Walpurgisnacht!!

[Murfreesboro]

Well, I did hear Nicole Kidman say that she associates Christmas with the beach, since that's what she did growing up, so you are probably right about that. It would seem beyond weird to me.

[Pumpkin_Head]

It would be weird for me, too. My junior year in high school my grandmother died, and we had to go down to florida on the day after Christmas. I was walking around in shorts and a T shirt, and went swimming in the gulf after the wake and funeral were over, because we had a 3 day wait before our return flight left for home. Believe it or not, it thought it was weird but neat, taking into consideration, of course, that I was 17 when we did that.

It was still the Northern hemisphere, however, so it was shorter days. In the Southern hemisphere, the days would be rather long, and it actually would be Summer, so I would have to experience it for myself, but I don't think I would like it. As much as I hate Winter, I still prefer Christmas to be a Winter holiday as that's what I'm use to. I'm also use to Halloween being a Fall holiday with the days rapidly growing shorter.

Mike

[Murfreesboro]

There've been a couple of Christmases in the 2010's that were 75 degrees here, and I hated that. OTOH, the Christmas Eve of 2010 it actually snowed, a good solid snowfall of 4-6 inches. We walked out of midnight service, and everything was white, and it was still coming down. That has happened to me only once before in my life, in Arkansas when I was a teenager.

[Andybev01]

I like the look of snow but I can't stand having to live in it. I like movie snow, white glistening perfect and made out of plastic.

[Pumpkin_Head]

I remember one Christmas it got up to 65 when I was a teenager, and the very Easter that followed that Christmas, it snowed and we had a daytime high of 12 degrees on Easter Sunday. To boot, the cars we had at that time wouldn't start, so we had to bum a ride from my older brother to go to Easter Sunday Mass.

Mike

[Murfreesboro]

That was a mixed up holiday season!

[Pumpkin_Head]

That is was, but it seems that's becoming the norm any more. Right now, we're approaching mid may, and it's down in the 40s right now, and we won't even break 70 degrees until Saturday.

And speaking of mixed up holidays, last Halloween, here in Illinois we had a blizzard. I had to shovel snow so the ToTers could get to my door, and they were riding on sleds towed by golf carts. I still had a lot of Halloween fun, though.

This year we get a full moon, and Halloween falls on a Saturday.

Mike

[Murfreesboro]

We've had freezes this May, too. So unusual!

I hope by Halloween we can all have a blow-out holiday!

[Pumpkin_Head]

That's exactly what I'm hoping for. With a full moon and a Saturday, it definitely has better potential then most Halloweens have. The only fly in the proverbial ointment is that October 31st is only 4 days before the general election, and the unfortunate happenstance is that presidential elections tend to grossly overshadow Halloween. For my part, I am going to refrain from ANY election activity, (i.e. posting political opinions on facebook, putting up posters for my candidate, etc) until Sunday Nov 1st, because I want NOTHING to get in the way of Halloween next October. I know it's an important election and all, but like the proverbial "show," Halloween must go on, and I am going to get into it with GUSTO this year!

Now Halloween was also the day we were supposed to "Fall back" the clocks by one hour, but it looks like the 'Great State of Illinois' is NOT going to 'Fall back' this year, so no extra hour of Halloween for me. BUT, full moon and Saturday, I can definitely live with it, and I might even be sporting a new car by then, Sort of an early 'Trick or Treat.' So it looks to be pretty promising.

Mike

[Murfreesboro]

We rarely display political signs. My husband used to be a military officer, and the officers, at least, are forbidden to make a public display of their political affiliations. It has been many years since he was active duty, but he still has that habit.

OTOH, we might get a clue re the winner from the sale of Halloween masks.

[Pumpkin_Head]

I may put out a yard sign or two, because of the nature of this very election, but I will not allow it to get in the way of my favorite night of the year. I also like the idea of Halloween masks. I actually might try my hand at making one myself, then the next time I go to the grocery store, have a mask over my mouth and nose with the face of a jack o'lantern on it. I bet that would be good for a few laughs. I could make one with vampire teeth, one with a mustache, or maybe one that's such a perfect match for a real mouth that it will look like I'm talking without moving my lips. I bet that would freak out a few people. ( narf narf ) Hey, if I have to wear a mask in public, then I'm going to HAVE FUN WITH IT!!

Mike

[Murfreesboro]

Absolutely, have fun with it! Though I really hope the mask-wearing rules will have slackened by then. It's not compulsory around here, and some people do wear them, but many don't.

[Pumpkin_Head]

It's about the same way in my neck of the woods. We're not yet required to wear mask, all though Pritzker wants to make it a 1200 dollar fine for not wearing one in public, and many stores require a mask or you don't get in.

BUT like I said, I am going to make the best of it. What else can I do??? Besides, I think this Covid 19 thing WILL start waning long before October.


Mike

[Andybev01]

Stores in our area insist that patrons wear masks but if they don't have one the stores provide them.

They don't want to spread the germs but they do need the busine$$.

[Murfreesboro]

I'm pretty sure I heard on TV yesterday that people are now required to wear masks "in public" by the Nashville mayor. I wondered if that meant outside, too? I cannot imagine anything sillier than wearing a mask outside in the open air.

And I was reading in a magazine, published in March, that Covid 19 cannot survive in temps of 79+ degrees. So why aren't we all at the beach?