Hosting Halloween

Jason and I just held our annual Halloween bash. As always, it was a tremendous undertaking. The planning for this event usually begins sometime in August and escalates as it approaches. Thinking of putting on a Halloween shindig of your own? May our terrifying process convince you that that would only be lunacy. Every year is a little different but here are the 26 steps that were required to produce and recover from our festivities this time:

1. Create and order invites.
2. Buy prizes for the costume contest, bingo and various other games with all ages considered.
3. Order costume contest medals.

Jason and I went steampunk this year.
Jason and I went steampunk this year.

4. Buy fabric and sew costumes. One sentence doesn’t seem adequate to represent the work involved in this. Good thing I just made it three.
5. Tag and decorate 48 bottles of butterscotch beer as party favors for the adults.
6. Buy a piñata and its fillings. Stuff it.
7. Arrange for food. This year’s sustenance came in the form of catering from Waffle Love. They brought their delicious waffles, and waffle truck, to us.

I don't even want to acknowledge how lont it took me to tag and decorate these 48 party favors.
I don’t even want to acknowledge how long it took me to tag and decorate these 48 party favors.
Silas dressed as a possessed doll and played the part quite creepily.
Silas dressed as a possessed doll and played the part quite creepily.

8. Buy supplies for the kids’ craft table.
9. Build a custom playlist with all those Halloween favorites and some lesser-known creepy beats.
10. Buy kiddie goodie-bags plus an assortment of innards and cram them all in. This year we put together almost 40 of these bags and all but a few were given out.
11. Address and mail invites.

What a darling family.
What a darling family.

12. Gussy up costume contest prizes with ribbons, feathers, eyeballs and anything else bumpy in the night.
13. Prep craft table by constructing examples of all the finished products so that the little folk will know what they’re trying to make.
14. Go to a patch and handpick pumpkins. Paint these pumpkins black and white so guests can decorate them with chalk and decals. All this jack-o business took way too long so don’t expect it to happen again next year.

Never underestimate the eeriness the right lighting can add to a scene.
Never underestimate the eeriness the right lighting can add to a scene.
Eden took undead to the animals with her zombie cat costume.
Eden took undead to the animals with her zombie cat costume.

15. Create costume contest ballots.
16. Buy utensils, plates, napkins, drinks and all those other eating niceties.
17. Move couches, rugs, kitchen appliances, pictures, etc. upstairs or into the garage, anywhere they are out of the way.

Drew and Simone came as Dr. Who?
Drew and Simone came as Dr. Who?

18. Vacuum, dust and straighten the basement. Everything has to be tucked away somewhere to make room for the people explosion that’s about to occur.
19. Decorate, decorate, decorate, decorate, decorate, decorate, decorate, decorate, decorate, decorate, and decorate. I feel like I should say “decorate” a few dozen more times because decorating is a monster of a job. We meticulously arrange creepy cloth, candlesticks, bones, potion bottles, pumpkins, lights, ravens and so forth throughout our yard and two floors of our home. Every year we display our extensive Halloween collection differently and every year gallons of creative juices get consumed in the process.

These serving-dish fingers may be proof of a twisted mind...mine.
These serving-dish fingers may be proof of a twisted mind…mine.
This graveyard scene was a design of mine.
This graveyard scene was my design.

20. Arrange studio lights and a background to form a makeshift photo spot. I didn’t have a clue how to work and situate studio lights before this little experiment. It took some messing around and research to figure it out.
21. Rent space heaters so that the backyard can be a toasty hangout location.

Thirty-one feet of ruffles were squished into the back of this skirt.
Thirty-one feet of ruffles were squished into the back of this skirt.

22. Clean. Everything has to be spick ‘n span before it’s thrown into chaos. It’s a lot like nursing a patient back to health before serving out their death sentence.
23. Throw party!

Waffle Love catered our party via their food truck.
Waffle Love catered our party via their food truck.
Penny's no garden-variety gnome.
Penny’s no garden-variety gnome.

24. Clean up the raspberries smashed into the sidewalk, the sticky goo left on the kitchen floor, the blob of who-knows-what dripped on the carpet. Cleanup is lengthy and not especially fun.
25. Put relocated furnishings back where they came from.
26. Pack away the dozens of boxes of Halloween décor so that they are ready for the vicious cycle to begin all over again next year. (This step has not yet been completed and will still take us weeks.)

Bart and Brandi cleverly used a bulging belly to their advantage and came as Juno and Bleeker.
Bart and Brandi cleverly used a bulging belly to their advantage and came as Juno and Bleeker.

Too many steps for you to follow? Not to worry, you can come to the Sabin party and enjoy all the fun and fright without rattling your work bones. So why do we do it? The obvious answer is that we are crazy but, besides that, we love Halloween and conjuring the spooky magic of the season up for the wee ones. We also enjoy reminding adults that costumes aren’t just for kids.

I made sure this jar was crawling with centipedes. The gruesome details are never overlooked by yours truly.
I made sure this jar was crawling with centipedes. The gruesome details are never overlooked by yours truly.

This year we had considerably more help pulling this madness off than we’ve had in the past. Many thanks to Lee and Jacob for lending us a hand with basement prep one evening. Keith, thanks for the pickup service. A big thank you to Drew, Adam, Jacob and Lee for helping the kids bowl and Jenny and Simone for assisting with some of the other games. And muchas gracias to the various people that collected many of the cups and craft fragments scattered throughout our house: Abigail, Simone, Drew, Adam and Jeremy. Since Jason and I are a tiny team, any bit of assistance from others goes a long way. Maybe we aren’t quite mad yet…

Run, Dead Boy, Run!

Every October Jason and I mutate into carnivorous corpses for the Night of the Running Dead. It’s always a horribly tasty event but this year it was even more satiating because our friends West and Wendy shambled along with us. Fresh flesh is good.

Gone but not for coffin.
Gone but not for coffin.

The Night of the Running Dead is an apocalyptic-themed 5K race where participants can either run to stay alive as a human or run after fast food as a zombie. The humans, AKA refreshments, get a short head-start and then all undead breaks loose.

Wendy and West made killer cohorts.
Wendy and West made killer cohorts.

Jason and I are always dying to be gross so, once again, we festered ourselves fastidiously to fit in with the hordes of foul carcasses. (Warning: If you are the deadly departed, do not attempt to say that sentence five times fast or your tongue is likely to fall out.) Why would we want to be human when we can run humanly any day? Wendy and West also enthusiastically joined the ranks of the rank.

Faster than a speeding corpse?
Faster than a speeding corpse?

Although Jason and I biked Mill Creek Canyon just hours before this race, with those mouthwatering human-carrots dangling before us, we sprinted it as animatedly as the reanimated can. Jason loped in at 21:42 and I was done at 27:57. West, who was thrilled to be competing in his first race ever, finished about twenty seconds before me and Wendy pushed her nasty corpse over the line just a few minutes later. Nicely done dead people!

Blood and Filth: fall's hottest fashion trend?
Blood and Filth: fall’s hottest fashion trend?
With those memorable features, you know we'd produce astonishing offspring.
With those memorable features, you know we’d produce astonishing offspring.

Night of the Running Dead might involve a bit more of a workout than the typical zombie welcomes but if you’re already undead then a little exercise can’t kill you. Right? I’d say that if you can do without a limb then you can certainly stand to lose a pound or two. I’m sure Jason and I will be chasing brains again next year. Perhaps you will find yourself of a mind to join us?

The Maine Attraction Part II: Inland

Last week I shared my maritime tales of Maine’s shoreline and now allow me to follow up those salty stories with the details of our journey into the scenic core of New England.

Bethel, a small Maine village of 2,500 residents nestled near the New Hampshire border, was our first inland stop. Jason and I strayed from our comfort zone a bit and stayed at a little B&B while in this tiny hamlet. The building was over 100 years old and its age showed. The floors squeaked and the doorknobs didn’t turn so well but there was a feeling of significance in that vintage dwelling. The innkeepers were very hospitable and cheerily made us a delicious breakfast each morning using eggs from their own happy chickens. Sometimes comfort zones are for sissies.

The Artist's Bridge near Bethel is the most photographed or painted covered bridge in Maine. It was easy to imagine the Headless Horseman waiting at its end, pumpkin in hand.
The Artist’s Bridge near Bethel is the most photographed and painted covered bridge in Maine. It was easy to imagine the Headless Horseman waiting at its end, pumpkin in hand.

Like our B&B, every part of Bethel spoke history. It was full of antique church spires and homes not much younger than America. Its widespread white clapboard buildings and village greens were lovingly preserved and just plain lovely.

We came across Step Falls unexpectedly. What a nice surprise.
We came across Step Falls unexpectedly. What a nice surprise.
Table Rock in Grafton Notch State Park became our lunch table.
Table Rock in Grafton Notch State Park became our lunch table.

Bethel’s charm wasn’t its only appeal though. It was conveniently close to Grafton Notch, a U-shaped valley carved out by glaciers, which we were eager to explore. Glaciers receded from New England about 14,000 years ago yet their icy influence can still be seen in its rounded mountaintops and pitted rock. Potholes in this region, sculpted by glacial debris, have turned the streams cascading down them into nature’s waterslides over the millennia. These acrobatic rivers frequently twist and jump across their granite platforms, performing a continuous magnificent show.

Screw Auger Falls plummets 30 feet into a granite gorge.
Screw Auger Falls plummets 30 feet into a granite gorge.

In the Grafton Notch area we saw a couple such jumps, Screw Auger and Step Falls, and took a hike through some of the oddest terrain I’ve ever stood on. Table Rock, a giant block of granite, was our 2.4-mile destination. To get to it we had to climb a never-ending flight of roughly-hewn rock steps. These giant “stairs” only ceased when the terrain became a jumble of massive boulders, which had to be leapt and scrambled over. Although strenuous, this trek was quite fun and the fantastic views of the Mahoosuc Range from Table Rock would have been worth it regardless.

Not all of the leaves were changing yet in Stowe but splashes of color were everywhere.
Not all of the leaves were changing yet in Stowe but splashes of color were everywhere.

Upon leaving Bethel, we proceeded west to Stowe, Vermont, famous for its ski resorts and fall leaves. We paused as we passed through New Hampshire to do a short hike in Moose Brook State Park. Our little walk followed Perkins Brook through a quiet mossy forest. The spongy soil was peopled with mushrooms and anything that hadn’t moved recently was covered in swaths of flourishing life. The dappled light filtering through the emerald canopy doubled the green of the ground and brought to mind the realm of fairies.

The road up Smugglers' Notch was tiny, twisty and lined with boulders.
The road up Smugglers’ Notch was tiny, twisty and lined with boulders.
Although our visit did not coincide with "peak" fall foliage, all around us intense reds, yellows and oranges mixed with the green leftovers of summer.
Although our visit did not coincide with “peak” fall foliage, all around us intense reds, yellows and oranges mixed with the green leftovers of summer.

After that brief intermission, we continued on our way to Stowe, a beautiful drive. The Vermont countryside was dotted with bright weathered barns and hilly pastures, which the dense forests just beyond seemed plotting to reclaim. Stowe was made of the same scenic stuff. In the shadow of Mt. Mansfield, Vermont’s highest peak, this quaint little village looked like it hadn’t changed much in many years.

The Basin on the Pemigewasset River was created by glacial erosion.
The Basin on the Pemigewasset River was created by glacial erosion.
The "Dream Cottage" at Sugar Hill Inn lived up to its name.
The “Dream Cottage” at Sugar Hill Inn lived up to its name.

While at Stowe we hiked in nearby Smugglers’ Notch, so called because it’s been a favorite route for sneaking alcohol, people, you name it, into and out of Canada throughout American history. The trails we took to Bingham Falls and Sterling Pond were stunning but crossed by rivulets and trickles so often it seemed that the whole area was part of some makeshift waterway. Along with the views we encountered by using our feet, we caught a ride on the Stowe Mountain Resort gondola and got a cheater’s peek of the panorama from the top of Mt. Mansfield.

The Baby Flume was just another interesting Franconian backdrop created by water and stone.
The Baby Flume was just another interesting Franconian backdrop created by water and stone.

Our visit to Stowe’s happened to be the same weekend as their annual British Invasion, a regional British-car show. After gorging on fantastic dinner fare one night, we decided to drive into town but found the road blocked off for the “British Invasion Block Party.” Stowe’s main street was lined with tiny English sports cars and people eating ice cream cones and generally having a good time. We thought we might as well have a good time too so we took to mingling with the jovial throngs. A band was playing some classic rock tunes and soon the crowd started boogying and swinging to the music. Everyone, from children so young they could barely walk to gents so old they could barely walk, joined in the fun. Jason and I also took to grooving on the pavement. Thus, we connected with that friendly community on their small street with the full moon and historic steeples floating above us. It truly felt like something out of a movie.

We made it to these cascades in Franconia Notch State Park right as a brooding mist settled over us, giving the scenery a supernatural quality.
We made it to these cascades in Franconia Notch State Park right as a brooding mist settled over us, giving the scenery a supernatural quality.
This little cascade near The Basin seemed to hold a secret that could only be heard in the rustling whisper of the dancing fallen leaves.
This little cascade near The Basin seemed to hold a secret that could only be heard in the rustling whisper of the dancing fallen leaves.

The last stop in our inland interlude was Franconia, New Hampshire. Franconia, in the midst of the White Mountains, is definitely a blink-and-miss town but enchanting nonetheless. While we didn’t find the foliage in Stowe as impressive as we’d hoped, due to the earliness of the season, the woods around Franconia were smack in the middle of their fall fire. The whole area was ablaze and gorgeous.

This stream of water slid through worn stone like a zigzagging ghost.
This stream of water slid through worn stone like a zigzagging ghost.

We stayed in the “Dream Cottage” at the Sugar Hill Inn our night in Franconia. With a giant fireplace, private sauna and comfy porch swing, it’s a shame we couldn’t just spend the evening slouching in our bungalow but Franconia Notch State Park was not to be missed. This notch’s rugged beauty inspired authors like Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry David Thoreau. It inspired us too. Oddly enough, sometimes inspiration feels a lot like a downpour. We hiked to various falls and features along the Pemigewasset River as rain pelted us through an eerie blanket of mist. It was surreal yet soggy.

The poet Robert Frost spent five years and twenty summers at a farmhouse that overlooks the Franconian mountains. We visited it.
The poet Robert Frost spent five years and twenty summers at a farmhouse that overlooks the Franconian mountains. We visited it.

Before we headed to Boston to catch our flight the next day, we stopped at Frost Place, home of the poet Robert Frost for five years and twenty summers. The spectacular views of the Franconia Notch from his modest farmhouse made Frost’s wooded muses almost tangible.

Flume Gorge is an 800-foot-long gap with narrow granite walls.
Flume Gorge is an 800-foot-long gap with narrow granite walls.

Although time wasn’t really permitting, after Frost Place we hurriedly explored Flume Gorge, an 800-foot-long chasm created by a plume of lava squishing through a crack and then eroding. I wish we could have enjoyed its lush sheer walls and impressive falls without time constraints but seeing it in a dash was better than not seeing it at all. We rushed back to Boston after our gorge tour with just enough time to not feel panicked about making our flight. Whew!

Avalanche Falls hurls water 25 feet down Flume Gorge.
Avalanche Falls hurls water 25 feet down Flume Gorge.

New England may not be a common vacation destination for those in the west but Jason and I are very glad we’ve roamed its precipitous shores and saturated woods. Compared to visiting Maine and its neighbors, all other holidays are minor.