Classics Bookclub- Louisa May Alcott

The only book I've read by Louisa May Alcott is Little Women so I was excited to have to read another title of hers! I chose An Old-Fashioned Girl and am so glad I did!

This is the story of Polly, a country girl, who comes to visit her wealthy cousins in the city. Polly has led a very simple life focused on family and her cousins worry more about the latest fashions, and are not very strong as a family. One of the girls, Fanny, is her own age and spends all of her time worrying about latest fashions and gossip Polly, through her gentle ways, shows them the importance of family and how much one can gain from their own family relationships.

I enjoyed her simple way of looking at things and her determination to remain true to herself, someone she and her family could be proud of.

My Daybook

For today, Monday November 2, 2009
On My Mind...

Outside My Window...it is dark, of course! I've decided that I would rather drive to work in the dark and have it be lighter later! As Tucker said, "when it gets dark early, it makes everyone sleepy"

What We're Reading...I'm almost finished with Old-Fashioned Girl. With Tucker, I just started The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo, in addition to the nightly picture/chapter easy reader. He's still listening to The Cricket in Times Square with his class.

What We're Listening to...I finished South of Broad and cannot say enough great things about it!!!! I'm now listening to The Deep Blue Sea for Beginners by Luanne Rice, which as it turns out, is a continuation of the The Geometry of Sisters. Luanne Rice uses a lot of the same characters again in other books.

What We're Watching...Missed the ending of Survivor last week; still not sure who I like for the winner. Still like Kellie on DWTS and not happy that Melissa is gone but Louie needed to go! SYTYCD is on break because of the World Series, which of course we are watching! Amazing Race was hysterical last week with Mika and her floaties (for those who don't watch, one of the challenges as they neared the Pit Stop was to go down this water slide and she was terrified which is all fine and well but she in her mid-twenties, at least, and somehow got FLOATIES to go down this vertical drop into 3 feet of water! It was basically go down this slide or check in last and be eliminated, which is exactly what happened! They were there for at least 30 minutes while she whined and cried and it was all her boyfriend could do NOT to throw her down the slide! Another team came along, she had 2 minutes to make up her mind, she didn't go and the other team was safe. I don't think Michael will get over the Floaties for a long time!!)

I am hoping...to get some decent sleep tonight. The time change-no matter which way it is- always messes me up!

Quotable Quote...There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle ~ Albert Einstein

In the Kitchen...grilled cheese and soup tomorrow, a new chicken recipe for Wed, pancakes Thurs (I'm working late), out for pizza Fri after soccer, not sure about Sat yet.

Around the House...laundry to be folded as usual! ...need to take down the Halloween decorations and put up the Thanksgiving stuff.

Coming Up This Week...Soccer practice Tues and Fri (last week!)...Cub Scout den meeting Wed...soccer mini-tournament Sat...scrapbooking with my mom on Sun.


A picture thought...I have officially passed my Matchboxes on to Tucker! He's just starting to get into them and I had told him he could have them. We got them out of my mom's attic when we went there yesterday. Here he checks them out!

Trick or Treat!

I'm going to attempt to catch up on all the pictures and what we've been up in the past week! I've decided to start with the most current and work my way back!

Our jack 0' lanterns and bowl of candy. We very rarely get kids but I always leave a bowl of candy!

Tucker was a clone trooper this year

He insisted we dress up this year so here is Michael as a werewolf...

...and me as a witch ( I also wore this to work on Friday and was quite a hit!)

A couple pictures of me and Michael


Trick or treating at our neighbor Don's house (we always start here!)

Tucker and his friend Freddie (we went with him last year, too! He has a really great neightborhood for trick or treating!)

Checking out his loot!


Today we went to the grandmothers---what I like to call "customized-trick-or-treating" (think only/lots of Tootsie Rolls and Skittles!)

The Story of Halloween

Halloween is one of the oldest holidays with origins going back thousands of years. The holiday we know as Halloween has had many influences from many cultures over the centuries. From the Roman's Pomona Day, to the Celtic festival of Samhain, to the Christian holidays of All Saints and All Souls Days.

Hundreds of years ago in what is now Great Britain and Northern France, lived the Celts. The Celts worshipped nature and had many gods, with the sun god as their favorite. It was "he" who commanded their work and their rest times, and who made the earth beautiful and the crops grow.

The Celts celebrated their New Year on November 1st. It was celebrated every year with a festival and marked the end of the "season of the sun" and the beginning of "the season of darkness and cold."

On October 31st after the crops were all harvested and stored for the long winter the cooking fires in the homes would be extinguished. The Druids, the Celtic priests, would meet in the hilltop in the dark oak forest (oak trees were considered sacred). The Druids would light new fires and offer sacrifices of crops and animals. As they danced around the the fires, the season of the sun passed and the season of darkness would begin.

When the morning arrived the Druids would give an ember from their fires to each family who would then take them home to start new cooking fires. These fires would keep the homes warm and free from evil spirits.

The November 1st festival was called Samhain (pronounced "sow-en"). The festival would last for 3 days. Many people would parade in costumes made from the skins and heads of their animals. This festival would become the first Halloween.

During the first century the Romans invaded Britain. They brought with them many of their festivals and customs. One of these was the festival know as Pomona Day, named for their goddess of fruits and gardens. It was also celebrated around the 1st of November. After hundreds of years of Roman rule the customs of the Celtic's Samhain festival and the Roman Pomona Day mixed becoming 1 major fall holiday.

The next influence came with the spread of the new Christian religion throughout Europe and Britain. In the year 835 AD the Roman Catholic Church would make November 1st a church holiday to honor all the saints. This day was called All Saint's Day, or Hallowmas, or All Hallows. Years later the Church would make November 2nd a holy day. It was called All Souls Day and was to honor the dead. It was celebrated with big bonfires, parades, and people dressing up as saints, angels and devils.

But the spread of Christianity did not make people forget their early customs. On the eve of All Hallows, Oct. 31, people continued to celebrate the festivals of Samhain and Pomona Day. Over the years the customs from all these holidays mixed. October 31st became known as All Hallow Even, eventually All Hallow's Eve, Hallowe'en, and then - Halloween.

The Halloween we celebrate today includes all of these influences, Pomona Day's apples, nuts, and harvest, the Festival of Samhain's black cats, magic, evil spirits and death, and the ghosts, skeletons and skulls from All Saint's Day and All Soul's Day.

source: holidaysonthenet.com

Thursday Thirteen-Halloween Trivia

In honor of Halloween this Saturday, my Thursday 13 is full of Halloween trivia!


1. Orange and black are Halloween colors because orange is associated with the Fall harvest and black is associated with darkness and death.

2. Jack o’ Lanterns originated in Ireland where people placed candles in hollowed-out turnips to keep away spirits and ghosts on the Samhain holiday.

3. Pumpkins also come in white, blue and green. Great for unique monster carvings!

4. Halloween was brought to North America by immigrants from Europe who would celebrate the harvest around a bonfire, share ghost stories, sing, dance and tell fortunes.

5. Tootsie Rolls were the first wrapped penny candy in America.

6. The ancient Celts thought that spirits and ghosts roamed the countryside on Halloween night. They began wearing masks and costumes to avoid being recognized as human.

7. Halloween candy sales average about 2 billion dollars annually in the United States.

8. Chocolate candy bars top the list as the most popular candy for trick-or-treaters with Snickers #1.

9. Halloween is the 2nd most commercially successful holiday, with Christmas being the first.

10. Bobbing for apples is thought to have originated from the roman harvest festival that honors Pamona, the goddess of fruit trees.

11. Black cats were once believed to be witch's familiars who protected their powers.

12. Signs of a werewolf are a unibrow, hair palms, tattoos, and a long middle finger.

13. The average American consumes 25 pounds of candy each year? Now how much of those 25 pounds do you think gets eaten on Halloween?

To participate, go here.

What's On Your Nightstand?

It amazes me that it's already time for this again! Where is the time going?!

This month, on my nightstand, you will find:

- Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. I was reading this for Banned Books Week and got as far as Chapter 8 when I reached
the max on renewing it. I was able to find it at a used book store though and hope to get back to it.
- Nora Jane by Ellen Gilchrist
- History Lesson for Girls by Aurelie Sheehan
- Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir

To check out others' nightstands, click here.

In Memory of my Dad...

Today is the 5th anniversary of my Dad's death and it still doesn't seem possible that he's gone. Not a day goes by that I don't think about him and miss him.