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Wednesday, October 28, 2026

A Visit to The Haunted House Hallmark Halloween Pop-Up Book Reviewed

A Visit to The Haunted House: A Hallmark Halloween Pop-Up Book

Did you know that Hallmark has quite a few discontinued but sought-after Halloween-themed items? One of them is this fun pop-up book called A Visit to The Haunted House. It is not just a nostalgic children’s picture book but also a collectible vintage item that is sought after because of both the Halloween theme and the Hallmark brand. Read my complete review here.

THE FACTS

It is a hardcover Hallmark Children’s Editions book that is often dated to 1972, with other copies or editions dated 1985 and 1987. It may also have been reissued in other years. It was written by Dean Walley, intended perhaps for children aged 4 to 8 and illustrated by Arlene Noel.

THE STORY

The charming story is both whimsical and spooky, sharing a visit to a haunted house with characters Tommy Tribble and Stephanie Pepper via various pop-ups and pull tabs. The text on the back reads, "Are there really such things as ghosts and witches and monsters? A Visit to The Haunted House shows that these horrible creatures may not be what they seem to be at all. Children will enjoy sharing the scary adventures of Tommy Tribble and Stephanie Pepper as they unravel the mystery of Halfway House. The story offers plenty of thrills and chills, plus the comforting reminder that it’s fun to be scared when you know it’s just pretend."

REVIEWS

This is a book that people own and pass onto their children or that people owned and now want to have for their children. Those who already own it report that their children love it. One review that I read said that the writer and her children read the book at least four times a week. I can understand that; Halloween and pop-up books are just so, so very popular.

Adult readers like the vintage illustrations and the pop-ups. Some of them find the plot predictable but most say that is okay because they like the way the book was made and its nostalgic charm.

WHERE TO BUY A VISIT TO THE HAUNTED HOUSE

Looking for a copy of A Visit to The Haunted House for your family? Click here to see what is available on eBay. Shop carefully by reading the full descriptions and taking a good look at all of the photographs so that you will know what you are buying. Naturally, copies in excellent condition are hard to find and sell for more than copies that were much beloved and handled by young children. Expect to pay between US$20 and US$100 depending on the condition of the book. Originally, some of these books were sold wrapped in cellophane. If you hold out for a new copy of the book you may want to look for one that is still sealed. However, I can see that only three new copies have sold on eBay in the last three years. Waiting for a new one to be available may mean waiting for quite a while to buy this book.

Happy Reading!
Boo-renda
Treasures By Brenda

Tuesday, October 27, 2026

Cement Yard Decor of Frogs

I had originally written about my various painted yard decor; they consisted of cement items that were solid, one that wasn't solid, and a rock. If you'd like to see that first, you can check that out here: Yard Decorations, Rock and Cement Yard Decor

Since then, I have painted colorful bunny rabbits, a blue meditating frog, and most recently, I purchased a solid cement figurine of three frogs to paint.

I looked around at several stores before finding the frogs figurine at Rural King. It is a pretty good size, quite heavy, and is rough textured. I was not looking forward to applying sealer, painting it, and then coating it; besides my time, it would be way too much wear and tear on my brushes.

So I checked out the label on the Patio Paint from DecoArt, that I had on hand. It said that it seals itself, and they did not mention doing any sealer prep work. Yay! So I went for it. I did mainly one coat of paint, other than where I added some highlights and or darker shades to added interest.

I think it looks pretty cool. My daughter commented that they were wearing toes socks. It does indeed look like they are. I have been wearing brightly colored toe socks myself lately.

Anyway, I was real impressed with basically the one coat coverage without using any additional sealant for prep or varnish at the end. We shall see how well they hold up.

The bottle says to wait 72 hours before putting the painted work outside. I will probably set them out at the end of the week and see how well they do. We're into autumn now and winter will be coming soon. I will keep an eye on them and add an update sometime in the spring.

If you are interested in checking out the paint that I used for this project, you can view it here on Amazon: Patio Paint by DecoArt. This one is an assortment pack of 18 of two ounce bottles.

If I do any more projects that I'm going to place outdoors, I would definitely check out getting the assortment pack. They are quite reasonably priced and include a variety of colors. I wish I had had some yellow on hand for the frog project!

I would recommend checking out your local garden centers for any cement decor that you might want to paint. They do have a quite a bit of weight to them and might not hold up in shipping very well. After I got my frogs figurine home from the store, I noticed a couple of toes were missing. I didn't want to return it. That was the last frogs one and it was my favorite of the ones available. Fall is actually kind of late in the season to find these figurines, so not as many to choose from. However, they were at a much better price than if I had gotten this in the spring.

Hope you enjoyed this and found some helpful tips.

Cheryl Paton

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Monday, October 26, 2026

The Five Pound Gummy Bear Review

Are you asking if you read the title correctly? Five pounds? A five pound gummy bear? Yes, five pounds. This is a gummy bear sure to make any celebration memorable. And whose life isn't really complete without at least one party with the five pound gummy as its' conversation gummy. (Yes it is a true edible gummy.)

Gummy Bears are the third most popular candy in the U.S. and many fans seem to have a fondness for certain colors and flavors.

Friend to kids, foe to the dental work, gummy bears remain extremely popular
Gummy Bear Flavors

Not every Gummy is created equal. And the color of the bear does not necessarily equal what your taste buds 'think'.

In the United States, five flavors and colors by the original Haribo are:

Orange flavor = orange color

Strawberry flavor = green color

Pineapple flavor = colorless

Lemon flavor = yellow color

Raspberry flavor = red color

Haribro Gummy Bear System

I had no idea there was a 'system'! The Haribo system can be used by other manufacturers, but they do tend to change things up by changing colors and adding flavors. Gummie aficionados probably have their favorite brand and flavors memorized. Those who like sour flavored gummies will notice the sour gummies tend to be larger and flatter due to the ingredients necessary to produce the sour taste.

History Of The Gummy Bear

Originally called dancing bears
The senior Riegel founded the candymaker in the 1920s
Haribo is the initials of Hans Riegel and Bonn, Germany
Gummies are produced in a machine called the starch mugul
The gummy bear got a redo in 2007, a smile was introduced as the expression
What Is The Cost and Where to Find the Five Pound Gummy Bear

A five pound gummy bear is available online retail approximately $35.00. The five pounder is alleged to equal 1400 regular sized gummy bears.

Surprise your favorite gummy bear lover with a Five Pound Gummy Bear gift this year and they will be sure to remember you fondly!

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Sunday, October 25, 2026

Do Old Houses Remember Us? The Stories Hidden In 100 Years of Walls

The Story Behind "This 100 Year Farmhouse"

Every time I drive past an old, weathered house sitting quietly by the side of the road, my mind immediately starts to wander.

I can’t help but picture all the generations of souls who have walked through those front doors over the decades. I think about the sheer weight of life contained inside those four walls: quiet morning moments, bursts of laughter, deep love, and even the sorrow and regret that build over a century of living.

I’ve wanted to write a song about this exact idea for a very long time. I’ve always been drawn to music that explores the passing of time, especially songs that capture the vast scope of a hundred-year lifespan.

For this project, I wanted to tell the story from a unique perspective: the farmhouse itself as the living, breathing keeper of everyone's memories.

The song follows the home across its journey: watching a young couple build a life in 1920, sitting abandoned and falling into sad disrepair by 1985, and finally being lovingly renovated in 2005 to shelter a whole new family.

Part of the inspiration for this perspective actually goes back to an old Christmas cartoon called Noel that has stayed with me my whole life.

The Christmas Cartoon "Noel" tells a beautiful story from the perspective of a simple Christmas ornament watching time pass, and it has always been one of my absolute favorites. The idea of an inanimate object holding onto a family's emotional history has stuck with me over the years. In the end, this cartoon has a deeper spiritual meaning.

Why This History Feels So Personal

This sense of history and physical place hits close to home for me.

My mind often drifts back to my parents' home, the very house my father built. It isn’t quite a hundred years old yet, but it remains in our family today, packed with irreplaceable memories.

I often wonder where that house will stand a century or more from now, and I like to believe a small part of my spirit will always remain tied to that land, enduring through the changing years.

I feel that exact same profound connection right here in my current home. As the original owners, we raised our family here, filled every room with childhood memories, and built our everyday lives.

At the same time, I know we will eventually have to pass the torch to someone else. I catch myself thinking about the future families who will walk these same halls long after we are gone, and the brand-new stories these walls will collect a hundred years from today.

"Every room truly remembers what the living so easily forget." Beneath all that old wallpaper are the real human stories that stayed behind, whispering their secrets if you take a moment to listen closely.

I hope when you give "This 100 Year Farmhouse" a listen, it makes you pause and think about the walls that have sheltered your own journey, your family, and those you love.

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"Drageda Lyrics" on all Platforms, including Streaming Platforms**

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My Website: Drageda.com

How I Put My Lyrics to Music and Create Songs - A Basic Introduction

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🎵 I write and produce story-driven lyrics. Vocals and music are digitally produced (I am not the singer). I digitally direct and arrange the video and recording.🎵 ©2026 DragedaPoemsLyrics (B.T.C) - All Rights Reserved - Original Lyrics Authored | Sound Recording: Produced With Digital Assistance (Vocals and Instrumental) 2026. Licensed digital composition (Commercial Rights Held). The visual artwork may include AI-assisted digital elements. SOCAN Member.

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Saturday, October 24, 2026

Candy Corn Day - An October Holiday

Candy Corn Day is held each year on October 30, the day before Halloween.

Candy Corn is one of those foods in the “love it or hate it” category. Like putting ‘pineapple on pizza’, candy corn is one of those things which produces strong opinions from people, leaving no neutral reaction. Nevertheless, it is a candy that has become associated with the Halloween holiday and popular with many.

National Candy Corn Day History

A man named George Renninger, working as a confectioner at a candy company (Wunderle) in Philadelphia, invented the candy corn recipe in the 1880s. It is a soft and chewy candy made with sugar, corn syrup, water, marshmallow and fondant. It was originally called “Chicken Feed” because it was shaped like a corn kernel and corn was used mostly as animal feed back in the 1800s. The candy was sold with the logo of a ‘rooster’.

This candy corn was sold year-round as ‘penny candy’ and did not become a holiday-specific snack until around the 1950s. About then, confectioners began heavily promoting candy corn during October due to its Harvest colors of yellow, orange and white. Plus, about this same time, Halloween traditions saw the rise of ‘trick or treating’. Thus, candy corn now appears to have become one of those standard Halloween treats.

Other Classic Halloween Treats

Other standard treats which find their way into trick or treat bags include:

Popcorn Balls
Mass-Produced Chocolate Bars
Caramel or Candy Apples

Summary

So, come October 30 each year, you know what candy day is celebrated:

National Candy Corn Day
October 30

Check out our collection of Candy Reviews here:

Review This Reviews: Candy

Click Here For More Holiday Reviews

On ReviewThisReviews.com

*Candy Corn Holiday Review was written by Wednesday Elf

Candy Corn Halloween Treats:

Brach's Halloween Classic Candy Corn, Fall Treats, 34 ozCheck Price Candy Corn, Classic Halloween Candy, 1 Lb BagCheck Price Brach's Mellowcreme Autumn Mix, Halloween Candy, Fall Treats, 2 lb BagCheck Price

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Friday, October 23, 2026

Fudge Made With Baking Chocolate Recipe Reviewed

This is a quick and easy fudge recipe that anyone can use to make a foolproof fudge. Using baking chocolate bars ensures success. I also love the taste of Eagle Brand Condensed Milk. Eagle Brand combined with proven name brand chocolate bars, makes this recipe a real winner and it is, indeed, delicious!

Normally I use Baker's brand baking chocolate bars, but I most recently tried making this fudge with Ghirardelli Premium Bittersweet Baking Chocolate Bars (shown in the photo below). Because I like the Ghirardelli brownie mix, I thought I would probably like their chocolate bars too. Bittersweet chocolate has more cacao and less sugar than semi-sweet. I could tell a slight difference, but that might simply be because I was looking for a difference in taste. Therefore, I would say either brand is excellent.

Everyone in our home loved the fudge. I added nuts to half of it for the nut lovers and left the other half plain.

This fudge takes about 20 minutes to make and another 2 hours to set in the refrigerator.

T-fal Specialty Nonstick Double Boiler 3 Quart Check PriceBaking Bars Fudge Recipe

A double boiler is required for this fudge to keep it from burning while cooking. A double boiler is a set of 2 stackable pans, one sits inside of the other and is very easy to use. It cooks with steam instead of direct heat.

Simply add about 2 inches of water to the lower saucepan, bring it to a boil then turn down to simmer. Place the upper saucepan filled with ingredients on the top and cook until melted, stirring continuously.

Ingredients

20 ounces (5 - 4 oz bars) semi-sweet bakers chocolate – broken into small pieces
1 - 14-ounce can Eagle’s Brand sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons unsalted butter (room temperature) cut into pieces
chopped nut, if desired

Instructions

Set out butter an hour ahead of time to bring to room temperature
Lightly grease an 8×8-inch baking pan. Line the pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil, allowing the excess paper to hang over the sides.
In a top pan of double boiler, combine the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract, butter, and chocolate pieces.
Fill the lower saucepan with 2" of water and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Place the ingredients (top pan) on top of the bottom pan.
Using a rubber spatula, stir until the chocolate is almost fully melted, about 4 minutes.
Remove the top pan from the heat and stir until the mixture is smooth and the chocolate is fully melted, about 2 minutes.
Add nuts, if desired and spread into the prepared lined pan
Refrigerate until set, about 2 hours.
Remove the fudge from the pan using the edges of the parchment paper to lift it out and cut into serving squares.

You can leave the fudge out at room temperature for 1 or 2 weeks or it can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. You may also freeze the fudge for up to two months.

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Fudge Made With Baking Chocolate Recipe Reviewed Written by:

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Thursday, October 22, 2026

Reviewing Pumpkins for Fall

Did you every wonder why pumpkins have become a symbol of fall or where Jack-o-Lanterns started? In this article I will review some fun history and facts about pumpkins and also share with you some of my fall photographs. Fall is my favorite season!

Pumpkins a Symbol of Autumn

A wonderful combination of traditions, history, folklore and the colors of the season joined together to make pumpkins a favorite symbol of the autumn season. Here is a bit of history of how this came to be a time-honored tradition in the USA.

1. Pumpkins were a harvest crop back to the days of early America. Indigenous people grew them and other winter squashes as an important food source. They were harvested in the fall and became a natural part of the autumn season.
2. The early American settlers learned about pumpkins and other native American foods and became familiar with their uses. They used them in pies, soups and other dishes. As harvest festivals and Thanksgiving traditions became part of the American scene the abundance of pumpkins in the fall harvest became part of the face of fall.

3. Halloween made pumpkins famous. The tradition of carving frightening faces originally came from Irish and Celtic folk customs involving turnips and other root vegetables. When Irish immigrants brought these practices to America they found that the pumpkin was more plentiful and easier to carve. Thus the Pumpkin Jack-O-Lantern was born.

4. Soon the pumpkins were seen everywhere for fall. By the 19th and 20th centuries they appeared at autumn celebrations, in advertising and on cards. Their bright orange color, their timing during the harvest season and all the traditions involving pumpkins have made them a favorite of the season. Now everywhere you look in the fall you see pumpkins. There is everything from pumpkin spice lattes to pumpkins in fall decorations and so much more.

Photography on Main Street St. Charles in the Fall

I recently took a photo shoot in downtown St. Charles to photograph all of the decorations along the store fronts. Here are a few of my photographs.

Pumpkins on Amazon

Amazon has lots to offer in the way of pumpkin decorations for fall. Here is a link to their page of pumpkins. Pumpkins for Fall

I have also written a review on fall decorations. Here is a link to that review.

Fall Home Decorations

Pumpkin based Foods

Sam is one of my fellow reviewers who has some delicious food recipes. Here are two that he wrote using pumpkins.

Pumpkin Spice Bread

Halloween Pumpkin Cheese Ball

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Wednesday, October 21, 2026

It's That Time of Year ~ A Garden Review

It's been a few years since I've had a full-blown garden. I gave that up when my knees would no longer let me do all the kneeling, pulling and digging that were once a part of my everyday life.

Having said that, I could not give up gardening completely, so I needed to find another way to make my hands happy. Dirt under my fingernails makes my "happy" endorphins go crazy (in a good way)!

So the balcony is where all this happiness happens.

I have large Rubbermaid containers that I use for my tomato plant. Yes I have only one. We have been buying a cheery tomato plant every year since going to the balcony garden. Hubby and I have enjoyed breakfast on the balcony for at least 8 years now. Once my plant starts producing those lovely little cherry tomatoes, we can count on at least a dozen for each of us, every morning. There is nothing sweeter than a cherry tomato or two or a dozen for breakfast. So sweet and cool, even when the weather is downright blistering hot.

But, it's now October and our tomato season is officially over. I have cut the plants all back, picked off the last of the tomatoes even though they were green. In a sunny window, they will still ripen and the frost won't turn them into puckered up little balls.

So to ensure that I have some of these delightful tomatoes for next year, I am busy drying out just a few of the small tomatoes for seeds for next year. Would you believe I just harvested the last of these gems tonight? I did.

The other plant that I love on my balcony is an annual called Love Lies Bleeding. It grows about 6 feet tall and has these funky tassels that hang down. They are burgundy red in color and I love them because they are easy to grow. Even if I don't manage to save seeds (that would never happen), they do manage to survive our winter months. A small seed (and I do mean small) will easily become a mammoth plant in one season and when fall arrives, it is the one thing that will continue to bloom right until the first snow starts to fly.

If you like saving seeds, these ones are easy, easy, easy to save. Just cut off one of the "tassels" and put it into a paper envelope. In a few days, there will be thousands and thousands of seeds and some pretty red bits of flower as well. The seeds are shiny black and the chaff won't hurt the seeds. They dry out quickly and don't turn moldy.