Jack Rabbit!  It’s the very first thing we say on the first day of the month (if we remember) for good luck!  Saying it at any time during the day is good too.  This is something my brother, sister and I have been doing for as long as I can remember.   Are there similar silly traditions in your family?

Over the weekend the Burke Pumpkin Playground opened and kicked off its 13th year.  Even though it was 80 degrees out and extremely sunny, we were transported to a Fall Wonderland.  One of my favorite activities is the wagon ride through the haunted woods.  There’s nothing like seeing aliens mixed in with every spooky creature one can dream up.   A good friend (from my Monterey, CA days) is neighbors with the owner of the nursery/festival/playground, and helped set up and decorate the event.  It was nice to see all of their hard work enjoyed by so many.  This is certainly one of those places where you run into everyone – from my son’s piano teacher to a mom from his class 2 years ago.

Now speaking of October, I happened to pick up the October/November issue of Beadwork today and was impressed by some of the cool projects in this issue.  It’s amazing the creativity from the contributors:  from pirate skull lampwork beads to a peyote stitch necklace featuring scrapbooking washers!   On a closing note, the magazine shares a survey result from  2006:  42% of all crafters purchase beads!  Are you surprised?  I’m not.  Now it’s confirmed that I’m not alone in my beady obsession.