Halloween, or, The Day That Wouldn't Die!...

Wow, this day has dragged. I've surfed the net so much my eyes are bleeding...or feel like it anyway. But with less than an hour to go, I can probably make it.

Well, it's my favorite day: Halloween! I've always loved the holiday that allows you to assume another identity, if only for a few short hours. It's like I'm Agent Sydney Bristow, but without all the butt-kicking. (I don't actually watch that show, so if the name isn't quite right, sorry.) My house is decorated, the treats are bagged in cute little plastic baggies with a jack-o-lantern on them, and the Crazy Cat Lady is ready for all the neighborhood monsters! We usually only get a few (like 2-7) kids, but last year we had a howlingly-great turnout with 16-18! Dreadful! (Okay, I'll stop--I'm making myself sick.) I enjoy it, but I am glad I don't live in one of those neighborhoods that get hundreds of kids, we can't afford it. And of course, we get the good stuff, like Snickers, Reese Cups, and Hershey's, because we always have leftovers.

I think it's great that the weather is cooperating this year. It's currently 69 degrees, so the kids won't have to wear a coat over their costumes. I know I always hated that. Of course, I never had a really nice costume, not like the nice ones you can get nowadays. When I was little, you went to Magic Mart or Buddy's Discount to pick out a costume, which was nothing but a plastic mask with two round eye-holes, two slits for nostrils, and a plastic one-piece jumper. One year I went as Jaws and another year I was Godzilla. Those are the only two costumes I remember. Probably because even as a kid I had glasses and wearing a plastic mask over my face fogged my lenses so bad I couldn't see, and I ended up wearing the mask on my head. This, of course, resulted in two things: 1. It ruined the scary effect that I would eat anyone who dared not give me candy, and 2. the rubber band caught and tangled my hair. Stupid, cheap costumes. I still have them, by the way, original boxes and all.

Kids, and adults, too, now get fabric costumes with face paint. When I decided that I was finished with the fogged-up glasses, I tried to get creative. I wanted to go as an Indian maiden, so I striped my face with my mom's makeup, did up my hair into two braids, and stuck a turkey feather in there in some haphazard way. Unfortunately, my mom didn't sew, so I didn't have a costume. I tried to console myself with the knowledge that it was cold that year and I had to wear a coat. It didn't really make me feel any better. But the most grand, glorious, creative costume I ever had was the year I went as a fairy princess. I wore my frilliest lavender dress (yes, I owned dresses, Smarty Pants...I only wore them to church), a tiara made of clear beads and pipe cleaners, and carried a dowel rod wrapped in aluminum foil with a wad of foil on one end. I got lots of compliments on my ensemble. I was a little bummed when I got home and find out I had ruined the dress. The taffeta or whatever it was had gotten all picked up by briars when Rebecca and I took a short cut from one street to another. That costume will, unfortunately, will always be my glory.

I tried the bedsheet ghost one year, and all I will say is, friends don't let friends ruin good linens. In other words, at the end of the night, I had tripped numerous times, nearly strangled myself, and Mom was out one sheet.

Hey, look at that. 5:00 and time to go home. Yippee! Maybe this day will die after all, where no one will hear it scream! Sorry, that was lame.

Slacking again...

I've been totally remiss in my blogging for October. I've been trying to get back into writing, a novel that is, and I hope to hold on to my inspiration and actually do it. Plus, the hubby and I took our anniversary (#8) trip earlier this month, and while I'm sure I got some great shots that I'll be sure to share, I haven't actually developed them yet. (I'm not on board with the whole digital camera thing.)

Also, my oldest sister has been diagnosed with breast cancer and began her chemo treatments yesterday. She has 8 treatments, 21 days apart, which will take her through March, and after that will be radiation treatments 5 days-a-week for 6 weeks. But, her prognosis is good and so is her attitude. She's a Christian and says God wanted her to go through this for a reason, so she's looking for it. Please keep her in your prayers.

That's it for now; I'm off to a doctor's appointment. Hopefully I'll get those pictures developed soon and can resume Photo Friday.