I am not sure why I buy so much tea when I don’t drink as much as I buy. But I am a sucker for interesting tea blends and even more of a sucker for Halloween. Now give me a Halloween tea sampler and I am like “sign me up”. The internet is a dangerous thing, because you google Halloween tea and all of a sudden you are buying tea left and right.

The first to arrive is Adagio tea Halloween sampler. I mean really, they come in cute tins. I could not resist.

Bat Brew

Fire burn and cauldron bubble, With the Bat Brew you’re sure to guzzle! They have taken the Bat Brew to a new level by blending it with Chocolate Chai, Fiery Cinnamon Spice and a touch of Chocolate Truffle, resulting in an indulgent sweet treat. One sip and you’ll feel like you’ve just raided the trick-or-treat bag… minus the guilt.

black tea, cinnamon, ginger, cocoa nibs, natural cinnamon flavor, natural chocolate flavor, dark chocolate chips, chicory, cocoa & blue cornflowers

Candy Apple

Who needs to go bobbing for apples when you can steep a sweet cup of our Candy Apple Concoction? A taste reminiscent of the trick-or-treating and carnival favorite, making for a decadent treat. You might think that glossy candy coated fruit has fallen right into your cup.

black tea, apple pieces, natural candy apple flavor, cinnamon, natural vanilla flavor & natural caramel flavor

Cat Scratch

No, it’s not witch-ful thinking… the Cat Scratch blend is wickedly delightful! Indulgent and robust, this tea blends Double Ginger, Chocolate Truffle, and our feline favorite… Tiger Eye. WARNING: Don’t steep this tea too late, or you may start to think you’re hearing things going bump in the night!

black tea, ginger, green rooibos tea, cocoa nibs, natural chocolate flavor, natural caramel flavor, dark chocolate chips, chicory, natural vanilla flavor, red peppercorn, natural ginger flavor, cocoa, black peppercorn, blue cornflowers, orange, marigold flowers, strawberries, natural peach flavor, natural strawberry flavor & natural orange flavor

Ghoul Gulp

Here’s a spook-takular tea that is sure to satisfy any ghost, goblin, and ghoul. Perfect for late night hauntings, our frightfully smooth decaf vanilla tea is accented with honeybush and peppermint. The perfect accompaniment after a night of trick-o-treating.

decaf ceylon tea, honeybush tea, natural vanilla flavor & peppermint

Monster Mash

You’ll be screaming with delight over our mischievously marvelous Monster Mash! Combining both caramel and cream tea flavors with bone-chilling candy eyeballs. One cup of this brew and you will feel like you’ve risen from the dead.

black tea, natural creme flavor, natural caramel flavor & candy eyeballs (sugar, gelatin (bovine), modified corn starch, cream of tartar, maltodextrin, artificial colors)

Pumpkin Potion

Take one sip of the Pumpkin Potion and you’re sure to fall under its spell. This naturally caffeine-free concoction contains our ever popular Honeybush Pumpkin Chai with Cardamom Almond Cake. Whip up a pot of this brew in your favorite cauldron for a perfectly spook-tacular treat!

honeybush tea, rooibos tea, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger varietal, cocoa nibs, safflower, natural pumpkin spice flavor, cardamom pods, toasted almond flavor & white cornflowers

If this was not indulgence enough, I also bought the Autumn Sampler. The box cover of golden Autumn trees was enough to get me to purchase the item.

Is there anything better than crisp air, big sweaters, and pumpkin spice everything? For lovers of all things Fall, they’ve put together a collection of teas to capture the essence of the season. This set contains four sample sizes of loose tea. This set includes:

honeybush pumpkin chai – Masala Chai spices in an herbal honeybush pumpkin base. Beautiful clear and bright cup, and crisp, tangy-sweet flavor. [No caffeine]

autumn mist green – Gently smoky gunpowder combined with bright tangy apples and rose hips, bring to mind a misty morning stroll. [Moderate caffeine]

bonfire – An Autumn medley of hazelnut, cocoa and exotic spices, with a soft note of apples and a hint of blazing hearth. [Trace caffeine]

pumpkin spice – Pumpkin Spice goodness with rich, lively spices for a perfect autumn treat. [High caffeine]

From the reviews most people do not prefer Bonfire. But it is worth doing once.

I have never ordered from Adagio before. They were kind enough to send me a great sample box of seven teas.

Monster Mash
Dont give up the Ship
Mango Green
Rooibus Cinnamon Apple
Blueberry Peach Cobbler Green
Decaf Mango
Gaucho Mate Chai

Each of the tea packs have a date starting October 13th thru the 19th. It is part of their CommuniTea program where you can taste different teas and rate them. How fun is that. I put a reminder on my calendar to start the tea on the 13th and check out their blog. They sell the entire month of teas for $19. I am a bit curious but may try it in December as I am sure they may be a lot of Christmasy flavors.

Their Temperature instructions are pretty clear so I am glad I bought the electric tea kettle tea kettle so I can get the correct degrees of the water. No more microwave tea.

Once the next tea shipment arrives I will do part two.

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October is the month I indulge in scary shows and movies. Any other month of the year and I have no tolerance of this scary stuff. To make it easier, our good friends at Hulu put them all together for quick access. They roll out Huluween each year which is their portal to all the good stuff.

I usually watch another season of American Horror Story, and a classic like Practical Magic or Hocus Pocus and something scary like The Shining or the Exorcist. I also try to capture a good Korean series or movie. Hulu helps with special categories. Dont think I will watch very, very scary. I never really got over “Night of the Living Dead” (The original 1968 version) as it scared the crap out of me. In today’s world it is very simple but still very effective.

Movies/Shows I might check out, but no guarantee:

• Night of the Living Dead (original). Might as well try it again
• A Haunting in Venice
• What We Do in the Shadows
• American Horror Story
• Wounds (an Into the Dark series)
• Practical Magic (a yearly favorite)
• Signs (a favorite)
• Pay the Ghost

I am sure there are more I will watch, but there are also the classic Halloween tv episodes that Hulu puts on their site such as Cheers, New Girl, Will and Grace, etc. I hope I can find the Roseanne Halloween episodes.

I can promise you that I won’t be watching IT. I really hate clowns.

They also have some fun screens called Haunted Sceens that is a knock off of the Yuletide fireplace during Christmas. I will definitely need to add those on when make crafts or stitching a Halloween cross stitch.

I will have to let you know what I end up watching. Happy Haunts this season.

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Many moons ago, I got a several John Derian entertainment pieces that I just fell in love with at Target. I had bought them when I had pool parties as I thought they were whimsical. If I recall correctly I had one or two Apple plates (not the full set), a few red flowers and some green lilies. I even had the set of 4 clover and insect appetizer plates. They are melamine so they are safe around the pool and were rather affordable.

Months later I found out they also released a Halloween line. I was rather sad that I missed it. Every few years I would look on eBay or other places but did not want to pay a ridiculous price for them. I even noticed they had a Thanksgiving collection. Turkeys and other harvest prints. I was like shoot. How did I miss this?

Well Lo and behold I got an email last night from Target stating their Halloween John Derian set was coming out.

The first thing on my Target Shopping cart is the 4 piece 7” Melamine Spider and Web Appetizer Plates. Perfect to hold those Halloween cupcakes I plan on making.

I love to provide Appetizer plates when I have company for some fruit pieces or cheese and crackers. This 4 piece 7” Melamine Whoo’s Hungry appetizer plates are perfect for company. I can mix and match with the other plates. Whhhhhoooooo will get Owls….Whooo will get spiders.

Pedestal platters are great for holding desserts or even a collection of small decorative Halloween decor. Perhaps even spooky cocoa supplies like marshmallows or sprinkles. The Spider and Web melamine dessert stand is perfect for those holiday spooky arrangements.

Below is the 19” x 14” Bone to Pick melamine rectangle serving tray. I anticipate carrying small bowls of snacks, or small appetizer plates. Or perhaps carrying ghoulish cocktails. I picture the butler from the Addams family serving snacks to their unfortunate guests.

I have this thing for crows or ravens and appreciate their clever antics. So when I saw this 15” x 10” Bird Melamine Octagon Serving Platter I had to get it. Maybe a platter of cheese and pepperoni arrangements with delicious crackers for a special spooky movie night. Maybe even cut the cheese slices into raven shaped pieces. Or make a cheese sculpture covered in poppy seeds to make the raven black. So many ideas.

This cute 5 quart Pumpkin Candy Dessert Bowl is perfect to hold all the Halloween candy for the Trick or Treators. Or maybe to hold apples to have with caramel sauce as a sweet dessert.

Of course Mocktails taste better in beautiful glasses. Let’s have a mummy drink in one of these Midnight Dreary Black Bird Highball Glasses. Or maybe a green swamp drink with a cherry on top. Can I say “caw caw” when I turn on Alfred Hitchcocks classic film “the Birds” during cocktail hour.

Because you can never have enough serving platters, this 18” x 13” Skull and Cross Bones Melamine Oval Serving Platter fits right in. Maybe some pumpkin bell peppers served up hot and yummy for dinner. Help yourself but do not starve or you will just be bones like the dude on this platter.

This 90” x 20” Lost in the Woods Table Runner is perfect down the middle of your table scape. With black candle sticks and ghost figurines your table would be perfect. Or if you have a buffet table. This would be perfect for all your Halloween serving pieces.

This 16” x 11” Skelton and Cemetery Melamine Oval Serving Tray is perfect for those mummy wrapped hotdogs I am sure to have one evening in October. I love this design. A good cemetery and skeleton scene on a platters says Halloween.

I really went overboard but since I admire his collection so much I decided to give myself a birthday gift, why not. A girl only lives once! I do wish he had dinner plates and bowls but I am happy with what I ordered. And since it was my birthday Target gave me an extra 5% off. Thank you very much. I did leave some pieces out and maybe I could get some later since I have no self control.

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Just on the heels of the summer bucket list (summer be gone) I am rolling out the Autumn/Halloween bucket list. Autumn time is my favorite season. Chilly night, leaves falling, a nice windy breeze, pumpkins on porches, scary shows on Netflix, hot soup and warm tea at night. Ohhhhh my favorite time of the year.

I keep seeing all these cute pictures on Pinterest.

Amen.

But onto the bucket list.

There are a few new items on the list and a few favorites. More crafts this year and less cooking. But that is fine. Gotta mix it up. I will joyfully celebrate the season. I may do things not on the list. Let’s see where this takes us.

Let the leaves fall and the winds kick up and start the bucket list.

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Well I should have started this item much sooner than later. When I went outside to my front yard to pick some flowers, most were dead and gone. Oops, what a difference a few days make. I guess Autumn is right on my heels. I can tell because I actually use blankets at night. Thank goodness it is ending. These days over 100 degrees are brutal.

I did have some roses and a few hydrangeas left so I grabbed those to press. I remember as a teenager taking flowers and pressing them between wax paper and putting them into our encyclopedias. God I remembers those brown volumes of knowledge. Back in the day, before the internet, you either went to the library to look stuff up or if you were one of the fortunate few you had a whole set of these books. Today I can hardly remember my life before the internet and cell phones. As a kid you made sure you had enough coins to call home, you just had to find a phone booth. When you wanted to find a phone number you pulled out those big phone books and flipped through the pages looking for that cute boys number or the local restaurant.

Ok back to pressed flowers. I got a fairly large pressed flower set off of Amazon. It is big enough to do large flowers or multiple layers of flowers.

In my enthusiasm I forgot to take pictures of the hydrangeas.

It takes about two weeks to get the flowers pressed right. So now we wait.

Depending how they turn out, I was thinking of a bookmark, card or mini lantern. I am leaning towards a bookmark but it all depends on what happens with the flowers.

Stay tuned for an update on this crafting adventure.

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I am very close to finishing my bucket list. Just in time to start my Halloween/Autumn list. Lol. These lists help me keep focused and actual do something interesting during the season. I can easily slip into the boring life of work and home chores without doing anything for the season. My life is boring enough and these little tasks give me a little joy.

One of the things I noticed on Instagram was people free hand drawing flowers. Oh how I admire those who can draw freely. I know it takes practice but I was at a loss on how to begin. I did watch a you tube video and it looks feasible but videos are hard. Because you need to keep stopping and starting. One of the YouTube creators actual had a book. I ended up buying the book from Amazon. So glad I did as it is a great book.

There are 50 flowers to learn which are rated 1 to 4. 1 being the easiest.

Don’t these look cute. And so “do-able”. The instructions are so easy to follow.

I definitely need to practice, but with the guides in the book makes the structure so easy. I don’t expect to be perfect first time out but with practice I should be able to draw these more at ease.

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I noticed on Amazon that The Republic of Tea has some Ice Tea with some yummy flavors. I decided to buy a few and taste test them.

The five flavors that I tested are as follows:

• Blueberry Lavender
• Strawberry Basil
• Blueberry Hibiscus
• Pineapple Orange Guava
• Hibiscus Sangria

In order of least to most favorite

#5 Strawberry Basil

I found the flavor was weak. Perhaps it did not brew as long as it should. The instructions on the canister said 2 minutes, whereas the others said 7 minutes. Perhaps I should try again. It lacked any flavor and basically tasted like water.

#4 Blueberry Hibiscus

I was expected a real punch on this one and it just wasn’t there. I enjoyed the tea but it was not great. I could taste the flavor but no wow favor. Good ice tea should have a refreshing quality, this was sorely lacking that component.

#3 Hibiscus Sangria

This had a lot more flavor and was refreshing. Definitely would buy again. Had a burst of flavor that was nice. Not sure what to expect from this flavor but would make a great tea on a hot day by the pool.

#2 Pineapple Orange Guava

#1 Blueberry Lavender

This was my favorite out of the five. It is very flavorful and refreshing. I remember the first time I tasted it, I thought “dang this is good”. The beautiful blue/purple color made it enchanting. I should try some lavender syrup with it next time. I have made this a few times and it still remains my favorite. Highly recommend.

I tend to romanticize tea as there are so many flavors that hot water brings to life. Of course there are more tea makers out there than I can taste. I ordered a few new brands to try out. I had seen several advertisements on Instagram and decided to take the plunge.

Snarky Tea – so many ads with unusual tempting flavors. I got the three month subscription and the first package came. It appears that the blackberry raspberry is very popular on their website but I am planning on making the clementine flavor first. This was the ice tea collection. There are many samplers packages and some with “snarky” themes. I hope it is enjoyable.

The next tea I bought is from a company called Magic Hour. These are expensive teas that are prepared to order. The packages are gorgeous and the themes are wonderful. Watching the short videos from the owner, I get the feeling she is a self proclaimed witch (in a good way) She does a lot of healing tea. I bought the ice tea sampler and the tea names and flavors combinations sound amazing.

INGREDIENTS

Dragonfruit Lychee: Organic Sencha Green Tea, Lychee Flavor Extract, Freeze Dried Dragonfruit, Organic Monk Fruit

Blueberry Cheesecake Oolong: Organic Sencha Green Tea, Organic Ti Quan Yin Oolong, Organic Blueberries, Butterfly Pea Flower, Organic Madagascar Vanilla Beans, Natural Blueberry Extract, Natural Flavors

Butterfly Blue Coconut Cream: Organic White Tea, Organic Desiccated Coconut, Organic Butterfly Pea Flower, Freeze Dried Bananas, Organic Vanilla Powder, Natural Flavor Extracts

Vanilla Lavender: Organic Assam Black Tea, Organic French Lavender, Organic Vanilla Extract, Lavender Essential Oil, Organic Calendula

Lemon Meringue Puerh: Organic Puerh Black Tea, Organic Lemon Peel, Organic Lemon Myrtle, Organic Calendula Flowers, Natural Essential Oil of Lemon, Natural Flavor Extracts

Watermelon Mint: Organic Peppermint, Organic Hibiscus, Watermelon Juice Powder, Watermelon Fruit Extract

Passionfruit Green with Roses: Organic Green Tea, Organic Rose Petals, Blueberries, Organic Goji Berries, Natural Flavors

Guava Pomegranate: Organic Black Tea, Freeze Dried Pomegranate Juice Powder, Organic Roses, Guava and Pomegranate Flavor Extracts

I also got the September birth month tea since it is my birthday month. This tea sounds amazing. It is starting to get a bit chilly at night so I think I will have a cup tonight. Let’s hope it has true magic.

FLAVOR NOTES

• Sweet Apple
• Uplifting Orange
• Warming Cinnamon
• Spiced Plum

WELLNESS BENEFITS

• Antioxidant rich
• Reduces stress (cortisol)
• Anti-inflammatory
• Boosts collagen production

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So I went about looking for a summer limited edition ice cream for my summer bucket list. I was having such an issue finding something and then it dawned on me, ALL ice cream is summer themed. The whole point of ice cream is “licking as fast as you can before it melts on your cone” season.

I checked the website of my local grocery stores to see what brands and flavors they had in stock. There are so many new brands of ice creams out there, I had no idea so many new ice cream companies were out there. There was a brand that caught my eye called Jen’s that looked promising. Going to their website I noticed that there were a shop that made such good ice cream the decided to share it with us non locals.

On their website they mentioned a summer treat called Lemon and Blueberry Partfait. They say it is a tart and uber creamy lemon with from-scratch blueberry jam in fresh cultured buttermilk and cream. Yum! That sounds perfect. So off to Vons to buy some ice cream.

As Summer winds down, I will miss ice cream, but heck I live in Southern California where the sun shines every day. Ice cream season is every month here.

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This year I decided to make a patriotic quilt. Generally when I make quilts I tend to lean toward Halloween (of course) and Christmas. So when I saw this pattern I really wanted to make it.

Once I had enough charms I went ahead and started to sew the star parts of the quilt. But once I got to the red and white stripes I ran out of charms. Crap. I dug thru my stash again and hit pay dirt. The quilt sewed up very fast but got a little heavy as I connected the rows together. My sewing area does not have the space to spread out a large quilt so it was a challenge but I did it with a bit of creativity.

Here my brother is holding up the finished quilt so you can see it. If you look carefully at the bottom you can see his dog’s foot. Oh that silly dog has to be in the middle of everything.

Now I have to get it quilted. I was thinking of a bright blue grunge backing. I can get it in the extra wide size so I don’t need to piece it together. For the quilt pattern I wanted something with stars or patriotic looking. I usually send my quilting to Missouri Star Quilt Company and they had this pattern which would work great.

or maybe this one

I am leaning towards the star spangled banner design. Quilting is expensive so I need to budget the cost. I usually put my own binding on to save money but it is not my favorite part of quilting.

I will post a picture of the finished quilt when I get it completed.

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Every year in July/August the Earth passes through debris — bits of ice and rock — left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle, which last passed close to Earth in 1992.  Because it is so consistent each year it is easy to remember to catch its wonderful meteors shooting across the sky. From July 14-August 24 with a peak of August 11-12th you can catch the show.

The best time to look for meteors is in the pre-dawn hours. The peak viewing days are typically your best shot to see the sky speckled with bright meteors. To see the meteors, look up and to the north. Those in southern latitudes can look toward the northeast to see more meteors. If you are lucky enough to live in an area of little light at night you can see up to 100 meteors an hour.

Sadly I could not catch any this year as I live in an area with a lot of light. It is best to go drive out somewhere in the country or desert to avoid the harsh lights.

My Father worked at Jet Propulsion Laboratory and was very aware of celestial events. He would bring me pictures of nebulas and interesting stars taken by NASA. One year we drove to the desert to spend the night looking up at the stars. I laid down on a cot and looked up all night. I had never had such a clear view of the sky. I remember asking my dad what that cloudy structure in the sky was. He looked at me like I was a dullard and said The Milky Way. He probably never realized I had never seen it before. I listened to coyotes howl while falling asleep under the stars. Being with my Dad I felt safe. Not sure if he got a good night sleep but it was a nice memory. I would like to do that again.

When I look at the sky, I always remember the quote from Carl Sagan which they used in the movie Contact. When asked about the possibility about other life out there, he said “The universe is a pretty big place. If it’s just us, seems like an awful waste of space.”

Carl also use to say there were billions and billions of stars out there. So it cracks me up with the classic Far Side cartoon about Carl when he was just a child. A child’s point of view is so small. As Earthlings, I think our point of view is very small also.

I for one, believe that there is life out there but may be something we could not recognize. People I know have seen unusual flying objects in the sky that are not “normal”. But so far no one admits to seeing other beings. Maybe they are amongst us. Who knows.

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