Well, the Reflections title for this post sounds like I have been doing some deep thinking. Not really. It means that I've been doing some reflecting on what's been going on recently. And it's harder than you might think.
I'll start with Halloween since I'm looking at a Burger King Halloween crown right now, which I wore while I passed out candy. The weather had turned colder, so we didn't have as many kids as we might have. We had 20, while Wally and Theo had 46 at their house. I think they were a little disappointed that they didn't have more candy left over. :) I noticed something interesting this year. The majority of kids who came to my door said, "Happy Halloween!" instead of "Trick-or-Treat." Wally said it was the opposite at his house. Did anyone else notice a change?
Earlier that morning, I did a Halloween storytime, which was a lot of fun. The kids came in costumes, and at the end, we did a parade around the library and the senior center, which is located in the same building. My favorite costume was a little girl who came as Santa Claus. She had on pajamas with a Santa suit printed on the front and wore a Santa hat. It was easy to do, and she loved it. Her mother said that she has been talking all the time about being Santa for Halloween. It was the first Santa costume I'd seen in October. :)
Last night, we had our first hard freeze. (BTW, the pictures you see scattered about the post are before the freeze.) We brought several pots into the garage so those plants would live to see another day. I have high hopes of overwintering them, but we shall see. I haven't figured out the logistics to make that happen yet. I know the basil is not going to last, so I hope to make pesto this weekend. We still have a good supply of dried basil and frozen basil from last year, so pesto it is. I might even spring for the more expensive pine nuts which I like the best, but usually get substituted with a cheaper nut.
We usually go to someone else's house for Thanksgiving, but we are hosting it this year. The crowd is bigger than we've ever had inside for a sit-down dinner. Most of our entertaining of bigger groups (which we don't do very often) is in warmer weather where we can be outside. After some initial panic as the numbers grew, I think we can handle it. There are still many moving parts to figure out, but we're working on it. We may have a few overnight guests, also, so that's another wrinkle, but I know I am very lucky to have so many people around that I can share the holiday with.
I just got home from work a little while ago, so it's time for some comfy pajamas and mindless TV before bed. What will it be tonight? The Beverly Hillbillies or The Big Bang? Decisions, decisions. :)
Until next time...
I had no trick or treaters, so no one said Happy Halloween or Trick-or-Treat! I like the Santa outfit as a Halloween costume! I hope that the plants you are trying to overwinter do well and plans for hosting Thanksgiving work out well. Enjoyed reading your reflections. :)
ReplyDeleteOne of my friends had good decorations, music playing, and lots of good candy, but no trick-or-treaters came, and she was very disappointed. I think we had the right number. Enough to see several kids, but not so many that it was overwhelming.
DeleteI ran out of candy by 7:15 this year. We had 84 before I turned out the lights since I had nothing left to give.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the hotel business! I have guests coming this afternoon for the weekend. (secretly I am tired of washing sheets and towels)
84 is a lot of kids. When we were growing up, we used to get 100 or more kids for trick-or-treat because we lived in town where it was easy to walk from house to house. However, my parents didn't have much money, so we didn't give out fancy candy.
DeleteWe normally get 20-30 kids, and I feel like that's a good amount. I think you already read about my Halloween experience on Lili's blog--we had a snowstorm with 10 inches of snow, and the power went out, so trick-or-treating didn't happen. My niece called and told me she had 2 kids who were all dressed up with nowhere to go, so they came and got their treats at our house.
ReplyDeleteThere are lots of trunk-or-treat opportunities these days, and I feel like there is a shift in what kids experience versus when I was a child. We used to have parties where we bobbed for apples or tried to eat an apple dangled on a string--now that we are more aware of spreading germs, lots of these old-time activities have gone by the wayside!
10" is a lot of snow whether it's in October or January. I am glad that you were available for you niece's kids to come by. I bet there were a lot of disappointed kids with the snow. There are a lot of trunk-or-treats around here also with sponsored parties. I had forgotten about the apple on a string. Thanks for the fun memory.
DeleteWe have a rule of a maximum of 6 at our get togethers. Sometimes 8, but never more than that. It is just too many people and too hard to manage more than 6 or 8. We have been as low as 6 a few times in the past week, so our hard frost has killed everything that is going to freeze.
ReplyDeleteI had two trick or treaters, who came together. That was it. A burger king crown? Just that or was there more to your costume.
ReplyDeleteI also wore an orange T-shirt with black bats on the front. It was more of a theme than a costume.
DeleteSounds like you had a pretty tame Halloween, and that's always good! That little girl dressed as Santa...how precious!! I love it! Library time sounded like fun! I sure do miss being in my old library. Storytime with kids is so much fun. Never a dull moment! Haha! I sure do hope your Thanksgiving goes off without a hitch! You are right, spending the holidays with those we love is a blessing, even when it's a little inconvenient.
ReplyDeleteStorytime is a lot of fun, but a lot of work to put together. My next theme is going to be birthdays. I think all of the kids can relate to that. :)
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