Boreal Witch

It's nice having traditions for the holidays. When we were first married, Robinson and I had our Halloween tradition: watch a bad "scary" movie, carve a jack o' lantern or can pumpkin, and eat candy. Now that Arthur has joined our family, we generally carve a jack o' lantern on Samhain and then can it the next day. As for our "scary" movie...well, we haven't really done that for the last few years.

This Samhain was a little different than our usual celebrating. Oh, we did the traditional canning and candy eating, but because we were here and there (Fairbanks and Washington) it felt like Samhain lasted two weeks instead of a single day.

Robinson and I still managed to can 13 quarts of pumpkin (a rather fitting number considering the day). I canned 7 before I left and he canned 6 after I left. The pumpkin canning seemed easier than it did last year and I have yet to figure out why. We've been canning our pumpkins for a while now; maybe it's become automatic.

Arthur even got some trick or treating in while in Washington, though he didn't like the crowds. I think he was more than ready to go home after all that excitement.

Every Samhain I like to reflect on people I knew who've died. Halloween, after all, is the day of the dead. Remembering these people reminds me of the cyclical nature of life and that death is just another part of life. This year, my great-aunt Rosie passed away. On my grandmother's birthday, actually. I didn't really know her, and in fact, I'm not sure if I even met her. My grandmother often said that she was a drunk and didn't take care of herself, so it was inevitable, but sooner, rather than later. I almost wish I did know her so that I could say something about her here.

But, on this day I mostly remember the people who had such an impact on my life. People like my paternal grandfather, who always smelled like oil and machinery; my maternal grandmother, who I feel so much closer to in death than in life; my maternal grandfather, who I never really knew except for stories Mom tells me; my Uncle Tony, who had a quiet sweetness about him;
and my childhood friend Adeline, who my sisters and I would play outside with almost everyday after school.

It's hard to let go, but knowing how much these people have taught me makes it easier for me.

Blessed be.

Arthur's little friends got together today for a Halloween Party. I was a little nervous, considering the chaos from his birthday party (it was as rowdy as a frat house), but the party was awesome. All the kids were well-behaved and they played together so well. Their costumes were lots of fun and most of them managed to keep them on for the entire party. I was very impressed with Arthur. He went from hating his Max cap to tolerating it for a few hours this afternoon.

Here are some random pictures of the fun:

Cedar and Jade playing together in the ball pit. Cedar was a bee. Seneca found a great bee costume for $7 at Value Village. She made some wings for it and found some black tights. Cedar made her happy by wearing the hood for most of the party. Jade was a duck. She kept losing her feet and taking her duck hat off her head. I'm not sure where Amanda got Jade's costume, but my guess is she inherited it from somewhere.

Arthur trying to make Kaiya feel better (she was fussing because she wanted her Mommy). She was going to be a mouse, but the costume was a little too big, so she came as a duck instead. Her cousin Chloe got to wear the mouse costume. Her mommy, Amanda E., made the little webbed feet herself. Adorable!

Although she spent time in the playroom coloring with the markers, Chloe discovered that pulling the magnets off the refrigerator was at least five times more fascinating than scribbling. For a while, Arthur helped, but he wouldn't put the markers back when he and Chloe were done with them. Then Cedar came over to help put the magnets back, but quickly left when the others ran off without helping him. Needless to say, there were magnets all over the floor for the rest of the party. I got the awesome job of picking them all up after everyone left for home.

Beauty Queen Hannah reading to her sister Abby and Cedar (both bees!). She just plopped down on the steps with a book in hand and started to read to them. Abby and Cedar both sat there until the end of the story. It was pretty sweet.

Alek came as Charlie Brown. Sarah found a yellow shirt at Value Village and made the black zig-zag on the shirt. She was also going to make Harley, the family dog, some Snoopy-esqe ears, but in the end decided it was too much of a hassle. I can't imagine how she made the little squiggle on Alek's forehead. Arthur would have put up so much of a fuss, I would have had to wipe it off and then redraw it for at least 10 minutes, or until it was sort of distinguishable as the Charlie Brown hair.

I felt like such a successful hostess afterward! It was one of the most amazing parties I've ever thrown - for kids or adults. Maybe it was the Halloween magic in the air...whatever it was, it was great.

Blessed be.

Last year, Arthur was Harry Potter for Halloween. I really wanted him to be Max from "Where the Wild Things Are," but Robinson convinced me that he'd make a much cuter Max when he could walk. So, this year Arthur will be Max, along with every other child in America (although the cynic in me doubts that even half of the kids dressed up as Max have read the book).

I had to improvise some parts of his costume since none of the pattern companies make Max costumes. Many, many years ago, I bought a baby costume pattern (Robinson thought I was crazy because at the time we didn't have a baby) which served me pretty well during this little sewing adventure. A friend's mom had made her grandson a Max costume a few years ago, and she was a good source of information on some of the little details.

Until Arthur really gets some joy out of dressing up for Halloween, I'm not going to go all out for his costumes, so I tried really hard to keep the cost low. I had almost all of the notions already and I purchased all of the materials I didn't have for under $20 (granted, with coupons).

Here's Arthur in his completed costume. I think it turned out great! Since we're going to be wandering around during the Pumpkin Prowl at the Woodland Zoo in Seattle later this month, I opted not to put feet on the costume. The feet will just sit over his shoes. Sometimes he steps on his claws, but, whatever. His costume already has some orange Cheeto smears on it, but nothing a quick wash won't take care of!

I love Halloween. I can easily say that it's my favorite holiday. I have fond memories of going trick or treating when I was a kid. It's also a great time to reflect on the people who have died over the last year, to remember them, and to wish them well in the afterlife.

Blessed be.