Tag Archives: Halloween decorations

I Get a Little More Seasonal

Posted on October 18, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Yesterday (Thursday; yes, the late posts continue), I did a little more cleaning in my living room and, more importantly (for blogging purposes anyways), I did more Halloween decorating!

I think she feels pretty.

I mentioned how I may find some Halloween togs for my skeleton Bonita.  I found a shoulder cape and my Halloween gloves.  A little large on her, but they’ll do.  The black rose was there already, not sure where that came from, and the feathers I put in her head must have fallen out of one of my boas (well of course I have more than one boa!).

Not exactly a June bride.

Burt the Birt-day Gorilla wanted to be a bride. Actually it was my idea.  I found the veil, probably a First Communion accessory, at a recent rummage sale.  I mentioned as I paid for my purchases that I clearly did not NEED it.

“But you know someone who does,” said one of the volunteers in an approving tone of voice.

“Actually, I’m going to put it on my gorilla,” I confessed.  All the ladies there expressed their wish that they could see it.

I’ve had those skulls for a while.

This stool has been kind of a catch-all for a while, so I was pretty pleased with myself for cleaning it.  The light was a present from the late, lovely husband Steve.  It has different colors.

Too dark, but I guess that’s seasonal.

I tried to take a picture of the whole space, but I obviously did not adjust the light properly.  I’ll try again sometime when there is a lot of sunlight.  The ghost, by the way, stays out all year long, because he sheds a lot of light.  I don’t like too dark of a living room.

My ongoing quest for a clean house continues. I did not realize what a motivating factor decorating can be.  Yay, Halloween!

 

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I Need Halloween Monsters!

Posted on October 15, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Hello and welcome to another late Monstrous Monday post.  It is the season for monsters, after all.  I have not been in a particular Halloweeny mood recently, which is too bad, because it is my favorite season.  Yesterday I was struck with yet another bout of Don’t Wanna Do Nuthin’.  I kept bestirring myself to At Least Do One Thing, with varying degrees of success.  Here is the result of one fairly successful foray:

My mantle.

I was happy to find the lights to hang.  They were in a bag on the knob of the door to my attic, where they have been since I took them down from the porch, an embarrassingly long time after Halloween (then again, they only went up Halloween Day; feel free to judge me).  I don’t know if you can see Santa Claus in the background.  He stays there all year round.  I always think he looks like he is saying, “Good grief!”  In this case it is probably because he is wondering why it took me till nearly halfway through the month to get a single Halloween decoration up (although in general, I think it is because that long piece of paper he is holding is the Naughty List).

The well dressed skeleton.

I looked for a picture of the mantle decorated by my late, dearly missed husband Steve but could not find one.  He had a flair for decorating.  Here is the Halloween outfit he put together for Bonita, our skeleton.  She has been embracing nudity lately, but perhaps I will help her into some seasonal duds before too long.  Bonaparte, her small, admiring friend, you may have noticed on the mantle, sitting in a mug from Adirondack Railroad.  I think he is irresistibly cute.

The Ghost of Christmas Past? or Present?

I close with another decoration of my own:  our other Santa Claus dressed as a ghost.  I purchased that Santa the first year we lived in this house, 2005, walking home from the store with him tucked under my arm and feeling rather pleased with myself.  My mother gave us the other Santa one Christmas, having purchased him at an antique store in Pennsylvania when she was visiting my sister Vicki.

I guess this post has not been particularly monstrous, unless you dislike reading about personal reminiscences and the other drivel that comes out of my typing fingers.  Sometimes one can only type what comes out.  However, if you’ll stay tuned, I hope to have other Mohawk Valley Adventures later this week.

 

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I Follow Different Directions

Posted on October 11, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

I went for a walk yesterday but did not take any pictures, so no Pedestrian Post.  I guess the best I can do is a Throwback Thursday, and, yes, I am making it Friday morning and not that early either.  Judge me if you feel so inclined.

But first, another plug!

Ah, but before I throw back to anything, here is one last plug for Curtains for Frangelica, our latest murder mystery.  The last I knew, there were still tickets available, local readers!

The eyes have it.

Before I decided to begin with a plug, this picture from the past caught my eye.  It is the end of my Black-Eyed Susans, before that patch became entirely overgrown with all manner of weeds and things.  That reminds me, I need to get out there and cut everything back.  Perhaps later today if it does not rain (my bunions are non-committal, and I forget what I saw on WKTV News Tuesday).

I think he’s cute.

I was looking for other dead vegetation pictures and came across this adorable fall decoration.  I have no idea where he is now, but I see he is sitting on a Roger Ebert book, I Hated, Hated, HATED That Movie!  I do like reading bad reviews, although I do not agree with all the movies Ebert hated.  I am actually a little uncomfortable looking at the portion of the title showing, because in general I greatly prefer love to hate.  But I digress.

A dramatic conclusion indeed.

Since this is turning out to be something of a Non-Sequitur Thursday, I close by going in yet another direction with a shot from Horror Hotel, from one of my horror movie DVD collections.  I guess this kind of loops back to the beginning: murder mystery, horror movie.  I may be stretching a point.  However, I am over 300 words on one of those mornings when I had at first felt inclined to bag it altogether.  Let that be a lesson to me.  And thank you for tuning in.

 

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One Monster for Good Measure

Posted on October 8, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Hello and welcome to yet another late blog post from me, Mohawk Valley Girl.

Having typed that, I feel myself disinclined to type any more. If I was not ten-finger typing on the Chromebook, I would be tempted to give it up as a bad job.  I know, I know, one must not wait for inspiration.  Sometimes one prefers to at least wait till the coffee kicks in.

Picture to denote passage of time while I get another cup of coffee.

That is one of my favorite pictures.  I have seen some really gruesome rotting pumpkins but have not had anything to take a picture at the time.  The scariest are when the inside starts to mildew and the mouth becomes a black hole!  Not the most sanitary decoration, but I must appreciate beauty where I find it.

I hope to take a drive to Pumpkin Junction in Sauquoit, NY tomorrow (preview of coming attractions).  I can get a pumpkin, maybe some lights for my porch, and at least I can walk around and enjoy looking at everything.  I have a bit too much to do today to contemplate the expedition.

A veritable Halloween Mecca!

I can’t say I have made strides in getting my house decorated for Halloween, but I have taken steps.  Maybe they were baby steps, but one does what one can.

I see I am over 200 words.  I guess I can bill this as a Monstrous Monday post, since it is a lot about Halloween.  I’ll just close with one monster for good measure.

 

 

Don’t know who he is, but I like him!

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Will I Live Up to Halloweens Past?

Posted on October 4, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Hello and welcome to another late Throwback Thursday post.  Thursday was a kind of a wasted day for me, although it had a few useful moments, a few fun moments; who is the arbiter of saying whether a day is wasted or not anyways? Not me.  But I veer into half-baked philosophy, more suited to Lame Post Friday, a post often made early Saturday morning.  And I wonder why I am in a time warp most of the time.

I throw in a photo before going to get coffee.

I thought a throwback to Octobers past might be fun, and a change from my usual theatre throwbacks (autocorrect does not approve of that spelling of “theatre” but I like it).  That is my late, beloved husband Steven at Pumpkin Junction in Sauquoit, NY, one of my favorite Halloween places.  I would like to go there soon, but I really need to clean my house more before adding Halloween decorations, which I inevitably will.

Looks like a fun party!

Speaking of Halloween decorations, here is an arrangement Steven made on our buffet in 2017.  Right now the buffet still has most of his nutcracker collection.  Oh dear.

Isn’t he cute?

To end on a cheerful note, here is the sweet little vampire Steve gave me (it came in a coffee cup), sitting in a delightful pot sent me by my friend Marsha.  The orange is a t-shirt I didn’t like much anyways (advertising something I don’t even like any more, but that’s a long, dull story).

This is all encouragement for myself to get this house in better shape today and put out some Halloween decorations.  That would make a good blog post.  As always, I hope you’ll stay tuned.

 

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Early Morning Monsters

Posted on September 9, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

As I embark on my second cup of coffee early Monday morning, I faced a decision:  take a walk or make a blog post.  Sitting the couch ten-finger typing and continuing to sip coffee won.

Aaaahh, coffee!

This is the mug I am using.  I was using it yesterday, too, and wanted to put it in the blog post.  I find it appropriate for the time of year (aficionados know the Halloween season begins the day after Labor Day) and for a Monstrous Monday post.

Scary? Or just old?

This picture was in my Media Library near the picture of the mug.  I use it to keep the post local, since I took the picture on one of my walks around the neighborhood.  It is, perhaps, a little in advance of the current season, but I like it.  It isn’t as scary as other rotting pumpkins I’ve seen; some of them mildew inside and the mouth becomes a rotting black hole.  Nice!

I think she’s pretty!

For another local photo, here is my skeleton Bonita, wearing a pet mask I picked up at a rummage sale and holding black tulips a fell0w cast member gifted me after making them for a prop in a murder mystery.  I never put her in her summer outfit this year; it was a kind of a bad summer, but that’s a long story, not very interesting.  I have yet to dress her for Halloween (yes, she is naturally dressed for Halloween, but since she is a year-round skeleton, I like to give her a little something extra).  In fact, she is sitting on a chair almost buried in some costumes I need to return to another fellow murder mystery actor.

Now I am over 250 words and have three pictures.  Score!  And my Monday blog post is done!  Could this be the start of another streak?  I can only hope!  Once again, thank you for tuning in.

 

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The Blog Post Isn’t Perfect, Either

Posted on March 26, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Hello and welcome to another Monstrous Monday post typed in early Tuesday morning.  I really must start finding new monster pictures for this feature, but for right now, let me go to my Media Library and see what I can find.

Isn’t she sweet?

I went back to 2016, when I first learned how to add pictures to the blog.  Till then I told myself it was all about the words, thus excusing my lack of technological expertise.  I still lack said expertise (hence no new monster pictures when I post from the Chromebook) but I improve by dribs and drabs.  Anyways, this is Witchy, who graces my front porch much of the year.  I brought her in last Christmas instead of dressing her as an angel, which I usually do.  She currently stands in my dining room, awaiting further developments.

It’s scary!

I go from sweet to scary with a shot from the 1922 silent movie, Nosferatu, one of my all time favorites.  I like to tell the story of how my mom and her colleague borrowed it from the library to show my elementary school when I was in 6th grade.  It was a fun Friday night thing the school was doing.  They thought, a silent Dracula, how scary could it be?  They found out.  It was years before I saw the whole movie.  They had to stop it, because the younger kids were crying.  I felt really bad for Mom and her friend.

Me too, but I lack the dramatic hair-do.

Under the heading Nobody’s Perfect, I end with Bride of Frankenstein.  I use this as my Facebook profile picture sometimes.  I think it sums up a lot of us.

 

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My Decorations Are Late, Too

Posted on December 17, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

I guess 7:30 on a Sunday morning is early for some people, so I will count this as my Saturday post, although WordPress will not credit me for a four day streak.  How the mighty have fallen!  I used to never miss days.  I think I was in my 40s or 50s back then (wow, I have been blogging for a long time!).

Only I’m not that skinny.

I decided to throw in a picture to pep things up, as I often do, and that was when my Tablet started behaving badly. Now I am on my dining-room-table-top ten-finger typing.  Now I still have not much to say but can say it faster.

Yesterday (Saturday) was a lovely day.  I got my Christmas lights hung.  By that I mean that I switched out a string of pumpkins for a string of multi-colored lights and Witchy for Santa Claus.  Traditionally I leave Santa and Witchy out all year, dressing them for the holidays with which they are not usually associated.  This past Halloween, however, as I was putting up lights on the actual day, I took Santa off the porch and put him in my living room.  Look at me, going all conventional in my old age.  SAY IT AIN’T SO!!!  I had a little trouble with the colored lights:  they had worked in my house when I tested them a few weeks ago, but they declined to light up after I had gotten them hung.  Luckily I had another string of colored lights.  Now I have no colored lights on my mantle, but these things happen and we must deal with them.  Anyway, I will try to get some pictures of my porch later today for a future blog post (preview of coming attractions).

He looks a little ghostly, no?

Here is my porch on another year, when I was a little closer to having my act together, and my husband was able to participate in the light-hanging.

I see I am over 300 words, not bad for a late, insubstantial post.  As always, I will strive to do better, but I feel that almost any post is better than no post at all.  Do you agree?  Discuss amongst yourselves.

 

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This Blog Needs a New Plot

Posted on November 4, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

Well, this is embarrassing.  It seems I have had almost an entire Blogger’s Sick Week.   In my defense, I have been ill with some unnamed, unhappy malady (oh, come on, autocorrect!  “ill” is a word; you don’t have to change it to “I’ll”!).  However, my purpose today is not to get bogged down in my tiresome ailments but to get back to blogging with a Late Lame Post Friday post.

That was as far as I got on my Tablet, curled up comfortably at the end of my couch, pecking in one letter at a time with the stylus.  Now I am ten-finger typing on my dining-room-table-top and kind of missing the predictive text thingy.  Oh well, one can’t have everything after all.  I do have coffee and that will have to suffice me.

Aren’t they cute?

I thought I would throw in a picture to pep things up.  These are some of our fall decorations from November 2017, ones that can count for Thanksgiving as well as Halloween.  The two larger scarecrows are sweethearts, and the little one is the younger brother of the boy scarecrow.  The big boy scarecrow wishes his little brother would go away so the sweethearts can be alone, but the girl scarecrow thinks the little guy is adorable.  See, I make up plots for everything.  I have probably shared that one before and ought to make up another one for these three.  Incidentally, they are not out this year, and I have no idea where they are.  That is the kind of year I am having.

Looking behind to look ahead.

You can accuse me of rushing the season all you like; I will admit the fault.  This is a shot of my late, sadly missed husband, Steve’s nutcracker collection in December 2019.  The collection has grown since then.  The reason I wanted to share a picture of the nutcrackers is that they are still on the buffet and I can look straight at them while I type.  I have thought about packing them away any time since last January, but now it seems more appropriate to let them stay and perhaps be my only Christmas decoration this year.  Um, except for a couple of thing we keep out year round.  Full disclosure:  I do not remember if I put those nutcrackers out in 2022 or an earlier year.  I daresay regular readers will not be surprised.

A toast is always seasonal!

I looked around for a good picture to end with, and this nice shot of Steven caught my eye.  It is one of our many happy times hanging out on the front porch.  In the background, you can see another scarecrow peeking around the post.  I suppose she is spying on the neighbors, but I do not judge her for that.  I love hanging out on the porch, but it might get boring for a scarecrow to be there 24/7.  Full disclosure:  she is there 24/7/365.  She is out there now.  I may make up a new plot for her later.

It is good to be blogging again.

 

 

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Happy Halloween!

Posted on October 31, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

Happy Halloween!  I continue my plan of early morning posts although this morning it is over an hour later than yesterday.  I took the day off because of a doctor’s appointment.  I won’t say much about that, because, you know, HIPAA (however you spell that) (is it spelling when it is an acronym?  Oh well, you know what I mean).

I typed that much (pecked one letter at a time with the stylus, I add, catering to my overdeveloped sense of accuracy) on my Tablet, curled up on the couch, waiting for my coffee to perk.  Now I am sitting up at the dining room table like a respectable writer, ten finger typing and feeling SO HAPPY for my coffee.

My cup is appropriate to the day, yes?

I have a number of things I must get done today, but one essential is to get at least one light on my front porch for the trick or treaters.  I normally have a porch nicely decorated with colored lights, sometimes appropriate for the season, but as with many aspects of life, I have dropped the proverbial ball (I have not done this in a while, but in the past I have mentioned, if you add the “the proverbial” to a cliche, it turns it into a self-deprecating cultural reference) (or do I flatter myself?)

Witchy says “Happy Halloween!”

I threw in a picture before I got bogged down in parenthetical comments or worse.  Witchy is still on my porch but not currently plugged in.  I unplugged her when my Dad was here and needed to plug in his compressor to pump up my tire.  Since most of the light strings that were also plugged in were burnt out, I just threw the extension cords into the house, figuring I would fix it later.  Obviously I did not specify how much later.

A Merry Halloween!

Santa is also still on my porch but out of costume.  Perhaps I can fix that today as well.

It may seem silly to light and decorate my porch the day of Halloween, but I think the trick or treaters will appreciate it.  I usually get quite a few.  Additionally, if I put up green lights as I intend to, I will only have to add some red for Christmas in a few weeks (hopefully before Christmas Eve).  I will un-costume Santa and put an angel costume on Witchy.  I think I will have to make her a new halo, though.

Preview of Coming Attractions.

I couldn’t find a picture of Angel Witchy, so a picture of Elliott Ghoul in a Santa Hat will have to do.

 

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