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This is how we spent the evening last night. We made a jack sandwich! (And I cut my finger) After we made a huge mess on the kitchen floor, we roasted the 10 lbs of seeds that Alexis meticulously picked out of the pumpkin guts. Yum!

I love Halloween, and not just because it’s my birthday. All Hallows Eve marks the beginning of “family season” to me. It’s tradition around here for Chris to make his non-award winning chili* right after the first “cold” snap. Then we invite everyone and their dogs, babies, kids, sisters, and grandmothers over to eat it. No matter how much he makes, it’s never enough.

I love the feeling that the holidays are coming. Not that I particularly like consumerized holidays, but there is something about ending one year and starting the next that is very satisfying. The time between Halloween and New Year’s Eve goes by so quickly these days. Turn around and it’s gone.

I love the weather this time of year. The leaves don’t change colors in Texas, they just sort of turn brown and fall off one day. It doesn’t really get cold, but I love the crispness of the air. It just smells different.

I love the decorations in grocery stores. Though, admittedly, they aren’t as good as when I was a kid, when the grocery stores would cover the Halloween aisle in black plastic and light it with black lights. It was like a mini haunted house. My brothers and I would run from one end to the other countless times while our parents tried to pretend we weren’t their kids. And by parents I mean my mom; My dad is a Halloween nut.

I look forward to lower energy bills, long sleeved tee shirts, warm soups and cold nights in front of a fire. I like sitting in my chair in the loft with a big blanket or quilt in progress on my lap while the new episodes of my favorite shows are playing (summertime TV sucks!).

What I don’t love, is getting another year older. But, I guess all the other stuff makes up for it. And presents don’t hurt either.

*And we mean that in the most Rudy’s-is-the-worst-bar-b-que-in-Texas kind of way.