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...
