Its fixing to be that time again. My favorite time of the year. Halloween, or to be historically correct, Samhain. Samhain is originally from Ireland. The Celts believed that one night a year the veil between the living and the dead was at its thinnest. This was when the dead were allowed to walk the earth to wander and visit their still living family and friends. There are many traditions that have been passed down and some that are no longer are and some that are newer than you think.
Wearing costumes, carving pumpkins and even bobbing for apples are a few of the many different Samhain traditions and games. The Celts would wear costumes in hopes to confuse the spirits that were allowed to roam the earth for that one night. Bobbing for apples traditionally i believe was from the Victorian ages but a children's game to "predict" your future husband or wife. Threw out Samhain's life there have been many different games to indicate ones future spouse or if you were to be married in the following year or if you were even to die that following year. One of my favorite's it how the jack o' lantern came to be.
People have been making jack-o'-lanterns at Halloween for centuries. The practice originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed "Stingy Jack." According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy Jack didn't want to pay for his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack could use to buy their drinks. Once the Devil did so, Jack decided to keep the money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form. Jack eventually freed the Devil, under the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year and that, should Jack die, he would not claim his soul. The next year, Jack again tricked the Devil into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While he was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree's bark so that the Devil could not come down until the Devil promised Jack not to bother him for ten more years.
Soon after, Jack died. As the legend goes, God would not allow such an unsavory figure into heaven. The Devil, upset by the trick Jack had played on him and keeping his word not to claim his soul, would not allow Jack into hell. He sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with ever since. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as "Jack of the Lantern," and then, simply "Jack O'Lantern."
In Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own versions of Jack's lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them into windows or near doors to frighten away Stingy Jack and other wandering evil spirits. In England, large beets are used. Immigrants from these countries brought the jack o'lantern tradition with them when they came to the United States. They soon found that pumpkins, a fruit native to America, make perfect jack-o'-lanterns.
Whoo....so on that note...it may be bed time. 

photos taken about a month ago testing out my new go pro hero 2 camera!

 My New dress my friend Karen bought for me. Ive never worn such a long dress before, i felt a little out of place in it.

 This Sunday Keith & I down one of my favorite spots to bike. We were on our way to Carpe Diem.

 It was so good! I got half cappuccino and half salted caramel, so good!

 My first crop! You know, i try & try to help something grow and nothing, so when i dont do anything, it grows.

I made hot buttered apple cider with rum. Extremely good.

SO i am still trying to understand the order in which to upload photos onto this thing, im very slow when it comes to technology unfortunately, But what a weekend! My cousin Chris is down from San Diego, so i hung out with him and his lady Sherri which are recently engaged as of three hours ago! Im pretty excited, Sherri is super cool plus its just another awesome excuse to go back to the west coast. So this weekend consisted with visits from family & friends, hanging out with the pups, bike rides, vintage shoe shopping, & coffee....lots and lots of coffee.
Tonight after a long day of working, by myself might i add (it makes for a very long & boring work day) i made potato soup & hot buttered apple cider w/ rum- super super yummy. I usually throw a big Halloween party every year but recent party events that just passed has made me decide to stop throwing parties unless small. So that being said im pretty excited for turnip & pumpkin carving party that im throwing.
That all being said, im trying to write somewhat long posts because sometimes i can write short ones or somehow repeat myself (sorry in advance if i do). And on that note, till next time!

I was going to wait till the end of the weekend to write again BUT im too excited. I just made my first etsy.com purchase and snagged myself these hot mommas from the 70's!

For real this time

Okay, so this is about my fifth time trying to keep up with a blog. Im usually a very busy person and when i am not i like to do more outdoor activities than veg out on the couch, though those days are needed at times too. So im making it my goal to keep up with this blog weather people read it or not because I will be moving to Washington state in about a year so it would be nice to be in that blog groove so at least my mom can read on my out of state on goings.
So, maybe i should start with a little bit about myself then? The name is Abby but sometimes I go by Stabbs which is my roller derby name. I hail from the dirty dirty south known as Louisiana. I am into a little bit of everything. In my spare time from working at a poboy shop & beating girls on the derby track i like to make art, read, cross stitch, knit, exercise, bike (preferably at night), go see shows, belly dance, hulla hoop dance, collect films & records, hang out with my dogs & am currently learning to play the guitar & work on my art portfolio for a apprenticeship.

More later, going for a ride!