Throngs of witches and vampires....

 Granddaughter Eden with her loot tonight

Jacob, otherwise known as Michael Jackson, all ready for a party

 

 

and goblins, ghosts, Raggedy Annes, Cinderellas, and some scary and really original costumes--one young man (not a kid) had on a green morphsuit (head to toe, covering his face though he said he could see and breathe); another was, I think, a marshmallow--huge. I told him he had a weight problem and should not eat the candy. Actually I glimpsed a skinny kid under the costume.
I live in one of those neighborhoods where families come from far parts of the city by the carload to trick or treat. Our streets are full of bumper to bumper traffic; the parking would make you think there was a carnival at the school; a neighbor one street over told me she spent over $60 on candy and last year they gave out 1300 pieces. The people crowding the streets are incredible, and they came up my walk in a steady stream.
Usually I turn out my lights and go next door but this year Jay is out of town and Susan was unsure what she wanted to do, so I suggested my porch with vegetable soup (from thefreezer) for supper. Elizabeth joined us, though she got cranky--her word, not mine--and tired before it was all over. She was appalled at the number of people and how few were from our neighborhood. One new neighbor from down the street introduced herself, and Elizabeth recognized another girl who lives down the block. But that was it.
Mostly these imported kids are polite--their parents are with them and both parent and child say thank you, wish us a happy halloween, and so on. It does stretch my imagination to come up with a new commennt for every costume, but I try. I am concerned about the tiny infants who are trick-or-treating--really?--and I resent the obvious adults. To me, this is a kids' holiday, and adults don't need to be begging for candy. I tried to adjust my attitude this year, but the occasional greedy kid who grabs a handful instead of settling for the one piece we hand out bothers me. At least two parents reprimanded their children and made them put the handful back, and when we said to one boy "We've seen you before"--he had a distinctive treat bag with a skeleton hand on it--he quickly tried to return the candy but we told him to keep it.
All in all, it's fun to see the cute kids but it's sure not my favorite holiday and by the time we ran out of candy, about 8:15, I was done. Susan went home, I turned out the lights, cleaned the kitchen, and settled at my computer--but I'd left some inside lights on. And would you believe some kids knocked on the door. Now that's nerve!
I tell myself these kids come from neighborhoods where people don't offer treats--of course they don't! They're all over here. But I try to be charitable, Still, what happened to the good old days when your neighbors used trick-or-treating as an occasion to visit?

Early Halloween on a lazy evening

I sent Michael Jackson (note the silver glove on his hand on his right hip) off to an early Halloween party tonight, and it got me to thinking about Halloween and how it's become such a big deal, so different from when I was a kid. Just the fact that there's a celebration six days ahead of time tells me something. In my day, it was strictly a one-day affair. And I wonder about the elaborate outdoor decorations some people put up. I do like that many families have parties so that bunches of children go trick-or-treating together.
Halloween morning, though, will find me on the front porch, watching all the children walk to school so I can see their costumes. And I haven't been invited yet but that evening will probably find me on my neighbor's front porch where they give out plentiful treats. The young children who come by with their parents are so cute and almost invariably polite--and if they forget the "Thank you," Mom or Dad is there to prod them. I like  that. My own house will be dark. I don't like being home alone for trick or treat, and I certainly don't find it any fun. Makes me feel like a curmudgeon however.
Lazy evening tonight--I've spent a lot of time on Facebook and Pinterest (I almost never go  to the latter--it can suck up time at an amazing rate), thumbed through a J.Jill catalog, did a load of laundry, and am now considering whether I'll turn to the novel--I have a couple of ideas I want to work in--or to the book I should have reviewed two weeks ago. I found a way to urge myself to read that one and write the review--loaded my iPad with two books I am really enthusiastic about reading. I think that's called tricking yourself.
My homemade buttermilk is through its 48 hours of sitting out and  is really buttermilk. I'm pretty excited about that--makes me feel like a pioneer or something. And it's so much better than the commercial product.
Enough.