All Tricks and No Treats for Me This Year!

When black cats prowl and pumpkins gleam,
May luck be yours on Halloween.

Hello Everyone....And Happy Halloween!  I hope everyone had an exciting September! I personally find September to be almost as much fun as our much beloved October.  September brings all the excitement of the first Halloween items haunting the store shelves, and the first delicious taste of the Pumpkin Spice goodies of the season.  I truly live for, and long for, the 1st day in September all year long, which is then followed by the Autumnal magic of my favorite month of October!  Ahh yes...October! A month of leaves aflame in color, gourds ripe for the picking, breezy days and crisp cool October eves, twinkling with stars and awash in the glow of magical moonbeams.  And of course the mischievous grins of Jack O'Lanterns glowing bright on Hallowe'en Night!

In fact, this year I had actually begun my Halloween Countdown planning early and I was so proud of myself. Since this is my first post this season, you probably won't believe me.  But it's true....I decided that I would not be caught coming up short of posts in this year's Halloween Countdown, so I began completing posts early in the summer and saving them for October.  And I'm proud to say that I actually had 10 of them finished and under my witch's belt before tragedy struck.  Yes, anyone who has followed my blog for the last 5-6 years knows that I never miss the Autumn Season and Hallowe'en here in the blogosphere.  I might be MIA the rest of the year due to real life taking precedence, but I always find my way home to my Halloween Town on the web, and my little Witch's Lair in the Halloween Tree by August or September.  I blow back into town on a magical autumn breeze and revel in the Halloween Frolic with all my fellow Halloween Loving Denizens!  And I always come laden down with gifts to share of photographs, crafty things, haunted tales, artwork and poems to celebrate the season.

But sadly, that was not in the ole' tarot cards for me this year, even in spite of actually being semi-prepared in advance for once!  No, unfortunately the fickle finger of fate, lay it's boney curse upon me and turned my world upside down.  In mid-August, my dear Mother suffered a stroke.  So I spent the rest of a sleepless, stressful August, and first part of September, in and out of the hospital and rehab with her.  Then due to extenuating circumstances far beyond my control....we had no choice but to move her into our home with us for good.  This meant the rest of September and now October have been inundated with that massive transition, with no real end in sight any time soon.  Two lives have been forever changed and I'd be lying to say that it's been anything but overwhelming, exhausting and all-consuming!  It was not something that either of us would ever have wanted, yet it is what we now must both endure.  I have hopes that time will make things better, and that once all the dust of sorting out the mess and combining our lives has cleared....that maybe things will get easier for us all.  And maybe by this same time next year...we will have gotten into a groove that we all can live with..  And maybe, just maybe....I will be able to once again embrace the season with the same positivity, exuberance and anticipation that I've always had for it....but that has eluded me this year!

So needless to say, this is the very first chance I've had time to log on over here and provide an explanation as to why I haven't been online.  Since I literally exist the whole rest of the year...solely for the autumn months of September and October....I've found it rather depressing to be incapable of tapping into the excitement that this time of year usually brings. It hasn't been for lack of trying mind you...as I did reluctantly break out the Halloween decorations, and we've watched a lot of my favorite Halloween movies, and somehow even managed to still take our annual New England trip with a LOT of help from our relatives, who agreed to stay in our home with my Mom while we were gone.  But even in the midst of the most glorious Autumn Foliage we've seen in New England in a long time....I was just too depleted physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually to tap into my usual seasonal excitement....and it's left me feeling rather down I must confess. But that doesn't mean that my favorite season of Fall, and my favorite holiday of Halloween is completely lost....it's just been majorly hijacked and hampered by life's ruthless twists and turns.:o(

So I have missed everyone here so very much, and I send out heartfelt wishes to you all for a most Magical All Hallow's Eve!  I didn't want to come completely empty handed, so  I'm posting a few Autumn Photos from my collection.  They are filled with the familiar black and orange colors that epitomize for me....the most spooktacular season of the year!  I sincerely hope everyone has been enjoying all the fun the Fall Season and Hallowe'en Holiday has to offer, and I hope to be able to share in the Autumn Revelry with you all in full next year, since life had other plans for me this time around! Hope to see you all around the Hallowe'en Tree this time next year, if not sooner!

PS...And just so I can officially keep calling it the "Annual Viewing"....I am posting the disturbingly fun yet so awkward and creepy  "Pumpkin Man Dance Video below! At least I was able to keep one tradition alive and kicking (literally) this year!  Enjoy.....or not! ;o)