Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Ho, Ho, Ho - I mean Boo!

Yes, it's that time again.

Canadian Thanksgiving is over and that means it's time for Halloween. Isn't that weird?

I know that Halloween is not considered a true holiday for some, but for my people it is. In my country it's a time where you hope the souls of the dearly departed make their journey through the night of all hallows eve without stopping at your house and deciding to hang around. Oh, and also you don't want a fairy or two getting any ideas either, so basically it's a night of appeasing those that normally can't be seen but we believe in them anyway because it's more dangerous not to, hence the lights in the windows and the offerings for the wee folk. Oh, and candy and toasted pumpkin seeds because I like candy and I like toasted pumpkin seeds.

So, let's talk of holidays that aren't spooky - It's a little weird to have Halloween happen after Thanksgiving, but it's ok because there's no waiting until the end of November to start decorating for Christmas and that, my friends makes me very excited.

Yes, I know I used to say I hated Christmas, but I didn't really. I was just disappointed because Christmas had started to lose it's charm for me because, let's face it - the holiday can't do it alone. The holidays are only as good as your current life situation which means when your life situation is great, you love the holidays and when your life situation isn't so great, you wish you had a river you could skate away on.

Fortunately, very fortunately, my life situation is great this year and so I am really looking forward to the holidays. For so many years I pretended it wasn't happening I almost forgot about the first signs of the season - THE HOLIDAY EDITIONS OF MAGAZINES!!!!


Yes, these guys are stuffed full of good ideas and thanks to the failing economy, this year's focus is on the inexpensive way to make things festive. It always amazes me that year after year they can come up with new ways to make things look and taste Christmasy. It appears, from flipping through the pages of these magical issues that one tree isn't enough anymore. Houses are decorated with a main large tree and then little tabletop and miniature trees are sprinkled and nestled all over. Cool. One inspiration let to this preparation in my kitchen.

These are dried oranges and limes with holes pushed through the middle (you make the holes before they are dried.) These are to be hung, along with cranberry garland, on my kitchen tree, thanks very much to someone's inspiration in some Christmas edition of some magazine. See? No one gets famous from publishing or starring in these magazines. To the reader of these publications it's all about the pictures, the ideas, the how-to's. We don't care whose idea it was first and we don't care who brought us the info. Sorry. I know, not even fifteen minutes of fame. It's awful really.

6 comments:

  1. You are waaay too crafty. I am very impressed. Now I just have to take down the Easter stuff at my house...

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  2. I am crafty, but I'm fun too. Really I am - I'm a riot. Yeah, yeah, I make bread and knit and yeah sometimes I wear an apron and like today I have these awful pants on - but I'm still fun. I am.

    You know, if you put red ribbons on the little chicks and ducks and you paint the eggs red and green you can get some more mileage out of that Easter stuff....

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  3. I'd love to be more crafty but I don't have the gene, however, I do have the cooking gene.

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  4. Peach Tart - cooking is a craft. Well, you know - real cooking. Like the oven/stove kind.

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  5. Once I made preserved lemons from one of those magazines. They were gorgeous and most impressive. To me, at least.

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  6. Susan - mine look fantastic too. It seems impossible because it's so simple, but apparently it is possible. I'm just waiting for the cranberry garland to be a real bitch.

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