Halloween Economics: Scariest Numbers Around

By JOSH HERR, The Fiscal Times

October 27, 2011

Total American Halloween spending is estimated to hit $6.86 billion this year – making Halloween the second largest commercial holiday in the U.S. behind Christmas.  And while the holiday has always been about marketing, ghosts, zombies, vampires, witches and even pets dressed as Robin Hood will (rightly) take the spotlight.

As the early Catholic Church spread its teachings across a largely pagan Britain, it needed a hook to sell the populace. Incorporating rituals of Celtic end-of-summer festivals into a minor Christian holiday, the church created All Hallows Day (today called All Saints Day) and with it, All Hallows Eve, the night-before festivities in which the Celts were given license to exercise their pre-Christian urges. 

Later, poor Scottish and Irish children used the holiday as an excuse to go “souling,” or traveling door to door in costumes begging for food, in a manner similar to Christmas caroling of the time. In Victorian London, All-Hallows became an outlet for the frustrations of the working poor (take note, OWS protestors). But when those Scots and Irish came to the land of opportunity as immigrants, they brought their traditions with them – and Halloween as we know it began to take shape.

Wicca is America's fastest growing religion, says Witch School

Wicca is America's fastest growing religion, says Witch School:

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Spray Cleaner Tutorial

Healing List for 10/27/11

Please send Reiki, prayers, or simply positive and healing thoughts to this list.

To include yourself or others on the list, simply post the names in the comments.

*****
The Hittson-Dean family who lost a loved one

Matt in Indy

Me, please, I am stressed out to my limit.

The Hubs, healing from a shoulder injury

Jerri in Elwood Heart and liver issues, recently recovering from a coma

Kathy E. in Summitville IN

The Edwards family

Sam, Jennifer,and the Finan family

Byron in Ft. Wayne

Gina in Indy

Hunter the cocker spaniel diagnosed with detatched retina

Gavi

The Monument Fire Pets and the efforts of volunteers to reunite pets and parents

Chris P. in Indiana, recovering from Spinal surgery 

Serena Weicht, Dorothy Heard, and family

Lauren Spierer, family, and all those searching for her

special note for the horses and dogs being used in the search

Tom, Joyce, Doris, Alverita, Chuy, Rose, and Bob and all those affected by the southern Arizona wildfires

 US "Darkhorse" 3rd Battalion 5th Marines and their families. They are fighting it out in Afghanistan and have lost 9 Marines in 4 days. 

Presented without comment...NSFW

Processing Pumpkins

We got exactly one pumpkin out of the two patches we planted, thanks to the squash bugs. We were pretty on top of it until our trip to Kansas, and they took those four days to complete the destruction. Our buddy Stubby saved the day by bringing over two sugar pie pumpkins from his garden. I processed them this morning and they are in the freezer, waiting to become yummy pumpkin pie next month!

 Cut each pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds. I kept about one half of one pumpkin worth of seeds for next year...and will hopefully not lose those pumpkins to squash bugs too.

 I roasted them for 45 minutes, cut sides down, at 400 degrees. This made the flesh soft enough that it fell right out of the skins, and got a little nice caramelization on the bottoms.

 I threw it all in the food processor, added two tablespoons of pumpkin pie spice, one for each pumpkin, and pureed it all up.

 The Hubs helped me bag it up, and it's all ready for me on Thanksgiving!

Potato Harvest

I spent a good chunk of the afternoon clearing out the garden today, and that included harvesting the purple potatoes I got from the neighbors in the spring.

 We got between 5-10 pounds, after I took out the little ones for seed potatoes. Not too bad since I got them totally free and pretty much threw them on the ground in the garden box, right on top of the grass, and pretty much ignored them till yesterday. I started to dig them up yesterday, but was interrupted by two stray dogs that the neighbor corralled in her back yard and I helped her get on leashes, then kept them in the grooming shop till the Humane officer and their owner came to get them back. So, I finished up today, actually got the grass and weeds out of the box, then reseeded it and moved my hoop house setup over that box. 

I am going to try to get/find/barter/buy some more Visqueen so I can hoop another box and try another March planting next year. If I can get it this week, I might even try for one more round of peas/lettuce/spinach under a hoop for the season. For now, the boxes are cleaned out, the composter is overflowing, and I am looking forward to purple mashed potatoes!