Happy Hallowe'en!!!

...And a Blessed Samhain to all those who observe it!

Around here, Halloween is more of a season than a day, and this particular Halloween has been just FILLED with wicked cool goings on...

The celebration began with the fourth annual Ghoultide Gathering and will end tomorrow as the last day of summer (Samhain) passes into the Celtic New Year.

In between of course, was LOTS of painting, the Willy Wonka party, and last night my friend Jen's Day of the Dead Halloween party. Jen's parties are always fun - she decorates the house to the hilt, has an interesting mix of guests, and makes great food and drinks...My own contribution was a pan of enchiladas verdes, and these wicked cool Halloween cookies from Kim Short of Kim's Artistic Confections...

I think my favorite was Poe. Of course, Jack Nicholson was pretty amazing too. :)

The kids had a great time, and really, that's what Halloween is all about...

Munchies galore...

And our hostess, dressed in her Day of the Dead finery...

I also spent part of the weekend with the Cabin Ladies, sort of a girls weekend we do several times a year at one of Pennsylvania's beautiful state parks. Very relaxing, and it gave me a chance to drive some of the backroads I hadn't seen in a while. Lancaster County has some great sights, one of the more unusual being these old graveyards set in the middle of farmland, many not even accessible by road...
A one room Amish schoolhouse...

The little town of Terre Hill, where John and I lived when we first moved to Pennsylvania...

And I snapped this one not so much to show the sheep, but the trees...

As you can see, summer is indeed over, and the glorious colors of autumn are fading from the trees. Frost will appear soon, and we'll catch the scent of woodsmoke as we pass these farms. The roadside markets (now selling only pumpkins, cabbage and winter root vegetables) will close for the season, and we'll wait for the snow to fly.

But tonight is All Hallow's Eve, and since the trick or treaters have already been here (see previous posts) I'll get into the *spirit* of things by checking my friends' wicked cool Halloween work on the EHAG Emporium update. :)

In the meantime, on the eve of the Celtic New Year, I'll leave you with a little Van Morrison...



Until next time,

¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`• ~ Carolee