Halloween – Lucy L Jones PhD LLC

Mask Making

On Halloween afternoon, a group of women from my part of the island gathered to celebrate the occasion, or what the Celtics refer to as Samhain. Or maybe we simply wanted to gather for eating and chatting.
The table was ready with spider web dishes filled with edible goodies …

… and sparkly spiders watching votive flames.

Scattered around the room were other feathers and flames to set the scene.

After a scrumptious meal of pork, salad, breads and other goodies, we cleared the table and got to work. Each of us brought miscellaneous baubles and beads to share for decorating our masks.

Our hostess continued work on a feathered mask she’d already started before we arrived. Another artist created a fully encrusted and bejeweled mask, fit to rival that of any queen.

Each woman there had her own idea of how her mask would represent her inner … what? Goblin, ghost, ghoul, gremlin???

Some were still in process as I went around the table to take pictures of our creations. I had finished first, so my simple mask is the photo at the head of this post.

At last the entire group gathered to show off their art work. This is a beautiful group of women! Can you identify any of them?

A delightful time was had by all, as we sat around the table sharing stories and other sentiments. It’s at times like this that I miss my handsome black cat, Kaimana.

A hui hou!

Happy Halloween from Katrina!

When I checked my website this morning, I realized it has been over 2 weeks since I last posted something. Fall semester is my heaviest term, and as a result, school prep has come first. Now that we have passed the middle of the semester, I may be back on a regular basis again.

On September 4 of this year, I brought home a new kitten. As near as the vet could figure, she was born somewhere around the middle of June. This past week she was spayed by the Humane Society, and is doing fine. I took this shot of her with my cell phone about a month ago.

I have taken several pictures of her and like most proud owners of the feline species, I will be posting these periodically. Several of you have known about her from the beginning and are interested to know how she is doing now.

Katrina has several places where she likes to sleep – or survey her world, like the picture at the top of this post.

Her favorite place of all is across the red pillows of my chaise.

It’s not easy to get a shot when she’s asleep. The minute she hears me approach, even in her sound sleep, she is awake and watchful.

Then of course, there’s the big yawn and the question, “How dare you wake me up?”

She has found the ledge on my kitchen window.

What a brave, adventurous girl!

Like most playful kittens, she loves to pretend she is hiding. Can you find her?

Not only is Katrina a mischievous kitten, but she thinks she’s a dog! In a few weeks, I’ll try to post a little video of her playing “fetch” with me!

Happy Halloween!

All Hallows’ E’en

All Hallows’ E’en was the night before All Saints’ Day, a time when the deceased were honored. It was also a night when the ghosts and spirits of our “dearly departed” roamed the world, looking for a way back to their other world.

This celebration was also known as Samhain (pronounced sow-in) and roughly meant “Summer’s End” in Gaelic, a time for harvesting the summer fruits and vegetables.

Not only is it a time of rejoicing over the produce, but it’s also a season for goblins and witches, black cats and trick-or-treaters.

It seems that vampires are popular right now. I’m not sure I’d like to meet up with this character on Halloween night, even if he is my brother! Hilton was a guest organist for a Halloween concert a few years ago and performed as Count Dracula. Please visit his Halloween post from a year ago to read more about it, and to hear one of the pieces he wrote to celebrate Samhain.

Pumpkins and scarecrows have a place in all of this hullabaloo. Inga’s autumn display is quite appropriate here.

No matter where I look, I see these piercing eyes watching me. It would be a little spooky if I didn’t know it was my beloved cat, Kaimana! He fits right into the spirit of this holiday, don’t you think?

Then there are those weird creatures that come up from the bottom of the ocean, like Davy Jones (aka Hilton Jones). I can hear him dripping seaweed all the way over here. I hope this sailor didn’t drown off my sailboar.

The waxing moon will be almost full tonight, a good time for letting the “old man in the moon” keep watch over us.

My word of warning for tonight is not to eat too many treats, watch out for the trickers, and be safe out there! (There’s that darn cat looking at me again!)

A hui hou!