Happy Halloween

By Ronnie

The word, "Halloween", actually has it's origins in the Catholic Church. It comes from the term of, All Hallows Eve, which is November 1st, ("All Saints Day"), a Catholic day of observance in honor of saints.

It is believed that on that day, the spirits of those who had died throughout the year would come back in search of living bodies to possess, being their only hope for the afterlife. So on the night of October 31st, villagers would dress-up in all manner of ghoulish costumes and loudly parade throughout the neighborhood, being as destructive as possible, in order to frighten away spirits looking for bodies to possess. They went from door to door collecting food for the dead very successfully, as everyone knew if they refused to give, it was a sacrilege. If treats were not given, terrible tricks were done.


I have so many fond Halloween memories of all the fun, costumes, activities, and of course, the goodies. Those were the days when we got popcorn balls from the lady on the corner, caramel apples from the lady two doors down, and then there was the lady that always gave out a nickel. My brother and I always tried to make two trips to her door, but she kept remembering us. When we got home after all the trick or treating, my mother always had a big pitcher of hot apple cider waiting for us to drink while we dumped our goodies on the table and made piles of the things we liked best. Then the trading would begin. Every year, my daddy would tell us how awful chocolate was for us and he'd volunteer to eat it so we wouldn't get sick. He was so funny with that serious look on his face.

And this, My Dear Owl Friends, is one of my favorite, but shortened, trips down Memory Lane, and I would love to hear some of your stories.

BOO,
Ronnie

Mischief Night!

Tomorrow is Halloween, which means tonight is mischief night! I remember as a teen going out on mischief night loaded with eggs, chalk, silly string and drink of choice. Yes I was one of those teens that would throw eggs at a parked car, draw a pumpkin in your driveway, spray silly string on your front gate and drink so much, that I would throw up on your steps. And of course left everything as is, as clean up was not part of mischief night.

I will admit, it was fun, and at the time I did not regret it one bit. As I think back, all I can see are all those random houses that we left our mark on, and those house owners that had to clean up our mess, Especially the throw up..

And I still don't regret it... Geez what a rebel I am.. :O)

So today we owls will be mischievous in our nest. Throw eggs, Spray Silly String, Have someone sit on a whoopie cushion, etc. Whatever your imagination can conjure up, go for it, as we only live once, and since its mischief night, we can't get in trouble....

And if you have any Mischief memories. Please share...

Tomorrow we are having a Halloween Party in the nest, please arrive at the nest with your avatar in costume. You will also be required to wear a costume, whatever you choose to be (you can be what your avatar is or something else), please describe for us what your wearing as a costume in your comment, and whatever you might be, all your comments tomorrow should be in character.

I will judge the costumes and all the comments, and whoever is the most creative and stays in character all day, will win a toaster,
courtesy of photobucket :O)

If one is not up to joining the nest in costume, that is fine, just come along for the Halloween ride.

All can join in.. Fun on the nest!

Gift Giving

by Lynn D

Ho Ho Ho

Well it is that time of year again. You know? Shopping and gift giving seek and search time. I know it is not even Halloween yet but I am already thinking it is time to start this process.

I was talking to my friend today and she was telling me about drawing names in their family and that this year money is especially tight for all of them. We were trying to figure out ways for her family and mine to come up with ideas for very little or no money. Well we have kind of hit a wall. So I thought why not do a blog and see if we can pool our brain resources and see if the nest has any ideas or even fun traditions that we might share and maybe adopt.

I will share one that another friend and her family started about 2 years ago. They came up with a plan of drawing names, only the gift everyone has to shop for is pajamas! Yes PJ’s. They have turned this into an art form. They draw the name and then the hunt is on. They try to find pajamas that reflect the persons personality. Sometimes they are very sweet and sometimes they are poking fun! I know my friend was addicted to crossword puzzles, so the person who drew her name last year got her some crossword puzzle flannel PJ’s.

They open their gifts on xmas eve and then the rule is everyone has to wear them to xmas dinner!

That is one example what kind of ideas or traditions can you share?

Can’t wait to hear from all of the creative owls in this nest!

Time Warp?

by Jodi

Because it is Halloween week, I thought I would share one of my all time favorite clips from The Rocky Horror Picture Show!!!



There was a time (about 25 years ago) that every Saturday night my friends and I would end up at the Majestic Theater in Madison. We went every Saturday night for about 6 months straight!!! What a freakin' hoot!!

I hope this brought back some fun memories for those of you that have seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show. And if you're a Rocky Horror virgin, well get up and do the Time Warp!!!

Apple Orchard

by Renee Eve

What is your favorite fall outing?? I love going to the apple orchard, and getting a Queens Apple, which is an apple that is cored, with hot caramel, nuts, whip cream and a cherry. We do the train ride to pick out pumpkins, We watch my kids throw Hay in the big barn. I go thru Story Book Village with my little one now, the older ones go to the spook house with my husband. We eat Cider and Doughnuts and of course take home some Cider and doughnuts???

Favorite Fall Recipes??? I would love a good crock pot chili recipe for Halloween night, I'm SO SICK OF PIZZA, and I would love to make homemade bread to go with the Chili.

As you can tell I love the fall, and all that accompanies it, even raking the leaves :O)

If I Had Only Known

Chosen by Tinka

My sister loved Reba McEntire and so do I. My dad always had the radio turned to a country music station playing songs from morning until night so I guess I came by my love of country music honestly. Reba McEntire wrote the song for this video when she lost her whole crew on a flight between shows. Reba should have been on the plane but stayed behind because her baby was sick. It just wasn't her time.

I so identify with the words to this song. It is one month today since my mother's funeral. It seems like yesterday. My sister's and mother's deaths were not unexpected and I did get a chance to say "I love you" but I don't think any-one is really ready for 'the last day'. I am still thinking of things I would like to have said. Am I the only one who would like a second chance at saying something special to someone he or she has lost? Am I the only one who ponders. "If I had only known"

To Clean or Not to Clean?

by Iteach

mop
dust
dishes
windows
disinfect
vacuum
laundry
iron
neaten
put away
throw away
fold

What do you think of those words above? Personally, they are not my favorite words. The cleaning is such an endless cycle. Should I save it and do it all one day? Or should I spread it out through the week? These endless cleaning questions clutter my mind.

Do you have a favorite chore? The only one that brings me joy is vacuuming. I have no idea why, but I have always enjoyed it. What do you enjoy about cleaning?

I am eager to hear all your cleaning fetishes.