Decorating for FALL . . .

~Front Door Welcome~

We don't do halloween here. I do decorate for the autumn/harvest/fall/Thanksgiving season, but you won't find any ghosts, goblins, jack-o-lanterns, evil spirits or that kind of thing here at our home.

~Sweet, spicy candle that smells like fall~

So many people put more emphasis on 'celebrating' a day that was originally about the dead and spirits, but don't even acknowledge or are insulted by my favorites Christmas, Easter, Independence Day, and Thanksgiving. and since when did halloween become a holiday??? I won't be capitalizing it any time soon.

~End table in living room - can you tell I love birds?~

When I was a child in the 50's and 60's we dressed up in scarecrow, cowboy/girl, gypsy type costumes made of things in our closets and then visited a select few friends in the surrounding area. We lived in the 'country', with a few neighbors, but not many very close. So we went 1/4 mile down the road to my grandparents, then out the road about 1/4 mile in the other direction to Claude and Lively's place. If they had them, they usually gave us colorful Araucana chicken eggs (and yes, for halloween), as well as some candy. Next was the Manns, and maybe one or two other folks within a couple of miles of our house. And that was it, and it was fun and 'enough' for my brother and myself.

~Coffee table with fall magazines and stacked fabric pumpkins~

Now my hubby and I live in a small subdivision of about 65 houses and lots of kids who wouldn't even speak to us on the street if they were made to. But come October 31st they are here with their hands out and get upset if you don't give them what they want or as much as they want. And let's not even mention the area below our subdivision where someone hooks up a wagon to their tractor and brings a couple of dozen kids from another neighborhood to visit us - just this one night a year.

~Fall flag outside front door~

So a few years ago we just turned out the lights and pretended we weren't home. A few made their way down the dark driveway and found the doorbell button, but not many, and there have been less every year. This year we have plans, and will not be here at all, and for that I am very thankful!

~Wood Scarecrow~

And yes, it is partly a religious thing, and I know there are some wonderful alternatives out there! Before we moved to our current home we helped at our church's 'Trunk or Treat' for several years, decorating our car in a theme like harvest, camping, etc. and giving out candy to children as they walked around. There were rock climbing walls, moonwalks, games, hayrides, and all kinds of fun things for kids to do in a positive, loving atmosphere. And we had literally hundreds of kids from all around the area. And we had a BLAST!!!

~Mr. Crowe sitting in the front porch rocker. He's 54" tall, but without a spine or bones, he prefers to sit!~

Thankful, grateful, joyful, that's how I like to spend my fall/harvest season. Preparing for a Thanksgiving with family and being grateful for all our many blessings. That is so much better than dressing up like something or someone 'wicked' or bad, and going out and acting like your values and beliefs don't matter for just that night.

~Old Tom Turkey in the other rocking chair; he is also 54" tall~

Please don't be offended by my words here today. I am simply stating my position on halloween. And I hope you have a wonderful one, however you celebrate it. We live in America, and we can celebrate any day we want, and isn't that a wonderful thing!

The pictures above are most of my fall/harvest decorations. The are scattered around the front porch, living room and dining room. But before I go, I want to share one last decoration with you. It's a paper mache' pumpkin on a bit of moss under a cloche. BUT, it's not really the pumpkin I want to share - it's the cloche! I bought that cloche (bell jar) not including the footed cake plate at a yard sale this summer. It's about 15 1/2 inches tall, and a tad over 11 inches across at the base. It's made from hand blown glass, and has a few little air bubbles in the glass. The lady who was selling it showed me the catalog she bought it from, and she paid $80 plus shipping. It was still in the original box, which had never been OPENED!!! I opened it, made sure everything was intact, threw it in my car and skedaddled out of there! Why? Well, because I was afraid she would realize what she had done. I mean, surely selling an $80 cloche for $10 wasn't one of her brightest moments! :o) But I sure was pleased to take her up on it!

~Cloche on cake pedestal with paper mache' pumpkin and moss~

It's going to be a pretty week here for a change, so I think I'll be starting my pre-holidays cleaning. The coat closet and linen closet need straightening something awful, and my kitchen needs a good scrubbing from top to bottom. That's what I'll be doing this week, what about you???

Have a great week everyone! Becky