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DAYS TO JACK O LANTERN DAY: 0
DAYS TO SPOOKY SPRING: 61
DAYS TO HALFOWEEN: 91
DAYS TO FALL PRESEASON: 183
DAYS TO THE BERS: 214
DAYS TO HALLOWEEN SEASON: 229
DAYS TO OCTOBER: 244
DAYS TO HALLOWEEN: 274

JOLDAY #1 official.png

Happy JOL Day #1 Folks! The very first countdown in this thread has now reached "zero" and will merrily start over tomorrow! How great it is to be at the first JOL Day! I was playing around with Bing's image creator, and I simply wrote in "Pumpkins in winter", what an amazing picture it gave me! I think we are the pumpkins, winter is all around us, and from this vantage point it looks like far from where we are, there is a town in the distance that has fall foliage! These pumpkins are us on our long journey back! But the pumpkins are leaving the bad part of the winter and starting to work their way towards the Spring!

We're going to break into a 50's count (yeah, say that again) on Friday on the way to Spooky Spring, and today marks exactly TWO WEEKS until we celebrate the 200 day milestone to The Bers. Things are starting to get more serious just very slightly. We still have a long way to go, but just like the pumpkins in the picture, we might be crawling out of the hard phase of the winter and now crawling towards Spring and some more milestones and a lot of stuff getting closer.

Tonight I'm watching the original "Halloween", which is a January JOL Day classic tradition for me. And how I have missed hearing those Halloween tunes from my playlist. What's everybody doing for JOL Day today? Let us know in the comments. Have a great day!
 
Happy Jack O Latern Day! I must admit that JOL days are my favorite mini days of the bunch.

This first one is special. It is my first looking ahead day and that much needed boost at this time of the year. Today along with Groundhog Day and Day of Hope are the trio of just looking ahead to the spring and what there is to look forward to being nicer weather, St Patrick's Day, Easter and of course Spooky spring. The year always makes that turn in March for me.
 
Happy Jack-O-Lantern Day!!!

I had one piece of Halloween candy today and it was so delicious.

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DAYS TO JACK O LANTERN DAY: 28
DAYS TO SPOOKY SPRING: 60
DAYS TO HALFOWEEN: 90
DAYS TO FALL PRESEASON: 182
DAYS TO THE BERS: 213
DAYS TO HALLOWEEN SEASON: 228
DAYS TO OCTOBER: 243
DAYS TO HALLOWEEN: 273

WEEKS TO OCTOBER: 34
WEEKS TO HALLOWEEN: 39


Good Morning Halloween Friends! I'm finally up and running and back to "normal" with a new HP all in one computer. I actually got the last one that was at Costco for $399.00, I was surprised because just a few weeks ago when we looked at them, they were around $800.00. No complaints here.

And no complaints this morning after the first JOL Day of 2024! I want to take just a minute to mention how well everything "fell into place" yesterday. We had cool weather, an overcast sky, and coming home after work, seeing the Jack O Lantern plugged in and lit up, it was magic. It was October again there for a minute.

Looking at the counts again this morning, the big change will be tomorrow when we finally break into a 50's count on our way to Spooky Spring. What a way to begin Friday!

I mentioned two days ago that I think, at least in my mind, that there is a "ranking" among JOL Days as we march through the year. Here's my Thursday Halloween thought: I think while all the JOL Days are special, JOL Day in January is near the top of my list. What is at the very top? I believe that would be August's JOL Day, because when we wake up the next morning, The Bers are back. So, I'm going to give my "top 3", out of the eight that we now observe:

1) JOL DAY #7 - August 30th
2)JOL DAY # 1 - January 31st
3)JOL DAY #3 - March 31st


I think those three have the most energy out of any of the others. August's has the excitement of waking up and being back in The Bers. January's is as much as a celebration of being out of January as it is the return of JOL Day and the long march back to October. And March's begins Spooky Spring. They all have their own vibes and energies.

As I mention all the time, comparing top spots really doesn't tell you a whole lot because you are in great company here with all of the MMC Special Days. So how about you? Do you ever think about which JOL Days have your "top spots"? Have a great day!
 
I missed out being here for JOL Day yesterday since my wife came down with Covid, so here is my one-day late review of Bram Stoker's Dracula.

***WARNING: Mild spoilers ahead of you've never read the book.***


First of all, this was a great read. It started off relatively slow, as there is a lot of build-up to just how terrifying Dracula actually is. He is introduced as an older, non-threatening gentleman but becomes much more sinister as the story continues. Even when he takes his first victim, the full breadth of his powers are not revealed, but as it turns out Dracula can do much more than suck blood and transform into a bat. It is this slow unraveling of just how dangerous he is that really begins to make you think that the main characters have no hope in winning against him.

Speaking of the main characters, they are all extremely well-written, and all of them are noble with good intentions and pure of heart -- with the exception of the madman Renfield, who you can't help but feel sorry for by the end of the story. Additionally, the titular Van Helsing, who most modern media makes out to be a swashbuckling vampire-hunter, is portrayed here not as a mighty warrior but instead as more of a Gandalf-type figure. He is a wizened professor with knowledge of the supernatural, but he is by no means a fighter. In fact, the story is more enjoyable since none of our "heroes" are actually heroes. They are portrayed realistically as normal human beings with flaws and weaknesses up against something much more powerful.

The novel actually doesn't provide much about Dracula's background or how he came to be. Instead, readers are left to fill in those blanks with their imaginations. The plot actually involves the Count venturing out of his home in Transylvania and casting his net over London. The means by which he does is this is a mystery that our heroes must solve before he takes any more victims or before Dracula catches on to their intentions and escapes to wreak havoc elsewhere. For the most part the novel is paced well, except for in a couple of chapters where the characters are relegated to internal monologues and don't do much other than ponder their current disposition. Also, there are some obvious missteps where one wonders how on earth all of the characters could miss something right in front of their noses (My thoughts while I was reading: "Why would you ever leave this person alone in a room by themselves and make them an easy target???").

Finally, for all of the dramatic build-up, the ending seemed a bit rushed and anti-climatic. I won't spoil anything here since I still wholeheartedly recommend the novel, but I will say the conclusion will probably leave you expecting more. Overall, though, Bram Stoker's Dracula is a delightful read, especially for Halloween, Spooky Spring, or any JOL Day, and is highly recommended.
 
My top 3 favorite JOL Days:

#1 - September (because the next day is OCTOBER!)
#2 - August (because the next day is THE BERS!)
#3 - January (the most NEEDED of all the JOL Days)
 
Hey Folks! It dawned on me that we never got around to the February preview, due to my problems with the computer here. Now is as fine a time as any!

Welcome to February 2024! It's a shorter month than the rest of the year, even though we are "longer" this year due to leap year. Here's what we have to look forward to this month:

50 DAYS TO SPOOKY SPRING - February 11th
200 DAYS TO THE BERS - February 14th
VALENTINE'S DAY - February 14th
250 DAYS TO HALLOWEEN - February 24th
JOL DAY #2 - February 29th
200 DAYS TO HALLOWEEN SEASON - February 29th


You can see from the items above, there's not much time this month where we don't have a week that we are celebrating a milestone day. Everybody loves JOL Day, but I honestly think this month the count that is going to be the biggest deal might be a toss up between 50 Days to Spooky Spring, and breaking the 200 Day seal on yet another count, this one being the 200 Days to The Bers. Just my two cents.

Here's hoping that everyone had a great first day of February, and that it treated you very kind!
 
DAYS TO JACK O LANTERN DAY: 27
DAYS TO SPOOKY SPRING: 59
DAYS TO HALFOWEEN: 89
DAYS TO FALL PRESEASON: 181
DAYS TO THE BERS: 212
DAYS TO HALLOWEEN SEASON: 227
DAYS TO OCTOBER: 242
DAYS TO HALLOWEEN: 272


Good Morning Halloween Friends! Happy Groundhog Day, and Happy TGIF! The big update this morning is that we are now in a 50's count on the way to Spooky Spring. That's honestly a little spooky this morning.

Our next milestone day will be next Sunday, when that 50 day milestone mentioned above rolls into town.

Keep your eyes on the "Days to The Bers" count, we are less than two weeks out now until breaking the 200 day seal, and I think this one is going to move fast this month and be surprising.

But for now, we're just taking it easy and enjoying making it back to Friday. Will Phil see his shadow today? Could we get an early Spring? Have a great day!
 
Hey Folks! It dawned on me that we never got around to the February preview, due to my problems with the computer here. Now is as fine a time as any!

Welcome to February 2024! It's a shorter month than the rest of the year, even though we are "longer" this year due to leap year. Here's what we have to look forward to this month:

50 DAYS TO SPOOKY SPRING - February 11th
200 DAYS TO THE BERS - February 14th
VALENTINE'S DAY - February 14th
250 DAYS TO HALLOWEEN - February 24th
JOL DAY #2 - February 29th
200 DAYS TO HALLOWEEN SEASON - February 29th


You can see from the items above, there's not much time this month where we don't have a week that we are celebrating a milestone day. Everybody loves JOL Day, but I honestly think this month the count that is going to be the biggest deal might be a toss up between 50 Days to Spooky Spring, and breaking the 200 Day seal on yet another count, this one being the 200 Days to The Bers. Just my two cents.

Here's hoping that everyone had a great first day of February, and that it treated you very kind!
February is way better than January but still the second worse month. On a positive note it is a very heavy milestone days month which is great this time of year.
 
DAYS TO JACK O LANTERN DAY: 26
DAYS TO SPOOKY SPRING: 58
DAYS TO HALFOWEEN: 88
DAYS TO FALL PRESEASON: 180
DAYS TO THE BERS: 211
DAYS TO HALLOWEEN SEASON: 226
DAYS TO OCTOBER: 241
DAYS TO HALLOWEEN: 271


Good Morning Halloween Friends! Happy Saturday morning! It's great seeing the Spooky Spring count down in the 50's. I was actually thinking a little of Spooky Spring last night. I still remember the first year it happened "organically" and then we realized that we had a special thing going and it obviously needed to be part of the "lineup" here.

Folks, there's Easter candy in the stores now. I know it isn't even Valentine's day yet, but if you remember the "candy cycle" chart that we post here throughout the year, you will know that upon the arrival of Easter candy on the shelves, Halloween candy is truly next. It's still going to be a long time before we even start getting a glimpse of Halloween candy. Around here it's usually the very end of July and early August before anything starts popping up. So that's still six plus months to have to wait, but the wait will be worth it, I promise.

Have a great Saturday morning, MMC!
 
DAYS TO JACK O LANTERN DAY: 25
DAYS TO SPOOKY SPRING: 57
DAYS TO HALFOWEEN: 87
DAYS TO FALL PRESEASON: 179
DAYS TO THE BERS: 210
DAYS TO HALLOWEEN SEASON: 225
DAYS TO OCTOBER: 240
DAYS TO HALLOWEEN: 270


Good Morning Halloween Friends! Happy Sunday to you! Exactly ONE WEEK away now from the 50 DAYS TO SPOOKY SPRING milestone, and 10 days out from our 200 DAYS TO THE BERS milestone day. Those are the two big ones to keep an eye on right now.

Folks, this count is funny sometimes. Some of these counts looked so far away in January, and here we are in February now, just into it a few days now, and they already seem so different. I had to do a double take on the Fall Preseason count, it seems surreal to be down into the 100's now. I'll go on record and say I want the "Days to October", and the "Days to Halloween" to take their time. I'm not ready to see those counts down in the 100's yet but I will have to get ready soon because "Days to October" will enter the 100's next month. WOW.

Have a great day, friends!
 
Hello Halloween Fans!

Been a busy few days, but lots of good times as well.

As I mentioned before, I have never really done the JOL days but am making an effort to this year. So, my first JOL day was great. I could not really do anything until after work, but that evening I listened to my Halloween playlist. I also watched the Exorcist III. Nothing major, but it was nice watch a movie and listen to the music. I think what I want to do is watch movies that fit into the Horror genre that I generally do not get to during the Halloween season. That will also let me get into some of the more drama type movies I do not watch during Halloween just because I do not have time to watch those as well as the ones I really want to watch during the season.
 
DAYS TO JACK O LANTERN DAY: 24
DAYS TO SPOOKY SPRING: 56
DAYS TO HALFOWEEN: 86
DAYS TO FALL PRESEASON: 178
DAYS TO THE BERS: 209
DAYS TO HALLOWEEN SEASON: 224
DAYS TO OCTOBER: 239
DAYS TO HALLOWEEN: 269


Good Morning Halloween Friends! A new week has begun. This whole past weekend felt like it could have been either Spooky Spring or October. It was great weather. Today is going to be another warm one. 50 degrees and Sunny. Every day that we march on like this, I feel more and more confident that bad winter weather is really over. We had a brutally cold and snowy January. But February? It's been very mild so far. I'm hoping it continues.

We're chasing a milestone again this week. Sunday we will celebrate 50 DAYS TO SPOOKY SPRING! I think I'm going to use that day to brainstorm up my film lineup for this year. And we are now in single digits on the way down to the 200 DAYS TO THE BERS milestone day. 10 days from today we will have another count enter 100's territory!

Whatever you guys are doing today, I hope you have a great day and I hope your Monday doesn't treat you too terrible! Have a great day!
 
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