Happy Halloween

 

I hope you had a good time during Halloween month!

Are you handing out candy? Putting on a costume? Throwing a party? Taking the kids or grandkids trick or Treating? Staying home and eating all the candy? lol

Whatever you're doing, have a good night. Watch something spooky. 

The Pumpkin Is Carved and The Costume Has Been Picked

 

My daughter helped my grandson carve a pumpkin. My grandson looks a little crazy but he's related to me so it's kinda expected. LOL 

My grandson is going to be a Ninja for Halloween. The swords were extra, they didn't come with the costume but he wanted them anyway. 

It's Almost Halloween

 

It's almost Halloween. Are you excited? We decorated, have candy, grandson has a costume. We're ready. Enjoy some spooky pictures. 

Is this spooky? I think it is a little. 

You just know that house is haunted. lol 

Halloween With The Pets Through The Years

 

Some of you readers who have been around for years may remember that years ago I had pet rats. This was Scribbles. He was very curious of the Halloween decorations. 

This was Flower, my hairless rat. She was the sweetest little girl and very fond of coming out to check out all the decorations. 

This was Lucky. He was my 3 legged rat. Only having 3 legs sure didn't stop him from running around to check everything out though. He even sat there and posed for a picture. lol 

And of course Falcor. He grabbed my daughter's stuffed pumpkin and ran around with it. 

This was taken last year when I got a bear costume for him. He was not thrilled with it. lol Oh and the name falkor_the_luck_dog is his Instagram page that my daughter made for him. 

Falcor pumpkin? 

Na na na na na na Batdog!

Falcor is front of my daughter's haunted garden. 

Apartment Life #341

 

This is a weekly blog post that I'm calling Apartment Hell  Life. I've mentioned a few times some of the crazy things that have gone on in and around my apartment complex and in my neighborhood in the past 25 years that I've lived here and people keep telling me I should write a book. But instead of a book, I've decided to share the crazy things that have happened in and around my apartment complex in the last 25 years here in a weekly blog post.

If you've been around around you might see what's missing before looking at the picture below. When I took Falcor out this morning (Monday) I noticed something was missing across the street. Do you see it?

The PODS is gone! This picture is not from this week. I took this picture from a while ago so these police cars are from another incident I already posted about. I just wanted to show you the PODS container in case you are new here. That PODS container has been sitting there for over a year. The police have been out a couple of times checking it out and I figured that if it was stolen and just abandoned, the company would come get it but they didn't. But this morning (Monday) it was just gone. It was there the night before. My last walk with Falcor was at 10PM and it was there then. But at 6AM this morning it was gone. Kinda weird for it to have been towed away in the middle of the night, right? Well, that's another mystery I guess I will never know the details of. 

The high this week was 88F/31C

The low this week was 61F/16C

So that's it for this week's Apartment Hell  Life! Be sure to come back next week for more.

What's Your Favorite Creepy Ghost Story?

 

Mine is by far The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow/The Headless Horseman.  All the movies, cartoons and shows have been great.

The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow

The story is set in 1790 in the countryside near the former Dutch settlement of Tarry Town, in a secluded glen known as Sleepy Hollow. Ichabod Crane, a lean, lanky, superstitious schoolmaster from Connecticut. Ichabod intends to woo Katrina Van Tassel, the daughter of a wealthy farmer, in order to procure her family's riches for himself. He competes for her affection with Abraham "Brom Bones" Van Brunt, the town rowdy. Unable to goad Ichabod into fighting for Katrina's hand, Brom instead wages a campaign of harassment against the schoolmaster, plaguing him with a series of pranks and practical jokes.

One autumn night, Ichabod is invited to attend a harvest party at the Van Tassel homestead. At the party, Brom tells the story of the Headless Horseman, the notorious ghost of a Hessian trooper decapitated by a cannonball during the Revolutionary War. The Horseman is supposedly buried in a churchyard in Sleepy Hollow and rises from his grave every night to search for his missing head, but is supernaturally barred from crossing a wooden bridge that spans a nearby stream.

Ichabod proposes to Katrina, but she rejects his advances. He leaves the party heartbroken and rides home on a borrowed plough horse named Gunpowder. He encounters a cloaked rider and believes it to be the Headless Horseman. Ichabod rides for his life with the apparition close behind. At the bridge, the Horseman rears his horse and hurls his severed head directly at Crane, knocking him off his horse.

The next morning, Gunpowder is found eating the grass at his master's gate, but Ichabod has disappeared from the area, leaving Katrina to marry Brom Bones. Although the true nature of both the Headless Horseman and Ichabod's disappearance are left open to interpretation, the story implies that the Horseman was really Brom in disguise. A shattered pumpkin is found near Ichabod's hat where he fell, suggesting the severed head that was thrown at him was merely a jack-o'-lantern and that Crane survived the fall from Gunpowder and fled Sleepy Hollow in horror.

Halloween Recipe: Stuffed Roaches

 

Photos and recipe credit- Inspiration Apron

You will need

 

13 large whole dates, pitted

1/4 cup ricotta cheese (can also use cream cheese)

1 TBSP orange marmalade

Honey, for drizzle

Cut a slice from one end to the other in 12 of the dates, but don’t cut through to the other side. (You are making a date taco shell)

Next, cut the last date into several tiny slices, then halve the slices to use for cockroach antennas.

In a small bowl, mix together ricotta cheese and orange marmalade.

Fill each date with the cheese mixture and affix the antennae to each one and then drizzle with honey.

This would be a great treat for Halloween. 

Would you eat this?

Book Review: For the Love of Hades: (A Hades and Persephone Retelling) by Freida Kilmari

 

Book Description

“I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t be staring at her like she’s mine. And I definitely shouldn’t be considering whisking her away to The Underworld with me. But I might.” - Hades

Hades has visited Kore for centuries while remaining invisible, so when he’s given the chance to reveal himself and save her from the imprisoned life Zeus provides, he doesn’t hesitate. He’ll show her what life can feel like if you let it. And he’ll never let her go. But can she give up her life as a goddess to become Queen of The Underworld?

“I was alone for two thousand years. Watching everyone else live their life from the confines of my forced innocence. Until he came along. Until Hades showed me the stars amid the darkness.” - Persephone

***

This is a 30,000-word simple MF Persephone and Hades romantic retelling. This is a standalone novella. Themes of entrapment and freedom are explored throughout, as well as what it means to make your own choices. This is a character-driven story that is intentionally simple and will form part of a larger collection that will, as a whole, show you the entire world.

My Review

When I saw this was a story about Hades and the underworld, I figured this would be a good book to read during Halloween month. Oh boy was I right. 

Hades was banished to the underworld by his brother Zeus. Zeus is the father of Kore, the Goddess of Spring. Zeus is very heavy handed in how Kore lives so that she will remain pure so she can keep her powers and help the humans each year with their fertility and crops. Kore is 2000 years old but Zeus keeps her locked away and away from anyone or anything that might bring her negativity or challenge her innocence. Kore is tired of being kept a prisoner but doesn't know how to escape. 

Hades has been secretly talking to Kore for years. He's usually invisible to her so she can't see who he actually is because Hades doesn't want to scare her. This year at Kore's party, Hades decides to show up to the party and Zeus finally acquiesces and let's him join as long as he behaves. Kore doesn't know he is actually her friend she's been talking to and feels sorry for him since everyone is scared to even approach him. So she does, and asks him to dance. Hades is surprised and excited as from that moment on they are inseparable. 

Hades whisks her away to the underworld once he realizes she wants to escape her home and life. Zeus is incredibly mad but Hades is just as strong as him so they don't fight right away. 

Watching Kore and Hades fall for each other was so much fun. Hades is nothing like what everyone told her he was. He's such a good guy, which even surprised me. 

I knew from the title that this was a Hades and Persephone retelling but I was not expecting the transformation that Kore went through or why. That was so much fun to read. I cannot say enough good things about this book. It was such a fun, quick read with a fun twist in Greek Mythology. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.  

Amazon

Spooky Halloween Pictures

 

I hope you are having a nice Halloween Month. Have you decorated? My grandson is getting excited to go Trick or Treating. Enjoy the pictures.

Halloween Spooky Charcuterie Boards

 

How about a few Halloween themed ideas for Charcuterie boards/snack boards. 

Some of these are cute but they would all be a great centerpiece for a Halloween get together. 

I found all of these pictures on Pinterest. 

Spooky Caramel Apples For Halloween

 

If you're looking for some spooky Halloween caramel apples, I have found a few places that have some interesting ones. You can find these at Savannah's Candy Kitchen and these 4 candied apples will cost you $79.95. They are cute though. 

Mrs. Prindables 6pc Individual Halloween Apple Assortment at QVC. These were $39.98 at the time I made this post. 

I found these on Etsy by CraftDLisa. You get 4 caramel decorated apples for $45.00. 

You can find these on Etsy by TreatsByTaryn. You get 6 caramel apples for $50.00. They are nicely decorated. 

Now if you'd rather make your own, you can find a lot of recipes for caramel apples on Pinterest. I found this and the next two on Pinterest. 

I've never made caramel apples and I do like apples and candy so they always look really good. Have you ever made caramel apples?