Halloween is coming!

When I went out yesterday, all the stores had huge Halloween displays. It was a bit of a shock, but then it is getting cool around here. The leaves are already turning.

I love this time of year. To me, Fall is the beginning of the year. Where other people get into "Spring cleaning" in the, you know, Spring, I feel this way in the fall. Lately I've been sprucing up the house, getting heavy clothes ready for wear, bagging up fans for the winter, etc. It's time to get my act together: that's how Fall feels to me.

October brings Halloween, which is the doorway to Xmas. And you know what that means: It's time to read Xmas Carol (if you haven't already). Great read, cheap price, fun thrills and liberal leanings -- that's Xmas Carol. It'll kick-start your holiday season. I promise.

Xmas past

My Aunt Sue, may she rest in the ground, used to make us laugh at Xmas. She didn't know this, but that just made it more fun.

On Xmas Eve, my extended family always went to Aunt Sue's house in Elmont, Long Island. Since the family got along for the most part, we all looked forward to this family gathering. We did the usual: ate our hearts out and gave presents to the kids.

When it came time, we would open Aunt Sue's presents with equal amounts of trepidation and glee. The paper unwrapped, we'd open the box and lift the tissue paper and see...something. She gave the strangest presents in the world. Even years later, and with extensive family consultations, we wouldn't know what the thing was. Of course, this would cause endless laughter. (Don't worry; she never knew. We were not an evil family.)

To give an example, one year she gave my sister this thing. It was a, a...sort of a necklace-type thing made of rope and beads -- but there was no way to put it over your head. The hole was too small. It didn't have any hooks or fasteners that might have turned it into a big, clunky bracelet. We were stumped -- and remained that way.

I remember one year, we asked her what something was. Her response was, "I just saw it and thought you would like it." She was very nice and always vague, dear Aunt Sue. These memories seem so sweet now. Those were great family evenings -- even though one of the uncles would always get drunk and sing. He wasn't even bad, but it was the same song, again and again. And this spanned decades. 

But we had fun and that's what Xmas is all about. By the way, I noticed they've made a movie of my book, Xmas Carol. I saw it in the listings for Turner Classic Movies. But they spelled the title incorrectly! It said "A Christmas Carol". Weird. But I'm glad someone made a movie out of my book. I'll have to see it sometime. 

Ho, ho, ho. Sorta. Don't let anything ruin your Xmas. Go have fun!

The best-laid plans

In honor of the season, I bought red flannel sheets for my bed. I have a lovely, dark green comforter to go with them and I hoped the combination would look like an Xmas tree. It does. Success!

But then I stepped back, took in a wider view and realized my mistake. The bed is cherrywood. It looks awful next to the red sheets. It's like I combined red and orange. Ugh. A color mistake; how shocking. I hardly ever make those. And this one is a full-frontal mortal sin. Ah, well.

Moving right along, Cousin Carmine sent the photo you see with this post. (You can see it on my main blog.) When I asked him to take some Xmassy images for the blog, I made a special request for this very image. Of all the joys life has to offer, nothing is better than walking through a wintry lot where Xmas trees are for sale. That scent! More than anything else -- even reading Xmas Carol! -- the scent of pine makes it seem like (okay, I'll say the word) Christmas. 

Very nice!