Tag Archives: Halloween decorations

Color Me Lame

Here I was, all set to make my Lame Post Friday Post ON Friday, and suddenly I have this weird, inexplicable headache.  What have I done to deserve a headache?  That was rhetorical; you are not expected to answer (don’t you just hate people who answer rhetorical questions?).

Fall color to brighten the day.

I threw in a quick picture to pep up the post.  This is from October 2022 on my street.  As you can see, there used to be two trees there.  I do not know why somebody felt the need to get rid of one.  I don’t think anybody is currently living in the house, but it is really none of my business.

With a blue sky!

I might as well throw in some more fall color, since I don’t have a whole lot to say.  The sky was about that same color yesterday.  Our stretch of beautiful weather continues, although the temperatures may have dropped a little.

Speaking of the sights of fall.

On a previous post, I remember looking for a picture of our mantle decorated by my late, wonderful husband Steve, but being unable to find one.  And here one is!  I think sometimes my Media Library plays tricks on me.  Now I am looking at this picture and saying, “Damn! where’s that?  And that?”  Oh well.  I can’t worry about these things on Lame Post Friday.  Isn’t there a wine tasting at a liquor store I should be going to?  Or Happy Hour somewhere?

In any case, I am over 250 words.  I hope you all have a delightful weekend.

 

Current Run, Old Selfies

I had thought to do a Running Commentary Post this morning, as a change from Pedestrian Posts.  I thought of it while I was running.  Unfortunately, I did not run by any places I have pictures of in my Media Library.  Ever since I started putting pictures in the blog, I hate to have a post without one.  Then I thought, I’ll take a selfie after the run.  That will do.  I forgot to.  There is no point in taking a selfie now; I ran almost three hours ago.  I’m showered and dressed.  Anyways, my phone is across the room charging.

A selfie after a run four years ago.

I am not very photogenic.  In October 2020 I took a challenge to exercise for 34 minutes every day for 34 days to raise awareness for the 34 million Americans who suffer from diabetes.  As part of the challenge, you were supposed to take a selfie and post it on Facebook with some information about diabetes.  I did not take 34 selfies, but I took a few.  Also, some days I walked instead of running.

Today I ran for just over 20 minutes.  It felt pretty good.  Before I ran, I said to myself, “I don’t wanna run!  I’m not gonna run!”  Then I put on my gear and ran anyways.  It felt pretty good, surprisingly enough.  It was still dark when I started out, so I enjoyed seeing some Halloween lights.  As it got lighter, I could see other decorations.  Sometimes a good run involves distracting yourself from the fact that you are running.  Luckily I did not distract myself so much I tripped on the sidewalk and skinned up my knee. Yes, I have done that, the last time while walking.  I am not the most graceful creature on God’s green earth.

Also from October 2020.

I add a selfie where I look a little more cheerful.  My friend is Mookie Wilson, a bat my late, beloved husband Steve won in a claw machine back in the late ’80s.  My sister Diane suggested the name.  Mookie Wilson has hung on light fixtures in many of our residences over the years.

I guess I haven’t said a whole lot about my run, but I am over 350 words.  Score!  As always, I thank your for tuning in.

 

Sights of the Season

Just when I was about to acquiesce (holy crap, I spelled that right first try!) in a Wuss-out Wednesday, I thought to take a quick look at my phone and see that I can have a Waste Not Want Not Wednesday.  How I managed to not use these photos in my Pedestrian Post, I do not know.  And suddenly I wonder, does this make it as if I did three Pedestrian Posts this week and if so, is that a bad thing?  Discuss amongst yourselves (why does autocorrect insist that “amongst” is not a word?  And why is “autocorrect” underlined?).

Isn’t that a welcoming door?

I personally like to carve my pumpkins, when I have them (I have not purchased one this year yet), because I like to roast the pumpkin seeds.  However, I enjoy seeing painted pumpkins.  Some of them are really artistic.  I passed this group on one of my walks.

A nice variety.

I took pictures of each side, so we could see the pumpkins better.

My favorite is the one with the fangs.

This one is a little in the shade, but I think you can see the pumpkins well enough.  I am certainly enjoying all the Halloween decorations I see.  My own porch is looking a little sad and lonely, but I have another week.  At least I can plug in Witchy!

My Witchy.

I got Witchy at Pumpkin Junction in Sauquoit, NY, some years ago, just to give a shout-out to a local business.  I hope you are all enjoying the season!

 

I Get a Little More Seasonal

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!

 

I Need Halloween Monsters!

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.

 

I Follow Different Directions

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.

 

One Monster for Good Measure

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!

Will I Live Up to Halloweens Past?

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.

 

Early Morning Monsters

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.

 

The Blog Post Isn’t Perfect, Either

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.