4 Days 'til Halloween: Set Decorating

A note passed to me by a senior producer at work in regards to decorating the Home and Family set for the Halloween show on the 31st.

They've released the kraken!

7 Days 'til Halloween: Goblin Brain

We had the family over for dinner on Sunday. Niece Devin arrived holding something clutched to her chest, hidden by her arms wrapped tightly around it. It was a belated birthday present for me.

"I have a story to tell you" she said.

Apparently, her softball team had an away game that day. In Russia. While there, they visited a national park. The park ranger showed them were an ancient tree once stood, before it mysteriously burned down. It was said to have a goblin living in it. In the ashes, something was found.

Her tale told, Devin handed her old uncle his gift, a custom prop, she made herself.

No cabinet of curiosities, anywhere in the world, has an oddity as wonderful and special as this one is to me.

15 Days 'til Halloween: Meeting Doodles

Work may be keeping me from spending the time I'd like to on my Halloween display, but it can't keep me from doodling Halloween during a long meeting.

Sketching in blue ball point always feels like I'm in High School again.

17 Days 'til Halloween: The 2000 Yard Display

For the fun of it, here are old (and lousy) pics of my 2000 Halloween display. That year, because I was living in an apartment, my parents let me decorate their yard not far away. Honestly, this might actually be 2001. I'm not sure. It was a long time ago. I remember decorating their place in both '00 and '01 before they moved. Now that I think about it, both displays didn't look very different from each other, so these pics work for either year.

18 Days 'til Halloween: New Yard Walk -Thu Test

I think I mentioned this in a post awhile back, but I'm trying out a new layout to the lawn this year that will create a winding path through the display for Trick or Treaters. Last weekend, as my brother Ted and I debated if where we placed the guillotine would work, niece Devin said...

"Well, let's see!"

Then she did an impromptu test walk-thru, that cracked both of us up.

25 Days 'til Halloween: Exhausted

My less than a month old new job is exhausting me. I've been out the door before dawn, working long days and late nights, including weekends, almost everyday.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I don't mind at all. I knew going in, trying to establish a well oiled prop/art dept for a new daily TV show finding it's groove would sacrifice most of my time.

But, I had hoped to find some free hours to create new props for the Halloween display. Unfortunately, one night after work, it became obvious that wouldn't happen when I actually fell asleep while bent over untieing my sneakers.

Truth is, I've been worried if I would even get time to decorate the lawn at all this year.

But the October gods have smiled upon me this weekend.

Knock on coffin wood, I don't have any homework for Monday. While my luck holds, I'm going to get busy and spent today pulling props out, fixing some up, and get them staged outside the garage - all ready to go.

Tomorrow, they'll hit the lawn at dawn, like some Halloween themed D-Day invasion. Niece Devin, her dad Paul, brother Ted, and his girlfriend Leah are all planning to arrive at some point to help. Should be a fun day.

There's still time before the big night, so I haven't completely given up getting new props made. Especially the crashed UFO, since it's so close to being done.