Trunk or Treat

It's our final year of preschool and tonight was our final Trunk or Treat night! By set up it was in the mid-70's and very sunny. A little windy for the decorations, but not too bad and not rainy! Success.  

I found this fabulous backdrop on Amazon for the clearance price of $5.99.  We practiced earlier this week with magnets and it worked perfectly. Not so perfectly tonight with the wind.  Luckily the husband brought masking tape and we made it work. 

Last year we spent a lot of money on candy. And so did the other "trunks".  I decided to purchase books through out the year - sales on Amazon or the kid's Scholastic Book orders and put together between 50-60 books for kids to select instead of a candy bar. 

I was the Book Fairy, and invited children to our trunk to select a book!  Grampa was a grampa who let them select a little can of playdough. 

There were lots of terrific trunks and I thought I would share with you.  

A note on this Sesame Street trunk. Mom is a former member of my 4H club and a former student in my Sunday School. They had a variety of treats including a social experiment. Kids could pick a potato. And my grandson picked a potato. 

Yes, another mom who was in my 4H club and her adorable family.  The fun part of living in a small town. 

This mom is an art teacher who was painting faces. She was very popular! She used to be in my 4H club, too. 

An action shot of the facepainter and the Book Fairy.

The preschool also offered a hotdog dinner in the shelter along with cookie decorating. (I baked 72 cookies on Monday). There were activities in the play yard and here are a few photos. 

He was shooting spiders into the net. 

My talented daughter made these great shirts for the Momster and Dadcula along with my Book Fairy Shirt.  I had ordered a similar shirt last July but it seems to be lost in a warehouse out west and I finally gave up and requested a refund. 

My grandson wanted to be a Lego which was easy enough to make (plastic disposable bowls attached with super glue to a piece of foam board). My granddaughter's request was Red from the newest Disney Descendants movie. After studying the costume online, I decided to order the pieces from an inexpensive website. The pleather pants and jacket were beyond me. 

In addition to my Book Fairy Skirt, I was also requested by one of my middle grandsons to create a "Bottle of Mustard".  Simple, but effective, he was happy with it.  

Whew.  Tomorrow the temperature is dropping 25 degrees and we are supposed to get high winds and rain for trick or treat.  We will be handing out treats at my daughter's house while they take the kids out, but I am thinking turnout will be low with the weather. 

I Had No Idea

I called City Hall a week or so ago and asked if they had a list of the houses that had entered the city's Halloween Decorating Contest. We had driven the grandkids around town last year to view the houses and wanted to repeat the trip. 

They asked if I was willing to serve as a judge. How hard could it be, I thought? Sure! My youngest granddaughter and I put on our Halloween headbands and talked grampa into driving us around.  

Who is the person on the right? It would be a homeowner accosting the judges to 1. ask us to come back after dark (it was dusk) and 2. To then walk us through his entire exhibit explaining each item placement. 

Our list had 18 houses and business and it took us over two and a half hours the first night to visit the first nine. 

It was a good thing she was wearing her Halloween pajamas. 

We had lengthy judging sheets with categories and numbered ratings.  

We judged on construction, theme, creativity and design.

Many homeowners were lying in wait so they could explain every detail. The house above had an elaborate system of piping on the ground which was connected to a smoke machine which just covered the ground with a low layer of smoke. I think he is crawling somewhere hooking it up for us. 

Some of the yards were a competition of who could spend the most on animated decor from the box stores. My husband kept daring me to write "Menards" and "Home Depot" as the theme. 

The next afternoon I was treated to an half hour tour of a local golf course who decorated all 18  holes and a few trees for the business category. It was a change as his wife had purchased clothing and masks at rummage and flea market sales and dressed the displays. 

Then we picked up my assistant judge and her younger brother and went back to work on the residential entries. 

This was quite elaborate as well as noisy. 

This house glowed for blocks away. 

This home had put in paths so you could walk through the whole yard. 

As you can tell, the photos are not in order of clicking. This was an entry in the DIY category. 

Another DIY entry and to make it even cuter, the children of the house were carving pumpkins in the driveway. 

This homeowner explained that he had switched from white bulbs in his spotlights to blue bulbs for a more eerie feeling. 

One of the homes that really likes the blowup decorations.

And can you tell that they are all starting to mush in my brain?

I think this came in second in DIY? I'm not sure. 

So, we spent over 5 hours driving around looking at the decorations and lights and listening to sound effects and speaking with decorators. We would drop off the assistants and I would spend another half hour each night with my paperwork. 

I thought I could just drop off the paperwork but it turned out I spent another 45 minutes being interviewed about my scores.  My results were put with other judges and placings were announced the next day.  I have no idea who was awarded what.  

Next year will we will go back to plan A - which was driving around admiring the decorations just for fun!!! 

Monday

My week is off to a great start! How do you know when you are old? Could it be when you are so excited about a trip to the grocery store?

I had never been to a Trader Joe's. My local grocery choices are Aldi, Walmart and the local IGA.  My friend organized a field trip and we drove an hour and thirty minutes to a Trader Joe's. My first visit. The Pumpkin Brioche Twist will be breakfast tomorrow. 

My friend says the store gets very busy, so we went when it opened. I brought this home for lunch. 

And I bought this adorable pasta for a Halloween dinner we will be attending next week.  I can't wait for a return trip.

After I finished my delicious bisque, it was time for my volunteer church board meeting. We did some good, stuck our fingers in some financial dikes and I left feeling okay (sometimes I don't feel okay). 

I mentioned a few weeks ago that my son had been promoted to detective. Well, now he isn't the only detective in the family. I joined our library's Murder Mystery Monday True Crime Podcast Club and attended my first meeting. 

We had recently traveled out of state and I listened to all the required podcasts, made notes which I typed in to charts and graphs (because I am an official internet detective). Just call me Gladys Kravitz. 

Actually it was very interesting and there was a lively discussion with a group of about a dozen participants aged from teenagers to grammas like me!  I can't wait until next month and need to get started on my homework for our next "case". 

My poor husband finally got supper when I got home and we were just relaxing to the scanner when we heard our name! Our last name anyway. My son's ex-wife was driving with two of my grandsons when someone ran a stop sign and plowed into her.  Everyone is fine, the boys are a little scared, but the car had to be towed and it is not looking good.  But everyone got home safely and hopefully things will look better in the morning. 

Wow. That's just Monday!  Tomorrow I am starting a new volunteer position!  I was asked to be a judge in our town's "Halloween Home Decorating Contest".  I will be visiting nine homes on Tuesday and nine homes on Wednesday, after dark, and helping choose five winners in the categories: Scariest, Best Lights and Music, Best DIY, Best in Show and Best Business. 

My eight-year-old granddaughter is very excited to be serving as my assistant. I am thinking I will have to run to the dollar store tomorrow to get some judging accessories like scary headbands and light up necklaces.  I will be taking photos! 

Sweetest Day or Why I Need a Keeper

 Happy Sweetest Day. 

This morning I had wished to sleep in, but I had two things on my calendar. The first was a Quilt Show of local quilts dating in the 1800's by our Historical Society. 

I showered and fixed my hair. It looked especially good today. I put on a nice outfit because I had another place to go in the afternoon.  I drove to the old church where the show was going to be held. I had the wrong week. It is next week.  

Not to waste a trip, I went to a local sub shop and got my husband a fancy sub for Sweetest Day. When I presented it, he said "Dammit, how the (h e double matchsticks) do people know it's sweetest day?" He can be so romantic. 

Then I left for the memorial service for a woman who was in my stained glass class.  And you guessed it. It is next week, too. All dressed up and no where to go. I decided my husband actually meant, please go uptown and buy yourself something for Sweetest Day. 

We have a storefront uptown that accepts donations that are "nicer" and all profits go to struggling families who have a member suffering from cancer. The building owners wife convinced him to rent the nonprofit the shop for $1 and he also pays the utilities. 

I loved the salt and pepper in the front. 

Always a sucker for anything doll related, but did not purchase.

More salt and peppers

If only I could be trusted not to break these refrigerator boxes. The bottoms were $10 each and the lid only $2. 

Really wanted these. I am not sure why or where I would put them. I did not get them and I bet I regret it.

I have lots of similar compacts and watches and purses and stuff. But it doesn't stop me from considering more. 

As we know I have more furniture that really fits into my home now. But look at this lovely wood inlay low table for only $38. Today was 20% off everything to make room for the Christmas reset, so really $30.40. 

This distressed green chest was only $57 or $45.60 on sale. 

Do I need a milk glass punch bowl. Unfortunately I do not. 

Some one had taken older books (not the really old ones sold for "stacking) and glued pages like this. I was thinking maybe I could use that for rings? But then why?

I love primitives. It is a reproduction, but beautifully framed. I have zero wall space to hang it. 

This fabulous table is Ethan Allen and was, I think, $145. It had a banner that said "Brews" that vanished seconds before I clicked. The 20% off sale had drawn a crowd!

Hobby Holly!

If only I had my grandmother's "breakfast room" to display these. 

I will regret not purchasing these glasses. I have zero use for them. They were priced at $10 for the set of six, $8 on sale. I am in love. I have absolutely no use for them and no space to display them. 

Another chest. $187 or $149.60 on sale. It isn't just the prices, it is the quality of these older pieces. 

Do you see what is in front of him?

This box of dolls, including some Nancy Anne's, that I did not purchase. . . $5 each. 

A box of glasses for a microscope with no microscope.

Only $420 for this wonderful dining set in immaculate condition. 

I love this cannister set. 

Do I need these milk glass juice glasses? Well, it turns out I did need them. I envision them with pink lemonade at a garden tea party in my imagination. Will that ever happen? I doubt it. But they are mine now! Only $2 each which made it $8 for the six. 

And my other purchase?

This lamp! I have been looking for a tall lamp to put by MY chair so that I can read or use my computer without the overhead light. I wanted an older lamp because the quality is so much nicer and the weight of this one is good too. I am thrilled with my Sweetest Day gift. 

I also treated myself to an iced coffee.  I cannot believe what they charge for these things. This was made with the mornings coffee, chilled while I shopped, coffee ice cubes, pumpkin spice creamer, a little 2% milk, Birthday Cake whipped cream (because it had no flavor other than whipped cream, despite the name and my grandchildren won't drink it) and some caramel syrup. Served in a RR Tervis cup that my husband received as an employee, LOL.  

And my husband really isn't a bear like I make him out to be. He felt bad he missed what he thought I considered a holiday.  He is not a person who keeps track of birthdays or anniversaries. But he is a loving, caring person who makes sure my car gets it's tune ups and oil changes on time, who makes sure the furnace is checked and the walks are shoveled. He is the guy who fixes things for the older women and single moms in the neighborhood. He is the dependable one when something goes wrong. And he was a little tired since he had been up since the crack of dawn trimming all the trees and bushes. And he was thrilled to purchase my new lamp for me. 

Happy Saturday.