With tomorrow being Trick or Treating in our town and I’ve been decorating the front yard and porch, hoping the weather is good and the predicted rain or even snow holds off for the kids that come trick or treating. I’m going into town to buy candy and get some odds and ends that I need. I love Halloween. I won’t be dressing this year though. First time in I don’t know how long. I have a pinched nerve in my neck and to be honest, since I’ve lost quite a bit of weight and am down to about 109 lbs, my costumes would all need taken in a size. I don’t have the time to do this. The kids are all ready though and will look great!
A new Halloween store opening
It’s really great to have found out that tomorrow is the opening of a new Halloween store that is opening in town! Normally I will take orders from friends or the folks around here, to make costumes for their kids or even some of the adults, and I really enjoy making them. Some people who make costumes would be bummed about a big store of costumes and everything else one could think of for Halloween in the area, but not me.
I love to go into stores like this to get new ideas and also to buy the items I need to make All Hallows Eve the best time possible. From what I am hearing, this new store has thousands of costumes, mainly the pre-made and sold in packages type ones. But they also have loads of masks and also everything thinkable for this night of ghouls and witches, black cats and skeletons.
The opening of the Halloween store will be held in a few days and I of course will be going there to scope it out. As for buying anything, I’m going to wait until right before Halloween and then the day after, because I also hear tell, that the store will have tremendous discounts on the non sold special effect items and so make up, and blank masks which is what I am looking for, since one of my specialty hobby’s is making masks for all occasions.
Carving Our Pumpkin Today
Every year I buy a pumpkin to carve for Halloween from a local farmer who has a produce stand a few miles from my house. This year he had a small crop of pumpkins for sale, and they seemed to be a lot higher this year than last. I asked him about that and he said that the drought we had this summer really took a toll on his pumpkin crop. Evidently, the crop was only about one quarter of what it was last year, because growing big pumpkins requires a lot of water and we just did not have enough rain to make a good crop.
With that in mind, I had to decide if I wanted to be extravagant and buy a big one from the few, expensive big ones that he had, or settle for a smaller one that fit my budget. It also occurred to me that I could just not buy my pumpkin from him this year and go to WalMart to buy one for about ten bucks. But I really don’t want to give my money to WalMart when I have a good local option, and I believe in supporting the local businesses and farmers as much as possible. I decided to buy a smaller pumpkin and stick to my budget, and hope that next year’s crop is bigger and better for everyone.
I’m going to carve something like the design on this photo. I like the idea of a more intricate design than just a grinning face. I’m not sure how to make this work on a smaller pumpkin, but I guess I will figure it out tonight when I carve the pumpkin and put it out on my front porch.
To dress or not to dress
Each year by this time, I would already have my Halloween dress at least started and yet I have no creative energy hitting me. With the kids darn near all grown, except my 16 yr. old son, dressing up isn’t what it used to be.
I have made a few costumes for some kids that acquaintances commissioned me to make, and they turned out well, but to make my own, I’m just not into the spirit much.
Hopefully as the time gets closer, I’ll kick out something that is Halloween and party worthy. I’m glad I can work well under pressure, since I think it’s going to go down to the wire with this project!
Early Fall
Waking up this morning, I literally was shivering and had to turn on the furnace to get the chill out of the air. Looking out the back yard, I could see what I thought was frost on the grass. Of course, I didn’t go outside to check it out, but this 53 degree weather is a far cry from the 110 degree weather of two days ago. I’m not looking forward to the weather changing cold.
With the fall, come my favorite holiday, Halloween! The stores aren’t wasting any time getting the Halloween displays out either. They started that last month. There is even a Halloween store that opened up in town before the kids were back in school.
Time to start my projects! I should have started on costumes a long time ago, instead of figuring I had more than enough time. I’m mainly sticking to making masks and a costume or two for those who have already commissioned me. So much to do and so little time.