Blogtoberfest ~ It’s a Wrap!

I can’t believe it’s the 31st of October already. More than that, I can’t believe that I have managed to post every single day this month. Hooray!

It’s been a strange evening here. We usually go out to an event in a local town for Halloween, so we’ve never been at home to receive Trick or Treaters, since moving here nearly four years ago. I got in a supply of sweets and turned some lollies into spiders, like the ones I shared on Friday. Although mine had eight legs!

By five o’clock, it was completely dark and we waited for the door bell to start ringing, but it didn’t. At half past six we drove across town for fish and chips (to soften the back to school blow) and saw throngs of costumed children up and down the pavements, but not a single one of them came our way.

I was a bit disappointed, but strangely the children were not. Could it be the thought, that the rather large bucket of treats is now theirs for the taking?

I couldn’t find the photo I wanted to share, of my children about to go Trick or Treating for the very first time, so this one will have to do.

It’s still a first. Me dressing up for Halloween, at the grand old age of twenty. I’m second from the left, in case you don’t recognise me with that green face!

I know not all my readers are fans of Halloween, but I hope you all had the kind of evening you wanted. Whether that was a constant stream of Trick or Treaters at the door, out and about with your own little spooks, or just cosy at home, with the curtains drawn against the dark night.

It’s all in the Numbers….

….if only I knew what they all meant!

I installed Google Analytics a few months ago, but haven’t really looked at it in much depth. When you first log in, there’s a number which appears in either red or green, with an up or down arrow. During this last week it has been green and gone up each day. Today it has reached 91.62% and I’m assuming this is a good thing.

Apparently if your bounce rate is over 35% this is a cause for concern. Yesterday mine was 76.6% so this must be a very bad thing!

My blog has been visited 983 times so far this month, the lowest number of visits being 19 on the 1st of October and the highest being 57 yesterday. I would have assumed that the days with higher traffic would be those when I have taken part in memes, such as Julia’s WOYWW and Shimelle’s 10 on the 10th, but this isn’t always the case.

Another thing I have noticed is that the number of visits bears no relation whatsoever to the number of comments, which makes it difficult to judge which kinds of posts are most popular. On one particular day I was visited 30 times, but that day’s post received only one comment. Another post had 26 visits, but 16 comments.

All in all I find those numbers quite fascinating, but at the same time utterly bamboozling. Please tell me I am not alone.

ETA I created a Wordle for this post, but cannot get it to appear. So much to learn!

My Place And Yours ~ Where I Sleep

After a day of waiting around at the hospital on Wednesday, my littlest one was ready for a nap. The sun streaming in the windows, had warmed the lounge while we were out and the sofa seemed like a good place to snuggle up.

This post was brought to you as part of Vic’s My Place and Yours. For other sleeping places you can head on over to Punky & Me to check them out.

Don't forget the clocks go back tonight, so we all get an extra hour of snuggling.

Five Things I’m Loving This Friday ~ Trick or Treat

Halloween is almost upon us now, so here are a few ideas for last minute costumes and goodies to hand out to trick or treaters, or party guests.

A no sew witch costume, among other ideas at Fiskars.

Gingerbread skeletons from Disney Family Fun.

Spider lollies (although they appear to be missing two legs) from OhDeeDoh.

Converting a t-shirt into a bat costume at alphamom, complete with printable mask.

If you don’t want to dress up, try a Halloween manicure instead!

Star Toast

It’s been miserable and wet here and after the running around of yesterday, we thought a lazy day at home was in order. Eggy bread seemed like a good idea for lunch. Warm and comforting.

I don’t remember it being a part of my own childhood. I think I was first introduced to it, when I lived in halls of residence. One of my friends would make it for us, when we got home, after a night in the SU bar. I’ve made it for my children since they were very small, making the bread into all sorts of different shapes over the years. From hearts and flowers to trucks and Thomas the Tank Engine.

I’ve heard it called lots of different names, but my favourite, is the one coined by my best friend from those college days. Her son had a strong aversion to eggs and wouldn’t eat anything that he thought might contain the offending articles. She cut the bread with a cookie cutter, named it star toast and he happily tucked in.

What do you call it?

What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday? #125

Another dismal looking photo, but due to the late hour and poor light. I can’t blame those meddling kids this week!

No crafting happening so far this week, what with it being half term and all. A stressful day all round, as hospital visits were on the agenda. Thankfully all is well, so we can breathe easy for another year.

My Counterfeit Kit takes centre stage and I’m looking forward to playing with that next week. The new Mollie Makes, which was a nice surprise on the doormat when we got home. I’ve had a quick flick through and noticed that Shimelle is putting in an appearance this month. I’ll be enjoying her article with a coffee later.

The usual pile of leftovers and some of you may recognise the cheery envelope, under the coloured pens, if you are taking part in Mel’s fun ‘Facebook’ swap. Lastly a couple of chipboard reindeer, waiting to be decorated for another swap.

That’s it from me for this week. Pop on over to Julia’s, to see what everyone else is up to.

Counterfeiting

I’m a bit very late to the party, but after seeing Clair’s lovely kit on her blog, I thought I’d have a go too. There is a main kit and a Halloween kit this month and after a quick look through my papers, I decided to go with the Halloween version.

I started with the sheet of journaling blocks from Pink Paislee and added a selection of Rusty Pickle, from three different collections, Paper Salon, American Crafts and Teresa Collins papers. I found some matching ribbon and trims and a die cut cat. I’m a bit light on the embellishment front, so will have to get busy making a few.

Apologies for the poor photo, it’s been so dark here today.