Cider and pomegranates.

Here’s a quick Halloween/Samhain rundown for you, my pretties. It was on a Monday, which is a pretty blah day for a holiday, but we do what we can, yes? Since we didn’t have lots of time to prep, we kept our celebration short and sweet and very tasty.

Red’s pumpkin, Robert O’Lantern.

Like last year, we set up our candy-distributing station in the front yard, in front of our firepit. It wasn’t too chilly, and the fire kept us warm. I tried to toast a marshmallow, but the firepit’s screen made it tough and sticking my hand into the flames didn’t work out so well either. So my s’more was a little half-assed, but still tasty. In case you’re wondering, Bug Bites are the perfect size for s’mores, and they come with cute little insect cards inside!

Red and I have acquired quite a taste for mulled cider during the fall. I use the recipe in Kristin Madden’s Mabon: Celebrating the Autumn Equinox. It’s basically a bunch of pumpkin pie-type spices and some brown sugar, simmered with your cider or unfiltered apple juice. While we drank it straight on Samhain, it’s also very delicious with a slug of spiced rum (Sailor Jerry, represent!).

Here be cider.

In keeping with the theme of seasonal snacks, we nibbled on some pomegranate seeds. While Red and I seeded the pom (not as hard as you’d think), I told him the story of Persephone and why pomegranate seeds are an appropriate Samhain snack. I have an abiding love for Greek mythology thanks to this book, which was a very influential part of my childhood.

Here is a more fun version of that myth, which you should totally read. In fact, you should read everything on that blog, then come back here so we can geek out about it. Red doesn’t think it’s as funny as I do, but then again he did normal-kid stuff, not hole up in his room reading about satyrs and centaurs and Zeus transforming himself into animals so he could get his freak on.

He is not thinking of turning into a swan in order to get into my pants.

Um, yeah, and we gave out candy, then went to sleep.

Final CSA roundups coming soon! (Soon being relative in blog-time, but you know.) Plus, this weekend is Thanksgiving with the Turkeys at Poplar Spring, so there will be epic awesomeness afoot. Kisses!

If it’s a day that ends in y, I’m probably wearing the panda ears.