h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

So, is anyone among my subscribers also one of those people who is mildly annoyed when the Easter candy hits the store aisles in January, or they start piping in the Christmas carols in July? (Ok, maybe I am exaggerating a bit... but you know!!)

Just checking, because I am. Especially Christmas, though I admit that's because I don't really enjoy the holiday in general and have a tendency to be a grump. Not that I'm never a grump at other times of year, but especially so between Thanksgiving and New Year's.

But perhaps I am not the only person who's inconsistent in applying these standards? Because I not only have no problem with the Halloween stuff beginning to appear around mid-September, but I'm pleased that it gives me extra time to plan and assemble my costuming for the year.

K's decided this year we'll go with a Mexican Day of the Dead theme. Boy, I didn't think I'd regret putting the cheap sombrero I got for doing too many tequila shots at Salvador's into the charity pickup when we moved. I guess now I'm stuck going out for margaritas again, so I can get another one. Tragic! Seriously, though, hitting all the Halloween stores, the huge costume shop, and a couple of the local thrift stores is one of the highlights of autumn for me. The only down side is having to wait to actually wear it.

Is anyone else looking forward to Halloween yet, or am I just "special"?

Hmmm, I'm in two minds. While I love Halloween, I love this stage of Autumn more, so I don't want Halloween starting just yet, thanks. We're just getting our belated summer now!

I do love the autumn, though. The food tastes richer, and the woods smell woodsier.

I'm a bit conflicted: I love autumn and arrival of mince pies in the shops is a time of joy for me, but Christmas stuff in September annoys me.

I generally have a blue period around early November (when the Christmas adverts hit a peak) when I worry about spending Christmas on my own but that passes and I normally end up enjoying my birthday and Christmas.

Autumn is my very favorite season. Sadly, last year we hardly had one. It was really hot right up till mid-October, and Halloween itself was the first truly chilly night. I actually needed a long sleeved shirt under my strait-jacket. It still doesn't feel much like autumn, but then it's only mid-September. We've had two nights so far, though, where we were able to switch off the air conditioning and open windows overnight.

The thing with Christmas always was that there was just too much going on, and I had to be in too many places and around too many people. It's easier on me now, because while we spend the 25th with K's family, we spend the 24th by ourselves (though last year we took my uncle to a Chinese restaurant for dinner). Being around a lot of people for extended periods of time really drains me.

I don't mind Christmas, I quite like it. It's a mid-winter time out. Eat, drink and be merry, sun will come again. A lot of this is part of our zoology, I think.

What puts me in such a foul mood at Christmas is that people use it as an excuse to shove their meaningless religious stuff in my face. We can longer attend Christmas Eve at my husband's parents' house because of the passive-aggressive disrespect from some members of the family.

The mid-winter part is nice, and around these parts, the seasonal foods are my favorite in autumn and winter. The only sad thing about mid-winter is knowing that the misery of summer is only a few months away.

I especially like it when it's crisp and cold, but not absolutely freezing, and everything feels so still. Like the world is taking a long nap.

And thinking of autumn again (and lo, it actually kind of feels like autumn out there today, yay!!), the cool, crips air and associated smells are one of my favorite aspects as well. And all the apples and pumpkins and pears, and the smell of wood fires, and falling leaves.

But Halloween I love so much, I leave my decorations up all year round.

The Christmas and Halloween stuff seem to have appeared in stores almost simultaneously this year.

My S doesn't 'do' Halloween and I doubt I will bother this year either, costume opportunities and drinking are both somewhat restricted by the bump.

15 weeks till Christmas

Truth be told, I haven't seen any Christmas stuff yet - but then I try to avoid shops when possible. I'm sure it's lurking there waiting to pounce, though!

I love it all. Except Valentine's Day.

That makes it pretty easy!

I'm not at all a fan of Valentine's or any other Hallmark Holiday. But I will usually buy my OH some chocolate on clearance the day after when it's 75% off and I can get him four times as much.

Halloween, like valentines day, are too 'invented' for my taste... At least Christmas as an idea seems to have some history and age to it... and is far more closely associated with excessive eating of overly rich and tasty food-sorts, and utter over the top concsumption of alcohol... so I kinda like Christmas... at least the drinking and eating bits... and the seeing family and friends bits...

Autumn and winter I like just because of stews and casseroles and soups and bread, natch and crumpets, and muffins (of the English variety), and...
The cold weather has* to wait this year though... at least until I have a working central heating system again

Halloween has always had a lot of elements of Dia de los Muertos, more so now that I'm living around a lot more Hispanic people. I think that, more so than the transition to autumn in general, is what I've always enjoyed about it. All the skeletons and bats and spooky things. And planning the year's costume is so much fun. There's more stage blood and spirit gum and the like in our bathroom vanity than aspirin or band-aids.

Hearty soup and freshly baked bread are definitely among my favorite parts of winter. I haven't had a casserole in a long time, most recipes call for cheese and all that, but now that I have a properly functioning oven, I am going to have to get creative this winter.

What I dislike most about some of the Hallmark holidays like Valentine's Day, etc, aside from the commercialism associated with them, is the implication that it's OK to take people you care about for granted the rest of the year as long as you drop $20 on a card and some cheap flowers that day. Mother's Day, etc, is the same principle IMO.

Valentines Day is one that annoys me, I must admit. If I want to give somebody flowers, I'd rather do it when it feels right, not just some random date on the calendar.

Halloween, though, I like. It just feels right. It comes at the right time of the year.

What?!
What?! I am sorely disappointed... no one? Noone at all? NO one has mentioned the very very important, I'd have thought, date this very month! yes! International talk like a pirate day!

I used to like Valentines day a few years back, when I was seeing a guy who I'd been with sort of, for a number of years, not that we did any 'Valentine' type stuff, on the day; But his local pub had a beer festavil each year on that weekend (or the one nearest I can't quite remember now )

I must* this year get round to doing what I never quite got round to last winter/Autumn, and get a decent bit of venison from the butchers nearby for venison casserole Plus get some of the recipes I'm working on sorted out properly (like crumpets)
Main problem in the winter/cold, being a smoker, is not being able to just sit ouside the pub in the beer garden in any confort

Leggsy maybe I'm misjudging you, but I have visions of people running out the fire escape when you enter their beer garden.

One of the best things about Halloween is roast hazelnuts. You throw them in the fire, and when the shell explodes the nut inside is done to a nicety. it's like a built-in egg timer!

I've seen, bought and demolished my first box of mince pies of the year. I feel sated.

Between the craft fair at the farmers' market, and the trip to World Market store (it's next to someplace else we needed to go today), I have already maxed out on Halloween and Day of the Dead stuff. And it's not even October yet.

I never sit outside in beer gardens- one of my pet hates is "al fresco" dining.

We didn't see any mince pies at World Market but they will have them for Christmas. What we did see were a lot of pickles, pretzels, mustards and beers for Octoberfest. I made pretzels from scratch once!

I've just been reminded of a reason for me to enjoy Christmas: my favourite football team (Everton) rarely win before it but afterwards are nigh-unstoppable.

Over the past few seasons, it's become a bit of a truism that Everton don't win before Christmas. Last season, if the season had run January-May, Everton would have come second. That's why people showed up to our first game this season in Santa suits.

Never done much for Halloween here, because I was usually working. But this year, for the weekend after Halloween, I plan to go to an SCA event. "Medieval Dead" - dress as your favourite historic ghostie or ghoulie, shoot revenants with a bow and arrow, that kind of thing...