WELCOME TO MY HAUNTED ABODE!

Well, after much work and finally a day that wasn't pouring cats and dogs out, I was finally able to transform my front yard into one spooktacular abode! Hope you all like it...

You enter the cemetery here...

...Everyone's greeted by my favorite ghoul-friend. LOL!...

...Not only was it raining cats and dogs, but they were having a meeting of the minds...

...And then there's always unexpected guests. Oh, well. The more the merrier...

...And then there's Skully striking a pose!

Now, to find the perfect pumpkin, and I'll be all set.

What do y'all think?

THE SHENANIGANS OF SKULLY: PART ONE

I got up from my desk to pour myself another cup of coffee. I left for just a second and low-and-behold there was Skully putting his own spin on my latest novel. Yep. Look at his face. Caught him red-handed, I did!

Darn skeleton. Tricks are for kids! Back to the graveyard with you until Halloween. Sheesh!

HOW TO BECOME A WITCH: A POEM

Once upon a time in the happy month of May,
All seemed right with the world, just as it would any other day.

Bills were never delinquent, Food was on the table,
And I was with the love of my life.
Yes, everything seemed good…
Everlasting…
Quite stable.

Then, one day without warning,
It all fell apart.
People stopped buying my products, I only ate dehydrated noodles,
And my true love left me for a cock-eyed fart…

…Named Bart…

…Or perhaps it was Hobart.
Oh, what does it matter?
My life as I knew it went up in flames,
And like a mirror it did shatter.

Then, one day the answer came to me,
How I would fix my situation.
I gathered my inhibitions and went to the local new age shop,
And did something bold without reservation.

I looked around…
…And around…
…and then looked some more.
I meant to merely clear my aura and find inner peace,
But, dang! Why didn’t I see it before?

There it was,
With burlap cover and leather stitch.
A book appropriately entitled,
HOW TO BECOME A WITCH.

So I brought the book,
With my very last dime.
Took it home,
And then I took my sweet time.

Reading about moon phases, healing crystals and candles,
Everything a potential spell caster should know.
Waning and waxing, stars and moons,
And even which plants and flowers to grow.

After two months, I had everything down,
From the athame to the tarot and even the rieded broom.
Now, on to fix my troubled life,
And not a moment too soon.

I picked bunches of heather and cloves,
To protect me from all the evil.
Then, I stopped, second-guessing myself,
And wondered if what I was doing was of the devil.

Then another question popped up,
In my already-troubled mind.
How do I explain to my loved ones I am a witch,
And how do I show them my intentions are reasonable, just and kind?

Let’s see, the plants will be a given,
Because it’s spring, which is obvious and quite clear.
And I can also tell Mom and Aunt Sylvia I’ve taken up candle-making,
And have done it for nearly a year.

Now, as for the crystals laying everywhere,
That one’s quite easy.
I’ll tell my brother his girlfriend maxed out all his credit cards to purchase them.
It’s no secret she’s quite sleazy.

But how do I explain this one, oh, dear friends?
For some nights I hold moonlit rituals in the nude.
Grandpa just laughs and thinks I dabbled in his moonshine,
And Grandma thinks my actions are quite uncouth and downright crude.

So, I guess there’s one thing
I will surely have to do,
And if you want,
I can do them just for you.

Having trouble with a neighbor,
Or perhaps longing for a dapper husband, or a debutante of a wife?
Just make a wish,
And I will bring it all to life.

With the wave of my hands on the night of the new moon,
And as I dance a mystic jig.
I can make Self-centered Susie grow a wart,
Make Jitterbugging Julia grow hair on her knuckles,
And can even make bald-headed Bertie don a wig.

But until then,
I will let them poke fun at me.
A girl who’s just like you,
Who merely wanted to be set free.

However, be warned, these foolish mortals,
Of this one simple rule of three.
What you do to the witch,
Look out! It may come back to you threefold,
So mote it be!

SKELETONS OUT OF MY CLOSET

This year is the year I am finally going to do what I've been wanting to do for the last few Halloweens.

I am creating an elaborate cemetery with skeletons. However, the skeletons are going to be doing normal, human things: hanging out by the campfire, building, gardening, etc.

As of today, I am now up to eight tombstones, one human skeleton, three Chinese lanterns, and one dachshund skeleton...oh and one kitty skeleton. The dog has to have someone to play with in the cemetery.

I feel encouraged when the cool winds blow in and the sign of Autumn is in the air. Nothing's better than hoodies and hot apple cider, as well as so many other things.

Will provide you all with my progress. Keep your fingers crossed, y'all! It's about to get good.

THE GREAT PUMPKIN PATCH...ES

One morning in late August, my other half awoke and took my fur-babies out for their "morning constitution."

Little buds growing from virtually nowhere. Nothing had been planted there, and there wasn't any reason for them to exist but they did. A few weeks passed, and we discovered what appeared to be a small pumpkin patch.

And not just one small patch...but TWO!

Honestly, I have never grown a pumpkin a day in my life. I've carved my fair share to turn into Jack or Jackie-O-Lanterns, ate them in the form of pies and drank flavored creamer of that sort in my morning coffee. But I've never grown one before. I thought this was pretty cool.

I'm thinking about calling one Linus and the other Sally, in lieu of the IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN. What do y'all think?

LEARNIN' A LITTLE AND LOVIN' A LOT

Halloween is coming, and those of you who know me are well aware of my love affair with this time of year. Yes, that's right. I am having an affair with a holiday.

Go figure.

Part of me wanted to write about things during the summer months, but that tends to be when I go into creative hibernation. Hot weather doesn't inspire me, even though there are cool things to write about 365 days of the year, but for some reason Halloween and Autumn holds such a special place in my heart. It always has ever since I was a child.

I suppose part of it is me trying to get back into the swing of blogging again. Life tends to get us so far away from things we love to do. This little blog happens to be one of them. I love the fact that in some little part of the World Wide Web I'm not Author J.E. Bolton. In fact, I'm simply Jason the Favorite Things Guy--nothing to lose and nothing to gain, and nothing makes me happier. Face it, my friend. Life's all about learning and growing, but it's also about loving things so much.

And that, to me, is always my favorite thing.

 So, get out the pumpkins, kiddies! Dust off your cauldron, fellow witches, and wake the dead! For after all, Halloween soon approacheth, and I couldn't be happier.

HANGING ON BY A THREAD (AND LEARNING TO LET GO)

Yes, it is I: your favorite friendly favorite things guy who has been somewhat scarce. And there's been reasons. I could go on about how life got away with me, I've had to work, etc., etc., etc. The truth is...well...some of those things.

And while some things haven't changed, other have progressed.

For the past few weeks, I've found myself in some sort of deep depression. I didn't feel like doing too much of anything. Sometimes, when all hell breaks loose we tend to feel as though there's no hope and we are hanging on by a thread.

Then I realized the only person that can keep me from being happy is me. Not a bad relationship, not that cookie that's keeping me from losing weight, saving money so I can have more...Literally it was ME that kept ME from being happy!

It's amazing that sometimes it takes us a while to finally "get it," but when we do we discover in the process love beyond the hate, a sweet embrace beyond the thorny pains, and just how strong we truly are.

And that, my friends, is my favorite thing of all. :)

NOT-REALLY OUT WITH THE NOT-SO OLD

Well, my favorite people, it's that time of year again: time to put away the Christmas ornaments and un-deck the halls, so they can get their beauty sleep. That way, they can properly make themselves known next Christmas and leave everyone in awe once again.

For the last couple years, The Favorite Things household decided to step outside the box and do candy colors instead of the traditional red and green. Not that there's anything wrong with red and green. I just like being a tad different.

The really good thing with finding the right color scheme for Christmas decorating, whether it be traditional or non-traditional, is being able to add on to it year after year. Things like that tend to make the holidays more special.

On the flipside, that's how it is with life in general. People come and go but tradition will always remain as long as we keep such things alive. Things of yesterday that bring a smile to our faces never truly go away. They only go away only if we choose them to be gone.

So until then, keep everything good alive in your hearts and lives: the traditions, the warmth of each season, and most of all, the love