Our halloween party was last night so thought I'd write a little about it today.  It was a cold night here and it's basically an outdoor party so that kept attendance a lot lower than we expected....and those who were brave enough to come didn't stay as long as they did last yr because of the cold.  In that respect, it was disappointing.  The temps were in the mid thirties here for most of the party.  We use the garage as the indoor area and it has heat...but the furnace kept kicking out and then it would get too cold in there. And even though there was also a campfire, it was just too cold to be enjoyable around it for many people.  That would be the "bad" parts of our party.  And even though it was disappointing in those areas, we have no control over the weather so I can't feel badly about something I did or didn't do at least.  lol

But the good still way outweighed the bad so it will be continued on another year, again on the third Saturday of October for 2009. 

Those who attended the party and braved the cold appeared to have a good time and we had lots of compliments on the display.  Several said they couldn't wait to see what we do next yr. 

The weather was at least cooperative enough to have the hayride this year (last year too wet to do it in the area we had planned for it) and that was a big hit.  My sister in law ended up pitching in and creating a couple of scenes near the woods and getting people to help her with it.  She had fun doing it and is already planning on expanding it for next year.....and she's thinking of joining us here on hauntspace to find even more ideas.    (The family that haunts together ..... and all that....lol)

Last yr was our first year at this and I knew nothing...lol  Black lights I had were useless, fogger was next to useless, no good lighting, etc.  In this yr I've learned from so many of you and had great black lights this yr, a fogger that did an awesome job, much better lighting, and more.  So there were many improvements this year and I thank all of you who helped me in any way I picked your brain, read your posts, viewed your pics, etc. 

I know that the majority of ya'll here are still setting up and getting ready for this year's haunts and ours is basically over, except for the TOT night but we don't do a walk through for that and just a small display in front since we only have anywhere from 12 - 25 TOT'ers out here in this "country" sub-division.  So I will be following everyone's progress now and continuing to learn more for additions and improvements to next year.

I am breathing a huge sigh of relief today.  Yes, there were things I didn't get finished that I wanted to do...will hopefully do those for next yr.  I stressed and panicked and freaked out for several days before the party and any of you who talked to me and tried to bring me back to reality, I thank you for that. 

Pictures will be posted later today but for now, just wanted to write a little about it. We believe it was a success and are feeling good about it today.  One guest who didn't come last yr told me, "I forgot how much fun a halloween party could be!  I'm so glad I came!"  That made me feel good of course! 

Thanks to all and wishing you all a successful and wonderful haunt for 2008!

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I am sitting here shocked at one of my neighbor's and just have to "talk" about it so maybe I can recover from it.  Please bear with me on this one as I try to compose myself enough to even write this down.

A little bit of background here first I guess....  I live in a small cul-de-sac outside of a small town and we are considered "country" here.  We've lived in this house in this neighborhood now for 30 yrs. and the majority of the neighbors lived here when we moved in.  This street is small but is still pretty much divided into two sections, my end and the other end.    Those at my end I had thought had gotten to know each other fairly well over the years and become friendly, if not close friends. 

I have been working on the planning and organization of my halloween party for several months and all of my neighbors are aware of it.  Yesterday we spent the day outside setting up props, etc. 

Now for the bizarre nature of this whole thing....

A short time ago, my son in law arrived with a big tractor and trailer  and removed a pile of dirt that was near my back door (left over some construction we had earlier in the summer) and took it to a friend of ours house to fill in an area that needs filled in there for him. 

Soon after he left, our doorbell rang.  My husband went to the door and found our neighbor across the street there.  She said she saw that he was digging a hole and was worried about me so thought she better come over and check on me!
OMG!  She told him that she was concerned that "this halloween party stuff was getting too realistic and that if things like this were happening she would not be coming over."    My husband was of course shocked to think that anybody, much less a neighbor that has known him for 30 years, would believe he had killed me and buried me in the backyard.  And since he has a bit of a twisted sense of humor, he responded with "No, I don't have the hole big enough yet."  (NOT helping the situation of course....) She wasn't convinced I was safe and sound and then hollered in the door at me to see if I would answer.  Well, I was in the back of the house and didn't hear her yell at me so of course I did NOT respond to her. 

I am about to go out in my yard now and wander around for an hour or so and take some pics of what we set up yesterday and hopefully my neighbor will see me out there and know that I am alive and well, not buried in the backyard. 

My husband is appalled and shocked and concerned that we might be soon having a visit from the local sheriff's dept to check on me, etc.  He said, "OMG!  If she tells the wrong person something like that and you aren't around, I could end up in jail!"  I am so shocked that she could even begin to believe something so horrible, I don't know what to think.  I'm trying to tell myself that at least my neighbors are looking out for me....but thinking I could be married to someone capable of something like this is disturbing, to say the least. 

My husband said, "Well I know I'm moody (that is the understatement of the century!  lol) but I've never been violent I didn't think." 

So that is the story of our bizarre day.  And since it's halloween related, it's still on topic in my opinion.    Can you even imagine having this happen?  Having someone come to your door and basically accuse you of murdering your wife and burying her in the back yard?  Maybe she just watched Alfred Hitchcock's "Rear Window" or something on tv.......??

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I am so aggravated today I don't even know where to begin this.....

I was in my local Family Dollar store and they had the window display looking really good so I was anxious to see their display inside the store.  They always have an awesome one and it's full of good ideas to use at home as well.  When I went inside, I was surprised and disappointed to see NO big halloween display.   

I asked the cashier why they didn't have that big display up yet and she said, "People complained about it and we won't be doing a halloween display this year."  ARRGGHHHH!!!!!!  She said, "notice though that nobody complained about the great big pimp hats we are selling?" 

I live in a small town in Ohio...and generally you do not have this kind of thing here cause most everyone enjoys the holiday - not as much as I do of course but they do enjoy it.  lol 

Because this is a small town, I know the cashier I was speaking with, the manager of the store, and all the rest of the employees there.  I asked the cashier who I need to complain to about NOT having the display!  She said she didn't know if it was a corporate decision or a manager decision or who decided this.  Well, since I know the manager, I know that she is BIG into Halloween and has a huge yard haunt and party each year and is a bit of a rebel and seldom lets someone come into her store and tell her what to do so I would have trouble imagining her doing that.  But I fully intend to talk to her and find out!! 

Anybody there have a Family Dollar store that is also NOT decorated this year for halloween?  IF it's a corporate decision, I will be blasting their corporate offices with letters since I know my friends/family will be willing to write to complain as well.  In my area, the Family Dollar stores have had competitions for the best display and the store in my town wins about every year cause it's such a good one.  So to suddenly have NOTHING is a big change! 

It aggravates me to no end that in today's society people are only interested in "harvest" or "fall" and have this narrow minded idea of halloween.  The cashier said, "What's next?  Forgetting it's actually called Halloween and beginning to call it "All Saints Eve" instead?  Unfortunately, that's about the truth today....some religious zealot complains and NOBODY gets to enjoy the holiday....

I just had to vent....thank you for listening. 

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I'm so excited!! 

I sent the invitations to our party out last week and am getting calls now from people that they are attending.  And everyone sounds really excited about it this year!!  And that of course just adds to MY excitement. 

At last year's party we had somewhere between 75 - 100 guests.  This year I have invited all of the same people again, plus added probably another 50 - 75 that I didn't invite last year cause I didn't think they would be interested.  And the funny thing is, THOSE are the people who are calling now and saying they will be here, the ones I didn't really expect to be interested.  lol 

I have a lot of cousins (big family) but there are six of them that I grew up with that were all like older brothers/sisters to me.  We had lost touch over the years though and only saw one another now and then, maybe in the grocery store, etc.  This summer one of them came back to visit for the first time in eighteen years.  There was a big party and only her brothers/sisters and their spouses, kids/grandkids were invited - except for me and my husband, daughter & son in law.  Of course we attended and it was fantastic to see everyone again - and was just like I was their sister again - not their cousin.    Sooooo...I invited all of them to the party this year and they are now all calling that they will be here. 

And one friend told me that he's busy working on his costume and from what he says, it will be very very cool so I'm anxious to see that too.

So I'm excited that I'm getting RSVP's AT ALL (since so many people don't RSVP any more), more excited that I'm getting the RSVP's so soon after the invitations went out, and then it's a big bonus to me to have these particular family members attend since we were so close for so many years. 

Today I bought the lighting I think I need (hope it's right but we'll see soon! lol).  The lighting I had last yr didn't work out for me and I learned some big lessons on that to hopefully make drastic improvements with this year. 

I am getting things set up little by little inside the house and am close to being done inside.  I can hardly wait to get outside and get things done there too but will wait til I return from a trip the beginning of October to get started on that I guess....sure do want to do it NOW though!  lol

I'm sure everyone here is getting anxious and excited about Halloween coming and that I'm no different on that...but I was just so tickled over the RSVP phone calls I got today, I had to tell you! 

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My daughter and I were doing some shopping yesterday and one of the stores we went to was Meijer's (a regional store in Ohio/Indiana/Michigan/Kentucky).  While looking through their Halloween goodies, this snake was on a higher shelf.  My daughter reached up and pressed the "try it" button and it jumped forward at her and she screamed and jumped back.  I just lost it laughing it was so funny.  The complete fear and her reaction to it was surprising and funny.  Of course she wasn't laughing....lol 

Anyways, I decided that since it scared HER that much, it would be great at our party as well.  So I had to have it.  I bought it.  I wouldn't have even considered this one cause I thought it was too expensive for it.  But seeing her reaction to it made it worth it to me to have...so here is a picture of it still in the box.  At our party, I'm thinking it will go in the center of a food tray with food all around it and as people reach for food, it will spring forward at them, eyes glowing red.  If anybody has a better idea though, I'm definitely interested in it so post and tell me what you would do with this snake!

       

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Our Dollar General finally started setting up their Halloween goodies on Monday.  They don't have it all out yet but they had a little and I managed to get some small skulls, some light up skulls, some spiders, ugly little rats, pumpkin strobe lights, and a few other things I can't remember now...lol

Last night I got a few of these goodies set up in the house and can hardly wait for them to get the rest out so I can see what kind of stuff they will have this year.  My sister in law is the manager there and I keep bugging her about it but I can't seem to speed her up to get them out faster.  lol

Our Family Dollar store has cleared out a big space for their stuff but hasn't gotten any of it set up yet...the manager there told me it would be up yesterday but I checked and it wasn't.  BOOOOO HOOOOOO!!!  So I'll definitely be checking back there again - soon and often.  lol 

I just love finding some of the little props and stuff in the Dollar stores at such inexpensive prices!  I don't even feel guilty spending the money when it's at those prices and with a little effort, or the right setting, they look just as cool set up as some of the more expensive models of stuff....I could care less if I have an expensive rat for instance....lol  ANY rat is creepy enough to ME.  lol 

I'm so excited to finally see the Halloween goodies appearing in more and more of the stores and am itching to go check them all out again but haven't had time to get there....gotta make time and SOON.  lol 

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DISCLAIMER:  This blog is not a halloween related blog.  If that bothers you, please do not read. Thank you.

When I was a small child, I remember being afraid of the dark and needing a night light on in order to sleep.  As I grew older, I became scared of different things at different times of my life.  Fear of flying...got over that...fear of hospitals, got over that...fear of spiders, got over that....fear of sharks, and on and on and on.  All these things and more, some real some with no merit, I got over eventually.

But as I get older, I find there is one thing that is more scarey to me than any Halloween prop anybody can create, any scene that can be recreated, any phobia that can be named, or the terror of any scarey movie ever made.  And that is the vile and evil disease known as Cancer. 

Having lost three friends within four days last week to this horrific disease,  with one more very close to being gone and another diagnosed last week with it, I am feeling overwhelmed by the multitude of ways it can creep into your body with you unaware until it's too late.  You think you are armed with information on what to look for, what to report to your doctor immediately, etc. but the truth is that is not always the case and it can be lurking inside you with no symptoms until you are in the later stages of it's devastation.  No one is immune...and living a "healthy" life style is no guarantee against it, as evidenced by the one friend who was gone within three weeks of her diagnosis.  She did everything "right" in her life - she ate healthy, exercised daily, never smoked or drank, etc etc etc...yet was diagnosed with cancer and died within three weeks.  So a healthy lifestyle does not make you immune to this. 

Obviously, I am having trouble coming to terms with this.  The loss has been too great, too much at once, too many friends lost in too short of a time frame.  I am sure I will eventually accept and move on but for now, I am spinning aimlessly like a child's toy top, with no direction and gaining speed as it spins, and thinking it will soon crash into a wall.  And maybe I have already crashed into that wall since I am now down in bed sick and filling myself with antibiotics.

This blog is not intended to garner sympathy or support so please don't feel you are obligated to reply here. It is only here to hopefully help me deal with it all by putting it into words in some small way.  If there's any "lesson" to be learned from this rant of mine, it's to value and care for your friends and family while they are with you as they could be snatched away from you before your next blink. 

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(picture of woods down the road from me - taken fall of '07 though)

Mmmmm...smells like fall!  Don't you just love it when you can smell it in the air?  The air smells like fallen leaves, which are now beginning to clutter up my backyard and fill the edges of my flowerbeds.  My mums are getting close to blooming, the corn is being sold at roadside stands.  Soon the apples will be ready and we'll be seeing the orchards opening for apple sales.  The days are getting shorter - it doesn't get light til a couple of hours later in the day and darkness is upon us much earlier now as well.  That's actually a fall thing I don't like though...I DO like the longer days of daylight in the summer months.    Our county fair began today and will run for eight days.  The kids in my county will all go back to school on August 25th, after the fair is over.  That always feels like fall when the kids are in school again, even though it's been years since I had kids going back to school. 

To me, all of this is much more than just an ending to the heat and humidity of summer.  It means that HALLOWEEN is getting closer!    It makes me feel more like getting things out and working on projects and checking last years stuff to see what needs repaired, changed, added to, etc. 

I'm ready to start making lists (and checking them twice? lol) of all the things to do, buy, dig out of the attic, get lined up, etc etc etc.  A couple of weeks ago I started getting some stuff out and began the set up in my family room.  Now I'm anxious to work on a couple of other rooms plus assorted miscellaneous other things that needs done before the date of our party and yard haunt are ready. 

Unfortunately, right now the spirit is willing but the body is failing me.  LOL  I'm not feeling well so have to get through these days before I can really focus again. 

I come here and read all the projects you all are working on and it motivates and inspires me to get busy.  And now that fall is in the air again, I'm even more ready to get at it!  So this is for you, those of you without the seasonal changes I experience here in the midwest, I hope that you can try to imagine the crisp smell of autumn in the air, just by viewing these pics. 

Picture below is a maple tree in my front yard...after many leaves had already fallen before I managed to get a pic of it. (Taken fall of '07 - Haven't taken any pics yet this year)
 

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Well, I got some more of my halloween goodies out today for my family room...the only room that is started so far.  It helps me to take pics as I go so I can better see what works, what doesn't, what needs fixed, changed, moved, removed, etc....

So I thought I'd try posting a few of them here and see if this works or not first of all.    I haven't tried putting a pic in a blog here so don't know if it will work but here's my attempt at it. 

If this works, this will be my mantle so far.  Already I see some things that will be removed but hey, it's just a start, not done and ready yet and I'm sure will go through a lot of changes before finished.  lol

   

This is the top of the tv right now...I haven't decided if I like it or not so that usually means I don't.  lol  And will have to figure out what I want changed and how to change it...it's so hard to tell anything really without the lighting that will be here eventually too.

]      

And this is a portion of the hearth area...



Ok, now I have a few of the pics of stuff on here to look over and figure out better what I want to move, change, etc.  Any suggestions here are always welcomed of course...

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