Of Cerberus, Tendonitis, and Hot Chocolate
We really had the yard decorated up this year. We still have the scarecrows up despite the weather's attempts to destroy them, and Carl put a spotlight on them. He also put blacklights in our porch lamps, and I had eight jars painted like jack-o-lanterns out in the front garden, with the candles lit. Festive, yet slightly scary. One girl thought the scarecrows were real and asked me if they were going to jump at her. I said no, they're fake and you're fine. However, the adults who came out with the kids got a kick out of "Kerry", "Nader" and "Bush" hanging behind their "Scary, Ain't It?" banner. Several people asked me who I was going to vote for. I said "yes". They laughed. The kids got a kick out of "Cerberus", our dog. (His real name is Judah.) I had him decked out in a Halloween bandana and looking rather spiffy, and the kids would come up and pet him. He'd lick the hands of the larger children and give "poochie smoochies" to the smaller kids who's faces he could reach. There were a few very small children who were afraid of him until I had him do some tricks for them, then they laughed and got their ''treats". I gave out hackey-sack balls. They cost just about as much as candy and won't rot your teeth or make you fat, plus UPS delivers them right to your door. I ordered mine from Oriental Trading. Cheap, convenient, safe and the kids love them. So much, in fact, that I had about 18 "repeaters". Fortunately, I had enough to hand out seconds, but by my calculations I had about 175 kids come by. That's almost the entire population of our elementary school. Wow!
So after about 45 minutes of sitting and giving out toys, Carl and the girls came home. I was starting to get cold, so my wonderful hubby brought me out a thermos mug of hot chocolate. I stayed outside for about 1 hour 20 minutes total, but I really enjoyed myself. It was neat to see people laugh at my scarecrows, and equally neat to hear the kids say "Cool!" when they got their hackey-sacks. It was nice having my dog sitting with me - not only did he keep me company, but sometimes he'd lean up against my leg and warm me up. Besides, having him with me in the front yard kept him from barking at everyone over the back fence. So if the weather cooperates I'll probably handle Halloween the same way next year with one exception - I'll find a better way to keep warm. Using a 105 pound dog for a heater isn't very efficient, and he sheds like crazy. Well, thanks for stopping by. Nice blogging at you!