Bewitching Home blog hop-hosted by The Witch of Howling Creek

 ***this post will remain at the top until next Saturday 10/20, Please scroll down for newer posts***


Hello all my Witchy and Magickal friends. 
My party post will be up and ready for visitors this afternoon. 
I have been up all night unfortunately!

Here is the place where it all begins!

See you all soon!

Hello everyone, I am not actually sharing anything "Witchy", I wish I was but I am so new on this path, I do not think I have a lot to offer. I am going to talk about Magic...not Magick though to me they are one and the same.  PLEASE stay with me.

When my children were young I produced Magic all the time. I believe all mothers do to a degree. Some of us go that extra mile though. Like being the scout troop leader, or class mom  etc. Those who have special needs kids (which I did...ADHD, Severe ADHD with ODD...this one is back home again-26-going on 16,and my oldest who seemed to be the normal one til puberty hit, and then some trouble came, and she hasn't been the same since...lots of emotional issues).

Anyway, I used to go ALL OUT for the holidays (well Christmas and Halloween and Thanksgiving) only slightly out for Easter and Valentine's.  My house used to be magically transformed into an indoor winter wonderland every year for Christmas. EVERY ROOM was decorated...even the bath room. A lot of my decorations were homemade. Ornaments for the tree were all also special, some were bought new for each year, some were made, some were for the kids etc.  Outdoors was always always a light fest, well as much as we could...big property not enough power cords, LOL. There is a huge spruce right in front of the house, when we moved in in 1986, it was probably only 7 feet tall. EVERY year I FILLED that tree with clear lights.It was MAGICAL! people used to slow down to look at it. neighbors would stop in front if they were going by and tell us how wonderful that tree looked and made them feel. Our next door neighbors were an older couple, much older.  The wife died unexpectedly of an aneurism. That following Christmas Herb hobbled over to knock on my door, just as the sun was setting, and I was heading out to plug the tree in. I was surprised to see him outside in the cold. he said to me; "Susan, when you and Ron moved in, Rose told me; There is going to be life in that house, a brightness, something this neighborhood needs." he continued; "She was right, she was always right. I didn't put to much stock in what she said right away, but little by little, we saw your little girl outside playing, and then your son was born, and I know they kept you busy but you were always smiling and waving, and the girl was always having fun, and then you had your other daughter, and Rose said, those 2 are close in age, she's going to have her hands full (they are only 14 months apart)...but you took it all in stride, and Rose always said look, there is Susan outside with her children again...they are playing in the leaves. or they are running around with a ball." I was starting to chock up as I noticed he was.  I thanked him for his kind words, his voice broke, and said it was Rose. he continued; "The one thing she wanted me to do, and I never did, until now, was to come over and tell you how your tree, THIS tree, is so very MAGICAL. It made her feel joyful and at peace whenever she looked at it, even if her arthritis was acting up or she was sick.  I like the tree also, the Toth's (previous owner) never decorated anything.  This tree is so very beautiful. We actually starting looking forward to when it would be lit. Sadly now, it's beauty is bittersweet for me as it makes me miss Rose more. But I kept telling her I would come and tell you how much the tree meant to her and I never did. I HAD to come and say so this year. It means a lot to me also."  he was crying, I was crying.  I gave Herb a long hug and wished him well. then waved as he turned around one more time as he walked towards the street.  The following year, his son moved him in with his family, and they sold the house.  The tree continued to grow and every year it got harder to hang the lights. Finally I just couldn't do it any longer, so instead I used all of those lights, THOUSANDS (or at least A thousand) to light the hedgerow of forsythia along the fence.  The tree is as tall as the house now...2 stories. Every Christmas I still look at it, and wonder about how magical it would look now all lit up.

Halloween was another...there were always, always jack-o-lanterns one for each of the 3 kids, and sometimes I would get 1 or 2 pumpkins to paint. There would also be a homemade scarecrow, and some ghosts hanging in the trees.  Until they hit middle school I always made the kids their costumes.  That is magic, especially since I never used a pattern, and also used my own imagination and creativity.

Birthday parties, the same thing I created magic. I truly miss all of that.  I am disabled now, and can't climb around and do the things I used to, plus all the kids in our small secluded rural woods have grown up, and out. hubs is a bit of a grinch, so the magic was buried.

Then, I started a blog, during one of the largest ever blog hops...ONE WORLD, ONE HEART. I saw magic everywhere! Different forms, but I saw it. It brought back some of my other creativity (besides paper crafts).  Since then I have joined soooo many blog hops. They allow me to create MAGIC again.

Play a role, pretend, create something. Bring some LIFE into my life.

Last week I did it with "Le Mysterieux Carnival" and this week, I am here with you. so...what is MY way of having a BEWITCHING HOME?  It is to create some MAGIC, have some FUN, be DIFFERENT, play a ROLE...PRETEND!!  

so...I share with you now some MAGICAL creations of the food variety!

 always set a pretty table...

show off your loved ones...

even if they are passed on!

Fresh flowers are a must, roses are even better!

Dead Man's Ale by Rogue, is a new one!

 Vampire brand Pino Grigio

Serve a variety of beverages...

(The Jersey Devil wine, is more than 19% alcohol!)

oh and here is THE JERSEY DEVIL

http://www.jerseyhistory.org/legend_jerseydevil.html

http://weirdnj.com/stories/jersey-devil/

http://njdevilhunters.com/

meanwhile back at my table...

GRUBS anyone??

 Cemetery casserole

 Some Bones??

Stuffed pepper jack-o-lanterns

save room for dessert...

Flaky owls

Apple mouths

ah and now we can sit around and tell spooky stories! 

ah ok, someone is scared...

glossary

grubs...yellow potatoes 

Cemetery casserole...Nacho chicken Pot pie w/townhouse tombstones

Bones...bread sticks

stuffed pepper Jack-o-lanterns...orange peppers, with my style stuffing

flaky owls...are flaky cinnamon sugar owl heads

apple mouths...lips-apples---peanut butter inside to hold in mini marshmallow teeth.

The pictures NEVER look the ones in the magazines! LOL

My owls had MORE cinnamon than called for, so they are darker

The cemetery casserole, was supposed to be a different one, but I chose this one, and used the townhouse crackers for the tombstones anyway.

I'll gladly share any recipes, if you want them. 

THANKS to Tenae at The Witch of Howling Creek for hosting this lovely party!

THANK YOU for visiting!! :)