Category: <span>Holidays</span>

In the name of God, stop a moment, cease your work, look around you.Leo Tolstoy

The prompts from both places are similar…what nourished your soul this year, what was your best moment. I would say we haven’t had many of them this year but we have had some… Halloween, our 13th anniversary and a houseful of kids and their families in our spooky house was …

Best Christmas present

Best Christmas present, a photo by jyllianm on Flickr. Haru has spike boots, a dotted dress, a skull and Emily on her shoulder. Babbage our hyper black kitty has his Bijou (or pony on his shoulder) Teatime our large kitty who thinks he is small is eating a muffin. Bartleby …

The Martini tree

The Martini tree, a photo by jyllianm on Flickr. We are not a big Christmas family. We are, as you have probably noticed a big Halloween family. Our tree has skeletons, eyeballs, bats and Nightmare before Christmas ornaments. Also–Mary Poppins and Fairies and Princesses. Why? Because magic is everywhere if …

Two dangers constantly threaten the world: order and disorder. Paul Valery

  Everything in its Place I want a clean and orderly place to sit and think, or make a thing. I want an unstained and fur free couch to watch The Doctor or turn a page. I want an unmuddled and chaos free desk to sit and write  or play …

A little bit o spooky

Some of the pictures aren’t great (it’s hard to take them in utter spooky darkness) buthere’s the opening of our graveyard. It isn’t finished yet—the ghouls aren’t all out but will be this week!

Haiku Halloween

  Halloween coming The darkness falls now Still not soon enough I love Halloween It is the only night ever We are not that strange The veil is drawn taut I feel them near to me now Lost family, friends Well there’s some Halloween Haiku for you. I’ve got a …

Taking the Plunge

Well I’m going to give something a try. Tomorrow I’m going to put together my first Halloween blog/movie  and see if I can get going on having at least two Halloween themed entries a week. I’m also trying #Octpowrimo , which considering my poetry writing, once such a huge (in both …

For in every adult there dwells the child that was, and in every child there lies the adult that will be.

― John Connolly, The Book of Lost Things Tonight my sweet little girl (who is not having the easiest start to the school year but better than last year), my darling child said: “Mommy, this might be kind of random, but I need to ask you something,” I said, “sure …

When chill November’s surly blast make fields and forest bare. ~Robert Burns

What is it about November?  I can barely stand to read over the previous year’s entries. I’ve been doing Nablopomo since the beginning and it seems each November there is some enormous decision, or some huge situation that demands attention. Inn 2006 things got crazy in the Bean’s preschool and …

Staggering through to tomorrow

Whole family is feeling ill. Different people for different reasons. Mr. J is having allergies. The Bean is having either allergies or a cold we can’t tell quite yet. I am having a reaction to getting some MSG (I don’t have a small reaction to it, I have ended up …

A conclusion is the place where you get tired of thinking. Arthur Bloch

It’s one of those days. Days I’m just too tired. I can’t think of what to write, so I’m going to do that thing that I learned to do with kids… I might send them to One Word and get them thinking about one word and writing about it for …

Fangsgiving at the House on Haunted Hill

I cooked for a few hours yesterday and for a few today. I cracked the whip for cleaning and we were eating by almost 5. It wasn’t the most hilarious Fangsgiving we’ve had—some years are more subdued than others—but it was good eats and family. I swear by Alton Brown’s …