Things that go bump in the night... are only children in disquise.

I arrived at my sister's, last Monday afternoon, and settled in.

My upstairs bedroom was charming, as usual, and all was well.
Tuesday we "shopped 'til we dropped" We had shoes to buy for an upcomming trip, that I will talk about in a separate post.
We spent a glorious morning in a shoe store called Designer Shoe Warehouse or DSW in Dublin. This is a shoe lover's paradise. It's almost overwhelming to the inexperienced shoe devotee. It's hard to stay focused when they have YOUR SIZE in so many different kinds of shoes and at REALLY GOOD PRICES.

We exercised some self control and bought shoes that will be good protection in 40 degree, rainy weather. (That's a hint about the trip.)
Wednesday was the BIG day... the reason for the journey to see my family. It was all about the Beans (my grandsons) and HALLOWEEN.
There was excitement in the air.

It was a couple of hours before dark and guess who hadn't decided what costume he wanted to wear? First he wanted to go "as himself". We talked about this... about how this was a night of transformation and creativity. He listened, but wasn't convinced that he wanted to go as anyone but himself.
 On Tuesday night I brought a wig and a mask with me to see if he could come up with something good. Some "props", as it were.
It didn't quite work. The wig and the mask were all too big... too much. Yikes!!

 Too "scary movie"... too " I can't see where I'm going."

 Too ROCK STAR...

Too sinister... for a seven year old.

SOOOO...

He left for his bedroom and came back with more of a "pirate" look... or "goth...punk...hippy" combo. Not too bad!  It was better, but needed refining.
Then, as all creative little children usually do. He changed his mind, again and made a final choice. He got an old sheet from his mom. We cut some eye and arm holes in it and he was finally ready to met the street goblins as A GHOST.
I was so glad that he decided on something. It was all about being creative and he wanted to come up with the idea himself. He was very pleased with the old sheet ghost. It just goes to show you how important it is to let a child have some leeway and some (a few!) choices when it's not a critical, life or death, situation. The Bean was so proud of his creation. He felt like it was a night for he and his brother to make a statement about what they thought HALLOWEEN represents and being someone different. The Bean did.
 He will probably be protesting about some inequities of education some day. He and his brother are very determined little beans and, sometimes, they stand their ground like stubborn mules. That is a familiar behavior in this family... like some other little boys I knew... a long time ago.

 Latter, Dad and the boys hit the street. ready for action.
 Little Bean was a pirate for the evening and he was ready.

 

This was his own idea of a PIRATE... a creatively torn shirt and glow bracelets made into a buccaneer's warning system and holding his loot bucket with his Captain... hook. He even had an eye patch. It was a bright and wonderful costume. He glowed in the dark.

Darkness fell. The fog moved in and....

 My Daughter-in-law's fog making machine, on the porch, turned my old childhood home into another world... we almost disappeared from the street completely.

as our little goblins disappeared into the mist. Robbin and I finally got the fog machine under control and it was a great success.

The Pirate ship waited for their return and the world, for a few short hours, turned into a happy place of beautiful princesses, ghosts, goblins, strange beings of unknown origin... and neighbors that stopped to say hello and visited with Robbin and I. It was a night of enjoyment and fun.

I think that my Mother was there too... in spirit. She loved Halloween. She would have been so happy to see the house all decorated like this.

 Even the jack-o-lanterns looked pleased... in a spooky kind of way.

I took my place, on the porch and gave out candy...as I have done so many times before.

It was a wonderful evening.

 Help yourself to a piece of candy. 

Hope you all had a Happy Halloween.

Halloween Joy

I'm missing this.. and this house.... and these little beans....

So, tomorrow I will pack my bags and go down to Pleasant Hill to visit with my family for a few days. I will give out candy for Halloween while my grand babies go out trick or treating with their Mommy and Daddy.
I just love this holiday! No matter what anyone says about the implications of this night and how we are worshiping the dark side, etc, etc, etc. I only have to say..... Lighten up. It's the one time of the year that your children can dress up and be someone else.. and you can be a kid again. Let your child see the generosity of others. If you think that it has to be productive take a little box with you and collect change for UNICEF or some other worthy cause. But, go meet your neighbors. Say hello, introduce yourself and give the evening a chance to work it's magic. Show your children what "neighborhood" is all about. Show them  less fear and a lot more "lets have a little fun". Life is short. Being an adult is a long journey.
When was the last time you were this excited....

When was the last time you carved a pumpkin?

Does that pumpkin look evil to you? I think not....

Halloween Beans

Halloween is about an evening of fun and excitement. It makes a new neighborhood friendlier and makes children less likely to be afraid of the Boogie Man. You put your pajamas on underneath your costume so you are ready for "crashing" after all the activities...., then Dad tells you it's not time yet and you have to wait for everyone to go together, so you let your Noni take some pictures of you.
(please click on photos for close-ups)

You pose for your Grandma..., and you pose.., and you POSE. Then you sing a song, that you just made up, about saving people from a burning buildings and how Fireman are the greatest. Then you start giggling about something with your brother and the photo shoot is, basically, over with. And finally.....

Here we go....
"See you later Noni."

....,and so, as I wait for some children to come to the door, I waved goodbye to my two beans and watched them leave the house on Halloween with the excitement that I remember having when I was a little girl. The street is the same..., the trees are much bigger, you can't see Mt. Diablo from the porch anymore because of them. It has been 50 some years since I ventured out into the Autumn evening with my friend Dawn and the other neighborhood kids on this street. The first few years I held my mother's hand, too. Then, when I got older , one parent would take all of us. We would run around like little Flash Gordon's, going from house to house, with our pillowcases dragging behind us..., seeing who could get to the next house first.

"Trick or treat"..., hold your bag out, feel it become a little heavier..., "Thank you." and run like the wind to the next house. It was a rite of passage each year. Learning to be braver, faster, maybe going a little further.
Then..., getting home and counting how many pieces you have..., and sorting all the candy by size, or color. Trading some of it. Having them check the candy for strange unwrapped ones. Sharing some with Mom and Dad. Sometimes sharing with a sick brother or sister who couldn't go with you. Learning when too much candy in your stomach is really too much. Oh, the fun of it all.....

Disclaimer:
For all of you that don't let your children participate in this holiday, I can only say.., this is your choice. I don't believe that it's about worshiping evil or giving the devil strength. It's about giving and sharing happiness and treating your neighbor with goodwill and kindness. It's about happy little faces that learn to understand that receiving something from others can be a "windfall", but not without some effort and a "Thank you" at the end. It's a happy tradition that gives a child many wonderful memories. It's about family, goodwill and two little boys who are on a safe journey with their parents. It's a legacy of love that continues on this lovely street in Pleasant Hill, California.

Halloween with the Bambinos

What fun they had....
...., and the bean was so excited that he could hardly wait to go out trick or treating. Then he seemed a little apprehensive when he got outside and heard the spooky noises from across the street. Little bean just followed along and giggled, watching everything. He ran around with his glow stick and just kept laughing. He's such a happy little guy.

After Mommy and Daddy took them around the neighborhood, the Bean came back and helped me give out candy. He wanted to give everyone handfuls. We had to explain to him that he would run out of candy if he gave each child too much. So, as it is with my oldest grandson, he negotiated with us. We ended up letting him give "One candy and one pencil." to each person. Then he would say " Have a happy Halloween, everybody." and he'd wave at them until they were gone. One time a little girl came up on the porch and just stood there. The Bean said, in a loud voice...," YOU S'POSE TO SAY TWICK OR TWEET." The little girl just looked at him. He looked back at me and said, "What I do Noni?" I told him that some really little kids get scared and forget to say trick or treat, but it's ok to give them something. He got really close to her and said..." You s'pose to say twick or tweet, but it's ok. Here." and he gave her one piece of candy and no pencil. Guess he figured if she couldn't talk she probably couldn't write either. Her daddy said "Thank you.".
Surprisingly the boys didn't seem to care too much about how much candy they got. They had a lot of fun and loved all the decorations. My daughter-in-law knocked herself out planning the day for the boys and she should have been really pleased with the results, because she and my son made it a very happy day for the Bean and his brother. I was so glad I was there.
I had lots of photos to show you but for some reason Blogger won't let me post more than one picture collage, so tomarrow I will try to post photos of " Daddy and the Bean carving the pumpkins". I not being very patience about "blog this" in Picassa. It's been acting up lately and I'm getting frustrated with the effort. Does anyone know if there's a trick to this? How come I see other blogs with endless pictures on them. How does this happen? If I do more than 3 single photos Blogger won't post them. Agaaah!!

Anyway, I had a great time at my son and daughter-in-laws this weekend and I hope that they didn't mind "Noni" being there for 4 days. The Bean and I made ghost cookies on Saturday and played "trick or treat" upstairs, again, with toys for candy and using the bedroom doors for front doors. We made phone calls to Papa and Uncle Matt, and the Bean told them all about Halloween and what he's did all day. We went outside in the rain with Noni's new umbrella. We read books and played some more while Mommy and Daddy took "baby bean" to the Mall. This grandchild of mine never stops except for sleeping. I wish I had just a little of his energy. "Nap time" is my new best friend and "Oh! It's 8.00 p.m. Time for bed. " A warm bath and a couple of stories and they were off to the land of Nod. Me too.

Next May...., Asilomar.

Where did that sister of mine go? This visit was way too short. Two days are not long enough at all. We didn't even have time to make the beds....



















We have this wonderful habit of bringing something for each other when we visit. She arrived with this great, old witch. I love the expression on her face. She doesn't look like she ever "casts spells". Maybe she just goes around looking for children so she can read them stories. Maybe she's just an old witch and has decided to retire.
















...., and it was wrapped up in this charming Halloween bag.
















Thanks Sis. Thanks for coming up for a few days and for bringing me the sweet old witch. I love her. I think she'll like it here.

We actually did go somewhere yesterday. We drove over to Amador City to shop in a few favorite stores. One of our absolute favorites is Sandy's Country Living. It's one of those little places that you can't go into without buying something. Lots of Halloween things and vintage pieces that you just don't see in other stores and her prices are always reasonable. We didn't buy a lot , but we sure had fun looking. You can always get wonderful "ideas" in Sandy's store. She is a great buyer and decorator.

Today Sis had to leave after lunch so we stayed home and just relaxed . We did get on the internet and we registered for the Asilomar Art and Soul Workshop next May. We have been trying to get a class with Nina Bagley, a jewelry artist , for a long time and the classes would fill up so fast that they would be closed before we could register. Well, we finally made it. The 3 day workshop is called "Mystorian Necklace & Book. We will make a necklace using some of our own "found objects" and also make a book that is a story made up of gathered relics and embellishments. We can't wait. I don't know if any of you have ever been to Pacific Grove. It's on the Pacific coast, between Monterey and Carmel. This is where Asilomar Conference Center is and it is one of the most beautiful places on earth. We will be staying at the Center and they will feed us...., and it's within walking distance of the ocean. Doesn't that sound wonderful?

The Prospector is still fishin'. He called tonight and said that they caught 11 fish today. He's having a great time. The weather is beautiful and the lake is low. The weather is great there because he's in the mountains. Here, today, it was 100 degrees . Summer has decided to return for a while. I'm so tired of hot weather. It's time for a change and I'm ready , ready, ready....