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Well, it's going to be another busy weekend for my camera. Many years ago, my parents, siblings and I, decided that if we wanted to all get together for Christmas there were going to have to be some concessions — most notably when this get-together would happen. None of us lived near each other.  The majority of our kids were older and beginning to scatter as well. Throw in the fact that many of them had to be shared with the families of significant others and finding a good time in the holiday season when everyone could be there was becoming nothing short of impossible. The solution? Let the celebration begin early. The first weekend in November has become my family 'Christmas'. Generally there's no snow, making travel easier,  and the other festive parties and gatherings have yet to busy up everyone's schedules. As  a result, attendance is darn near perfect, which makes it a great opportunity for photos. Getting a large group of relatives together for a so

Oops. A Halloween ritual, which despite a bit of a disinterest in the holiday my husband has always managed to get done, kind of got lost in all of the other busyness of life this year. While there are two lovely pumpkins that are part of an autumn collage on my front porch, not one of them is sporting a ghoulish sneer. We are without a jack-o-lantern for the first time in forever. Too bad. Hubby always did a fairly decent job of it. Or at least that's what I thought until catching a glimpse of some other folks' works of art. Rather than the familiar sneering visage, people are carving everything from skeletons to arching cats into their pumpkins. Pretty cool, really. Though I have to say I would have been happy with the old familiar face. So, as I don't have my own to express my Happy Halloween wishes, here instead are some wonderful jack-o-lantern illustrations. iCLIPART.com Jack-o-Lantern Illustrations Acclaim Images Jack-o-Lanterns iPHOTOS.com Jack-o-Lan

Tomorrow night the wee ones will pour forth onto the streets visiting door-to-door for treats.  Tonight the older children often have a difference approach as mischief prevails for Devil's Night. Devil's Night dates to the 1940s when kids in urban areas burned off some energy in acts of vandalism. Generally they were fairly harmless with little or no damage to property.  Typical 'projects' included waxing windows, toilet papering the landscape and smashing the odd pumpkin. Unfortunately as things catch on there always seems to be a few rotten eggs who carry it too far. By the early 1970s mischief had taken on a more serious tone with destructive acts such as arson. While giving name to even the darkest of deeds or doers tends to romanticize them, with nothing but evil behind the intent of Devil's Night it is fitting that it honours the personification of all things fiendish. Today, however, in the spirit of fun rather than destruction we will give the devi

The tap, tap, tap on the door.  You open slowly to discover a ghoulish group of goblins, ghosts and assorted friends standing on your porch.  Then your eyes light on a flash of colour, a sparkle and twinkle. There, dressed in a profusion of pink, blonde ringlets and a glittering tiara is the princess. While the bevy of  creepy friends accompanying her on this Halloween trick-or-treat mission are cute,  the royal visitor is enchanting, bringing with her the magic of fairytales and childhood stories. I know there are exceptions, but I personally don't know of many little girls who haven't dreamed of being a  princess.  Some might argue that it perpetuates a stereotype, the weak and beautiful damsel whose only hope of rescue is from the handsome prince. But I think we can take it another way. Yes, the prince did save Cinderella from a life of drudgery, but it was her tenacity and daring that ultimately led her to him. Certainly Snow White needed the prince to awaken her, b

The fun thing about Halloween is of course dressing up. There's something liberating about hiding behind a costume, taking on a new persona, whether macabre, silly or famous. I attended a party this past weekend and besides the fun of being in costume, it was also entertaining to see all the terrific ones that others had come up with.  If you can suspend reality for a bit, there's something surreal about watching Marilyn Monroe cavorting simultaneously with zombies and Wonder Woman. On the dance floor creepy ghouls, evil witches and unearthly vampires present a contrast in moods as they blithely trip the light fantastic — a happy crush of the otherworldly and out of this world. From this cast of creepy characters, however, there is one with the potential to raise a blip of unease. He's not particularly ghastly or grisly; reaction comes more from the reality of what he represents. Unlike mummies, zombies, ghosts, etc., from which in the real world we have nothing to fear