"And the pumpkin goes to...."

I spent part of the afternoon shopping for prizes for our Halloween party next month. The best selection is when the stores first start displaying the holiday items, so I try and get there at the beginning of September. By the end of this month, all of the good stuff will be picked-over. Halloween is very big down here, and there are lots of at-home parties, so it pays to be an early-bird at the stores.

I had the idea to get some sort of Hollywood Oscar-esque award for Best Costume (one for the ladies, one for the men), Funniest Costume, Most Original Costume. I found a Halloween lady with a pumpkin for a head, all dressed up in black and silver fabric... she stands nearly 15" tall-- very Oscar-like for the woman who wins Best Costume. For the men's Best Costume, there was a pumpkin-man dressed up like a scarecrow, the same size as the pumpkin lady-- put them both together and they look like a couple. They are now on a shelf in my storage closet, with "Best Costume" ribbons hanging around their necks.

For the Funniest Costume, I found a funny-ugly witch, complete with green hair and pointed fingers and striped stockings underneath her purple dress. If a man wins the "Funniest," then he gets a box of pumpkin lights to string around his front door. Everything is wrapped up, tagged and ribboned.... and waiting on the shelf in the closest. Invitations won't be going out till the first of October, but the prizes are all set.

Yesterday morning, I went to the yard sales and came home with a beautiful wooden birdhouse. Someone had made it by hand, with intricate roofing, doors, windows... just three dollars. I was going to put it out in the garden, but then I thought the sun would fade the green roof and the white house. While I was looking through my Halloween idea books yesterday, I came across instructions on how to build a little Haunted House.

Well... bird house, haunted house.... this had potential. When I was in Marshall's today, I found a cute little witch to stand outside the front door of my two-story bird house... then I found little ghosts, black cats, orange pumpkins, bats, skeletons... all these cute little miniatures that are now glued to the bird house, which is now a perfect haunted house. This is how my collection of Halloween decorations adds up each year.


Another hurricane is on the way.... this one is named Ike. From the way it looks now, it could threaten New Orleans again. The people there are just getting back after the Gustav storm. Maybe Ike will find someplace else to go, and give New Orleans a blessed break.

Speaking of break..... our microwave zapped itself out this morning. My husband was heating up his cup of coffee and there was a tiny lightning bolt inside the microwave... looked like a haunted house inside there. Needless to say, the microwave is now out on the curb, waiting for trash pick-up tomorrow. We'll have to make a trip to Best Buy tomorrow and buy a new one. The kitchen looks very un-kitcheny without that microwave.