(Here we are sharing/counting UP Forty Days and Forty Nights of our lives, our last on the inner-west side of town and, eventually, some of our first on the other (far) side of town, where we envisage some big changes coming our way. Thanks for joining us as we remember, celebrate and experience gratitude for our time here, and sometimes feel completely overwhelmed and exhausted by the changes underway!)
We're into the double digits! Woohoo, or should I say, wooohoooot....forgive me but it's all about owls around here of late. I'm not sure how it all started but, they are clearly Raf's favourite living thing in the world (non-human that is!). So, we're in for a very 'owly' birthday celebration next week. I've just completed this cross-stitch for Rafael and am considering how best to frame/present it.
And, since our household is part-Canadian (dear husband/Dada) and part-prior-Canadian resident (moi!), we felt justified in buying this pumpkin today, and at Costco too, making it a truly North-American pursuit! Not that having a hybrid-household (!) is a prerequisite for embarking on such things; it seems that the popularity of Halloween is generally growing in Australia, even amongst non-Canadian/U.S. 'infected' (ha!) households. I don't have stats on such trends but plenty of anicdotal evidence. Certainly no one I knew would have thought of celebrating Halloween some ten years ago but these days, I see all kinds of Halloween paraphernalia littering the shops and media. It must be a fact! It will be no time before little trick-or-treaters are roaming the streets! And our kids may join in the fun this year as, among other things, a way to touch base with our immediate neighbours another time before we leave.
Now, I don't dislike the idea of Halloween, in fact I always loved celebrating it when we lived in Canada but, I'm a little discouraged by the sometimes commerical nature of it. For instance, personally, I don't need to spend silly amounts of money on Halloween costumes for the kids and prefer the idea of a home-grown costume. Still, I do understand the attraction of a resonably priced, store-bought costume that 'fits the bill' when other options are not available or possible. I'm sounding very Jane Austin-ish today don't you think; i.e. oh so opionated on social ettique and 'proper' behavior. I don't mean to sound so moralistic and I promise, I don't plan to disown friends who might pop into their local Gap and spend $50 on a Halloween costume for their kids! Really, I won't. I blame it on A Truth Universally Acknowledged, which I can't put down.
Sitting next to our pumpkin on the side-board is a vase full of these flowers serving as a reminder of our Spring and providing quite the juxtaposition next to the very autumal looking pumpkin, a vistor from Autumm (Fall!) days in the north. We're happy to have you here 'little' pumpkin, now let's see what will become of you!
And, for something completely unrelated, a magazine that I am currently loving.
We're into the double digits! Woohoo, or should I say, wooohoooot....forgive me but it's all about owls around here of late. I'm not sure how it all started but, they are clearly Raf's favourite living thing in the world (non-human that is!). So, we're in for a very 'owly' birthday celebration next week. I've just completed this cross-stitch for Rafael and am considering how best to frame/present it.
And, since our household is part-Canadian (dear husband/Dada) and part-prior-Canadian resident (moi!), we felt justified in buying this pumpkin today, and at Costco too, making it a truly North-American pursuit! Not that having a hybrid-household (!) is a prerequisite for embarking on such things; it seems that the popularity of Halloween is generally growing in Australia, even amongst non-Canadian/U.S. 'infected' (ha!) households. I don't have stats on such trends but plenty of anicdotal evidence. Certainly no one I knew would have thought of celebrating Halloween some ten years ago but these days, I see all kinds of Halloween paraphernalia littering the shops and media. It must be a fact! It will be no time before little trick-or-treaters are roaming the streets! And our kids may join in the fun this year as, among other things, a way to touch base with our immediate neighbours another time before we leave.
Now, I don't dislike the idea of Halloween, in fact I always loved celebrating it when we lived in Canada but, I'm a little discouraged by the sometimes commerical nature of it. For instance, personally, I don't need to spend silly amounts of money on Halloween costumes for the kids and prefer the idea of a home-grown costume. Still, I do understand the attraction of a resonably priced, store-bought costume that 'fits the bill' when other options are not available or possible. I'm sounding very Jane Austin-ish today don't you think; i.e. oh so opionated on social ettique and 'proper' behavior. I don't mean to sound so moralistic and I promise, I don't plan to disown friends who might pop into their local Gap and spend $50 on a Halloween costume for their kids! Really, I won't. I blame it on A Truth Universally Acknowledged, which I can't put down.
Back to the pumpkin. Yesterday, special Vancouverite friends of ours sent us some photos of their outing to a pumpkin sale (field! -what's the proper term for these large pumpkin 'stores'!?!). Those photos were what encouraged me to go our and buy a pumpkin today. Based on their photos and D's own experience of visiting many such places (and one visit of my own), this pumpkin is a baby! Hopefully, that will make it easy to carve. I've only carved a halloween pumpkin a few times in my life and only here when we've tried celebrating the tradition at home but, I'm assured that this pumpkin is the real thing and much easier to carve than the style of pumpkin I've previously tried to adapt to the tradition.
Sitting next to our pumpkin on the side-board is a vase full of these flowers serving as a reminder of our Spring and providing quite the juxtaposition next to the very autumal looking pumpkin, a vistor from Autumm (Fall!) days in the north. We're happy to have you here 'little' pumpkin, now let's see what will become of you!
And, for something completely unrelated, a magazine that I am currently loving.
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