October

Everyone has a favorite month... or a least a favorite time of year.  My favorite time of year is fall and my favorite month is October.  In my neck of the woods, October is usually stunning!  Colorful Maples, Oaks, Birch, and Aspens peppered here and there with evergreens create a feast for the eyes.  There's something different about the air - it seems cleaner and the sky is so blue, it hurts to look at it (except on those rainy days, where the clouds hover in a lovely shade of Payne's gray.)
 

The three things I like best about October are, in no particular order, Pumpkins, Cider Mills, and Halloween!  What is it about those giant orange squash that are so fascinating?  Maybe because they make me feel like a kid again.  Even seeing them in the alien atmosphere of the grocery store makes me smile and want to buy them....but out on a country road is better!

 Nothing much can compare to the sweet deliciousness of the juice of freshly milled apples - add donuts, made right there at the mill along with the cider and you have a truly Michigan treat.  Oh, you can get these things at the store through out the year, but it's just not the same as sitting in the autumn sun, dodging the bees, and listening to the happy chatter of the people around you.  

Yates Cider Mill

And then there's the granddaddy of all Holidays - Halloween !  I have always LOVED Halloween - even more than Christmas.  I loved and still love dressing up in costume.  I loved trekking all those blocks and blocks of houses begging for candy.  This would be back in the '50's way before parents felt the need to check the haul or walk with you.  

We went out in groups, the bigger kids looking after the little ones.  We used a pillow case - trick or treat bags were too small and flimsy. LOL  We had noisemakers and yelled 'Help the poor' as well as 'Trick or Treat', though we never did any tricks.  We were good little imps who just wanted to get as much candy as we could carry.  Back then, you only went out if you were under the age of 12.  Once you reached that magic age, you were considered to old to go begging.  

My mother was a fashion designer, artist, and seamstress and we always had home made costumes - in fact most kids did not have store bought ones, but ours were especially nice.  I'm so grateful I learned to sew from her and I don't want to sound like I'm bragging, but over the years I have made some pretty good costumes for family and friends.  Here are just a few of my favorites:

I dream of Jeanie

Anna

Elsa

Garden Gnome

Little Witch

Marilyn Monroe & Joe DiMaggio

George & Martha Washington

There have been a whole lot more and perhaps I'll put them all in an album one day and post it here.  In closing, I ask... what are your favorite Halloween memories?