This year I decided to cut back the Halloween advent tea. It has been so hot and tea is something I like to drink on a colder night Although the last few days have been cooler thanks to hurricane Rachel, this summer has dragged itself into October. I did find some Halloween tea at World Market.

I have started to drink both of these and they are quite tasty. I am a fan of Republic of Tea and enjoy their robust tea flavors. Both of these are caffeine free which is perfect for a night time tea during the spooky season.

I was going to end it here, but then I saw some new teas from a company I have not tried before. Tea with Tae. All 4 of these Halloween blends look like fun to drink during the spooky season.

There are not a lot of tea bags in each canister which allows me to finish these off in a reasonable amount of time this year. I think I will pull out my spider web tea cup and have some tea today while watching a new spooky show called Below on Netflix. It gave me Widows Bay vibes.

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For the last few years I have made Halloween nachos. I love a good cheesy nacho. But during the Halloween season I like to make them with orange and black chips from Target. This year I could not find the chips. Whattt! I kept checking their website and noticed they no longer carry the black and orange chips but now they have ghoul shaped chips.

So I thought cool, these are kinda fun. But like most chips in bags, the shapes were broken so I had only one ghost, the rest were in pieces. A plate full of broken chips. lol. Dear Target, bring back the orange and black chips.

In spite of the broken chips, the nachos tasted good.

Another Halloween, another plate of nachos. Thanks for checking out my blog.

I like a good “fun way” to read for the holidays. This year I found three ways to enjoy the Halloween reading season.

The first is a traditional book. Last year I bought the book Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to read during the season. Nothing is more natural than holding a book in your hands, becoming immersed into a well written story. I love the feel of a book. Not sure if I get it from my mother who would always have a paperback in her hands. Unlike her, I love a hardback book. It feels more sophisticated.

My second book find is a rather new thing from Target called unwrap a Thriller. They take 4 thriller books and do a mystery wrap and which one you get is all up to fate. To be honest I cheated and looked at postings on Instagram which book I would get. But the joke is on me because the clerk who picked it for me did not select book “D”. I got book “B”.

But it is ok, I was really fine with any of the books.

And finally the last book I picked up was shared on Instagram. It is called 21 Days of Fear.

So for 21 days you read a new envelope that holds a story, slowly unraveling the murder and mayhem.

I guess I should get started. Maybe I need to sit down tonight with a cup of tea and start a chapter before Halloween comes and goes.

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Last year Lenox released two Halloween houses. I was not sure if the houses were a one off release or a start of a whole new village. I was thrilled to find that Lenox released two new houses to the line.

These houses are just lovely. The detail makes it special pieces. I love the green glowing light in the Witches Apothecary.

I know the Christmas houses have been going strong for a long time and many people collect them. But if you know me, I am more about Halloween than Christmas.

Also I added to the collection a few new entertaining pieces. I bought this pumpkin platter because I have the mugs and serving bowl. Perhaps they will release a new piece every year.

They had these cute appetizers plates on clearance and snatched them up.

It never hurts to have some plates on hand. Speaking of plates, I noticed a new Halloween design on some serveing pieces called Haunted Village.

They have a cake platter, a set of plates and a snow globe. I strongly believe they will be releasing new items each year.

The plates have a different haunted house on each plate. Although I did like the cake platter I really don’t use cake platters much.

I really like this new design. I had been eyeing the Williams Sonoma plates but their stuff is very expensive and it would take a while to catch up. Lol. Might as well stitch to Lenox and do one piece at a time.

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Last year at Target I noticed some Halloween decorations called Blow Molds. Technically I was not that familiar with them per se but faintly recall those large plastic snowmen that were on people’s lawns. In the movie Skipping Christmas, Frosty, a large snowman blow mold was demanded to be placed on the roof. Oh yes, now I know what a blow mold is.

Just some info on blow molds: Blow Molds are the common term for hollow plastic decorations created through a plastic injection molding process called blow molding.

Blow mold technology involves filling a hollow steel tube with melted plastic and injecting it into a steel mold. Then, compressed air pushes the plastic into a mold and inflates it like a balloon, creating a thin-walled, seamless product.

Blow mold decorations typically are formed in a single color and then decorated with paint. They often are lit by one or two incandescent bulbs. Some modern versions are battery-operated.

Last year I bought three blow molds from Target. I love their Hyde & Eek Halloween line of decorations. I felt they were very nostalgic and I saw a few YouTube videos of what people bought. I bought three pieces. The owl, who hoots, turns his head and has glowing eyes. The witch hut where the door opens and a glowing witch is inside. There is spooky music and a witch cackle. And finally the cat cauldron, whose eyes and cauldron liquid glows.

This year I bought three more. Another awesome cat, this one turns her head and hisses and howls while intense green eyes glare at you. Because I love crows, I got one on the ribcage and a smaller one on a pile of bones. Both of these have light up bones.

I am tempted to get the cloaked pumpkin man called Lewis. Everyone seems to know who he is. I have no clue why he is a thing, Maybe he is Mr. Halloween himself. Who knows. OK, I just researched Lewis. Apparently Target had an 8 foot Lewis in a cloak who talks and says “ I am not Jack O’Lantern, my name is Lewis”. Apparently a woman did a Tic Tok video in 2023 about Lewis and it became a viral sensation. He ran out at all the stores and Target responded by creating different Lewis decoration since then. I guess he is a thing.

I also picked up three image pumpkins from Target that I think are blow molds. They feel like blow molds.

Soon I will be decorating for Halloween

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This year I decided to kick off the bucket list with a cute vintage Halloween diddy.

Since Halloween is my favorite time of the year, I cannot resist this cute poem.

Enjoy reading.

2026 is another year heavy on crafts. There are a lot of new crafting ideas out there, not sure if there is revived interest in crafts or just “influencers” trying to find something new to show. I am pulling back from making themed drinks as I struggle to find the ingredients to make the drinks. So it will be more generic.

Of course I will be exploring movies and shows to bring in the spook. This year my sister and I are going to watch those old timey vintage horror monster flicks. That should be fun.

Wish me luck on completing this bucket list.

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My family has been here a long time. I have several ancestors that served in the war. I captured a few to share their bravery.

Betsy is probably the most colorful. She braved the war to find her menfolk. The whole family was involved in the war.

Another ancestor is Robert Mason who saw a great battle.

The last but not the only is Elijah Whitten. He joined after the fall of Charleston.

There are many more ancestors who were involved in the Revolutionary War. But these three stood out as ones who put their lives on the line to help create this great country.

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I decided to make some patriotic themed drinks and food. The drinks did not turn out well. The tri color drink needs to have different levels of sugar content. I could only find sugar free white and blue drinks. So it ended up blending together. Cranberry juice on the bottom, coconut water and then Gatorade It tasted good but looked bad. The second drink was Gatorade ice cubes. I saw it on Pinterest. But the cubes did not really freeze well. I think I will give up on making these drinks I see as I can never find the ingredients. Lol

I do much better with food items. I can usually find new themed food much better. I got flag shaped crackers and make star shaped cheese.

Then I did a snack tray of patriotic goodies. Lots of cookies and snacks galore out there. It will take me forever to eat all this stuff but nice to find it in the store.

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I figured that there would probably be some good shows regarding the American Revolution. Fortunately there were quite a few. Maybe not an overwhelming amount but enough to educate myself.

Of course a good documentary or two is appreciated. First place I looked was to see what Ken Burns has done. Yup of course his documentary was out there, thank you PBS

I always like to check any show from Lucy Worsley. She always puts a different slant on history. This show did not disappoint. She shared the information from the British perspective which made this show interesting to watch. The conflict between the King and his advisors did show the struggle during this time.

I also checked out Apples production of Ben Franklin which to say was a very interesting look at the time he spent in France trying to get support of the Revolution. Although interesting, it has a lot of subtitles for the French which is basically for the whole show. I could not do other things while the show was on. lol.

I also choose to watch the HBO John Adam’s which is a rich production on our second president. Entertaining but educational.

I also read the Pulitzer Prize book Founding Brothers by Joseph J Ellis. At times it was hard to read but it did provide a new perspective of what the founding fathers went thru during the creation of our country.

1. The debate on slavery was prominent in the discussion during the talks. Many states wanted to abolish slavery but Virginia economy based on slavery.
   
2. The political infighting was as bad as it is today. In my mind it is a miracle we were able to finally agree.
   
3. Washington was the only president who received all the electoral votes. No president since has achieved this status.
   
4. Washington appeared to be a divine individual destined to achieve the creation of the United States. There were reports that many expert riflemen shot at him and nary a bullet hit him. In fact one of the Indians who shot at him told his people to stop shooting as he was protected by a divine force. Kinda gives you chills.
   
5. Jay Treaty angered so many people as it was the agreement between Great Britain and the US. It was a slap in the face to the French who sided with us in the war.
   
6. During Adam’s time as president, he sought the advice from his wife Abigail almost exclusively.

I must say I did learn a thing or two about the creation of our country. Always good to educate yourself on history.

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