Halloween Photos 2010

With money being tight this year, we made some inventive costumes that wouldn't require me to go out and purchase much of anything.

The Latern

There was once a boy called George who had been outside in the garden all through the Summer running after the butterflies, jumping like a grasshopper, singing like a bird, and trying to catch the sunlight. One day when he was lying on his back in the meadow gazing up into the sun-filled sky, he said, “Dear Brother Sun, soon the Autumn winds will blow and wail, and Jack Frost will come and make us all freeze, and the nights will be long and cold.”

Brother Sun pushed the clouds aside and said, “Yes, it will be dark and cold. In the deep midwinter, warmth and light live deep within, hidden from sight. In the time of dark and cold, you will tend the Light Within.”

“But,” said George, “How will I tend this Light when it’s dark everywhere around me?”

“I will give you a spark of my last Autumn rays once you have made a little house for it, for this spark must be guarded well. It will light the way for you to tend the Light Within throughout the time of dark and cold.”

And then Brother Sun once hid again behind a cloud.

George went home and wondered how best he could make a little house for the spark of the sun. He took a thick piece of paper and painted a beautiful blue and yellow watercolor upon it. When it was dry, he cut windows into his painting. Then he placed colored tissue paper on the back of his watercolor - and - he formed it into a lantern. He took a candle and put it into the middle of his lantern. And, as it was growing dark, he went outside with it.

George held the lantern up above him and said, “Brother Sun, I have made a little home for one of your golden sparks. Please may I have one? I will guard it well.”

Then Brother Sun looked out from behind a cloud and said, “You have made a beautiful home. I shall give you one of my golden sparks.”

And suddenly, George saw how the windows of his lantern were lit up, and as he looked into the lantern, he saw a spark happily dancing on top of the candle. Oh, how happy the light was in his lovely lantern! It shone and shone so brightly.

“Thank you, Brother Sun,” George called out, “Thank you.” And he took his lantern and carried it carefully home singing:

The sunlight fast is dwindling,
My little lamp needs kindling.
Its beam shines far in darkest night,
Dear Lantern, guard me with your light.

~ from Autumn, Wynstones Press, originally by M Meyerkort and revised by L Sutter.

Happy Samhain!

Today is finally here.  I wish everyone a happy holiday and much fun this evening.  We are in search of green hair paint for Little J to be Frankenstein.  Nothing like last minute.

Blessed Be, My Friends.

Samhain Resource Just in Time

The Samhain edition to Pooka Pages was just released.  It is a full 29 pages this time.  Wooo-hooo.  If you have little ones, this is a must read.

This edition of Pooka Pages includes:

• In the Attic (story for children about Pooka the black cat)
• Pooka Cookies (look divine... peanut butter, chocolate cake mix, and candy= YUM-MY!!)
• 5 Little Witches Finger Play
• The Cutest Herb Jars (made from recycled baby food jars)
• 2 Pumpkin Stencils
• Thistle's Pumpkin (a rebus story for beginning readers)
• A Samhain Ritual
• Nathan Paper Doll
• Elemental Glitter Globes.

I hope you find something fun to do for Samhain this weekend.  The time approaches quickly.  It will be over before you know it.

Fun Ideas for Samhain Traditions

The Legend of the Pumpkin Fairy:  You have to check this out.  INGENIOUS

The Little Orange House:  A whimsical, fun story about a mouse/witch (depending on the version you choose) who finds a special home.

Costume Photos: Take a scary family photo... OR... simple take a photo of the family in their Halloween costumes.  Frame the photos and take them out each year on October 1st as part of your Halloween decor.

Pumpkin Carving: Give each family member (or partner up) a pumpkin, newspaper, and carving tools.  Set a timer for a specific amount of time.  Allow teams to carve pumpkins in any way they like. 

Place jack-o-lanterns out on Halloween night with a sign that reads (something along these lines)... My pumpkins aren't tricks.  They're really treats.  Vote for the one you think is neat! 

Have several strips of black and orange paper in a basket.  Place an empty jar near each jack-o-lantern for people to place their votes in.

Pumpkin Hunt:  Instead of the traditional egg hunt, consider having a mini pumpkin hunt.  Place pumpkins all around the yard... They could even have been left by the Pumpkin Fairy.  Have children scavenge the yard at night looking for the pumpkin with his/her name on the bottom.

After the pumpkins have been found, allow children to paint the pumpkins in the driveway by candle light.

What are some of your favorite traditions on Samhain? 

What are some traditions you have stumbled upon that you found inspirational?

Samhain Excitement

I am so excited for Samhain to arrive.  Not only has Halloween always held a magical place in my heart, but Samhain was also the first time I truly began acknowledging my pagan path a year ago.  I am a bit sad that we are running low on funds because my boys will have to have make shift costumes that are obviously not a costume.

Little J agreed to be Frankenstein by letting me paint his face green and wearing a shirt with "Frank" in the corner that says... I'm Alive!!.  Gotta love 4.  It has been my favorite age for both of the boys.

I think I can talk T into wearing his camo jacket and shorts.  I would only need to get him a camo hat.  He can pretend to be military or a hunter.  Either would be fine with me.  I could use the same face paint bought for J to use on T to camo his face.

Hopefully, this doesn't ruin their Halloween fun.

This weekend I plan to begin reading my Halloween children's books and my SAMHAIN book by Lora Craig-Gladdis.  The stories about Elsie and Pooka are perfect and written very well... perfect for the youngest pagans everywhere.

I wish that Pagans had a Book of Shadows for young children, one for teens, and one for adults.  Each one filled with appropriate stories, and lore, activities, and the such for that particular age group.  Other belief systems can go back and look in their "bibles" and find needed information.  We on the other hand are always on the prowl.  Seems like reinventing the wheel at every new age.

With that being said... I will again put out pictures of loved ones on our seasonal table.  We will tell stories and share memories of our favorite times.  We will invite them to stay the night and spend time with us.

The entire family will work together on a special meal.  I will probably let the boys pick whatever they want.  They will be eating turkey at Thanksgiving and ham on Christmas, so I honestly do not care if they were to pick pancakes.  Just something that will be memorable to them.  I'd like to get a traditional meal planned that can be passed down in their families as well.

When the final decision has been made by the little experts, I' gladly let you know.

After dinner, we will go trick-or-treating and then return home to eat our dessert (again not yet decided... my thought would be vanilla ice cream... OR crushed candy adorning the top of carmel apples).  Yum-Yum.

What will others be doing on Samhain? 

I would love when J is in about 2nd grade to begin to hold an annual Halloween Spook Ball in my backyard... bobbing for apples, scary themed music, movies like Harry Potter or other mildly enchanting tales, pumpkin painting or carving, etc.  Overall a bunch of eating and spending time with friends all centered around the magic of the season.  Also, keeping my children and their friends close at heart as to deter the normal adolescent mischief.  It sounds like tons of wicked fun to me, but you never know what kids will think.

Pumpkin Soup

I have never eaten pumpkin soup myself.  I actually do not like pumpkin, but  I couldn't resist sharing with you one of my favorite children's books to read a this time of the year...

Pumpkin Soup. 

This story is about 3 friends who love to make pumpkin soup.  Each friend has a specific job to do.  Everything is going splendidly until the day Duck wants to stir.

I love the fact that there is an underlining theme of friendship.  This theme is beautifully illustrated through both words and pictures.  Your little ones are soon to fall in love with this book and be begging for more.

Pumpkin History and Facts

Every site I have found has referenced the Americas as the original birth place of the pumpkin.  It was eaten as a staple in the Native American diet.  When the pilgrims settled into North American, they began cutting and removing the pumpkin top.  Once the top was removed they added milk and spice into the opening and cooked the pumpkin in the hot ash of their fire.  It is believed that this was the earliest version of pumpkin pie.  YUM!!

Fun Pumpkin Facts...

• member of the squash family
• range in size from 1 pound to 1000 pounds
• 1 cup of pumpkin is about 30 calories
• zero cholesterol
• very little salt
• made of 90% water
• used in many facial and anti wrinkle creams
• carved pumpkins only last about 4 days
• uncarved pumpkins in a cool, dry place can last over a month 

See & Learn...

Cool Carving Gallery

Detailed Pumpkin Carving Packet (everything from getting started to tools needed to tips and trouble shooting)

Pumpkin Carving Patterns

How to Increase the Life of Your Jack-o-Lantern

Pumpkin Spice Cake

Pumpkin Activities and Recipes for Children (includes 5 knife free ways to decorate a pumpkin... scroll almost to the bottom to view 2 weeks worth of kid-friendly pumpkin recipes)

Pumpkin Activities for Little Ones

Haunted Locations

Throughout the United States, there are several locations that are known for their hauntings.  I would absolutely love to visit several haunted locations in a few years once my boys are a bit older. 


10 Haunted Sites to Visit in the United States...

Alcatraz: (San Francisco, California)  A maximum security prison from the 1930s til 1960s.  Ghost from the likes of Machine Gun Kelly, Al Capone, and the Birdman are known to be lurking the abandoned grounds.

Amityville Murders and Hauntings: (Amityville, New York) Haunting or hoax?  You decide.

Lemp Mansion:  (St. Louis, Missouri)  The Lemp family is known as one of America's first lager brewers.  Many members of this family from generation to generation died of self inflicted gunshot wounds.  Go on paranormal tours of this location and see some fascinated US history along the way.     

Mrytles Plantation: (New Orleans, Louisiana)  This plantation home is known to be haunted by the original owners and their children as well as the slave girl that poisoned them.

Stanley Hotel: (Colorado)  This is the hotel that influenced Steven King's book, The Shining.  Tour the grounds and rooms to hear the hotel history, stories of ghost, and tour the underground tunnel.

Stull Cemetery: Said to be the place where Satan meets his minions.  Fascinated tale of horror.  Read for yourself.

Super Dome: (Louisiana) Victims of Hurricane Katrina were relocated to the Superdome.  There were murders, rapes, and suicides during the time the Superdome housed these victims.  It is said that now, the ghosts of those that passed walk the halls during games.

Tfrere House: (bed and breakfast in Lafayette, Louisiana) A young woman drowned in a rain barrel that still presides on the property.  The woman is known to move objects, walk around (sounds of footsteps) and move the furniture.

USS Lexington: (Corpus Christi, TX) Young man in a white Navy uniform is known to be seen by tour guest. He has actually spoken to some and given information about the workings of the ship... unbeknownst to the guest that he indeed was a ghost.


Waverly Hill Sanatorium: (Louisville, Kentucky) Used as a sanatorium for TB patients in the early 1900s and later used as geriatric center in the 1960s.  Both video and EVP evidence has been found on the grounds.

*I found some of my information about these haunted locations from Shadowlands.

HALLOWE’EN ENCHANTMENT

© Wendy Amdahl 2009

The Witch began to cackle
casting off upon her broom.

And the Owl, began to bellow
at the big ole’ amber moon.

The Winds they were a whipping
and a zipping through the trees.

And the Leaves did blow, all to and fro,
swept by the chilly breeze.

The Jack O’ Lantern grimaced
with a grin that lit the night.

And the Moon she cast Moonshadows,
giving off an eerie light.

The Old Graves lay so dank and still
within the hollowed ground.

While the Specters they did shriek and moan
with such a ghastly sound.

The Haunted House stood silent watch
from high upon the hill.

And the Black Cat, stood as sentry,
perched up in the window sill.

The Witching Hour drew nigh
and there was Magic close at hand.

As Hallowe’en and Samhain
finally swept across the land.

Go forth and turn the Wheel of Time,
as time does not stand still.

Trick or Treat out in the street,
until you get your fill.

Old customs we do celebrate
And Harvest time is here.

Tis’ also time that we embrace
the dark half of the year.

So revel in Enchantments,
dance beneath the Magic Moon.

Conjure up some midnight fun
for day will be here soon.

Remember All Souls laid to rest;
place flowers upon their bed.

For on Halloween we celebrate
the living and the dead.

"Upon Each Samhain"

~David O. Norris

I miss you most upon each Samhain
When the boundary turns to sheer
I wait until the veil is parted
At the ending of the year.

Sweet spirit, as you walk among us
At the tolling of this eve
I see your face beyond the sunset
And hear your voice upon the breeze.

In the glowing of the candle,
From the shadow on the wall
I watch for you in every movement
And hear your footsteps in the hall.

Can you sit and spend the evening
As the portal opens wide?
Ancestral dead, I bid you welcome,
Most recent dead, I pray, abide.

When you come I sense your presence
I put my hand out in the air
A moment, then, we stand united
Palm to palm while waiting there.

I miss you most upon each Samhain
When the boundary turns to sheer
We share these hours until the dawning
Then bid farewell until next year.

Samhain Poems

Bonfires dot the rolling hillsides
Figures dance around and around
To drums that pulse out echoes of darkness
Moving to the Pagan sound.

~ Loreena McKennitt, "All Souls Night", "The Visit


Listen! The wind is rising,
And the air is wild with leaves,
We have had our summer evenings,
Now for October eves!

~ Humbert Wolfe (1885-1940)

Clear Sight Carrots

Ingredients... 

• 3 cups sliced carrots 
• 3 tablespoons butter 
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar (optional) 
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger 
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions...

1. Boil or steam the carrots until tender.
2. Drain.
3. Add the butter, brown sugar, ginger, and cinnamon; stir until the carrots are well-coated.

Harvest Bread

From the kitchen of: Margaret Blood in 1999, now from the kitchen of Fae Cushing

 

INGREDIENTS …

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1c. sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 3/4 c. solid pack pumpkin
• 1 3/4 c. flour
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp. ginger
• 1tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 c. chocolate chips
• 1/2 c. butterscotch chips

 

INSTRUCTIONS …

1. Preheat oven to 325. Grease bottom of pans.
2. Cream butter and sugar together.
3. Add eggs and beat, then place to side.
4. Combine all dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
5. Add pumpkin alternating with dry ingredients to the egg mixture, and beat.
6. Stir in chips. 
7. Bake as follows: small loaf pans (2) 50 minutes OR tube or bunt pan 70 minutes.

Samhain: Elsie and Pooka by Lora Craig-Gaddis

This book arrived just days before Samhain.  It was perfect timing.  I opened the book and read it cover to cover.  Most of the stories in the book are about a little country witch named Elsie and her cat Pooka. Elsie teaches Pooka all about her witchy ways.

This book has so much to offer:

• black line drawings for the children to color
• mazes
• crafts: making an ancestor tree & pumpkin play-doh
• simple ways to experiment and understand divination: using pancake mix or a pendulum... simple and fun
• recipes: Granny Witch's Samhain Cookies & Spiced Cocoa Mix
• & stories: Remembering Granny Witch, Pooka Sees a Ghost, etc.

This book provides such a fun way to include paganism into your life.  It approaches it honestly, but is void of anything that might scare away some mainstream parents if your child was to discuss it with friends.

I have already pre-ordered the Yule book.  I can't wait until it arrives.

Samhain Has Come and Gone

Being that this would be my family's first official Samhain celebration I wanted to make it as simple as possible.  I set up an alter (known as a nature table at my house).  It has various fall findings, a couple of pentacles that are actually star Christmas tree ornaments but it worked great for just starting out.  We also had a beautifully carved witch, a black crow sitting on top of a white pumpkin and a really cool wicked witch of the west shoe.  I almost forgot... we did have a white and black candle as well.

A couple of days before Halloween  I opened up a scrapbook to one of our favorite pictures of my husband's dad and Little J as an infant.  I placed in behind all of the other items and rested it against the wall.  It is actually still there.  I talked to the boys about why we celebrate Halloween.

I explained it similar to the following:
Halloween is the time of year when it is easiest to talk to the spirits of the ones that we love that no longer live here on earth.  If we put out pictures of them and talk about special times we have had, it helps us to never forget them.  It also lets them know that we still care about them and love them.  We will light our pumpkin to help guide granddaddy to our house when it is dark tonight.  We can also invite him to come and stay for a sleep over.  When we feel happy or toasty warm on the inside, we will know that granddaddy has come for a visit and is with us always.

Before trick-or-treating we did light our pumpkin and of course take pictures while in our costumes.  Then, as we walked around trick or treating, we talked about some of our favorite memories of granddaddy.  We made plans on how we can remember him always and give a little piece of him to our future family.  Let me explain.  My husband's dad was always given a coin that he had to retrieve from his grandfather's pocket every time they would see each other.  Granddaddy would always give T Man a hot wheel car that he had to retrieve from granddaddy's pocket.  Granddaddy would also collect coins that were from other countries or not in circulation as much and have the boys place them in an old bank safety deposit box that he had gotten each of them shortly after they were born.  T decided that collecting coins to give his grandchildren would be a great way to let them know a bit about granddaddy.  He said if it was girls he might have to get bracelets or hair bows instead of hot wheel cars though.

I think this was simply perfect for my boys.  I kept it easy to understand and not too far off from what we would normally have done on Halloween.  Next year, I hope to make some of the recipes that I have posted and have a true Samhain feast.  I just thought we should ease into the changes.  Both of my boys really liked taking the time to remember granddaddy.  JJ doesn't really remember him and T Man is sad because he remembers him less and less.  He just knows that the sadness of  missing him is still there.

Pumpkin Spice Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 box Spice Cake Mix
• 1 12 oz. can of pumpkin
• 3 eggs
• 1 tub cream cheese frosting
• cinnamon *optional
• slivered almonds or chopped walnuts*optional

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to temperature recommended on cake mix package.
2.  Pour Spice Cake mix into large bowl. Add pumpkin and eggs and using a large wooden spoon (needs to be sturdy), mix until all of the cake mix is moistened. This will take several minutes as it takes a while to get the pumpkin to mix all the way in due to its viscosity (the batter will be very thick).

**Do NOT add the water and oil your cake mix may call for**

3.  Empty cake batter into a greased and floured pie dish (greasing not necessary if you are using seasoned stoneware).
4.  Bake cake for amount of time recommended on cake mix box or until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Allow cake to cool in pan.
5.  Frost with a generous layer of cream cheese frosting.

**Optional: Use nuts to create a pattern on top of cake and lightly dust with ground cinnamon.

All Hallows Eve

I am a kindergarten teacher as most of you know.  The other night while trying to go to sleep and thinking about the upcoming holiday I began to think of a story and had to write it down.  This is exactly as I wrote it... I was still definitely in that slumber land state of semi-consciousness.

On All Hallows Eve
as most of us know,
the veil between worlds
grows thin, so we're told.

The Lord
in the Summerland...
The Lady on Earth...
search for a door
in the light of the hearth.

As the door doth appear,
both sigh a relief
and commune once again
and have a big feast.

New memories are made
and old ones remembered
as all of our loved ones
have gathered together.

As the sun does rise
on the New Year again,
give thanks
for your family, your loved ones, and friends.

Happy Samhain!

Corn Pudding

Ingredients:

• 1 can creamed corn
• 1 can whole kernel corn (drained)
• 2 beaten eggs
• 1/2 cup butter (melted)
• one 8 oz. container lite sour cream
• 1 box Jiffy corn bread mix
• 1 tablespoon sugar

OPTIONAL: Add 1 (3 oz.) can of chopped green chilis and 1 cup of shredded 2% mexican cheese.

Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients together in large bowl.
2. Bake in 9 x 13 buttered pan at 350° for 45 minutes.

Apple Muffins

Got this recipe from All Recipes.  It had over 500 reviews and over 4 1/2 stars.  Can't wait to make this for Samhain breakfast.  It will make a fun cooking project for the family.

INGREDIENTS :

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups chopped apples (1 cup shredded and 1/2 cup chopped or if you like chunks in your muffins switch this)
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter

*optional- 1 cup cinnamon chips
alter butter to 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup applesauce

*Note... batter will be thick, almost like cookie dough.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 12 cup muffin pan.
2. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugars and eggs until smooth. Mix in vanilla. Stir in apples, and gradually blend in the flour mixture.
4. Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin pan.
5. In a small bowl, mix brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture is like coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over tops of mixture in muffin pan.
6. Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow to sit 5 minutes before removing muffins from pan. Cool on a wire rack.