Happy Halloween!

And a Blessed Samhain!
Love,
Jo
)O(

Free Glitter Graphics, Halloween Glitter Graphics


Free Glitter Graphics, Halloween Glitter Graphics

Beware of Mischief on This Night!

Happy Halloween Eve!
Mysterious goings on here today & this evening...

And The Winner of Week 2's Book Giveaway Is...

Sherry Dale Rogers!
Congrats!

When you get a chance, email me your
mailing name & address.
(My email appears in the left hand column here).

2 More Days Until Halloween! (Dont forget to enter to win The Widow's of Eastwick by Midnight est tonight!)

Share with us:
~How many Jack-O-Lanterns you're carving this year
~What you dressed up as on Halloween last year

Again, I'll go first:

This year I'll carve at least 2 medium or large pumpkins, one for the front porch and 1 for the back patio. Most likely I'll carve a couple of smaller ones and make tea light holders out of some Jack-Be-Little's for the front window sills outside. I'll also carve at least one turnip, as my ancestors in Ireland & England did so many centuries ago (before they brought that tradition to America and we turned it into carving pumpkins).

My profile pic here (in the left hand column) gives a hint of what I dressed as last year. Was I a Witch, a Gypsy or a Goddess...? On Halloween, you can be anything you want to be!

Time is running out!
Click (or copy & paste) here to bring you to
the Week 2 Book Giveaway post: http://justdigginaround.blogspot.com/2009/10/book-give-away-week-2.html

3 More Days 'Til Halloween

Where has this month, this year, gone?!

Time for a little Countdown to Halloween fun!

Share with us:
~Your favorite scary movie
~Your favorite scary novel or short story
~Whether or not you've ever had a ghostly/paranormal encounter.

I'll go first:

~Hands down my favorite scary movie is the original John Carpenter's Halloween. (The original John Carpenter's The Fog is a very close second).

~I don't really have a favorite scary novel, but my favorite scary short story is "All Souls" by Edith Wharton. (I Highly recommend it!)

~I do believe I've had some sort of ghostly/paranormal experiences in the past.

Most recent was during our visit to Salem Mass last October. Sounds like such a cliché, I know! I wasn't expecting anything to happen, especially with the overall campy atmosphere in Salem during Halloween. Our last stop before heading back to Ayers Mass was what's been dubbed as "The Witch House," the home of Witch Trial Judge Judge Corwin and the last structure in present day Salem from 1692.

During our "self guided tour," I was drawn to the Huge hearth in what was the kitchen/dining area of the home, more specifically to the small black door at the very back of the hearth (where the ashes would have been pushed through into the chimney). My eyes kept going back to that door. So I took a picture and started to move on.

Then, in my mind & not aloud, I heard the oddest over enunciating & dramatic male-ish voice I've ever heard say,"This house is haunted!"

Immediately I said to myself, "Oh you have got to be kidding!"

I was tired at this point and not in the mood!

Again I heard, "This house is haunted!"

So I replied (in my mind not aloud, lol!), "And what would you like me to do about it?!"

"This house is haunted!"

"There's nothing I can do to help you. You know who you have to seek for atonement."

The voice was gone.

Book Give Away! (Week 2)

In keeping with the season and holiday at week's end, I'm giving away "The Widows of Eastwick" by John Updike, sequel to his novel "The Witches of Eastwick."

This is a "discarded" hardback library copy and in near perfect condition.

Leave a comment on this post thru midnight (e.s.t.) on Thursday, 10/29/09 and I will pick & announce the winner on Friday, 10/30/09.

Good Luck!

Happy Sunday Eve

Such a beautiful (sky here this) evening that I had to share. I hope you enjoy the photo and your Sunday evening.

Autumn Scents Bring Me Home (plus October Farm give away link)

Written 10/23/09
Nothing makes me think of Fall & the coming of cooler weather like the scent of woodsmoke in the air and the scent of cinnamon apple candles . As soon as I catch a whiff of either one, I think of the first time Hubby took me up to his family cabin in The Endless Mountains Region of North Eastern Pennsylvania.

It was October 2004, the first weekend of the month and we headed up on Friday evening when he got home from work. I hadn't been away for a weekend in Years and I couldn't wait to get out into the country, especially after hearing so many of his tales.

I was enthralled for the entire ride, through parts of NJ I'd never been to and into PA. It was all so pretty with the changing colors. On 81N the reds were just Popping out on either side of the highway.

I had the feeling somewhere along the way that I was home.

There's a wood burning stove in the cabin, the only heat source and so most of the time when we were there we had a fire going. (The next best thing to a fire place). You can see it from both the kitchen & living room and hear the cracking & popping. It makes everything feel very warm and comforting. My sister-in-law had cinnamon apple candles in the living room, kitchen and bathroom. Without even lighting them, you could smell them faintly throughout. I had never really liked that scent for candles until then.

I didn't want to leave. (I never do when we're in PA). In that short 3 day weekend, I wrote 18 pages in my journal! Reading it all makes me smile. One of the first things I did when we got home was buy cinnamon apple candles. I still keep some around at home now (we've since moved) and whenever I want to feel the way I did that first weekend, I light one.

The woodsmoke gets me every time. Takes me right back to PA and Fall. Whether it's just wafting through the neighborhood or we've got a fire going in the chiminea at home or we've got a fire going up at our weekend/vaca place, the scent brings me home.

One day we will get there. One day we will be home.

Please go to http://octoberfarm.blogspot.com/2009/10/halloween-giveaway-straight-from-salem.html for a chance to enter a great Halloween themed give away!

And The Winner Is... (Week 1 Book Give Away) Plus Baked Pumpkin Seeds Recipes

The names.

Into the hat.

(drumroll)

Tada!
Winner of "The Time Traveler's Wife,"
is The Frog Queen!
Congrats!
(Forgive me, your name escapes me!)
My email is in the left hand column.
Please email me your mailing name and address when you have a chance.
Best of luck to my other entrants for next time!

Week 2 of my book giveaway will be announced on Monday 10/26.
My only hint:
It's something in keeping with the Season!
Mmmwaaaahahahahaha!

Now, for my Baked Pumpkin Seeds Recipes!

Mostly by Mói!
(The egg whites are thanks to Rachel Ray because olive oil & veggie oil & butter just have not worked for me in the past).

Take guts & seeds & put in a large bowl of water & let seeds float to top. (Wipe off any remaining pumpkin goo that doesn't come off).

Put seeds on clean kitchen towel to dry. (They'll stick to paper towels!)

For every 2 cups of pumpkin seeds, you use 2 beaten egg whites.

For plain:
Mix egg whites w/seeds, (a pinch of salt if you want) place on a cookie sheet & bake at 250° for roughly 20 minutes to half hour (depending on if you want them golden or slighty browned).

Or for sweet:
You can use the egg whites in addition to
-Quarter cup Sugar
Spread on a cookie sheet & bake at 250° for roughly 20 minutes to half hour (depending on if you want them golden or slighty browned).

For sweet & spicy:
You can use the egg whites in addition to
-Quarter cup Sugar
Mix & spread on cookie sheet then sprinkle with
-Pinch of Cayenne Pepper
-Tsp Cinnimon
Bake at 250° for roughly 20 minutes to half hour (depending on if you want them golden or slighty browned).

For a different sweet & spicy
-Use the beaten egg whites
-1/8 cup or less of sugar
Mix & spread on cookie sheet then sprinkle with Old Bay Seasoning & a pinch of salt. Bake at 250° for roughly 20 minutes to half hour (depending on if you want them golden or slighty browned).

You can also use a pinch of garlic powder or any spice in your pantry, just use the 2 beaten agg whites for every 2 cups of seeds regardless.

Enjoy & Pumpkin Carving!
Love,
Jo

Thursday Thoughts & Tidbits

Watching Oprah yesterday, I heard something that connected immediately with my overwhelming urge to purge:

"Less space. Less stuff. More life."

My Soul jumped up and screamed "YES!"

(As of right now, I have no "tidbit" for today. Will update if one comes to mind!)

Book Give Away! (Week 1)

Pictured above are the books I'm going to start giving away as of this week. The first one up for grabs is "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger. (Used paperback copy, fairly good condition). To "enter" to win this book, please leave a comment on this post by midnight (e.s.t.) on Thursday, October 22, and I will pick a winner on Friday. Once I have the winner's name, I'll post it here on Friday and then you can email me you mailing name and address. (My email appears in the left hand column at the end of my "About Me" section).

Good Luck!

2009 Halloween Fete! (Saturday October 17, 2009) **UPDATED!** This shindig is still going strong!

Welcome!
I'm so happy to have had so many visitors already!
I must apologize for not being ready for you earlier!
I also apologize for the wacky font sizes throughout my post.
No matter how hard I try, I can't correct them.

If music doesn't begin playing shortly after your arrival,
scroll down until you see a purple music widget begin to load in the left hand column and wait until you hear the music before scrolling back up here.

Happy Halloween Fete 2009!
Love and Spookiness to All!
~Jo
(Continue scrolling down until the end of the post)

Outside, it's a gloomy & cold day here on the NJ coast. Many a restless Spirit wander here on days like this. One can never be too sure if the fog & mist are just as they seem.

Inside, it is warm yet equally frightful!
Creepy crawlies have gotten into the food & drink,
I so hope you don't mind!

What with all of the
party hopping
we're doing, I didn't want you to bust a gut, so I've laid out some
Pumpkin Cookies
Candy (of course!)
Apple Cinnamon Herbal Tea
Autumn Spice Coffee
and
Magic Hot Cocoa!

Yes, magic!
Watch it turn from brown & white
to
ORANGE
Right Before Your Very Eyes!

For the more adventurous souls,
try a glass of red, purple or green...
My personal vintage!

Bwwaahahahahahaha!

Huh hem.

I hope you enjoy your visit!
I'm so very pleased to meet all of you
and
hope that we will see one another again soon!

Hosted by
A Fanciful Twist
http://afancifultwist.typepad.com/a_fanciful_twist/.

Welcome Everyone from A Fanciful Twist!
Please enjoy the slide show below until I return home later (on Saturday) and join in the fun!

I will be updating this post as soon as I get home.

Thanks so much for stopping by
and
I'll be seeing y'all soon!
Happy Hauntings!
Love,
Jo

My Photo's: October Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, Autumn at Home Away From Home and This Seasons Home Decor

Go to http://www.maydreamsgardens.com/ for more info on Garden Blogger's Bloom Day.


Is there any wonder why I cannot wait until we move up there?!


It's the most wonderful time of the year!

LOL! An Explanation...

Of my previous post.
Pardon me for laughing, I can't help myself!

Firstly, I greatly appreciate all of your comments! (As always, of course!) Secondly, no I wasn't indeed having a bad day. This thought, "Would it be too negative if I told people to Shove Their Negativity Up Their Asses?! :~)", has been floating around in my mind for at least a few days. It seems as though the more I am conscious of being in a positive frame of mind, the more the Universe is making me aware of all the negativity around me.

For instance:

Any time we run into people who know Hubby and I both worked for the warehouse home improvement store HD (yes, that's where we met), they apparently think we enjoy listening to them

Bitch & Complain about HD
and how much the service sucks.

Not only do we know that but if you think it's bad being their customer, try being their employee and then come talk to us alright?!

Then there are the times:

When we are with our friends who are still members of our old American Legion Post, all they do is

Complain The Entire Time about the Post.

They've had their chances to get the County & State AL's involved yet let those chances pass by so either transfer like we did or Shut Up About It Already! That's our stance and we've told them. Not that that has changed anything.

Or:

This Saturday evening, we went to an engagement for Hubby's best friends' brother. J's wife has been Super Jealous of T's girlfriend right from the beginning (who's nice and so everyone warmed to her immediately - the opposite has been the case with J's wife because she's anything but nice to say the least). Now that T & P are Engaged and J's naturally his brother's best man & she's not in the wedding, the jealousy has spiraled Out Of Control! Literally all J's wife did the 2 hours and 40 minutes we were there was

Complain, Whine, Bitch, Kvetch and Criticize
Every Single Detail.

While one of us would be away from the table, J's wife would try to gode one of us into it with her but of course neither one of us would! (Nope, that didn't go over well, but neither of us care).

And lastly:

All of the recent nasty, negative, judgemental and ignorant attitudes on a particular website I frequent. While I am no longer letting these jerks upset me and ruin my time there, it can still be frustrating to have to deal with them in the middle of positive, intelligent and fun discussions!

All of the things I've mentioned here have lead this thought to run through my mind more & more frquently as of late causing me to smile and yesterday, I felt the irresistable need to share it with everyone and so I did! (Here, on T and fb).

And honestly, I may indeed start telling people to Shove Their Negativity Up Their Arses because of the pure enjoyment I will get from it! We'll see! :~)

Would It Be Too Negative...

To tell people to Shove Their Negativity Up Their Asses? :-)

Dear Moon, My Apologies

I am a little more than displeased, to say the very least, that NASA launched a rocket at our Moon yesterday with the intention to crash it into her surface to cause debris to be scattered, just on the off chance there's water somewhere in that debris, which they think means that Perhaps life could be sustained there.

What could the affects of this rocket crash be
on our Moon, the atmosphere and therefore on us?
They Don't Know.

We're killing our Earth as it is!
Leave Our Moon Alone!

Final Friday Thoughts

Chris Rock said the following while on Oprah this afternoon:

"Secrets rot the soul.
Secrets Rot The Soul."

Wow.
How true.
Simply stated yet Powerful.
Stopped me right there.

Brunonia Barry states in an interview on her website for her novel "The Lace Reader" ( http://www.lacereader.com ) that a theme of the novel is :

"You have to go back to go forward."

Brunonia returned to Salem MA to live and her book is set in Salem MA.
Her character Towner must return to her own beginnings, in Salem and in her life where things went so wrong, in order to move forward and begin to truly heal.

Hhhmmm...

Thursday Thoughts and Tidbits

Thoughts for today:
"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself."
(Anonymous)
An "aha moment" for me.

Tidbits for today:
Yesterday, in 1849,
Edgar Allen Poe died,
at the age of 40.

(October is) Domestic Violence Awareness Month - "Learn the Facts"

Please click on the following link which will take you to an excellent and informative post on a friends blog:

http://mandy-dailyreflections.blogspot.com/2009/10/domestic-violence-awareness-month-learn.html

I also learned from this friend that October is also Down Syndrome Awareness Month in addition to Domestic Violence Awareness Month and Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Stop letting Pink hold all the attention and spread the word so all get equal billing regardless of their marketability!

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month - Video's You Can Watch & Post

YouTube has many different video's to watch and post to your blog. Go to http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=October+is+Domestic+Violence+Awareness+Month&search_type=&aq=f or go to YouTube and type in "October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month" in the search line.

"October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month" Icon is Ready!

I was inspired by Lisa's comment on my previous post
and I created this button.
Feel free to add this to your own blog!
On my blog here, in the left hand column,
I've linked it to http://dvam.vawnet.org/ which is
The Domestic Violence Awareness Month Project.

If you need help in posting it to your blog, email me and I'll reply with detailed instructions. (Don't worry, it's easy!)

Annual Reminder: October is also Domestic Violence Awareness Month

As I've said in previous years,
I realize the importance of Breast Cancer Awareness, BUT
I am still upset that
Domestic Violence Awareness Month
gets swept under the carpet
time and time again,
year after year.

Both can save Women's lives.

I guess Pink is more marketable than Purple in this case.

Once again I will be sending out emails to people like
Oprah, Rachel Ray & Martha Stewart
and
shows like The View and The Dr. Oz Show,
as well as to our local papers.

And once again,
nothing
will be mentioned on air or in print,
which is why I post this here and other various places online.

I have been a victim of domestic violences in my past.
I survived.
The very least I can do
is to bring attention to this month also being
Domestic Violence Awareness Month
which may help someone know
they aren't alone,
that there is help,
that she can survive,
and rebuild herself & her life.
It's far from easy but it can be done.

There are many resources out there to help,
Do an online search for
"domestic violence
support/support groups/assistance"
or
"women's shelter"
or
"domestic violence hotline"
all with
your town & state.

Here's a great link my friend Erika shared:
http://www.beautybrands.com/ittakesguts/help-others/

Don't turn a blind eye if you suspect
someone you know is a victim of
domestic violence.
Doing so could cost them their life.
It nearly did mine.
Look how many times it does.

My inbox is always open!
gardeningjo@gmail.com

Today is a Me day

As if I have a choice the day after an iv anyway! I'm exhausted after yesterday's treatment, so today I'm camping out on the couch to do a little reading, knitting, watching tv or a movie... Or I'll just go back to sleep!

I normall have to be careful for a few days after an iv when it comes to being out & about - it runs me down a little and I can easily pick up a bug, but yesterday my nurse told me to be careful in crowds & avoid them especially for the next few days but as much as possible overall during this flu season & to be extra careful in general. Great. As if I didn't already have that worry in the back of my mind!

Because of my history with flu vaccines, my doctors have recommend I Not get flu shots which is fine with me. My chances of getting the flu without the shot are minimal - with the shot it's guaranteed. The only times I've had the flu was immediately after getting the flu shot. The last time I had the flu? The last time I had the flu shot. Even though it's not a "live" vaccine, it & my immune system do Not get along.

Don't listen cart blanche to the news when they tell you that All children, people with compromised immune systems and elderly should get a flu shot - discuss it at length with your doctor(s) & make your own decision.

And no, I won't be getting a swine flu shot either (because of my history). In fact, my doctors are all uncomfortable recommending it to anyone because they don't feel there's been enough testing to verify that its' safe, especially in pregnant women & people with health complications. That says A Lot to me, regardless of my being a candidate for the swine flu shot or not.

And please, I'm not posting any of this to start a debate on flu/swine flu shots & whether or not to get them! We can agree to disagree if need be & leave it at that. (Much appreciated).

Welcome October!

The October Country

"...that country where it is always turning late in the year. That country where the hills are fog and the rivers are mist; where noons go quickly, dusks and twilights linger, and midnights stay. That country composed in the main of cellars, sub-cellars, coalbins, closets, attics, and pantries faced away from the sun. that country whose people are autumn people, thinking only autumn thoughts. Whose people passing at night on the empty walks sound like rain..."

The opening of "The October Country" by Ray Bradbury, 1955.

(*Oddly enough, I posted this yesterday and today it has today's date on it... Insert Twilight Zone theme music here).