Friday, October 31, 2014

"This is Halloween, this is Halloween, Halloween, Halloween..."




The Zombie quilt is coming along just dandy. I finally decided this odd design 'feels' like it belongs here. I snuck in a few good hours this morning, and plunged into the project. It'll be done by evening for my Zombie lover.


I remember, as a child, waking up on Halloween morning thinking I was going to refill my candy stash for the whole year on that very evening. The anticipation was almost as good as Christmas morning. I just had to get through the day, and wait until after supper.

In those days, the 60's-70's, there was no fire whistle that signaled the beginning and end of Trick-or-Treat. We just ate supper, put on our costumes, and looked for any house that had turned the porch light on. "Home by 9," we swore, and off we went. I remember a cast off clown costume that my older brothers had both worn. A hard plastic mask that had an elastic string through the sides. It cut over the tops of my ears, and I had to turn my whole head to see who was talking. Not a safety feature. But I could hear the candy as it hit the bottom of my paper grocery sack. An empty thud in the beginning, but after a while a pleasant smoosh into all the other candy wrappers. Bless the folks that gave out the big candy bars! That meant a good haul. I could go as far as Factory St. until I got a little older, but there were still a lot of houses. The worse thing was when people wanted you to come in so they could 'see' your costume. Better not to speak and let them know who you were. Got to keep moving to fill the sack, you know? 

Fast forward to the recent past. Not all my kids were into Trick or Treat. One refused to dress up. One was too sensitive to the scary costumes out there. Another didn't like candy. The years came and went, and I remember trying to dress 4 or 5 kids up every year, and then walk out the door with them without looking like I'd just run a marathon. Other moms looked so put together. I'd hear them say that they'd also run the classroom Halloween party, saw they had on real adult make-up, and their kids costumes were homemade. I just wasn't that competent. 

Halloween is different now. I just have one teenager left. She wasn't going to Trick or Treat until late yesterday. She'll be an anime character--something gruesome. We're expecting rain and possibly snow during that time, but it will still be busy out there. Lots of small people, and maybe some taller ones will be knocking on you door. Don't turn away the teenagers, folks. Childhood is brief, and they have the rest of their lives to be adults. This article is worth the time to read. What You Need to Know About 6-Foot Trick-or-Treaters



And last of all, for any of you with children or grandchildren with food allergies, this is a new and special thing. The Teal Pumpkin Project. You can follow the link for more information about providing these children with safe alternatives, non-food treats, for Halloween. Everyone wants to be included in the fun. Let's make it happen for them safely.


Have a safe and memorable Halloween.
The Doxie Girls have their costumes all ready.
In the meantime, we're going to go sew.




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