Haunted Fire Bowls

photo: speedcult.com

Of course you want to keep warm during those chilly nights out on the patio. Or perhaps you greet trick-or- treaters and other visitors out on your front driveway, and want to do it in comfort and style.

photo: speedcult.com


Consider cozying up to this 37" diameter devil girl fire bowl. Hell yes, you'll be mesmerized by more than just the dancing flames when you gaze at this hot beauty. Standing 31" high it is made of rusted steel and has holes for drainage of rainwater. $700 on the price tag, but I'll bet no one else in town has one.


Other options:

The magic of the Moon and Star fire pit by Landmann USA, brings out the sorcery in a body. Only $109.

A little short on space? Perhaps a classic urn shape suits you best.

photo: PatioGlow

Tabletop urn is almost 15" high, it uses a one pound disposable propane tank, not included. Resin urn with included bag of lavarock, $44.99.

When Holidays Collide: Halloween Town

Love this one! Good for next year's Christmas card, perhaps?

Halloween Town in Burbank, CA, is one of my favorite places. But then, how can you NOT love a Halloween store that is open year-round? Lots of costumes and wigs, of course, but also some really great jewelry and a large selection of Halloween-related non-fiction books. I always enjoy their window displays, and the photos above show how it looks around Christmas. The photos below show some window mannequins as seen the rest of the year. (I don't know what the style of that man's cloak is called, but I like it. If you know, please let me know.)

I wish I could show you pictures from inside, but the employees watch you like a hawk. It's also insanely dark inside, all the time, necessitating a flash. You can't even try to sneak a shot using a cell-phone camera, or they'll take you out back, kill you and feed you to their mange-infested rats.

Well rules, schmools. On this day I was in a risk-taking mood. I daringly took one for the bloggers and managed a few photos that didn't even turn out blurry before an employee came to...uh... personally escort me.

Look! Decent quality Halloween housewares available all year! Be still your undead hearts!

I do sooo love to shop at Halloween Town. But next time I must bring someone who can cause some sort of  major distraction, so I can take more interior pictures for you.

Jack-o-Lanterns on the Hill

Jack-o-lantern Wishes



photo: hawkins.com

And the Great Pumpkin rose from the pumpkin patch and flew through the air!

Those who believe can send a jack-o-lantern soaring with these sky lanterns. Made from flame-retardant materials, they'll glow eerily as they float silently, slowly upwards, lasting 12 to 20 minutes in the air before they extinguish themselves. All you do is light the attached fuel cell and hold the lantern until the heat fully inflates it, and then you can release it and it will drift upwards.  Available in packs of 5,10 or 25, they are currently on sale. My order for a 10-pack today totaled $33.35 including the shipping charges.



photo: hawkins.com

  These are considered type 1.4g consumer fireworks in the United States, so check the fireworks regulations in your area. Adults would be wise to avoid releasing these in windy conditions, near trees, power lines, or airports. Children should not be near the lanterns unless fully supervised by responsible adults. I will be taking my lanterns out to the desert for a pyrotechnic event that occurs near Valentine's Day. How romantic it will be to engage in the Asian custom of making a wish or saying a prayer before releasing a lantern and gazing at it as it rides a gentle current. The lanterns are made of biodegradable paper with no wires, just thin bamboo sticks, so they are more earth-friendly than you might guess.

Sky lanterns really make an impact when released in quantity.


Here's a 48-second video showing the effect of wish lanterns set adrift en masse at a celebration of the full moon in the capital of Thailand. It's spectacular.

The Great Jack O Lantern Blaze at Van Cortlandt Manor

photo: Historic Hudson Valley

photo: suzysaid.com

photo: kwaree.com

 If you thought the Pumpkin House in yesterday's post had a lot of jack-o-lanterns, today's house tops it, although the pumpkin-to-acreage density is less. Oh, how I would LOVE to visit this place!

 Van Cortlandt Manor, 500 S. Riverside, Croton-on-Hudson, NY, had over 4,000 illuminated pumpkins decorating its expansive grounds this year. Although volunteers from the Girl Scouts and other groups scoop out the pumpkins, only about a dozen carvers hand-carve all of them!

  This 17th-century manor house, listed on the National Register, is home of the Great Jack o' Lantern Blaze, an event that started 5 years ago as a fundraiser for the nonprofit organization called Historic Hudson Valley. The organizers work on a larger scale than most, using both real and faux (Funkin) pumpkins stacked and suspended to create many specifically themed scenes, such an Egyptian pyramid with mummies standing nearby, Stonehenge, an underwater scene with coral, fish and seahorses, a dinosour scene, and a UFO surrounded by aliens!

Beehive with bees
photo: thedailynorwalk.com



Dinosuar made of pumpkins
Photo: Bryan Haeffele

Photo: Bryan Haeffele



   







 It takes about an hour to walk through the gardens and orchards and see all the jack-o-lantern installations.  Professional lighting, original music, and sound effects combine to completely immerse the viewer in the spectacle. And just when ya think it couldn't get any better: a local orchard sells hot apple cider and apple cider donuts. Yum!

The Blaze takes place each weekend in October and the first weekend in November. It's open some weekdays right before Halloween as well. Costs are approximately $16 for adults, $12 for kids 5 to 17, free for kids under 5. In 2010, the extravaganza reached its capacity of 70,000 tickets sold. More photos here.

Amazing, is it? Truthfully, I wouldn't mind visiting Van Cortland Manor anytime of year. Here's the Manor in spring. The place is on the side of the Hudson River, so there's also a brick ferry house to explore, as well as the heritage gardens. The stone manor house boasts a fully equipped Colonial kitchen.

photo: weddingmapper.com

The Pumpkin House

The Pumpkin House, located at 748 Beech Street, in Kenova, West Virginia. The mayor of Kenova, Ric Griffith, is the owner of the house. He and hundreds of volunteers carve upwards of 3,000 pumpkins for display at his home every Halloween. What if every town had a mayor like that? What a wonderful world it would be.

photo: ckautumnfest.com

Random photo: Halloween baby

I think that baby's gonna need a diaper change reeeal soon.

Someone setting up the display merchandise at at our local Party City had a sense of humor.
This giant prop hung from the ceiling, just above the baby shower row.