So I was all prepared to miss the Halloween festivities this year, I even watched Ichabod Crane before I left cuz I knew I’d get nothing of the sort here. How silly of me! Halloween is a big deal in some parts of Thailand. But it’s different than our American holiday. For one thing, ghosts are very real. Buddhists believe that the spirits of those who have gone on and not been reincarnated yet dwell near their families or the places they died. There are spirit houses on nearly every piece of property, small buildings like elaborate bird houses where the spirits can live without bothering the inhabitants of the houses that now stand on the land. The families present offerings daily and even have to add additions when the real houses undergo renovations so that the spirits will be appeased rather than jealously move into the nicer, human homes. So, when they celebrate Halloween it’s with a sort of ghoulish realism that involves a bit of the Day of the Dead and old fashioned All Hallows Eve type full of superstitions and beliefs. People dress up but it’s almost always something dreadful and gory. There is no trick-or-treating but there are plenty of parties.

At school, the kids all dressed up and we ventured over to the elementary school for some games and celebrations. They had coffins and blood and mayhem strewn all along the grounds. There were typical games but they were tweaked just a bit to make them more gruesome; like trying to eat the donuts dangling by a string (and dipped in jelly to look bloody), or sticking your hands in a box of cold spaghetti and being told they were brains (there was also a box filled with real live snakes and one with giant frogs). There was a short story that I couldn’t understand because it was all in Thai but it involved the gardener dressed up as some sort of freaky mud demon jumping out and banging cymbals together and then chasing the kids around the grounds. It scared me! And there were all kinds of kids in tears and having hysterics. This, it seems, was the goal. The more tears the better! It was definitely more intense than any school party we ever had in the States (ie, if we’d tried half of those things there would have been lawsuits galore!) All in a day’s adventures here in Thailand. Happy Halloween!

These are two of the other teachers. The one on the right has her head down but she pretty much looks like the chick from The Ring--creepy!

an example of a spirit house

a weekend in pictures.

hilarious Halloween yard decor

gorgeous sky #1

gorgeous sky #2

Bethlehem, PA steel mill

old signs

old buildings

the oldest continuous bookshop in the country

cemeteries

gorgeous sky #3

the perfect haunted house

rickety fence

electric art

It was a pretty great weekend if I do say so myself.  How was yours?

Happiness is...a cheerful incongruity.

This week has been full of incongrous moments, mostly revolving around the weather but they've made me smile nonetheless.  Here are just a few:

• Rain falling from a blue sky
• Butterflies flitting through the air amongst the falling leaves
• Experiencing 3 out of 4 seasons in the same week (Earlier this week we were in the mid-70s. I took a lovely walk amongst blooming flowers and crunching leaves in short sleeves under a clear blue sky. It was marvelous!  Today it's clear and bright but definitely crisp and fall. I'm wearing two sweaters. Tomorrow the forecast has us getting snow!)
• Eating Halloween candy while listening to Christmas music (I got a fun package in the mail the other day with tons of fun Halloween stuff from my mom (thanks, mom!) and bought myself the new Michael Buble Christmas CD--haven't heard the whole thing yet but so far so good!  I had to indulge in them both...at the same time!)

On the writing front I've done a fairly decent job:

October 26-30 min

October 27-20 min

October 28-30 min

And I'm getting quite excited to start on the NaNoWriMo project! It shall as yet remain unnamed but I will tell you that it is an adaptation of a fairy tale. It's starting to really form itself in my mind so we'll see if that helps or hinders the process. (Thanks for indulging my attempts at accountability, it really helps!)

What has your week been like? Do you have any fun projects in the works? Are you ready for it to be November already!?!? (Where does the time go?) Happy Friday!

Happiness is...being creative.

I've been suffering from bouts of imagined domesticity again lately. It's manifest itself in some rather interesting ways.

First up was a trip to the pumpkin patch where I purchased an (extremely overpriced!) orange beauty who, after several interrupted hours, transformed from this...

to this!



He didn't turn out exactly as I'd pictured him in my brain, but I'm still pretty pleased.  Why are owls so darn cute?

I also gleaned a nice collection of seeds which I salted and roasted and have been snacking on all day. Mmmm! I love Halloween!

Then today for dinner I undertook to make a gourmet meal of sweet potato gnocchi (made from scratch with help from the bounteous supply of sweet potatoes we unearthed in our little garden last week) with brown butter sage sauce, a side of roasted asparagus, and grilled pears with pecans and feta topped with balsamic glaze for dessert. I had intended to document my progress but it was such a messy and ugly one that I decided filling my roommates' stomachs at a semi-reasonable hour was much more important than washing my hands (and cleaning the kitchen enough) to take some pictures. Besides, the gnocchi itself was rather ugly. The dough was very sticky and made lumpy poops rather than soft pillows. But looks can be deceiving. Oh how tasty! I'm not sure if it is worth all the work (we didn't eat until after 8) but if I ever find myself with some spare sweet potatoes and 3-4 hours on my hands, I just might consider making it again!

If you're interested, it was another Pinterest find.  Here's a link to the recipe! (Mine looked nothing like this, darnit!)

I realized I haven't been posting my writing updates. I have been doing writing (not quite as consistently as
I'd like but much more consistently than before! I'm getting kind of excited for the NaNoWriMo challenge next month. (I think my brain could use a little project shift as well.)

So, here are my latest updates:

October 15-0 minutes
October 16-0 minutes
October 17- 25 minutes
October 18-20 minutes
October 19-30 minutes
October 20-20 minutes
October 21-15 minutes
October 22-0 minutes
October 23-0 minutes
October 24-45 minutes
October 25-15 minutes

Weekends are definitely my weakness. It's much easier for me to find a few minutes when I'm at work and already in front of the computer. I still haven't gotten into the habit of doing writing consistently at home. That will need to change if I'm going to meet my goals next month. We'll see what we can do!

No, go forth! Create something, anything! And then come back and tell me all about it :)

Happiness is...the onset of fall!

Today it became fall. This past week we've had some lovely balmy 70+ degree days and glorious hints of sunshine in the midst of our seemingly perpetual rain.  But overnight fall settled in. There's a definite chill in the air that precludes rolled-down windows and necessitates layering.

I love fall. (I really love spring too, but we're not going to go there today.)

I love slipping back into socks and sweaters.  I love boots and tights and scarves and not having to shave my legs every day.  I love curling up under my down comforter again and indulging in a mug of hot cocoa or herbal tea before bed. I love the crisp, cool air and kaleidoscope colors of changing leaves.  And I love crunching through those leaves when they give up their hold on the branches and collect on the sidewalks and in gutters.

I love pretty much every single thing that is and can be pumpkin flavored. (Steamed milk, ice cream, cookies, cheesecake, soup, bread, waffles, cupcakes, pies, smoothies, you name it!) I love Halloween with all its trimmings and trappings; pumpkin patches and jack-o-lanterns, witches' cauldrons filled with dry ice and those giant fuzzy lawn spiders. And everything resembling ghosts (I have a soft spot for ghost motifs.) I love the yearly ritual of watching the animated Disney version of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. And of course, the candy.  And I love following it all up with Thanksgiving which ushers us right into the next best time of year; the Holidays!

While hunkering down in the basement and doing a bit of scrapbooking after my early morning hike in the drizzle and damp I was going through some of my photos and, feeling a bit of melancholia, decided I must do a farewell to summer post.

So, in no particular order, or rhyme or reason really, here are some things I will miss about summer. (*Note-this will in no way diminish my enjoyment of fall!)

Green leaves and the noonday sun

Garden fresh fruit

Going barefoot

Flowers in the yard

Outdoor events and gatherings

How about you? What are things you look forward to with the changing of the seasons? What are the things you'll miss most? Which season is your favorite? As always, I'd love to hear from you! (I heart comments almost as much as I heart banjos and fiddles!!!)