Happy Dia de los Muertos

Those who know me know that I love Fall. I was born in the Fall, love the weather, the Santa Ana winds (the fires an unfortunate by-product!), the leaves falling, the colors, my allergies, Halloween, good fishing and ultimately Thanksgiving. This is Fall to me - the period from Labor Day until the day you get the itch to get your Christmas decorations out. I'm one of those people who likes to make Halloween scary, not cutesy. I know, I don't have little kids any more, but even when they were little, I'd dress in a black wig and be a witch. No Snow White costumes for this mom. What's wrong with a little celebration for the Dead? I actually do celebrate the dead. I have several people I think about each and every day who are no longer on this earth. So this Halloween, I created an altar instead of the usual happy faced pumpkin carvings. My intention is not to be macabre or morbid or even evil, it is simply to remember those no longer with us in the Mexican tradition. Mike insists that I turn the Madonna and Child photos on the altar candles (remnants of his Catholic upbringing gone bad) but for me it doesn't matter. Maybe my Dad, my grandma and Nana know that I'm raising a glass in their honor. I still have a bowl of candy, though. I couldn't get that crazy.