Happy Thanksgiving!

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A funny looking dragon in 1931 -- and men in hats :)

Tonight I:
Carved my third jack-o-lantern in a week.
Watched Scream for the second time this month.

Tomorrow is the Halloween party at school. I'm Little Red Riding Hood - again.
Drinking wine and reading some H.P. before bed. Should make for some great dreams.

Happy Halloween weekend, all.

Happy Weekend

How is it the second to last weekend in October already? Oh God, I'm beginning to enter the mourning period I always experience at the end of October/Halloween and again when December/Christmas are over. I wait all year for the high points that are those two months! The rest of the year just seems so....blah..so regular and humdrum, in comparison. Oh boo.

Of horsemen and schoolmasters

There is a little valley or rather lap of land among high hills,
which is one of the quietest places in the whole world.
The place continues under the sway of some witching power
that holds a spell over the minds of the good people,
causing them to walk in a continual reverie.
They are given to all kinds of marvelous beliefs,
are subject to trances and visions, and frequently see strange sights,
and hear music and voices in the air.
~Washington Irving, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Imagine being able to visit a place from one of your very favorite childhood stories. Like finding that little cottage made entirely out of candy while walking through the woods, or happening upon a beanstalk that seems to reach clear up to the sky. Last Saturday, I stepped inside my all-time favorite story, or at least, I came as close as just about anybody can.



If you find yourself in Sleepy Hollow, you really must visit Washington Irving's Sunnyside - it was truly breathtaking. This time of year the whole place is almost totally consumed with vines and foliage -- the same ones planted by Irving when he lived there 175 years ago. I loved all the little nooks and narrow staircases and tiny windows in the house that looked out onto the Hudson River.





Yes please, I want to live in there.
















To say that I grew up with The Legend of Sleepy Hollow would be a gigantic understatement - it practically defines whole "areas" of my childhood. It's sure to have fueled my love of the macabre and for good, old-fashioned ghost stories, and who knows how much influence the story had on my deciding to become a school teacher. (Unfortunately, one-room schoolhouses have ceased to exist). The little hamlet that Irving loved so much has also largely disappeared, or has at least been transformed. You can visit a few places for echos of what the place once was, but for the most part, it's just like countless other small towns. Except, of course, at night.

Glimpses

A few looks from an out-of-town trip this past weekend.
Our first stop was this adorable little shop ~
so many treasures and curious finds.

Destination:

I'm off to a place very near and dear to me.
HAPPY OCTOBER!

Life and Death of a Pumpkin

I am a pumpkin, Hello...

Peanuts

I have crazy love and affection for this TV special. I think about it from time to time all year long, am constantly reminded of scenes, and repeat random quotes when I think they apply to a situation in my life. "Alright that's it! Are you coming or are you staying!?" The colors. The music. The very quirky, subtle humor. Blatant displays of cruelty between kids shown right alongside innocence and hopefulness. Charlie's Brown's deep depression.

"Oh Great Pumpkin, WHERE ARE YOU!?" I love Linus so much it actually hurts a little bit when I see/listen to him. So many adorable nuances and details. I've memorized the entire screenplay and get a great kick out of myself by reciting all the lines in sync with the characters. I own the DVD so I get to watch it three or four times every October, but if you don't own it, you need to find a TV to sit in front of on October 28th from 8:00-8:30 p.m.

cute

you'll have to excuse me if halloween starts to take over this blog during the next couple of weeks.
i go a little nutty for the season.

Fall Fun: Cooperstown

Headed to one of my favorite fall destinations last Saturday. I fell in love with this little town in the hills when I was going to school in Oneonta. My roommate and I would take drives to Fly Creek Cider Mill and often continued on to Cooperstown afterward. Back then, I didn't venture much further than the main street, which consisted mostly of tiny snack shops and more baseball paraphernalia than the world needs. Each year around this time I feel the urge creeping back in to walk along the historic house-lined streets, kicking up leaves and smiling back at each pumpkin that sits proudly on someone's front step.

Hydrangea bushes everywhere!

The whole town was excited for fall! Pumpkins and cornstalks and mums everywhere.

The Otesaga Hotel is incredibly grand. When we walked up a bride & her wedding party were just arriving. The size of the place is impossible to convey here. It just goes on and on. Also, dude, it is haunted! :P

The trip began and ended with a cup of something hot. It was rather chilly. The cold wind on my bare neck may or may not have contributed to the bad cold I'm suffering from now. Humph.