[Note: I’m doing a 26-word post on the first day of each month of 2026. It’s an exercise in concision and precision, which every writer should attempt now and then. Also Note: This explanation is separate from the 26-word count.]
Out come the seasonal decorations: pumpkins, black cats, ghosts, and all the spooky images. I see nothing scary because cooler weather is here. Bring it on!
[Enjoy this guest post from Mrs. Swanky]
Ready for some spooky movies? Of course you are — it’s almost October!
In no particular order, mostly because the order changes with my mood, these are my top seven spooky/scary/Halloween movies:
1. Scream
2. The Craft
3. Hocus Pocus
4. Practical Magic
5. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
6. Trick r’ Treat
7. Beetlejuice Why seven? Well, I tried to mention just the Top Three or Fab Five, but there was no way to narrow it down. There are just too many good ones.
(p.s. As promised, here’s the finished painting that I mentioned in a previous post — against a backdrop of one of my favorite Halloween movies.)
* Obligatory disclaimer: We are not paid to promote these items. We just happen to like them.
Our guest blogger,
Mrs. Swanky, posts
on ways to Feed Yourself
— in body, mind, and spirit.
[Enjoy this guest post from Mrs. Swanky]
It is now officially Autumn, and you know what that means.
Cozy scarves. Pumpkins. Leaves changing. Gathering your sisters under the full moon.
Haha, just kidding about that last one.
What I meant was: Painting you and your sisters gathering under the moon — whether the moon is full or half or new. Or even a Carolina moon, like it is in the photo.
The point is that a season change is a great time to tap into your creative side and make something awesome!
(p.s. I’ll show you the completed painting in a future post.)
* Obligatory disclaimer: We are not paid to promote these items. We just happen to like them.
Our guest blogger,
Mrs. Swanky, posts
on ways to Feed Yourself
— in body, mind, and spirit.
Do you love pasta? Of course you do. Who doesn’t?
But how much do you know about pasta? (Not that you need to know anything about pasta to love it.) Maybe you know some stuff, but I’m guessing you don’t know as much as Chef Swanky. And he’s here to share his swanky knowledge.
Check out his latest FYI video:
Got a question for the great Chef? Drop us a comment below, and we’ll pester Chef Swanky to impart some more wisdom.
Follow Chef Swanky here and on Instagram at chefswankyhw.
[Enjoy this guest post from Mrs. Swanky]
My four-year-old is upset today that his big sister’s boyfriend wanted to sit down for a few minutes … after he had been playing and running in the house for 45 minutes.
I said, “Hey, sometimes big kids need to take a break.”
Four-year-old said, “But he’s not a big kid, he’s a dolt!” (He wasn’t insulting him. That’s four-year-old speak for “adult.”)
And you know what? He’s right. Big sister’s boyfriend is an adult, and sometimes the grownups need to take a little break. Have a sit. Meditate.
Even as few as five minutes of meditation can help calm your system and settle nerves.
I like to light incense at the end of the day and “have a sit” after all the kids are in bed and the house is quiet.
It’s relaxing to know we made it through another day.
* Obligatory disclaimer: We are not paid to promote these items. We just happen to like them.
Our guest blogger,
Mrs. Swanky, posts
on ways to Feed Yourself
— in body, mind, and spirit.
Let’s be honest, September is the actual New Year.
Sure, January has its brand new calendars with 12 blank months that invite you to start afresh. That time of year is a big, wrapped box waiting to be opened (at that point, wrapping paper and boxes are still in our brains), and they’re holding whispers of possibilities inside.
You get to say “buh-bye” to the old and take the hand of the new, all of it accompanied by fireworks and champagne and a quick kiss at midnight.
But September is where rubber meets road, as they say, where resolutions morph into to-do lists.
Vacations are over. School starts. After the ambling pace of summer, September brings structure, routine, and office supplies. Sticky notes, notebooks, new pens, more notebooks, more sticky notes.
It’s a checklist time of year, which means things are getting real. Only X number of days until Halloween, until Thanksgiving, until Christmas. No time to waste. Up and at ’em every morning. Hit the ground running.
Which is why this past weekend I celebrated New Year’s Eve. Yes I did. There I was making resolutions, dining on steak and lobster, popping a bottle of champagne, setting off fireworks at midnight.
Haha, just kidding. I didn’t go that far. Supper was the usual fare, and fireworks did not happen. But there were resolutions, and they immediately jumped onto my daily to-do list.
And yes, there was bubbly. Because of course there was.
