Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween everyone!!  On Friday night, I went to Howe Caverns for their Haunted Cave event.  I would have posted it yesterday, but I went to my friend’s Halloween party.  So, I will have to post it in November, even though it will be irrelevant by that time.  But I will compensate for that with some totally relevant pictures today.

You may be aware that I haven’t posted the finale for my Cincinnati vacation.  Well, during that final day, I went over to my friend Scott’s house.  He is a horror fanatic.  And inside his house was a sight to behold!  I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

This is one of his two life-size Michael Myers.

 Freddy and Jason cardboard standees.

Animatronic Jason, and Freddy(non-animatronic).

And here we have Pinhead and Leprechaun.

Scott is also a huge Van Damme fan.  He has quite a few of those cardboard cut outs you would see in video stores back in the day.  The only picture I have is the first one with Michael Myers.  We’ll save the rest of my last day in Cincinnati for another day.

 HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Halloween candy & fast food

I originally planned on doing a post about some of the new Halloween decorations we have purchased over the past couple of weeks, but food doesn’t last as long as plastic and cardboard.

Last week, my wife and I were going to Wal-Mart to pick up some groceries, and on our way into the parking lot, we decided to go to the Dollar Tree in the same plaza first.  We had to pick up some thank you cards and electric candles for our pumpkins.  My sole purpose in there was to find Halloween goodies you can only find at a dollar store.  I wanted to find a candy for review, that I haven’t seen reviewed or mentioned on other sites that I frequent.  Well, the pickens were slim.  I either found something I’ve seen elsewhere, or something that just didn’t seem worthy of a review.  Just as I was about to say fuck it and randomly grab something blindly, I noticed this most excellent package!

Grave Gummies Candy!  For a dollar store candy, they went all out with the fancy Halloween theme.  Before we get down to business, I have to show you what I found on the reverse side of the package.  Remember, I picked this up at the dollar store.

Go ahead and click on it to make it larger.  You have to be able to soak it in.  Truly amazing!  I love the skeletons.  They gettin’ down with they bad self!  They’re even dressed up in costumes!  Now the same graphics can be found scattered around the front of the package, but, they went the extra mile and made a neat little scene on the back.  I’ll tell you right now, that is the best thing about this candy.

On the individual wrappers the gummies say “Yummy Gummie”.  We tasted each one individually, to see if there were different flavors, or just dyed differently with the same flavor.  I’m happy to report that they come in four flavors, all identified by a different colored gummie. We found that the orange is orange popsicle, the green is green apple, the yellow is pineapple and the white ones taste like perfume or Lysol(I can’t quite tell).  All are pleasing to the tastebuds, except for the white ones.  So we got 9 good pieces of candy for a dollar.  Not bad.

While they’re not terrible, these will be finding their way into trick-or-treaters bags on Sunday.  And while we’re on the subject of gummies…….here’s one my buddy Clark gave to me the night before my wedding.

It’s a gummy brain.  This one is from “Gummy Body Parts Candy”.  I saw these on my trip to the dollar store.  This was a pretty good tasting brain!  Very colorful, and very sweet.  I think this was a Neapolitan brain.  Here’s why.

A three colored brain!

Now, onto something that was tasty, but did not come from Dollar Tree.

McDonald’s Halloween pails!  I had first heard of these over at X-Entertainment, when Matt did his review of them a week and a half ago.  While they’re not on the same level as our beloved McBoo pails, they are not without their merits.  First of all, they’re Mr. Potato Head themed!  I would’ve preferred Halloween McNuggets on the pails, but I can roll with Mr. Poato Head.  Second, I love the detailed handles!  The orange one has the bad-ass skull and cross bone(?), while the green one has the cute pumpkin.  Each comes with stickers on the reverse side of the cardboard lid.  The stickers are of different spooky body parts for you to stick on the naked spuds that adorn the pail.  I give major props to whoever was responsible for this!  It’s something different than your standard food & toy in a box, or bag.  Just a fair warning, bad pun coming up………I’m lovin’ it!

And to think, I was gonna title this post as “Ronald McDollarstore”.

Some spookiness on deck

I don’t have any pictures to share from the wedding, yet.  We have them, but they’re on a disc and we are waiting for actual photos that should be delivered soon.  I do have some Halloween stuff that I would like to share, but that will have to wait until after the workday is finished.  I might even show you the Transformer that I picked up a couple of weeks ago(I freed him from his cardboard tomb, and transformed him too).  Until then, I will leave you with a happy thought.

(The picture above was borrowed from Arthappyhour)

Our pumpkins

First, I have to say thank you to everyone for the congratulations and well wishes.  Our day was sunny, but brisk, and a good time was had by all.

Back to the subject at hand.  Pumpkins.

One of my favorite Halloween activities is carving pumpkins.  The possibilities are infinite.  You are the artist and the pumpkin is your canvas.  Hell, if you wanted to, you could paint or draw on them.  But then it wouldn’t be carving, now would it?  We bought our pumpkins last week, and I’ve been chomping at the bit to make some jack-o-lanterns.

The pumpkins were purchased at Wal-Mart and BJ’s, at $3.98 and $4.99, respectively.  My wife picked out a picture perfect, round pumpkin, while I picked a tall slender pumpkin with a broken stem.  And that is exactly the pumpkin I was looking for.  My wife chose a stencil from the carving kit we have, while I decided to pencil in my own creation.  And the reults were fantastic!!

 My pumpkin is the Beast to her Beauty.  And they look pretty friggin’ sweet at night too.

I picked up some more decorations and some Halloween themed candy, that I plan on posting here.  So stay tunned!!(and spooky)

I’m baaaacccckkkk

Well, as most of you know, this past Saturday, I took the plunge, and am now a happily married man.  Got some more Halloween decorations, and carved our pumpkins yesterday.  See ya at 7:00PM or so!!!

My spooktacular Saturday

My Saturday started out routinely, with me waking up and having a cup of coffee.  Shortly after, my fiancee woke up, and informed me we had to go to Albany to get my duds for our upcoming wedding.  While we were out there we would go to BJ’s to pick up a few groceries.

Now, I have to go off track for a minute.  After we left BJ’s, my fiancee asked me where I wanted to go for lunch.  We drove around for a few minutes and I had decided on Chili’s, and then she spotted a new establishment.  The place was Recovery Sports Grill.  She said that there was one near her job and she has heard a lot about the place.  So we go in, and there are flat screen tvs in all sizes, all over the place.  They have these little wireless receivers that emit sound from whatever tv number you select.  I decided on the only hockey game that was playing.  So I set my receiver to 6 and waited to order.  What I ordered was not important.  But what is, is what I found when I entered the rest room.

Yes.  There was a flat screen tv above the urinals.  Now, aside from Cribs, I have never see such a thing in person.  When I first went in, I wasn’t armed with a camera, so I made a second trip right before we left to snag a few pics.

Next up was Target, and I was there for only one reason.  And for a change, it wasn’t for toys.  It was for what my fiancee noticed immediately, that I would’ve walked right past, totally oblivious to it’s presence.  And it’s what I came specifically for.

The elusive monster cereals.  I’m pretty sure I’ve seen Count Chocula and Franken Berry in supermarkets even when it’s not around the Halloween season.  But in recent years, that doesn’t seem to be the case.  On the bottom of the back of the box it says, “Grab your boxes of monster cereals before they disappear for another year!”  Now they’re seasonal!?!?  While this was the purpose of the trip, I did check out their Halloween goodies and took a few shots.

I had to leave all of that behind, but I did leave with what I came for.

Now, I thought my day would be over after this, but shortly before we checked out, my fiancee asks me, “Do you want to go to Party City?, Because I don’t mind.”  Stunned, it took about 2 seconds for me to answer, “Hell yeah!”  While their selection isn’t  balls-out, it’s decent.  Hell, you might even find a deal.  I’ll show ya what I picked up after I show you a few pictures of their wares.

I started to get excited as we made our way to the entrance.

Off to a good start.

I have to come back for the bucket-o-eyeballs!

These guys are just creepy.  They would’ve scared the shit out of me when I was a child.

All in all.  Not too bad.

I left with the one thing(s) that I wasn’t sure they would have.

The Giant Lawn Stake Hands.  Matt over at X-E reviewed these this past September.  I thought they were neat, and I never imagined the opportunity would present itself.  I happened upon the last pair, on a hook way over my head.  I asked the nearest employee if they could help me.  I just had to wait while she went and got a ladder.  I wasn’t moving until I had those giant hands.  If I had a child, I would’ve hoisted him/her in the air and have them snag them for me.  Just like the Party City Matt picked his up at, these babies were ten bucks.  Considering their size, they are absolutely worth it.

 

 

***Bonus

On our way to Party City, I saw a guy dressed in a costume directing people to the Spirit Halloween store.  I got a shot of him, from a distance.  I thought he was Charmeleon from Pokemon, and my fiancee thought he was a goldfish.  Hey, we were moving kinda fast and we didn’t notice him until the last minute(hence the far away shot).

After zooming in, he looks an awful lot like Gumby’s pal, Pokey.  I could be wrong.  What do you think?

 

What will it be?

I’m having a hard time deciding what to post this evening.  I went to Target and Party City this past weekend, and got something from both places as well as pictures from both places.  We also purchased our pumpkins.  I might carve mine when I get home from work.

So what do you want to see first? (both will be up at some point)  Let me know in the comments.

P.S.-  Just so you know…if I do carve my jack-o-lantern today, that is what I’m posting.

 

As promised

Here I am.  Instead of trying, I am doing.  Over the past couple of weeks, I have noticed that my surroundings were adapting to the changes in temperature.  Colors like red, yellow, brown and orange were consuming the green that had been so dominant over the past five months or so.  Seeing this change going on definitely pumps me up and puts me in a euphoric Halloween daze.  Everywhere I look, there is an amazing palette of autumn colors.  Although these colors are a wonder to look at, they are a symbol of death, in a way.  So, it’s only fitting that Halloween falls in October.  I mean, can you imagine Halloween in February, or even August.  Maybe it feels so natural, because to us, that’s the way it’s always been.  But back to the point.  I guess, what I’m trying to say is…there is even some beauty to be found in death.  I don’t mean this in some type of macabre way.  But, take a look around you(if you’re in an area that has four seasons), and tell me that the landscape, even though it’s dying, doesn’t look beautiful.

Like I said, beautiful.  Over the past week, the weather has been miserable.  Raining, cold and windy.  And that’s exactly how it was outside when I took these pictures before I left from work yesterday.  When it’s sunny outside, the colors are just so much more vibrant.  The rain adds to the gloominess looming around all of the plant life that has thrived all summer long.

These pictures were taken across the street from the new location of my job.It’s supposed to be sunny and warm tomorrow, so I hope to get some pictures when the sun is present.  There is such a difference.  The colors just pop and jump out at you.

And here is a picture of the creek across the street from my house.

I actually stood in the rain for a few minutes to admire the natural beauty that surrounds me.  Living here in upsate New York has made me appreciate such things and I wouldn’t change it for anything.

***Bonus

As you all know, October is here, and the Halloween season is in full effect.  Usually, we put up our Halloween decorations up at the beginning of October.  But this year we put them up at the tail end of September.  Over the course of the five-plus years my fiancee(my wife as of Oct.16), and I have been together, we have accumulated lots of Halloween decor.  And I’m happy to say, that she has just as much spirit for the season as I do.

We picked up this little guy at Richie Rich’s Place(a thrift-like second hand store), about 4 years ago.  I think he cost us fifty cents.  But I think I bought him because he is so reminiscent of something I would had loved when I was a kid.  And the wind-up action still works!  While we have light up pumpkins and rubber bats and spider rings and McBoo pails, I think Drac here is my favorite when it comes to our Halloween decorations.  He always seems to be the one I start playing with when we take out the Halloween boxes.  I wish I could show him in action, but I’m not sure how to do a motion picture with my camera and actually upload it, so you’ll just have to use your imagination.

Coming soon…

Yesterday I finally managed to take some pictures of the lovely fall scenery in my local surroundings.  I also finally got my car inspected(right).  And my wedding is less than a week and a half away.  So, I’ve been pretty busy these last couple of weeks.  I want to post the pictures I took, as well as some of the Halloween decorations that litter my apartment.  I haven’t got any new Halloween stuff this year, but I’m sure that will change after the wedding.  Tomorrow’s a pay day, but I don’t know if there will be any extra to spend.  However, there might be a chance for some Halloween goodness the week of the 22nd(I get paid every 2 weeks).

I will post those autumn photos and 1 or 2 decorations tonight(” Do, or do not…there is no try”-Master Yoda).  I know I have said I will try in the past, and for some reason I just don’t.  But my mindset is to now to use “try” less often.  I have band practice from 5:30-8:00 today, so I will get to work on it when I get home.  Figure it’ll be up somewhere before 10:00PM EST.  Until then, I will leave you with a photo of my entry from last year’s X-E Halloween Die-O-Rama contest.