Moon Phase Calculator at Moonglow

Do you want to know what the moon looked like at special times in your life?
Click on the Moon Calcualtor at the website Moonglow.
It's interesting and fun to check the moon on a birthday, wedding, graduation, or other significant events.

http://moonglow.com/moon-calculator

Country Garden Center and Nursery at GoodSeed Farm

GoodSeed Farm is located in Southwestern Ohio, in the Appalichian foothills and the Amish country. The owners write about their experiences in visiting a garden shop from the past. "Orol Ledden and Sons," or Ledden's, offered not only garden seeds and tools, but a unique experience of an old building with history. This experience inspired GoodSeed Farm:

"When we bought this old farm, we wanted to create the kind of destination that Ledden’s was for us, a magic place where people would bring their kids in the hope that they would learn the excitement of planting, and return each year like migrating birds." 
GoodSeed Farm
http://goodseedfarm.com/public/index.cfm?fuseaction=articles.view&id=8635

Stones and Gems Azurite

Stones and Gems Azurite "Azurite is used to help ease anxiety and provide clarity when making decisions. It can help you to re-evaluate your life and discover any hidden talents that you may have. It's a great stone for letting go of old habits and starting anew. It can also help reduce depression and or anger." http://wiccanmoonsong.blogspot.com/2012/08/azurite.html

Happy Halloween 2012

Happy Halloween 2012

Last Minute Halloween Costume Ideas









Making a costume to be the Headless Horseman or Ichabod Crane is easy and inexpensive.

Painting "The Headless Horseman Pursuing Ichabod Crane." By John Quidor. Wikimedia Commons.

 







It's the day before Halloween, and still without costumes. Costume shops can offer last-minute choices for fun costumes. For folks on a budget, or without funds at all for Halloween, there are many ways to get a great costume.

The most important part is to remember that all throughout history, people can have a good time using the resources they have. During the Depression era, Halloween costumes were as simple as a ghost costume, an old sheet with holes cut out for the eyes, nose, and  mouth. Hobos and scarecrow costumes involves old jeans and shirts. Use human ingenuity to imagine a low-cost costume.

The first step involves brainstorming. Make a list of what you want to be for Halloween. Check online or in Halloween or Autumn stories, poems, movies, or tv shows for extra ideas. Let your imagination roam over all these images.

Settle on one or two ideas, keeping the other ideas in case of last-minute changes. Start "shopping at home." Look in your home, or ask friends and family if they have any items you need. Gather materials, accessories, footwear, clothing, even if you are not sure how you will use them. Place them on the bed or floor, and begin mixing and matching items. Often, this process will spark some ideas you may not have thought of.

Begin to try on various combinations of outfits. Add hats, make-up, hair styles, jewelry, props. Practice walking in the outfit for comfort and ease. Make sure that your choice will be warm enough for outdoor weather, or comfortable for indoor parties.

With a fun, inexpensive, or free Halloween costume, enjoying the Autumn holidays can be easy, inexpensive, and free.

Updates:

Safety First
To fully enjoy any holiday, particularly Halloween, safety is first and fun will follow.
Some Halloween face paint contains poisons. Read the labels, and look for non-toxic alternatives.
"Studies have found that cadmium, chromium, lead, other heavy metals, other toxic chemicals — that can get into a child's body by putting these creams on their faces," according to John Bennett of Sierra Club Canada. Bennett advises to check the labels. Avoid make-up with no label of ingredients, or if poisonous ingredients are listed, such as lead, cadmium, or chromium. Run a net search of any ingredients you don't know. In fact, it may be safer to avoid make-up altogether.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/halloween-face-paints-can-contain-heavy-metals-eco-group-warns-1.2253038

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amy-ziff/halloween-makeup_b_4006756.html


A new trend is to wear colored contact lenses, but consider the costs of discomfort, infections, even blindness. "...it is illegal to sell colored contact lenses without a prescription in the United States. All contact lenses are medical devices that require a prescription and proper fitting by an eye-care professional."
http://www.geteyesmart.org/eyesmart/eye-health-news/scary-lenses.cfm

Regarding discomfort, we can take a cue from Orlando Bloom, who initially covered his brown eyes with blue contacts for Legolas in Lord of the Rings. The hassle and discomfort are said to have caused him to discard the contacts; hence, in the filmed trilogy, Legolas' eyes are sometimes blue and sometimes brown.

Here at the Merry Rose, we think that Halloween is about having fun in a comfortable, creative costume or attire. Especially kids can have fun in simple costumes and make-up.

Additional References Updated with info from the 2013 to 2014 tv show Sleepy Hollow

Sanja Hays costumed the pilot episode.
http://sanjahays.com/sleepy-hollow/
Sanja explains her original design for Ichabod Crane:
"I tried to do the look where he does the period clothes, but he doesn't look so strange," the designer said. "So we chose the militia coat so he looks like a rock star in it. When I was choosing the uniform, I was consciously going for the longer coat--not the cutaway blue uniform of the American Revolution [with the red trim], but more the New York militia coat because it's a longer coat."
In reproducing Crane's look, use longer coats, such as peacoats, car coats, or longer leather jackets.
http://fashionista.com/2013/10/sleepy-hollow-costume-designer-on-why-ichabod-crane-might-never-change-his-outfit#2&awesm=~oEM1eXgq2B6rFq

Kristin M. Burke costumes the show.
http://clothesonfilm.com/sleepy-hollow-qa-with-costume-designer-kristin-m-burke/34583/

Tom Mison plays Ichabod Crane.
http://www.tom-mison.com/content/sleepy-hollow-costume-designer-talks-shop

Procosplay offers costume details.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIGn1OQr_S0

Dark Knight Armoury has versions of Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow, clothing for purchase and for ideas.
http://www.darkknightarmoury.com/c-770-sleepy-hollow.aspx

Screen Used offers info about Movie Props and Wardrobe, more on Burton's version.
https://www.screenused.com/?sectionID=item-detail&subsectionID=index.cfm&item_id=2934

Carbon Costume "Ichabod Crane" Oct. 7, 2013 by Kristina
http://carboncostume.com/ichabod-crane/

Coolest Home Made Costumes
http://ideas.coolest-homemade-costumes.com/homemade-character-costumes/movie-costumes/sleepy-hollow-costume/

Burnt Creme from Clinkerdagger's Restaurant on The Recipe Reader

Clinkerdagger, Bickerstaff, and Pett's Public House and Burnt Creme.

Now known as "Clink's" the restaurants of the Pacific Northwest offered diners an English pub decor, complete with servers in pub costumes. The restaurants were located with views of rivers, lakes, and sounds. The menu included appetizers, salads, soups, and entrees of beef, port, chicken, and seafood.

Many patrons returned not only for the good meals, but for the famous desserts. One favorite was burnt creme. So many people asked for the recipes that Clink's printed up complimentary recipe cards.

Here is a modified version of Clink's delicious burnt creme from The Recipe Reader:
http://therecipereader.com/clink-crme.htm

2 cups heavy cream
4 egg yolks
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Granulated sugar for caramelized topping

Begin by preheating the oven temperature to 325 degrees.
Heat a kettle full of water, for boiling water to pour around custard cups.
Pour the cream into a small pan, and put on medium heat.
Turn off the heat and remove the pan when the mixture just begins to boil.
In a bowl, mix 4 egg yokes with sugar until the mixture seems smooth.
Then slowly add in the cream and continue to mix until its blended.
Stir in 1 tablespoon of vanilla.
Place 6 custard cups in a large pan.
Fill each cup half full with creme mixture.
Fill the pan with water, with a level about half of each custard cup.
Bake for about 40 minutes, until a knife comes out clean from the custard.
(This is the hard part)
Chill the custard until it's cold.
Sprinkle a layer of sugar on top of each custard cup.
Set the broiler, place the cups under the broiler, and heat until the sugar turns brown and bubbles.
Even if it's "burnt," this dessert tastes great.








Clinkerdagger, Bickerstaff and Petts's Public House. Image Archives. Tacoma Public Library. Circa 1972.
http://search.tacomapubliclibrary.org/images/dt6n.asp?krequest=subjects+contains+Clinkerdagger,%20Bickerstaff%20Pett's%20Public%20House%20and%20Tacoma%20

Chestnut Roasting and Other Preparations. Posted by Ms. Dashwood. Thursday, October 18, 2012.

"Foraging for Wild Chestnuts in Portland." By Cassandra Profita. Ecotrope. October 16, 2012.
http://ecotrope.opb.org/2012/10/foragingforwildchestnutsinportland/

The Christmas song mentions "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire..." and many of us are reminded of the warm, nutty smell of roasted chestnuts on the street corners of large cities, or perhaps in the country.

Yet, actually roasting them involves a bit of a process.

The article "Foraging for Wild Chestnuts in Portland" by Cassandra Profita, on Ecotrope, October 16, 2012, reviews chestnut basics, with clear photos:

According to the article, first make sure you are roasting edible chestnuts. Avoid horse chestnuts.
Chestnuts purchased at the store may be easier to cook and eat than wild chestnuts.

The Comment section is lively with advice about various ways to cook chestnuts. As for finding them, one poster suggested old graveyards, perhaps a nice late October Halloween activity, during the afternoon, and not evening, of course.