Halloween is a wonderful excuse for spooky celebration for people of all ages in the United States, but its true roots are in the Celtic New Year, Samhain, the one night of the year when the veil between the tangible world and the Other Side parts, and those who died during the year have an opportunity to pass on to the next life.
If you have read my past Halloween posts, you will know that Trick or Treat originated in Ireland, with people leaving cakes and ale on their doorsteps to appease passing spirits (it didn't take adventurous young folks long to figure out that they could get a little tipsy and also have a feast of sweets if they braved the night and absconded with the offerings for the dead). And the Jack O'Lantern was set out to light the spirits' path on their journey.
This New Year is bringing some new things to our family. Some planned, some not. One of the downsides of having a yarn store is having almost no time in which to blog, but I am trying to amend that.
Unplanned: our bathroom floor quite nearly collapsed the first week in October, and for the next few weeks we made do with the half-bath to wash ourselves up (and an occasional shower at my Mom's apartment) while the bathroom was gutted. Our old molded plastic tub had been leaking onto the floor below from inside the drain -- without our knowledge, of course -- for quite some time, and had rotted through the subfloor and joists. We were literally about to fall through the floor! It was a lot of hard work, but now we have a lovely new bathroom with a tile floor and tub surround, and a piece of granite left over from someone's much larger and much more extravagant kitchen as our bathroom countertop. There is also a good, solid cast iron tub. I will boast just a little and admit that I designed it myself to best take advantage of space and storage. I will post pictures soon.
Planned: we must choose to part with a dear old water oak which is immediately behind our home. It is an old and dear friend, but it is sick, and near the end of its life cycle. It is over 90 feet tall with a great deal of rot in its core, and we fear it will come crashing down through the house if there is a big storm. We take ending a tree's life every bit as seriously as euthanizing a dear pet, but we plan to make amends to its spirit by planting a trio of young cypress trees in its place.
Planned: The next thing is: a complete rearrangement of the Knitting Asylum to make it more cozy: new and better shelving that will hold MUCH more yarn, cushy old chairs rescued from thrift stores, and I am slowly starting a new selection of yarns for the fall and winter. Updates with photos will follow soon. My loyal employee Wren, and a few loyal customers are helping me re-design, and we are using a lot of Feng Shui principles for good traffic flow and also for good luck, because, quite frankly, I need it. The store will also be much more snug and welcoming for those who wish to sit and knit for awhile. I am very pleased at the progress we are making and slowly but surely it will be snug and cozy. We are even planning a tea station.
Also planned this month: a huge garage sale with my dear friend Diana to unload clutter from our homes and earn enough for some pocket money and maybe a dinner out with her family, my family and a couple of friends.
I am trying to get back on a quasi-normal blogging schedule. There will be lots of neat new information about the store, very soon -- and just in time for Christmas knitting, too!
More to come soon...
Dez
