Halloween is here! Also Samhain. Also Day of the Dead, which is very popular around here. Whichever combination you observe, I hope you’re having a magical holiday. Mine has started with a nice cup of Witch of the Woods tea. This seems the right day for it.

This year I finally put up a proper (well, kind of proper) ancestor altar for Samhain. We printed out pictures of our honored dead, including my daughter’s dearly departed guinea pig, along with some flowers and treats and reminders of them. Our altar sits atop a bookcase, which I think would especially please my dad. The fairy cross stitch on the wall and the dinosaur bookends were made by one of the pictured ancestors, as well.

I always make a healthy dinner on Halloween to balance out all the candy we eat, and when that’s done we’ll make a plate of that to share. On the off chance that you care what we’re eating, I’m making sausage and sweet potato hash, kale salad, and corn on the cob. It should taste good, but it’s also all fall colors because sometimes I’m goofy like that. We’ll also be making Shirley Temples, a famous mocktail. My grandfather used to order them for my mother when she was little. She always talked about them, but I guess she never realized how easy they are to make at home.

Aside from all the ancestor connections, Samhain is often considered “the Witch’s New Year’s,” and last Samhain I declared this the “year of health” for myself. I had to do some hard work on my physical and mental health and I’m really pleased with the progress I’ve made. My anxiety and depression are much improved, I can jog three miles (nearly 5 kilometers) at a stretch, I’ve lost a lot of weight, and my blood pressure and blood sugar are darn near perfect now. This morning at the gym an elderly gentlemen told me he was inspired watching me over the past months. I hardly think I’m inspiring, but I choose to think that on Samhain of all days, he was channeling my ancestors for a few seconds; just maybe they’re proud of the healthy changes I’ve made this year.

Now that my “year of health” is ending, I’ll be entering what I call a “year of firsts and lasts” as my oldest kid finishes high school and prepares to move out on her own. My older two are only a year apart, so as oldest finds her first fulltime job and her first apartment, my second will start his last year of high school. So many milestones and adjustments this year for all of us. For me, it will be about maintaining my healthy progress while trying to handle all these changes. Hopefully I’ll manage to handle most of them gracefully.

And with that, I’m about done talking your ear off. It’s about time for me to change the laundry and play some Costume Quest. Next week I’ll be finished reading Paul Clifford and hopefully have some excellent progress to report on the Catboat Cardigan. Until then, I hope you have a lovely day and a peaceful fall. –Corvus