A Life, Lived

Travel Tuesdays - Naples

You may wonder why I travel to Naples today - here's a hint, Hallowe'en is in two days. . .

I knew that there was an odd  mix of superstitious beliefs with Christian religion in the many ways the people of Naples worshipped the cult of the dead. Knowing it was one thing, seeing it yourself, another.

I became quickly aware that skulls, bones, and skeletons were on ready display in this city. Bronze skulls, rubbed repeatedly by those passing by for good luck were in front of churches.

It wasn't a recent phenomena as we saw in the mosaics excavated from Pompeii. The saints most commonly depicted with skulls and bones were very popular in churches here.

We even noticed skull motifs appearing in graffiti.

Be sure to pop on over to Sandi's blog to see what else is happening on Travel Tuesdays!

Photo Hunt -Stir

This week's Photo Hunt theme is 'stir'.

It is tradition in our house to have a big pot of chili on Hallowe'en night. I'll be stirring one of these on Thursday!

Hallowe'en Group Therapy

Some seasonal humour!.

Hallowe'en Pics

We were left for Toronto on Sunday - I was running a program in the city Sunday night, Monday, and Tuesday. Before we left we had decorated the house and front yard for Hallowe'en. When Sandy pounced with those winds we were sure that our decorations would be tossed about the neighbourhood. Funilly enough they were fine but the cast iron table in the back yard was flipped about like it was a leaf.

At least the house was still decorated!

I had taken today off of work which was a great thing because I was exhausted!

Paolo set up the treats . . .

We carved the pumpkins.

We dressed the cats up in their costumes for about 15 seconds.

By 5:00 we had everything ready to go.

We were a bit surprised - it was cold and wet. We figured we'd have fewer children than usual - instead we had 119 (one was a repeat but we didn't want candy left over so we didn't care *smile*).

It was great to see so many creative costumes this year!

We had our traditional Hallowe'en dinner - chili with buttered noodles and nachos!

Back to the office tomorrow - sigh.

Happy Hallowe'en!

If you're in the path of Frankenstorm I hope you managing to weather the weather with the assistance of wine, milk for the kiddies, and candles.

Sucks to have had a storm so close to Hallowe'en.

Nonetheless, it is one of my favourite tmes of the year. For entertainment I have turned to my beloved Savage Chickens for some giggles . . .

Hallowe'en is Coming . . .

 . . . and nowhere would be more appropriate for enjoying it than Naples, Italy which seems to have a special affinity for the dark side of things!

 

Photo Hunt - Stuck

This week's photo hunt theme is stuck!

It doens't bode well if the very theme for the hunt has you stuck. Stuck generally means a mini crisis of sorts - cars stuck in the snow, that sort of thing. When that happens I help out, I don't snap a picture. Stuck could be a baking crisis where the cake is stuck in the pan. I'm certainly NOT snapping a photo of the cake after I scrape it out!

Like I said, the theme had me stuck.

Then when I searched waaaaaaayyyyy back in my photo archive I found a picture of Paolo carving a hallowe'en pumpkin. It looks like his hand is stuck in the thing!

Happy hunting y'all. I hope you don't have as much struggle find a shot as I did!

Bones and Skulls in Naples

I mentioned a more macabre side of Naples in a post before we left. I knew that there was an odd  mix of superstitious beliefs with Christian religion in the many ways the people of Naples edthe cult of the dead. Knowing it was one thing, seeing it yourself, another.

I became quickly aware that skulls, bones, and skeletons were on ready display in this city. Bronze skulls, rubbed repeatedly by those passing by for good luck were in front of churches. It wasn't a recent phenomena as we saw in the mosaics excavated from Pompeii. The saints most commonly depicted with skulls and bones were very popular in churches here.

We even noticed skull motifs appearing in graffiti.

I started to collect these images with my camera and thought that today, Hallowe'en, would be a perfect day to share . . .

Happy Hallowe'en

October 31st . . . already?

Where is the year going?

Sigh

Today was a very busy day what with cleaning, chores, work for the office AND getting ready for Hallowe'en!

The hi-light of the day was a visit from our friend Catherine and her little guy who was dressed like Batman.

After they left (and the cats came out of hiding) we had lunch and started on the yard work.

Remember those days when weekends were nothing but fun and relaxation?

The house is decorated for tonight. Soon I'll have to head downstairs to make the giant pot of chili that is our Hallowe'en tradition.

Have a spooky night y'all!

Photo Hunt - Dark

This week's Photo Hunt theme is 'dark'. Tomorrow night is Hallowe'en and when it gets dark the local ghosts and goblins will be haunting for treats. We have lots of lights out front to ward off the dark . . . .

 
Happy Hallowe'en y'all!