♦Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop!♦
Topic #245
Halloween/Fall is coming, do you celebrate?
What does that look like? Is it different this year?
Welcome back to another Open Book Blog Hop! The authors included in this ongoing series wish to thank you for your reads. We appreciate, even more so, when you share our writings with your friends. If you’re new to the series, welcome aboard. The authors engage and impress weekly. Prepare to become a regular reader.
If you’re like me, then you probably do wonder what others do during your favorite time of year, especially when they also love the season. An author’s halloween is a great way to delve into at least one group’s practices! My author’s halloween is pretty fun, every single year. I love to talk about this. It is my favorite holiday and my favorite season is obviously autumn.
Did you know that I love the color orange? Of course I do! It’s the premiere tone of Halloween and all things Fall. I love when the trees change colors and there’s a blazing maple in fire orange! I feel so cozy and happy. For someone who struggles with anxiety and depression, the reprieve from negative feelings is a welcome one. Embracing this time of year is healing.
In my home, the celebration begins in September with Apple Picking. We make pies and treats, get cider donuts and cider, and enjoy the harvest. This year, I also made a giant pot of Butternut Squash and Roasted Red Pepper Soup (I swear that recipe really is coming). I’ve been working on my health, though, so only one apple pie this year and one crisp. I got a smaller pack of apples, too. Eating them fresh has been the favored form. I’ve lost almost 30 pounds and I plan on keeping it off. Thus, cakes and pies have are kept at a minimum. After the last check up, I have no choice unless I want to start taking medications for the rest of my life.
Chili is another recipe I like to throw together during this time of chilly weather. I make mine with ground turkey and italian flavor turkey sausage. I haven’t missed using beef, mainly because the food sensitivity I have to beef is so unpleasant. But, the turkey is healthier anyway. I’m someone who struggles to get enough proteins, so this is a great recipe between the beans and turkey to meet the daily nutritional need without bad fats. An author’s Halloween really can go deep!
This year, I’ll also steam a couple of the pumpkins I grew in the backyard to have for baking. I use pumpkin to make pies and dog cookies, mostly, but also I could make a nice pumpkin cake roll for November. I need to think about that, though because of the sugar and fat. Since I have to watch both now, and my daughter is the only one who could eat the majority of it, I cannot justify the whole cake! It’s pretty big. However, if I wrap it well, freeze it in sections, and carefully dole out over the year…but then, there is the storage factor. I own a big freezer, but the chest is already full of stocks and baked goods…
If I were a six foot tall athlete, I wouldn’t have these issues! But, alas. I’m an author.
Decorating is the next big matter in my home. An author’s Halloween can’t ignore this important facet of the celebration. I decorate the backyard like a graveyard, putting the mock tombstones among the pumpkin plants that remain. In my flower bed, I post a zombie flamingo and smaller stones, along with a couple ghosts. This year, I purchased a blow up tree. It has a couple ghosts, a couple pumpkins, an owl, and a tombstone. It’s fabulous! The daughter loves it, so I’m extra pleased. (Fionn is freaked out by the fan noise and the size of it, but has gotten used to it.)
My front window is a lovely bay window that allows me to do a holiday display. I’ve set it up this year with my witch in a crystal ball head and witch parts in the window–because we are dressing up as the Scooby gang. Little one is scooby, and I am Daphne. Her auntie will be Velma. Fionn is Shaggy. If I were dating someone, he’d be Fred, but that slot is absent.
I dreamt of constructing the Space Kook out of cardboard, but I there was no time to get it done. It would have taken a huge effort, and spray paint. Toddlers and projects like this aren’t compatible without someone to keep them distracted and happy while you work on the construction. Oh, well. Someday I’ll revisit. In lieu of the kook, I chose a witch, as they were featured in the series and they’re very Halloween. Plus, I had plenty of witchy things to fill it out.
Yes, every year goes down like this. I spend a lot of time considering what the group should do, then consult those involved, and (as the kiddo gets older) I am going to have to convince baby, too! So far, she’s been super cooperative. Last year, we went as the PowerPuff Girls. It was great fun, and it worked out so well.
Maybe next year, we will do DC Super Hero Girls, as I like to call my daughter Kara Danvers anyway. And it works across the group just like the PPGs did. I’m already plotting! But how to decorate the house? This will take some thought…
While I mull that over, hop through the links below to see what the other authors have to say about the season…
