hope you go take a look, 

She even has one that is chocolate mint flavored and it's amazing!!

My daughter's recital went beautifully.

It was her senior recital, vocal performance.

We were all blown away.

This was immediately after

(Grace, Gabriella, and Helena)

She started singing at 18 months old

At 9 years old, she decided to sing opera

next month she is graduating from college 

Summa Cum Laude

We are very proud of her!

I hope everyone that is celebrating Thanksgiving this week 

has a beautiful, abundant time.

I count my blessings everyday

but I will definitely give extra thanks this year.

See you soon!!