I try to stay out of Dollar Tree unless absolutely necessary, because of my very bad habit of picking up things I don't need. But for some items, like cellulose sponges, I do have to run into the Dollar Tree. And Dollar Tree is the only place around here that has 2 and 2.5 gallon slider "Ziplocks," which I use to organize my cross stitch projects and to store dog kibble in the freezer. The special veterinary dog kibble is really spendy and I like it to be fresh for them.
Of course, this last time I went I had to go and latch onto a hanging witch decoration. I like cute decorations, and this witch is almost too scary. The "BEFORE" is in the photo above.
Anyhoo, I got ready to paint up the little plain witchywoo after running errands today. My legs get very tired during the day, despite all the surgeries. And then I could NOT find my little paint pots! Oh gosh, WHERE are they? I did have some other paints, but not the little set that has all the usual colors. Boo! So I did what I could. I was just too tired to run back out to Wally World for the little paints and dangnabit I know I have them somewhere.
I am pretty happy with the witch! The strange flakes on the face are actually really big glitter. It looks good in person. The camera does not capture it very well. The bit of gray hair is from a fake bun I bought myself to try to make it look like I have some hair left on my poor head.
I put her up high on my courtyard iron fence, so that the very little kids won't see her very well. I don't even know what I'm talking about: With this COVID business, our governor may very well shut down Trick or Treat again this year and no kids whatsoever will be in danger of getting scared by my decorations. But I want to be ready. I might change the eye color to blue. The red might be too scary.
I finally got around to making a big crockpot full of "apple pie filling." I followed my own recipe, out of my head, and it really came out good! The "secret" ingredients were to put whole cloves in an emptied-out teabag and let it stew in there, and also to put two tablespoons of maple syrup in. Also, put brown sugar. If you don't like cloves, you would not like the stewed apples, though. They are heavy on the cloves and on ginger. I take the peels off my apples before I stew them up.
Lore: Keep breath fresh by putting a whole clove between teeth and cheek, like a chaw. DON'T SWALLOW IT. Yes, I most always have a clove chaw. What can I say, ladies? I run around barefoot in a muumuu with a chaw. I WAS born in Arkansas.
Additional clove lore: If you feel a cold coming on, get a teacup and fill with orange juice. Squeeze in 1/2 lemon and 1/2 lime. Put in a dollop of honey. Now float at least five whole cloves in it and a small piece of candied ginger. Heat it up, sip it all down. Then eat the piece of ginger, and put a clove for a chaw for a few minutes. Put Vicks under your nose. Then prop yourself up to sleep for at least the first three hours. This is my Granny's never-fail remedy and it works for us!
It's getting to be "cold season." Do you have any family remedies that work for you? I'd love to hear them!
Kind regards,
Holly, The Olde Dame
I have that witch too...didn't do s thing with mine, but what you did is FANGtastic!! As for home remedies, the one I think of is tried & true is for a chest cold...mustard plaster. Dried mustard, flour & water paste. Weird but it works.
ReplyDeleteAh, the Frankfurter Cure! Ha ha -- MUSTARD! I'm going to have to try that!
DeleteI remember those mustard plasters from my childhood. Did they ever heat up!!!
DeleteMustard plasters...1/2 & 1/2 (flour & dried mustard...maybe 2 tbsps. Each). Mix with water to make paste ...thin enough to spread. Use an old thin piece of cloth, spread mixture on, fold. Put "wet" side of clothing to chest. When it starts to "burn" time it for 15 minutes. Remove. Use on throat, chest and back between shoulder blades. Throw rag out when done. Cold cured.
DeleteEqual parts flour and dried mustard is important. Too much mustard will cause blisters. (Or so I've been told).
i still rub vicks salve on my throat when I have a cough, it lets me sleep. daddy did the chest, i do the throat. good job on the witch. if i did that it would look like a toddler did it. i think the red eyes are fine. love the purple lights. when we drove 8 hours to visit my grandmother, whose house is 2 miles from me now, when we drove in the yard, we could smell the ham in the oven with pineapple and brown sugar coating the gloves. i learned about cloves from her.. and i even mad a can of spam with cloves and pineapple and it was delish
ReplyDeleteOh wow, I will try to fancy up my Spam next time with pineapple and cloves. It sounds GOOD!
DeleteI was born in Arkansas....maybe we are KIN! hahahaha! Your witch came out so good. I am trying to get my craft stuff organized better and actually have a list of things I can't find! The apples sound SO good! I'm drinking hot tea for my allergies and it helps some. Hugs from your native AR blog buddy!
ReplyDeleteSooooooWeeeeeee Go Hogs hello Arkansas "Cousin!" I hear you about the missing crafts items. WHERE do they go?
DeleteAbsolutely incredible!
ReplyDeleteThank you! A lil' bit mess because of having to use Sharpies for some of the colors...!
DeleteI vaguely recall being given honey and a wee bit (a very wee bit!) of whiskey in hot water once as a small child. Other than that, it was Vicks and whatever OTC cold medicine there was at the time. Now, it's Airborne and zinc if I feel one coming on, DayCare and Niquil if one hits full on. I have to say that orange juice concoction sounds good enough to drink even if not coming down with a cold.
ReplyDeleteI like your paint job on the witch.
I do think NyQuil has healing powers. They say it just helps symptoms, but I think it helps shorten the cold!
DeleteEeeek!!!
ReplyDeleteEeeeek!!!!
Eeeeek!!!!!!!
I would be scared by your painted witch!!! -giggggles-
Yeah, had not thought about Halloween Trick or Treating, for this year. We are pretty much open now. With just "suggestions" of mask wearing in grocery store. But who knows, by the end of the month!!!
'Cause all those Big Government Types just *have* to *protect* little kids.... From having fun _out-doors_ now don't they?????? $(&*%*#^(^&$#^&*&**
🎃 😊 🍁 🌰 🌻 🍂 🎃
We have a mask mandate yet again and a power-mad governor. This governor and the last governor can't think right. One was Republican, one is Democrat, both are loony. I am so tired of career politicians!
DeleteOh, your witch looks a lot better and less scary for the kids. The grey strand of hair adds an extra touch. She looks like she's smiling more with her eyes open also. Thanks for showing us your witch project, Holly. The apple pie filling sounds scrumptious. I love the smell of cloves and the taste of ginger. My dear Mother used to rub Vicks on all her kids when they had the flu or colds. I never liked the smell, but felt better quickly. Well, you asked about any family recipes, and my Mother-in-law told me to suck on a peppermint candy when I have a cold. It will clear the sinuses, AND IT DOESO! It's not a cure, but it sure helps you feel better.
ReplyDeleteYour porch with the lights looks festive for Halloween, Holly.
~Sheri
I truly believe in Vicks. Out here, they holler for "Bee-Bah-Pour-Roo" (Vivaporu) for EVERYTHING and they may be onto something! I like that peppermint idea very much.
DeleteWhat a fun post! I love your witch! Yes, I pick up things I shouldn't/didn't need at the dollar stores, too. I haven't been there for a long time now, though. I like to get the crinkle ribbon so I can curl it and make fancy curly "pom pom" type bows on presents. Crinkle ribbon is the right price at the dollar store. Yep, Vicks has been on my cold remedy list - it all started with my parents. P&G owns it now which is good for me, too. P&G is a home town company.
ReplyDeleteI have been through Ivorydale and lived in Fairfield, OH for a short time! P&G and GE are so important in that area!
DeleteYour witch turned out SO well. I love it so much better than the original. You glammed it up great. I especially love the eyes and hair.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your crock pot apple recipe. I absolutely LOVE cloves, too.
Thank you, Elizabeth! Ha ha Bleubeard might like to play with that bit of hair. My cats wanted to pull it out! Aren't cloves just great?!
DeleteOh my goodness! You are so "Bewitchingly" clever!! I could never come up with something like that! I am not a big witch fan anyway, but yours could make me a "believer". LOL. Even if you don't get any trick or treaters, you sure scared the bejeebers out of us old gals with that! LOL. Your apple stuff sounds really good. I would love to try it. And no, I really can't say that I have any home remedies. But I do put a dab of Vicks under my nose when I get a stuffy nose in the night. I put it on my throat/neck when I feel a sore throat or cough coming on. My Mother always used Vicks, and I think it is the best and cheapest way to drive away a cold or stuffy nose. When I was little my mother would put a spoonful of vicks in a pan of hot boiling water, and we would breathe the vapors, with a towel over our heads leaning over the pot. (after it boiled, not while it was boiling, but still hot so it would have steam) Yep, those were the good old days. I love visiting you. Thank you for being my friend.
ReplyDeleteOh gosh Pam, I had completely forgotten about the steam treatment! Thank you for bringing that memory back! That's right, the scented vapor breathed in really helped!
Deletefun witch! I always ate crystallize ginger every winter.I rarely ever had a cold. I am trying not to eat the sugar now.
ReplyDeleteCathy
I dont have any cold remedies except for drinking hot tea with a bit of whiskey and sugar or or honey and sugar. My paternal grandmother use to eat Vicks right before going to bed and then put some under her nose. She lived to be 86. Janice
ReplyDeleteOops forgot to say what a great witch you created! Janice
ReplyDeleteMy mom was big on Vicks under the nose.
ReplyDeleteWitches don't have blue eyes!
You have some MAD painting skills woman! I could never do that...even if I had a pattern to follow LOL. I learned the hard way about scaring away trick-or-treaters.... I have a real coffin and put a spooky ghoul in it one year. I've been begging for them to come back ever since. Cold remedies? Well, seems like Vicks is the clear winner... We only had fuel oil and wood stoves for heat...so my mum would rub Vicks on our chest (and a dab under our nose and some on the bottoms of our feet, then heat a cloth on the stove and put that on our chests under our jammies.... ~Robin~
ReplyDeleteGood gravy, a real coffin! I bet your scary display is already the stuff of legend in your town. Yikes! Your mom did a good job of keeping you guys snug. I love the idea of the heated cloth on top of the Vicks.
DeleteIf I wanted a scary witch yours would be the one. You did a great job and the tuft of hair was the finishing touch.
ReplyDeleteyes, Vicks was used by our family also. Something very comforting about the aroma. We did the hot tea with honey/whiskey also. Knocked you out and helped sweat out the cold. Back in the day we didn't have several shelves full of medication at the store like now, most of which don't really work all that well, or are harmful to you in other ways. Your witchy woman transformation is much nicer than the original. I like the fake hair you added, you are a very talented lady.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great makeover!!!
ReplyDeleteOur Dollar Tree was sorely lacking in Halloween décor this year. I usually find a couple things but this year nada thing!
Good job on the witch, she is scary, lol
ReplyDeletegoing to copy and paste your cold rememedy to try next time I get on, thanks for that,
Briony
x
Your witch turned out really good...really scary. I was in Dollar Tree recently and thought about you and the witch. The cold remedy sounds amazing, bet it works too.
ReplyDelete