ninanevermore (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ninanevermore) wrote2009-11-03 01:06 pm
ninanevermore) wrote2009-11-03 01:06 pm
Tuesday – A Modest Halloween
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With no income (my unemployment is still listed as "pending" with the Texas Workforce Commission; until they deny me I can't even feel angry yet), I didn't go all out on Halloween this year like I wanted to. Which means that I only had a few more decorations than last year. I usually add a few things every year. I am the Halloween Lady in my neighborhood. It's my favorite holiday, hands down. I think the main reason I love Halloween is because it is the holiday they tried to take away from me as a child. I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 8 the week before Halloween and sent me home from the hospital the morning of Halloween. I went trick or treating that night only to see my parents take my candy away from me as soon as I got home. All these years later I'm still ticked off about that. Because of that trauma all those years ago, I do Halloween like no one else. It's a holiday centered around handing out candy, but unlike my candy back when I was 8 no one can take it from me. It's mine. Keep your hands off it.
I don't like the morbid aspect of Halloween; I'm not into bones and ghouls and death. I'm more into pumpkins. I like Jack-O-Lanterns, and I would have had at least 3 one-of-a-kind Jacks sitting around my yard if I hadn't gotten a call from a staffing agency and spent the eve of Halloween talking to them and taking their tests. As it was, cleaning the house and decorating the yard took up my Halloween day and though I had plenty of pumpkins to carve, I had no time to carve them. Because it rained so much in the days leading up to Halloween this year a lot of my decorations couldn't be put out until the big day, and ones that were put up earlier (like my pretend graveyard) had to be repaired from the damaged caused by the wind and rain, including one ghost who had to laundered (no one likes a dirty ghost).
Jeff invited his oldest son to visit on Halloween, meaning I had to cook dinner on a night I prefer to have snacks. In fact, my first trick-or-treaters arrived before I had on my own costume, which annoyed me a bit. Yes, I dress up. You see, I have lights, scary music, a fake grave yard, electric pumpkins, eyes that light up and growl when you walk by one of the boxwood trees, dozens of spooky candles, Halloween-themed luminarias, and half a dozen ghosts hanging from my trees. I used to not bother dressing up, but one year a group of teenagers dressed in Renaissance Festival garb (I live less than 15 miles from the festival grounds, and a lot of the local teens work there this time of year) confronted me on the issue when I answered the door in office attire.
"All this – the lights, the music, the jack-o-lanterns, and you answer the door wearing that?" one of them asked.
I looked down at my attire. "Pretty lame, huh?" I asked. The teens all nodded solemnly. I looked over at the coat rack, which had a black withes hat hanging on it for ambiance. I grabbed it and put it on my head at a rakish angle. "Better?"
"A little," one of the teens said, but I can tell he didn't think it made up for the conservative blouse and office skirt and shoes I was wearing.
Every since then, I've dressed full-out as a witch. A pretty witch, thank you very much. No green skin or warts, just a long black skirt, a sparkly black blouse, a red velvet cloak, and that same tall conical hat. I was going to upgrade to a fancy hat with feathers and netting this year, but it didn't work out with my recent budgetary cutbacks.
Sweet Pea was a fire fighter for the second year in a row. It was what he wanted and I bought the costume early on, before I lost my job. Next year he wants to be a "scary fire guy," a costume he has described to me in some detain that will need to be somehow assembled from scratch, since I have never seen a get up like it in any costume shop.
I've taken down most of the stuff in the yard and need to finish packing everything back into the dozen boxes I have for Halloween decorations. Here are some pictures of my house, taken Halloween night and the day after. It doesn't do the place justice, because you can't hear the music or see the smoke machine in my graveyard. A lady told me last year that she saves my place for last to bring her kids every year, as kind of the grand finale. I couldn't have been more proud.
My front door, in the daylight.
After sundown.
A haunted house is much scarier by candlelight, don't you think?
Big scary spider in the front yard.
Marfa, Texas is renowned for its ghost lights, but I think the ones I have are cuter.
These were new this year, but kind of a wash. A magazine suggested putting a glow stick in a balloon, drawing a face on it and covering it with cheese cloth. Unfortunately, Halloween was chilly this year and the cold put a chill on the chemical reaction that makes the glow sticks glow. If it is warmer next year, maybe I'll try it again then.
The return of (N)ever Rest Cemetery. I did add some new grave markers this year. I like to make my own because a) the ones you buy are kind of expensive and b) they all look alike. The commercial ones go for scary; I like to have fun with the ones I make.
Some of my new stones as I was making them this year. All you need is Styrofoam insulation, a wood burner, a coat of black water-based spray paint, and then a light coat of white water-based paint.
From the back of the cemetery you can see all the duct tape and where the smoke machine is, but that's not such a problem after sundown.
Finally, my partners in crime, who helped me decorate this year. I would never have got the large ghost back up in the tree (the ground was too wet from recent rains to put a ladder on) if my stepson had not gallantly climbed the tree to assist me. To pay him for his kindness, I fed him fajitas, which is why my house smelled more spicy than spooky when people came to the door. In case you can't tell: Jeff is dressed as a middle-aged suburban guy, Sweet Pea is a fireman, and my stepson is dressed as "Danny" (whose jacket he borrowed for his costume).
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * # * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
.
.
With no income (my unemployment is still listed as "pending" with the Texas Workforce Commission; until they deny me I can't even feel angry yet), I didn't go all out on Halloween this year like I wanted to. Which means that I only had a few more decorations than last year. I usually add a few things every year. I am the Halloween Lady in my neighborhood. It's my favorite holiday, hands down. I think the main reason I love Halloween is because it is the holiday they tried to take away from me as a child. I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 8 the week before Halloween and sent me home from the hospital the morning of Halloween. I went trick or treating that night only to see my parents take my candy away from me as soon as I got home. All these years later I'm still ticked off about that. Because of that trauma all those years ago, I do Halloween like no one else. It's a holiday centered around handing out candy, but unlike my candy back when I was 8 no one can take it from me. It's mine. Keep your hands off it.
I don't like the morbid aspect of Halloween; I'm not into bones and ghouls and death. I'm more into pumpkins. I like Jack-O-Lanterns, and I would have had at least 3 one-of-a-kind Jacks sitting around my yard if I hadn't gotten a call from a staffing agency and spent the eve of Halloween talking to them and taking their tests. As it was, cleaning the house and decorating the yard took up my Halloween day and though I had plenty of pumpkins to carve, I had no time to carve them. Because it rained so much in the days leading up to Halloween this year a lot of my decorations couldn't be put out until the big day, and ones that were put up earlier (like my pretend graveyard) had to be repaired from the damaged caused by the wind and rain, including one ghost who had to laundered (no one likes a dirty ghost).
Jeff invited his oldest son to visit on Halloween, meaning I had to cook dinner on a night I prefer to have snacks. In fact, my first trick-or-treaters arrived before I had on my own costume, which annoyed me a bit. Yes, I dress up. You see, I have lights, scary music, a fake grave yard, electric pumpkins, eyes that light up and growl when you walk by one of the boxwood trees, dozens of spooky candles, Halloween-themed luminarias, and half a dozen ghosts hanging from my trees. I used to not bother dressing up, but one year a group of teenagers dressed in Renaissance Festival garb (I live less than 15 miles from the festival grounds, and a lot of the local teens work there this time of year) confronted me on the issue when I answered the door in office attire.
"All this – the lights, the music, the jack-o-lanterns, and you answer the door wearing that?" one of them asked.
I looked down at my attire. "Pretty lame, huh?" I asked. The teens all nodded solemnly. I looked over at the coat rack, which had a black withes hat hanging on it for ambiance. I grabbed it and put it on my head at a rakish angle. "Better?"
"A little," one of the teens said, but I can tell he didn't think it made up for the conservative blouse and office skirt and shoes I was wearing.
Every since then, I've dressed full-out as a witch. A pretty witch, thank you very much. No green skin or warts, just a long black skirt, a sparkly black blouse, a red velvet cloak, and that same tall conical hat. I was going to upgrade to a fancy hat with feathers and netting this year, but it didn't work out with my recent budgetary cutbacks.
Sweet Pea was a fire fighter for the second year in a row. It was what he wanted and I bought the costume early on, before I lost my job. Next year he wants to be a "scary fire guy," a costume he has described to me in some detain that will need to be somehow assembled from scratch, since I have never seen a get up like it in any costume shop.
I've taken down most of the stuff in the yard and need to finish packing everything back into the dozen boxes I have for Halloween decorations. Here are some pictures of my house, taken Halloween night and the day after. It doesn't do the place justice, because you can't hear the music or see the smoke machine in my graveyard. A lady told me last year that she saves my place for last to bring her kids every year, as kind of the grand finale. I couldn't have been more proud.
My front door, in the daylight.
After sundown.
A haunted house is much scarier by candlelight, don't you think?
Big scary spider in the front yard.
Marfa, Texas is renowned for its ghost lights, but I think the ones I have are cuter.
These were new this year, but kind of a wash. A magazine suggested putting a glow stick in a balloon, drawing a face on it and covering it with cheese cloth. Unfortunately, Halloween was chilly this year and the cold put a chill on the chemical reaction that makes the glow sticks glow. If it is warmer next year, maybe I'll try it again then.
The return of (N)ever Rest Cemetery. I did add some new grave markers this year. I like to make my own because a) the ones you buy are kind of expensive and b) they all look alike. The commercial ones go for scary; I like to have fun with the ones I make.
Some of my new stones as I was making them this year. All you need is Styrofoam insulation, a wood burner, a coat of black water-based spray paint, and then a light coat of white water-based paint.
From the back of the cemetery you can see all the duct tape and where the smoke machine is, but that's not such a problem after sundown.
Finally, my partners in crime, who helped me decorate this year. I would never have got the large ghost back up in the tree (the ground was too wet from recent rains to put a ladder on) if my stepson had not gallantly climbed the tree to assist me. To pay him for his kindness, I fed him fajitas, which is why my house smelled more spicy than spooky when people came to the door. In case you can't tell: Jeff is dressed as a middle-aged suburban guy, Sweet Pea is a fireman, and my stepson is dressed as "Danny" (whose jacket he borrowed for his costume).
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